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Patrick was immediately concerned when he saw David was already in the store when he walked in at 9am. He had been working side by side with David long enough to know that something was wrong.
“Hey, I thought you said you couldn’t come in today,” Patrick tentatively asked. David was sorting through the boxes currently sitting on the floor in the rear of the store.
“Hm? What?” David was distracted. “Oh yeah. I took care of the family issue.” He didn’t offer any more information. “We should get these bottles of body milk labeled today. But we need to be precise. Also, Brenda’s stuff came in this morning.”
He sensed his business partner/crush’s need for a distraction. “David, I don’t really think they will all fit in the fridge,” Patrick mused as he handled the brown, glass bottles.
“Why would you put that in the fridge?” David asked as he scrunched his face. He stood up and began walking towards Patrick.
“It’s milk,” Patrick remarked.
“It’s not milk,” David said.
“But it says it right here,” Patrick said, looking at the bottle. “Body milk.”
“It's a liquid moisturizer. For your body.” David shimmied his body. Patrick’s brain nearly went offline. He opened the sample bottle and showed it to Patrick. “It has a milkier consistency than the cream we get from Brenda. So, it’s called body milk.” David’s soft hands rubbed the lotion into Patrick’s hands. Patrick allowed them to linger.
“So, I probably shouldn’t drink it, huh?” Patrick snickered. He knew the answer, but teasing David came naturally to him.
David rolled his eyes. “We should get back to these labels.”
“I still think the labels are going to be misleading to people,” Patrick quipped.
“Hmmm…I believe I make the creative decisions around here. And anyone with a fiber of common sense would know not to drink this,” David shot back.
“Okay, David,” Patrick said, raising his hands in mock surrender. “Let’s get to work.”
Over two hours passed as they labeled bottles. The conversation between them was easy and light as they mainly exchanged stories about their childhood. David told him about his summers spent in Europe with a nanny and dealing with Alexis and her many misadventures. Patrick told him about his summers spent at his uncle’s ranch in Alberta, riding ATVs with his cousins.
“Wait, wait,” David said to one of Patrick’s stories. “You and your cousins, who I am assuming from your stories are just hellions, went over to your cousin’s best friend’s bully’s house and threatened him while on ATVs?”
“We just circled around him,” Patrick explained. “It was harmless.”
“Doesn’t sound harmless.”
“Well, Josiah never had a real family and had to take care of himself a lot. He needed someone to stand up for him,” Patrick said.
“And that’s just normal behavior in your world?”
“Yes, David. I like to stand up for the people who I care about,” Patrick answered. “Wouldn’t you?”
The faraway look was back in David’s eyes. “Yes, I would.”
Patrick gave David one of his upside-down smiles as they continued their tasks.
“Hey, we’ve been doing this awhile. We should get some lunch,” David said, a few minutes later. “Do you mind if I order a pizza? I really don’t feel like…” David’s voice trailed off and he looked tentatively at the café. “I don’t feel like being around people right now.”
Patrick saw that look in his eyes again. He wanted to ask because he needed to take care of whatever or whoever put it there.
“Sure. You go ahead and order. I’ll finish breaking down these boxes.”
Patrick took the boxes around him and went into the back room. While breaking down the boxes, he heard David ordering and adding garlic knots to the order. Patrick smiled. David remembered the story of his favorite Italian place and the amazing garlic knots in his hometown.
A few minutes later, he heard the familiar sound of the voice of Alexis Rose. Patrick enjoyed the energy between the siblings. He stayed in the backroom to listen to their inevitable bickering.
“Why are you here, Alexis?” David asked. His tone seemed more exacerbated than usual.
“Hello to you too, David!” Alexis said. Patrick was fairly certain he heard David’s eyes roll.
David mumbled something that Patrick couldn’t hear, but he knew his name was uttered.
“Fine, David!” Alexis snarked. “I just wanted to tell you that it’s okay to come out of hiding. He’s gone. Stevie and I watched him get in a cab and leave. What happened with you two anyway? Mom’s being cagey for some reason.”
Patrick moved closer to the doorway to the store to hear the rest of this private conversation between his business partner/crush and said business partner/crush’s sister. He knew it was wrong, but his feet didn’t care.
