Bailey pushed his way through the doors, conscious of the lightness in his chest. He shouldn’t be this excited for a simple pub lunch but the prospect of spending the afternoon with Tom had his pulse racing. A quick glance around the crowded room showed he was the first to arrive. He headed to the bar and bought a beer, taking a gulp to help calm his nerves. When he spied a table opening up, he crossed the room quickly and grabbed it, sinking onto the seat that gave him a view of the front door with relief.
A look at his phone showed he was a few minutes early. It also showed the blue Facebook icon, which called to him like a beacon. Bailey wasn’t much of a social media user but he had Instagram and Facebook, mainly so he could keep in touch with his mum, or more realistically, let his mum keep an eye on him. Social media was also useful for sharing where he’d be with the books on the nights he hit the streets. He warmed at the fond memory of Sarah joking that he was an old man for using Facebook, letting him know in no uncertain terms that Snapchat was where it was at these days. You’re so not cool, Bailey. Her words echoed in his head. But today he was definitely glad he had Facebook. He tuned out the buzz of conversation, the clatter of cutlery, and the sound of the footy match that was showing on the big screen, took a deep breath, and opened the app.
Let the stalker activities commence.
A couple of clicks and Bailey was engrossed. He couldn’t help but smile at some of the photos on Tom’s profile. Selfies in the coffee shop, relaxed and casual. Multiple photos of Tom with the same bunch of guys who all looked about his age, so Bailey assumed they were his closest friends. Photos at sporting events, parties, and the beach. A bunch of photos at family gatherings. Bailey stopped at one particular photo where Tom was smiling over a birthday cake, obviously about to blow the candles out, eyes crinkled in happiness, surrounded by a beaming group of people. Bailey smiled ruefully. In all the photos Tom looked so… spontaneous, enjoying the moment, surrounded by family and friends. Bailey scrolled further, pushing aside the thought that his own profile didn’t have as many photos as Tom’s.
Bailey stopped at one particular photo—Tom dressed in full black tie, looking so goddamn mouth-watering in his dinner suit. Tom held out a flute of champagne and clutched a plaque of some kind—an award maybe? He looked directly at the camera, as if toasting the photographer with the champagne, but what caught Bailey’s eye, after that perfect smile, was the cut of Tom’s jaw and the hint of five o’clock shadow. In fact, in most of Tom’s earlier photos he’d been clean shaven. Bailey wasn’t sure what he preferred—the strong jawline or the more rugged sexiness of the beard. Bailey touched the screen and enlarged the image, deciding he quite liked the look of both.
“Whatcha looking at?”
Bailey nearly jumped out of his skin, turning in shock to see the smiling face of the man he’d just been salivating over. “Nothing.” His fingers tingled with adrenaline as he tossed the phone, screen down, onto the table. “It’s good to see you,” he managed to mumble as he fought to get his heart rate back under control. He’d been so lost in the photos of Tom, he hadn’t even seen him approach.
“You too.” Tom briefly touched Bailey’s hand in greeting before sliding into the chair opposite, snatching up Bailey’s phone on the way.
Bailey was half out of his seat and trying to grab the phone in an instant. “Wait—”
“Well, what do we have here? Something was sure keeping you engrossed.” Tom chuckled, swiping at the screen. He looked up, eyes wide. “Oh.”
“Oh God. I know what it looks like. Sorry, I—”
“Don’t be silly.” Tom’s voice was calm, held no animosity, but Bailey still felt like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t have.
“You’re probably regretting sending me that Facebook request. I’m sorry.”
“Honestly, it’s okay. I don’t care who sees what’s on my profile. If it’s posted, it’s fair game.” Tom looked back to the phone, his face so serious that despite his words, Bailey still got the sense he’d done something to upset Tom. He wasn’t sure what to say so brought the beer to his mouth instead.
Tom studied the screen for a moment and when he started talking his voice had a melancholy feel. “This photo was taken at an office function. The annual awards. I won— Well, it doesn’t matter what I won. That was my past life, not the life I have now.”
Bailey’s brow crinkled. What does that mean?
Tom looked up, his smile returning. “So, what do you think?”
“Think?”
“Yeah, the beard. Do you like the me in the before photos or the Grizzly Adams look?”
Bailey laughed as Tom ran a hand over his perfectly groomed beard while waggling his eyebrows. There was nothing wild or untamed about him, his beard short and following the line of his jaw. “Well, let’s just say if Grizzly Adams turned up he wouldn’t give you much run for your money.”
