Coming Home- Rock Bay 1 (13 page)

He’d been with Lex nearly every evening for the past five. They’d kept to their rules: no dinners or romance or, God forbid, sleepovers, but they had still been some of the best nights of Tally’s life. The hottest sex by far. Night number six, though, had left him at home on his own. Lex had to go to the town meeting, and Tally thought it was probably a good idea to spend some time with his grandma. She’d gone to the meeting, too, but he was cooking dinner for afterward— enchiladas with rice and beans and a spinach salad. She was due back any minute. Tally was trying not to worry about whether she noticed he’d come in late every night for the past week. There was no point in wondering, anyway. She noticed. She always noticed everything.

He wasn’t sure if he should wince when she breezed through the door at quarter to eight. He sure did feel guilty… like he was a kid again caught out past curfew. It had been years since anyone even knew where he was, let alone cared. Even though it was kind of a pain, part of him loved it.

“Good evening, Tallis.” She smiled at him. It was pretty obvious, though, that she had something to say.
“Hey, Grams.” Tally gave her his best innocent smile… total bullshit, of course, but he tried.
“Tally, do we need to talk about anything?”
“Like what, Grams?”
“Like the fact that Lex Barry couldn’t look me in the eye tonight, and you’ve been out until eight or nine every night since you called last weekend to say you were working in the stockroom.”
“I’m just helping him with some stuff around the shop.”
His grandmother snorted out a giggle. “Is that what you kids are calling it?”
“Grandma!”
“What? I was clearly born many years before yesterday, and your mother came from somewhere. As long as he’s making you happy I have no complaints. You deserve something nice, boy. It’s been a long time coming.”
Tally tucked his chin into his chest, not sure if he was more embarrassed or profoundly relieved.
“C’mon, Grams. Let’s eat these enchiladas before they get cold.”

T
ALLY
had Thursday and Friday morning off of work so he could go in and help with the open mic night again on Friday night. It took some willpower, but he didn’t call Lex all day on Thursday, not during the day and not even to ask if he could come over at night. Didn’t call Lex Friday morning, either, although he was tempted to trump up some excuse of a question so that he could. Tally wasn’t even sure if there were rules against it since random phone calls could technically be categorized under friendship.

He grinned at the irony. It probably couldn’t be called friendship when he wanted to talk to Lex as much as he did, though. There wasn’t anything random about Tally’s weirdly desperate need to hear Lex’s voice.
Fuck. Friends with benefits, loser. That’s all he wants.
He was sure the last thing Lex wanted was a sappy, pining, overgrown barista who would be happiest if he could go to sleep every night curled up in his boss’s arms.

And Tally understood. He’d have to be an idiot not to. He didn’t want to break Lex’s heart—or his own, for that matter. Problem was, Tally didn’t know what he
did
want, other than Lex.