“Nothing,” David said. “I just…I just made sure he won’t be back. And that he didn’t get what he came for. Well, not from mom.”
There was a pause in the conversation before David finally spoke.
“Now, you can leave. I ordered lunch, but only for me and Patrick.”
After Patrick heard the door close and the sound of the lock latching, he exited the stockroom.
“Did I hear Alexis?” Patrick asked.
“Yeah. I sent her away,” David answered.
“You could have invited her to stay and have lunch with us,” Patrick suggested.
“I only ordered for us and didn’t want to call to add her ridiculously specific requirements to our order, which would only delay it. And I’m hungry now.”
“Okay, David,” Patrick smiled. David smiled back and held his gaze. Patrick wanted to walk over to David and kiss him. It was the perfect opportunity, but his feet were suddenly cemented to the floor. Before he could find the strength to unstick his feet, there was a loud knock on the door. The pizza and garlic knots had arrived.
David turned around and paid the delivery person.
“I’ll go and set these up in the back room,” David said. “We still have those water bottles back there, right?”
Patrick followed him. “Yes, I replenished it when I went to the gym in Elmdale on Sunday.”
“You do that, don’t you?” David asked as they sat down at the small table in the back room with their lunch. Patrick thought he saw David’s dark eyes rake over his forearms.
“Workout? Lift weights?” Patrick asked, subtly flexing his arm muscles as he put a couple of water bottles on the table. “Yes. Ever since I played sports in high school. What about you?”
David winced. “No. I tend to stay away from anything that would make me sweaty and uncomfortable.”
Before Patrick could stop his mouth, he said, “Anything that makes you sweaty?” His cheeks burned.
David looked down. Patrick could swear he saw the hint of a blush. “Well, I did add uncomfortable,” David supplied, suggestively. He slowly popped a garlic knot into his mouth. “Mmm…these are so good.”
Over lunch, they talked mainly about the store and the myriad of tasks they still needed to do. While their conversation was about their business, the tone was light and maybe slightly flirty.
David seemed to be less distracted as their lunch continued. After about an hour, despite the pizza and garlic knots being consumed, Patrick didn’t make a move to clear the debris. David seemed more relaxed and he didn’t want to let go of the comfortable mood they were in.
Maybe I can finally tell him how I feel, Patrick thought as David told him about the wool throws they were expecting. David’s phone buzzed with a call.
“It’s my mom,” David said, rolling his eyes. “I better just get this over with.” He stood and walked toward some shelves in the back.
“Mom, I’m kinda busy. Patrick and I were just having a meeting about business stuff,” David said.
Meeting. The word sank into Patrick’s stomach. He silently chastised himself for thinking it was anything else. He cleaned up the garbage from their lunch.
“You don’t need to know,” David said into the phone. “He’s gone. He didn’t get them. I doubt he’s coming back.”
David turned around and faced Patrick. He pointed to the phone and rolled his eyes. “Look. I have a business to open. Patrick is waiting. I have to go.”
Mrs. Rose’s voice came through the phone but he couldn’t make out the words. “Yes, he was always this awful. But I really do have to go. Bye.” David hung up before she could say anything more.
David’s mood had shifted. “Everything okay?” Patrick asked, gently. David wrapped his long arms around himself and bit his lower lip as he looked away from Patrick.
“David?” Patrick asked as he walked over to him. David’s dark eyes were wet.
“Are you okay?” He guided him back to the chair he occupied while they ate. He pulled his chair next to him, taking him into his arms as David began to sob. Patrick held him close, sensing David needed a friend. Finally, he pulled away and looked at his face — a face that was still beautiful, despite the tears and red eyes.
“David, tell me. Who hurt you?” Patrick placed two fingers under David’s chin and wiped away his tears with his thumb.
“It was my ex. Sebastian.” And David told him everything in a hurried word vomit interrupted only by his sobs. He even told Patrick what he did to secure the memory card.
Stunned, Patrick breathed, “David.”
“Yeah well, that’s my crazy family. You sure you want to stay in this with me?” David gestured around them.
“Now more than ever. Also, I’d get on that ATV and circle around him to make sure he knew not to mess with you,” Patrick joked.
“Ok. Please don’t,” David said and smiled. “But, thanks.”
Patrick had a problem. He was falling for this crazy, generous, beautiful man.