“Aww, you say the sweetest things.” Tom’s words were accompanied by a wink, and just like that, his mood appeared to lift.
Bailey felt on a much more even keel and relaxed into the afternoon. Beers, burgers, and a game of pool.
“So tell me more about your friends?” Bailey asked when they finally returned to the table.
“What do you want to know?”
“I saw the photos when I was snooping, so I... um….” He took a deep breath. “You seem close to your family and friends.”
“I guess. I’ve told you a bit about my family. There’s only Mum and Dad around at the moment with the others being OS. My mates are the guys from high school so we’ve been friends forever. They’re more like brothers really—John, Elliot, and Phil. I think you’d like them.”
Bailey warmed inside at the idea of meeting Tom’s friends. It sounded official, like they were moving forward with something, as if they had a future.
“It must be nice to have such close friends. Most of my school mates are in still in Brisbane. Most of the people I know here in Sydney are more like acquaintances. Except Ryan.”
Tom took a sip of beer. “Tell me more about him. He works with you, right?”
“Technically he’s my boss, but now we’re more friends than workmates. We met through a friend of a friend and he’s the one who got me the job at the call centre. He’s the sort of guy who has my best interests at heart and he’s heaps of fun to be around. Always encouraging me to get out more and try new things.”
“And do you?”
“Sometimes. It’s hard, you know. Between shift work and taking the books around and not having a lot of money to spare.”
“I get it.” Tom nodded. “But I have a few ideas if you’re up for it.”
“Sure. Sounds like fun.”
They tapped glasses in a toast to new adventures. Bailey couldn’t help the flush inside. New adventures meant more time together. More exploring this new direction his life was taking. More believing his own happiness was possible. More Tom.
* * *
Tom glanced over at Bailey as he tamped the grounds, then inserted the coffee handle into the machine. He should have been focused on the task at hand and being pleasant to his customers, but instinctively he knew something was wrong and he couldn’t tear his thoughts from Bailey. Bailey sat cradling the mug of coffee and staring blankly at the nonworking fireplace. He was ordinarily so upbeat but today he looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“Cappuccino and a chai latte.” Tom passed the two takeaway cups across the counter. “Do you need a tray?”
The young girl shook her head, dark bob swaying as she reached for the cups. “No. I can take them like this.”
“Great. See you next time.” He moved on to the next customer, sending out cup after cup of coffee to the late afternoon crowd. Lauren had left after the lunchtime rush but now he wished she’d been able to work longer. Jesus, I wish they’d hurry up and get out. He snorted at his own thoughts. He was supposed to want more customers, not wish they’d stop the continuous stream from front door to the counter.
Tom sighed with relief as the last customer in the line was served, leaving only a few customers seated at the tables scattered around the room. Bailey had the lounge area in front of the fireplace to himself. He didn’t look like he’d moved a muscle, the mug still gripped tightly between his hands, eyes staring sightlessly in front of him. Tom slid onto the couch next to him and took the mug, placing it on the coffee table. Bailey’s gaze didn’t leave the fireplace. Tom wasn’t even sure he was focused on the grouping of unlit candles that were arranged in the grate, he appeared so lost in his thoughts.
“Bailey? Is everything okay?’
Bailey turned to face him. “What?”
“You don’t seem your usual self.”
“I’m okay.” Bailey’s voice was flat, confirming Tom’s suspicions that something was off.
“Don’t give me that. Something’s obviously upset you, or are you sick?”
Bailey’s lips tilted in a small smile but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
“I’m going to worry, especially if you don’t tell me what’s going on. If you’re not feeling well, maybe you should go to the medical centre. It’s nearly closing time so I can take you.”
“It’s not that.” Bailey sighed, then removed a scrunched-up piece of paper from his jacket pocket. He smoothed it out, pushing the paper against his jeans-clad thigh until it lay somewhat flat. “I got a parking ticket last night.”
“Damn. That sucks.”
Bailey looked from the parking ticket to Tom. “Yeah, it sucks all right.”
“You can’t afford it?”
Bailey scoffed. “No I can’t afford it, not really. I’ll be able to scrape together the money but… but it’s happening more often now. I’ve had a few. The others were a hit to the back pocket but I could cope. Now not so much. I just can’t take the risk of getting any more tickets and I don’t know what to do.”
“You were parked in the city?”