Who the hell does?
Tally plopped his load of wet clothes in the dryer so they’d be dry for the start of his shift in a few hours. He reminded himself that he wasn’t in a relationship, that what he and Lex had was supposed to be casual and fun, and he needed to quit acting like a moron. Tally stumbled upstairs to take a short nap while the dryer was running. He tried to tell himself that his stomach wasn’t getting the flutters every time he thought about the fact that he’d be seeing Lex in a few hours.
T
HE
shop was steamy, packed to the gills, just like it had been for the previous open mic night—perhaps even more so. Tally had been running in circles to make sure that every customer had their drinks and food, all the change was properly counted, and he kept setting up the extra folding chairs so there weren’t too many people stuck standing and unhappy. He tried not to stare at Lex, had been trying all night. It was hard, though, not to look at him too much, not to touch him. And the fact that he could touch Lex in private didn’t make it much easier. Now he didn’t have to imagine what it would feel like to have Lex’s skin fill his hands or to have Lex’s hands all over him, Tally hated not being allowed to touch him all he wanted. Because he wanted to all the time.
Tally caught a glimpse of Lacey, the girl from the pizza shop, and smiled. She waved as well and made her way through the crowd. Her already curly hair was in tight corkscrews from the rain outside and the humidity in the shop. Tally watched as she shoved it out of her face, a gesture obviously more about annoyance than flirtation. It was refreshing. Sometimes, with the girls, Tally felt like a defenseless guppy being circled by a school of sharks.
“Hey, Tally. How are ya tonight? Am I going to see you in for a pizza tomorrow?”
Tally grinned at her. “I like pizza. Whatchya drinking? The usual?”
“No, it’s chilly. I want peppermint. I always feel like peppermint when I’m cold.”
“Chilly? It’s like a sauna in here.”
She chuckled. “Go outside for a while.”
“So you want a peppermint mocha?”
She grinned at him. “Sure.”
Tally turned to give Lex the drink order and managed to bump right into him. It was amazing they hadn’t conked noses, with how fast they were both moving in the small space. Lex blushed and gave Tally a short but decidedly intimate smile. Tally smiled back and passed over Lacey’s order. He turned around to ring her up but was distracted by her knowing grin.
“What?”
“Oh, you know what.” Her grin widened. “That explains why you’re not like octopus hands.”
Tally managed to turn bright red. He wasn’t sure if he’d had that reaction to anything in years.
“Hey, give me some credit! You’re in high school.”
“Doesn’t stop most of them. Besides, I imagine you wouldn’t be interested even if I was your age. But, if I do say so myself, congrats.” She tipped her head at Lex. “He’s cute,” she whispered.
“Lacey.”
She just shrugged and smiled at him with her elbows on the surface of the tall pastry case. Lex handed her the steaming mocha.
“Thanks, Lex.” She turned her smile on him. He gave Tally a perplexed look.
Just then, another one of Tally’s high school customers came up to the counter for, Jesus, was it the third time? Lacey rolled her eyes.
“I’ll see you later, Tally,” she muttered with a sly grin.
He tried not to sigh. Was he that transparent? Apparently they both were. He didn’t have time to think about it, though. One of his other problems was leaning on the counter, cleavage displayed for all who were interested. Clearly, he wasn’t. It
was
kind of cute how big of a crush the girl obviously had on him. Or at least it would be if it wasn’t annoying. She’d slipped him her number at least four times in the past month. Like he was going to hook up with a high school girl, or any girl at all, for that matter. Ridiculous.
“Can I have another one of those special Tally drinks? They’re delicious.” The girl, Amber, batted her eyes and tipped her chin suggestively.
Oh, God.
Tally didn’t know how he was supposed to react to that.
“Sure, Amber. But aren’t you going to have a hard time sleeping tonight with all the caffeine?”
“I know someone who could get me all tired,” she told him as she passed him her number for the umpteenth time.
Okay, that was crossing so many lines….
“Amber,” he admonished.
“What? I’m eighteen, you’re hot. What’s the problem? Are you seeing someone already?”
Tally was in the deepest pit of hell.
Somebody rescue me!
“No, I’m not seeing anyone, but that’s not the point.” “Then what is? You think I’m ugly?”
“I think you’re very young, and very, um, outspoken, and yes, you’re also pretty, but it’s not going to happen.”
The girl harrumphed delicately, pouting. “Well, a guy like you shouldn’t be single. I’m jealous of the girl who finally gets to take you home. You have my number if you change your mind.”
Tally waited until she walked away before he let his breath out and chuckled softly. If that hadn’t been the most awkward damn thing ever. He went to fill his water glass and walked by Lex on the way. He reached out his hand to touch Lex surreptitiously, a small caress under the counter where no one would see. Lex stiffened and jerked away.
“Lex, no one saw that,” Tally whispered. He was confused by Lex’s reaction. The man had become downright flirtatious with him the last day or so. Even though crossing the line into actual touch was perhaps pushing it, he didn’t think it warranted the jerking away and the small glare that Lex shot over his shoulder.
