CHAPTER SEVEN

AS THE HOT WATER BEAT against my back, I braced myself against the shower's tiled wall. It felt good, cleaning up the remnants of the day. What felt even better were Parker's familiar scents. His shampoo, his shower gel, all his other toiletries. In a last-minute saving throw, my brain had chosen self-preservation and I'd used some shower gel samples I'd found. Spending the night in Parker's house with his smell etched on my skin wasn't the smartest thing I could do. Unless I felt a dire need to rub one off and scream his name in the throes of orgasm.

I cut off the water and stepped out of the shower. I wrapped myself in the large towel Parker had left out and looked around for the soft pajamas he'd lent me. "Fuck!" Of course I'd left them in the guest room. I was too dazed for my own good. I dried myself with jerky movements, then wrapped the towel around my hips. It was going to be fine. I was the half-naked one, not Parker. I'd be safe.

I took a deep breath, stepped out of the bathroom, and ran straight into Parker. I instinctively reached for him and steadied him, but the extra cover he was carrying fell on the floor.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to throttle you."

Parker shook his head, his eyes glued to my torso. "My fault. I wasn't paying attention at all.”

His breath hitched, and he cursed.

"Are you okay?"

I caught his eyes and the spark of desire in them struck me dumb.

"No, it's... Fuck, I forget how hot you are. Sorry for staring."

I opened my mouth to say something, but my voice did not show up for the occasion.

"Please forget I said anything."

Fear crept in his eyes, his lips trembling a little. I let go of him and mumbled something I couldn't understand myself. I picked up the fluffy cover and probably said good night.

Once I safely made it to the guest room, I took forever to make it to the bed and sit down. As understanding dawned on me, my body reacted in full force. My dick turned into a rock, its needy shape protruding through the towel. I stared it down, but it wouldn't relent. And I wasn't going to touch it, not with that memory of lust on Parker's face and him only a few feet from me, tucked away in his bedroom.

I cradled my head, my fingers digging into the still damp hair and scalp, and sighed. I’d been right after all. Staying over hadn't been a great idea.

***

I drifted in and out of sleep, tossing and turning for most of the night. Morning sneaked up on me and the moment light seeped into the bedroom, my brain refused to shut down again. I felt a strange itch preventing me from lying there anymore. I could change and go home, but it felt wrong to run like that.

With a heavy sigh, I got dressed and stepped out of the guest room. The place was eerily quiet, making me feel even more uneasy. I remembered Parker soundproofing it, so that the noise from outside couldn't get in. He lived on a busy street, with a hospital nearby, the noise was a terrible nuisance without the proofing. But I was used to the soft rumble of cars, birds singing, and neighbors chatting as my day to day backdrop, so the dead quiet in this apartment always unsettled me.

I listened for any movement from Parker's bedroom, but I couldn't hear anything. I made my way to the kitchen, trying as hard as I could not to disturb the silence, then carefully closed the door behind me. I hurried to the window and opened it. Sound raced at me, louder than I'd expected. I remembered now, it was awful trying to sleep here before Parker had renovated.

I took a quick look at Parker's coffee machine—basic but decent. I could handle it without any fear of ruining it. Finding the actual coffee was another story. It took me a good few minutes to rifle through Parker's cupboards until I found the dreaded thing. Roasted beans. I rolled my eyes at Parker's bit of coffee snobbery but understood it a moment later when the enticing scent of freshly ground coffee hit me.

As the unexpectedly silent machine brewed my coffee, I leaned out the opened window and looked at the world. People getting into their cars, rushing to work. Some with loud kids in tow. Teens laughing as they made their way to the bus stop. An old lady walking an equally old dog and nodding her morning greetings to everyone she ran into. The bakery across the street. My mouth watered the moment I lay eyes on it. A second later, the smell of delicious pastries reached me.

I looked over my shoulder. The coffee would take a couple of minutes. Plenty of time for me to dash out and get us breakfast.

Just as I made it to the exit, Parker's door opened. He looked at me, bleary eyed. "Going home?"

I shook my head and pointed to the kitchen. "I started the coffee machine. I'll dash out to the bakery and be right back.”

He nodded and dragged his feet to the kitchen. He looked exhausted, which shouldn't have surprised me. Parker wasn't one for late evenings. Whenever he stayed up late, he took days to recover. I smiled to myself and hurried along. I needed to get some food into him and myself. And coffee, we needed that too.

By the time I made it back with our fresh pastries, I'd forgotten all about the awkwardness I'd expected. Parker didn't disappoint. He remained in his zombie state for the first cup of coffee. He perked up mildly by cup number two, but his energy vanished as he ate.

I watched him as I savored my own breakfast and caffeine hit, feeling comfortable in his cramped but warm kitchen.

"Hey, kid, I have an idea," he said, looking at me over the rim of his coffee cup.

"Sure, shoot."

"Your brother tells you when I need checking up on. Your mother calls me and demands I deal with your issues."

I cringed at his words, a vivid image of my mother's exasperated pleas flashing through my mind.

"How about we make a deal and instead of letting others interfere, we call each other when we need something?"

I grinned and nodded, a bit too enthusiastically. "Sounds like a plan to me."

"We kind of stopped after the separation, didn't we?"

I imagined my waning grin mirrored his remorse. "Yeah, I didn't know if you wanted to see me at all, to be honest." Once again, I remembered I looked a lot like my brother, unfortunately.

"I missed talking to you. I wanted to call so many times, but... I didn't know if you were up to listening to me complain about your brother."

"I don't mind. You are part of my life too. I don't want to lose you just because Taylor's an idiot."

Parker sighed and stood, holding out his hand. "We have a deal then?"

I placed my cup on the table and walked around it. I took his hand in mine and pulled him into a hug. "Deal," I whispered against the skin of his neck, his familiar scent making me dizzy.