“Yeah.” Bailey nodded. “One of my usual haunts. Changes have meant tighter parking restrictions and they seem to patrol the area so much more lately. I’m not sure if the patrols are a more permanent thing or if it’s just temporary, but they’ve been there three times this week already. The cops have shooed me on too, but at least they haven’t given me a ticket.”
Tom sat back against cushions. “I saw a segment on the news last week. They were discussing street violence.”
Bailey shrugged. “They’ve been targeting that for ages. The introduction of lockout laws and that sort of thing.”
“Yeah, but apparently there’s been an increase in police incidents lately. It got me thinking about you being out there.” Bailey raised a brow, leading Tom to wonder whether he shouldn’t say anything about his fears. “It can be dangerous.”
“I know.” Bailey’s tone was curt. “I don’t need everyone to keep reminding me of that. You think I don’t already know what it’s like on the streets? I take precautions—”
“Sorry. I know you do. I just can’t help worrying.” Tom wished there was an easy solution. Something, anything he could do to help. The last think he wanted was for Bailey to think he was overbearing and trying to tell him what to do. Then inspiration hit. Why didn’t I think of it before? “How about the driveway?”
Bailey sat up straighter, his forehead creased. “What do you mean ‘the driveway’?”
Tom tilted his head to the left. “The driveway that runs next to this building. It goes from the street to the back of the cafe. I’ve got a couple of parking spaces behind the building. The drive continues right the way through to the laneway that runs parallel to this street. That’s where the bins are kept. It’s my driveway and only services this building, so no-one else uses it, and my car is usually parked out in the back all day and because I’m working I don’t need access very often to get in or out. You could park the van there, in the driveway, just off the street.”
“I could?”
Tom smiled at Bailey’s hopeful expression. “I don’t see why not. It’s private property so if I give permission it should be fine. I mean, I’m not likely to evict you, am I?” Bailey looked unsure, making Tom wonder if he wasn’t used to getting good news, or if there was a problem with his plan. “Are there issues being on private property? I’m not sure what the legal requirements are when you run a service like you do.”
Bailey looked away, focusing on his hands instead of meeting Tom’s eyes. He eventually looked up. “I’m not exactly registered or insured with what I do.”
“Not exactly?”
“Not at all. I just started one day without really planning what I was doing. I had a box of books I was going to take to Vinnies but saw some people sitting in the park and gave them the option to take a look. It was done on a whim, not something with forethought, and I guess things just took off from there. I was so excited I just ran with it.”
Tom placed a reassuring hand on Bailey’s thigh, stopping the nervous shaking of his leg. “Hey, just relax. One step at a time, eh? Let’s get you out of the predicament with the parking situation, then we can worry about the rest.”
“We?”
“Well, you, really. But I want to help where I can.”
“Why?” Tom was taken aback by Bailey’s question and not sure how to answer. Why did he feel the need to protect Bailey? Why did he want to lighten Bailey’s load?
“I guess I admire what you do. You give so much of your time to helping others. Maybe this is my small way of being part of that.”
This time Bailey’s smile was warm. “Thank you. It’s nice knowing I’ve got someone to back me up.”
Bailey deserved so much more than someone backing him up every now and then. He deserved to have someone by his side, someone to love and support him, and someone to give him everything that he gave to others. Bailey deserved to be put first, not to be the one sacrificing everything to give others a little bit of happiness and hope.
The thought came out of the blue. And I want to be the one to do that.
He cleared his throat. When did I get so emotional? “So, if you started parking here, how would you let your clients know?”
“I’d do a round of the usual haunts and give them this address. Plus I can post on social media. It’s a few kilometres from the places I regularly stop but it shouldn’t be too far out of the way, especially for the keen ones.”
“Excellent. So we have a deal?”
“A deal?” Bailey raised a brow.
“Sure. That you’ll park here instead of taking your luck on the street.”
“How’s that a deal?” Bailey gave him a questioning look. “You get nothing from it. You’re doing me a favour and getting nothing back.”
Tom chuckled. “It’s not exactly an altruistic act. I’m getting the joy of doing a good deed.”
“You are.” Bailey grinned, then caught himself. “I mean it is very generous of you, you are doing a good deed.”
“But if it makes you feel any better, how about you join me for dinner on the nights you park here? You’d be doing me a favour, as I’d have some company.”
“I’d be doing you a favour?” Bailey snorted. “That’s a good one.”
Tom lowered his voice. “Maybe I have ulterior motives.”
“You do?”
Tom winked. “You’ll just have to wait and find out.”