S.E.C.R.E.T. Shared (Secret 2)

“I’m in no hurry. Unlike you,” he said, snapping open his paper. He was referring to the morning after, when I had left his place rather quickly. The last time I saw him he was tangled in mismatched sheets, softly snoring.

I rolled my eyes at him and headed to the kitchen.

When I returned, he ordered scrambled eggs, Boudin sausage and toast, which he ate in a matter of minutes. When I removed his empty plates, he ordered a large house salad.

“For digestion. Like the Italians,” he said.

After his salad he asked about the soup special.

“It was curried cauliflower, but we’re all out,” I said, just as Dell walked by with a platter of eggs Benedict.

“I’ll thaw some of that minestrone. Won’t take a minute,” she offered.

“Sounds perfect,” he replied.

“You’re mighty hungry today, Mr. Drury.”

“I’ve got a gig tonight. Always makes me hungry. Why don’t you come see us? We’re at the Spotted Cat.”

He pulled a flyer out of his pocket and handed it to me just as Will, covered in white dust from head to toe, rounded the corner and headed upstairs. I wasn’t sure he caught the tail end of our exchange, so I raised my voice.

“I will do my best to be there tonight, Mark. Thank you for the invitation!”

“Great!” Mark replied, confused by my sudden enthusiasm. “I should probably go now.”

“No soup?”

“Just the bill. I gotta clean up my place in case I have guests after my gig.”

“That’s unlikely,” I said, a little more quietly this time.

“We’ll see about that.”

When he looked at me, all the arrogance of his youth seemed to melt away and for a second he was just a young man who wanted to spend some time with me. And yet … and yet … all I craved was a nice long run followed by a cuddle with my cat, my couch and the remote.

I cashed out Mark’s bill, for which he left me a too-hefty tip. Then I headed upstairs to tell Will I was leaving for the night. I hadn’t been in the new space in a week and the transformation was astonishing. From a dim, dingy storeroom with fading wallpaper and dusty floors, Will had created an airy modern dining room, with new casement windows facing the street, exposed brick on two of the walls, the floors stripped and oiled to perfection. He was painting the men’s washroom at the top of the stairs next to the new skylights. I poked my head in to helpfully turn on the light, causing both of us to squint in the brightness.

“Whoa, I didn’t notice the light was fading. What time is it?”

“Time for me to go home. Just letting you know Dell’s on her own until Tracina gets here.”

“Busy day?”

It bothered me that his voice could still freeze me in my tracks. It had been almost five full months since …

“Not bad.”

It was also hard not to notice how his upper body was becoming more defined by all the manual labor, especially his forearms. He had bits of paint and plaster in his hair that I desperately wanted to pluck out.

“Plans tonight?” he continued, as I backed out of the washroom to check out the rest of the renos.

“As a matter of fact, yes, I have plans.”

“With that skinny boy who was just here?”

“Maybe.” I said. “I cannot tell you how beautiful it looks up here. I am beyond impressed.”

“Are you guys dating?”