Oh well, he knew now, mostly. Not having a pet hadn’t kept him from meeting Doc Donovan a few times, and his husband had taken out some stitches of his back in the… day. Doctor S. had been a good guy, a lively man who complemented Doc Donovan well, but that was pretty much all Emil knew about them.
In any case, the town was what it was, and he hoped to live there in peace for as long as it would take for him to want out. So far that day hadn’t come. He wasn’t ready; maybe he would never be. He might not have been happy, but he was content, and that was a lot these days.
That day, he wasn’t watching Joie. Instead he’d promised his mom he’d get groceries while he was in town to get a package from the post office. It wasn’t his splints yet, but he thought he’d get those in a week or so. This package would contain books he’d saved up for. Sure, it was only a couple of his favorite gay romances that had come out on hardbacks recently, but there were also books on some other stuff, including a coffee-table book on photography, which was something he really wanted to learn.
He’d figured out, with some help from Evy, that he needed a creative outlet. Now that playing guitar was out of the question, he’d been floundering. Anything requiring dexterity was out, so he needed something else, and photography might be a good starting point.
But first, groceries.
He parked his mom’s sedan in front of Millers’ and rechecked that he had the mile-long list and the wallet with her card, then exited the car. He didn’t care much for people, and eye contact was really something that seemed to invite people to talk to him, so he kept his head down and went inside the store.
He picked up a cart and started to fill it according to the list. Mom had given him free rein to get whatever he felt like needed to be added. That way he’d have something he wanted to eat in the house, so that was a plus. Giving her a list or adding things to hers was fine, but it was easier to follow random cravings and remember things when he was staring at the stuff on the store shelves.
He’d seen a nutritionist a couple of times, and he’d told Emil that if things got rough, eating anything was better than eating nothing at all. Luckily his parents had bought the idea, and Emil felt that it fit him quite well. He knew how to eat healthy stuff and mostly did, but some days or even weeks, he ate whatever he fancied and kept him going.
He was contemplating bread when a polite cough came from behind. He turned around, quick to get out of anyone’s way, when he realized he was staring at Makai.
“Sorry, was I in your way?” Emil blinked at the big guy in surprise, but then embarrassment took over and he lowered his gaze.
“A little, yeah.” Makai didn’t move, though. Instead he looked at possible ways to go and frowned. “I gotta come much closer to get past you, though, if that’s okay?”
Emil’s insides clenched in shame, and he bit his lower lip, then forced himself to look at Makai in the eyes. “Look, I wanted to say sorry. About the other day. How I… left things. How I must’ve looked.” He couldn’t hold the awkward eye contact any longer and glanced at the bread instead. “I know better, but you’re honestly the first person who ever… got it. Just like that, and so fast.”
Makai listened to him and cleared his throat at the end of his apology, or whatever you wanted to call the ramble. “I get it, in a way. I don’t know what happened to you, but I… I’ve known people who act similar ways. Hell, I have stuff of my own to work through.” His voice was calm, kind, and even. Emil hazarded a look at his face. Makai gave him a small encouraging smile. “You just have to tell me if I’m making you uncomfortable. I’ll try to remember the rules.” Now there was a hint of amusement in his expression, and Emil ducked his head and blushed lightly.
“My friends are protective,” he murmured.
“As they should be. That’s what friends are for.”
Emil decided it was time to change the subject. “Any kittens yet?”
“Nope, not yet. She’s eating me out of cottage, though,” Makai said, grinning widely, and Emil decided the man wasn’t just handsome, he could be stunning too.
“Well I’m pretty sure Joie is trying to talk Lotte into asking you for one of the kittens when they’re born, so you know, fair warning.” Emil returned the smile, just because for the moment he felt relaxed enough to do so.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Makai promised.
The bell in the front of the shop rang as someone stepped in. Emil tensed unconsciously. He didn’t want to meet anyone else.
Makai seemed to notice. “Okay, I really need to go past you and get back to Mouse.”
“Yeah, okay, well if I do this….” Emil concentrated on fitting his cart against the shelves and squished himself next to it.
Makai pushed his cart past Emil’s, trying to appear smaller, which seemed ridiculous.
“Thanks,” Emil whispered and looked up at him. Makai felt like a giant to his five feet ten inches. He wasn’t exactly short, but this guy was….A gentle giant.
Emil blushed, and Makai turned to say something to him, but was interrupted with a pointed cough.
“How’s the shopping going, son?” his dad asked, glaring at Makai.
“Uh, it’s okay,” Emil assured him, glancing at Makai who seemed conflicted.
“Sheriff.” Makai nodded at Emil’s dad, his posture tense, even though he seemed to try to look relaxed.
“Mr. Stone.”
“Well, I’ll be going. Was nice seeing you, Emil,” Makai said quietly, as if just to him.
