He offered Jodi his arm. Jodi took it and was once more drawn to the comforting warmth of Rupert’s larger frame as they tackled the stairs.
Jodi stumbled onto the landing. “This is me.”
“Yeah, you said that downstairs. Which door is yours?”
“The blue one. Silver key.”
Rupert unlocked Jodi’s front door and stood back. Jodi ducked under his arm. He sensed Rupert turn away and reached for him before he knew what he was doing. “Don’t go.”
“Why? Do you need help with something?”
“No, I, er ...” Jodi stared at his hand, wrapped around Rupert’s wrist like a limpet. “I’ve got coffee. Want some?”
It wasn’t his best chat-up line, though he’d got laid behind the weight of far worse in the past, but after a protracted pause, Rupert shrugged. “Reckon I could bang a cuppa down before I head home. Got any tea?”
Turned out Jodi hadn’t, but Rupert settled for a mug of dubious-looking decaf while Jodi brewed himself a pot of nuclear Columbian espresso. “So,” Jodi said when he’d coaxed Rupert into taking a seat on his tatty living room couch. “Do you often walk pisshead gay boys home?”
Rupert spluttered into his drink. “What? Fuck, no. Shit. Sorry. I didn’t come over to you because I thought you were gay.”
“No?” Jodi frowned. He wasn’t getting come-on vibes from Rupert, but there was no denying the bloke was gay, even without his vague admission. “Why did you, then?”
It was Rupert’s turn to stumble over his words. “Um ... I s’pose I couldn’t stop myself. I saw you sitting out there after I put that bloke on his arse. After that, shit, I couldn’t look away.” Rupert cringed and briefly covered his face with his hands. “It didn’t cross my mind that you were gay, though, mate. I swear. I just got worried when you didn’t move on. Young lad got mugged by that bus stop a few weeks ago. Bastards left him for dead.”
Jodi’s disappointment warred with an overwhelming sense of endearment. Rupert was bloody gorgeous, and Jodi wouldn’t have minded in the slightest if his insistence on walking him home had been a ploy to get him into bed, but the fact that it wasn’t? Damn. Jodi could fall in love with a man that fucking sweet. “Did he die?”
“As good as. Think he’s still in a coma.”
“Fuck that.” Jodi shuddered. “My cousin had a diving accident when we were kids. Took them weeks to turn him off, even though the doctors said he was already dead.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I hardly remember him.”
“Stays with you, though, doesn’t it? When you lose someone?”
Jodi shrugged and picked up his coffee. Talking about death wasn’t good for his buzz. “So how oftendoyou pick up waifs and drunks and take them home for whatever reason?”
Rupert chuckled. “Actually, you’re the first. I usually call them a cab.”
“I’m privileged, then?”
“If you say so. I’m the one getting a cuppa instead of a cold walk home.”
Jodi could think of better ways to keep warm. He shifted on the couch and let his leg brush against Rupert’s. Rupert jumped. Jodi grinned. “Jesus, you’re like a stray cat.”
Rupert looked away. “I’m not used to people—blokes, touching me. It’s a little new.”
“How new?”
Silence. Jodi chanced another nudge with his leg. “It’s okay. You can tell me. We’ve all been there.”
Rupert glanced up, and the sadness in his gaze broke Jodi’s heart. “Too new for me to stay here much longer. I should get going.”
“Don’t go.” Jodi sat up. Something told him that if he let Rupert slink away, he’d probably never see him again. “We don’t have to do anything. I didn’t ask you in for that, honest.”
“No? Shame, eh? I could’ve freaked out on you properly, then.”
Jodi set his coffee aside. The urge to put a comforting hand on Rupert was strong, but the very real fear that it would make things worse stopped him. “Everyone freaks out when they first touch another man. It’s a rite of passage.”