“I’ll be back in a minute. We can start closing down after this last performance.” He walked away stiffly toward the supply room.
What the hell?
Tally had no idea what he’d done. God, he touches Amy more than that. Speak of the devil….
Amy flounced over with a plastic tub full of plates and silverware. She’d volunteered to bus tables so Lex and Tally could make the coffee and sandwiches and dish out the pastries. She rounded the corner of the counter and headed for the deep industrial sink that was right next to the espresso machine.
“What’s up with you two tonight?” she asked Tally after she was done unloading her dishes. “You’ve been acting about as strange as… well, just really weird.” She gave Tally a speculative look. “Is there something going on between you and Lex that I should know about?”
Tally tried to look nonchalant. “Don’t think so, unless you know something I don’t.”
Amy raised her eyes silently and turned to pick up her tub.
“Is that why Lex canceled the date he was supposed to go on tomorrow night—over ‘nothing’?”
“Amy, I don’t know why he cancelled the date. Why don’t you ask him?”
She pursed her lips and walked away with her tub to collect another round of dishes. Tally sighed and went to the sink to start stacking the pile into Lex’s huge commercial dishwasher before it got any bigger.
After the last performer, a kid who wasn’t half bad, as far as Tally could tell over the irritation humming violently in his ear, Tally started to herd everyone to the door, quickly enough so he could get them the hell out of there and see what Lex’s problem was, but without trying to seem like he was rushing anyone. He breathed a sigh of intense relief when the shop was empty except for him and Amy and Lex, who finally emerged from the back room.
“Where have you been, boss?” Amy asked him with a knowing smile.
Aw, shit, Amy, don’t start on him too.
“I wasn’t feeling so hot, so I just cooled off in the back room for a while. Sorry, guys.”
“Just making sure. And you’re really not going to go out with Mason tomorrow?”
Lex shook his head.
“But why? He’s a sweet guy, and he says he had a great time with you, that you even gave him a kiss goodnight.”
Tally gritted his teeth. He thought Lex looked at him for a minute, entreaty in his eyes.
Like I’m going to say anything. I can’t believe you fucking kissed him.
Tally was stunned by the force of his jealousy.
“It was just a kiss on the cheek, Ames. Mason was really nice, but I don’t want to lead him on.”
Oh, that’s not so bad.
“Shit, Lex. He’s not asking for a promise ring, just a movie.” Lex looked increasingly uncomfortable. “All right, what’s going on? I already asked this one”—she yanked her thumb violently at Tally— “but he said he didn’t know what I was talking about.”
“And I’m going to say the same thing. You’re imagining things, hon.”
“You know it pisses me off when you call me hon,
sweetheart
. Fine. Don’t tell your best friend what’s going on in your life, and don’t tell me it’s nothing, because I’m not stupid.” Amy dropped her apron on the counter and grabbed her jacket and her keys. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she ground out before stomping through the back hallway and out the door.
Tally slumped against the counter. “What happened tonight?”
“With Amy?”
“Amy, you, me, whatever. Lex, no one saw me touch you, I promise.”
“I know. It’s not that.”
“Well, then, what? What did I do?”
“Tally, I think you should just go home.”
Tally groaned and gathered Lex tightly in his arms. Lex squirmed, but Tally refused to let go. “You have to tell me what I did wrong. I’ve been waiting all day to see you. I don’t want to go home yet.”
“That’s just it! Do you want to know what it was that made me mad? It was when you told that girl you weren’t seeing anyone!”
Of all the unfair
—Tally let his arms fall from around Lex’s shoulders. “What did you want me to say, huh? You want me to point at you and say, ‘See that man? I’ve spent some of the best nights of my life in bed with him this week and I can’t imagine looking at anyone else.’ Is that what you wanted me to say? ’Cause it’s the truth.”
“
Yes
… and no. Shit, Tal, for a few days I really thought this was going to be easy. And then something as little as you saying exactly what I should’ve wanted you to say just threw me for a loop. I hated it! God, I sound like such an idiot.”
Tally pulled Lex back into his arms. “C’mon, Lex, let’s go upstairs.”
“But can’t you see what’s happening?”
“Yeah, I can. We like each other. A lot. It’s more than just sex to me, and I’m pretty sure it is to you too.”
“It can’t be. Maybe we should just stop while we’re ahead.”
“Ahead of what?”
“I don’t know.” Lex sighed.
“Then why are you making this so hard? I’ll come upstairs, I’ll touch you like I’ve wanted to for every second since I left your bed the last time, you can do all those dirty things to me that you’re amazing at doing, and we’ll have
fun
together. It doesn’t have to be all angsty and complicated.”
“Angsty?” Lex chuckled. “Way to make me sound like a thirteenyear-old.”
Tally raised his eyebrows. “If the shoe fits….”
“Ohh, you’re gonna get it!” Lex poked Tally in the side and started herding him toward the steps.
“About that.” Tally looked back at Lex. “I was meaning to ask if you wouldn’t mind.”
Lex stopped in the hallway. “Really?”
Tally grinned. “Yeah, really. Can’t think of anything hotter than having you in me.”
Lex groaned. “
God.
Start running before I decide to take you right on the stairs.”
Tally chuckled and booked it for the front door of Lex’s apartment, stripping his shirt off as he went.