“I just mean… Well… I’m a man but also I’m kind of a lot, not in the way that Reid is a lot but in the way that I am not sure I’ll ever be able to go to a crowded concert or get on an airplane or eat at a buffet…”
“I am not remotely interested in any of those things,” Parker says. “But what I am interested in isyou.”
“Oh,” I say again like a total idiot.
Parker smirks. “Yeah.”
“Okay, well. I’ll just worry about the being-a-killer thing, I guess.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that either. I’m taking care of it.”
Parker hops out of the car, clutching his ribs, before I caneven work up a reply. I hop out and chase after him, but I catch up easily because he’s still toeing off his shoes on the front mat when I walk in.
“What’s that mean?”
“Just that you’ve nothing to worry about.”
“About killing my uncle?”
Parker hums absently and heads toward the kitchen, where he starts the now familiar routine of making us tea. The man moves around with all the ease of someone who’s always lived here, always belonged. I’m struck with the knowledge that I’m not sure I’ll be able to let him go when the time comes. What will I do when he moves back to the other house? I’musedto him here now, and it’s been nice not being alone anymore. Having Reid here had been difficult most of the time because of his antics and misbehaviors, but at the end of the day he’dbeenhere. I’d liked feeling like someone else was here.
“You’re not going to tell me anything, are you?”
Parker hums again. “Probably not.”
“But we’re boyfriends."
“Oh?” It’s Parker’s turn to be confused it seems. “Are we?”
I square my shoulders. “To me, yes. You kissed me.”
“You said that a few moments ago.”
“Kisses mean something.”
“Do they?”
I grit my teeth because suddenly he’s being infuriating. “To me they do!”
Parker sets the kettle on the oven with a level of calm that pisses me off. I watch as he rummages around in the cabinet to find the ginger tea he’s been making for us lately. It settles my nerves and my stomach, which is a nice two for one. Once the kettle whistles, Parker pours the boiling water into twoclean mugs pulled from the cabinet, then washes his hands twice before tearing open the tea to place the bags in the cups. He then sits calmly down at the table, pushes the cup across to me, and waits for me to take a seat. Okay. What’s going on?
“Sit down,” Parker says, tone brooking no argument.
I sit down immediately, but with a slight huff to show my displeasure. Parker just grins.
“You need to decide now how much you want to know. Do you want to be all in and know all of our business, or have a level of plausible deniability that’ll keep you out of jail if everything goes south?”
“Oh.”
Parker smiles placidly. “Yeah, oh.”
“We kissed.”
“Yes.”
“I’m all in.”
“Oh,” Parker says in clear surprise.
