Bailey hadn’t been himself the last couple of days. He’d been distant and Tom could tell he had something weighing on his mind. He just hoped it wasn’t doubts about their relationship and how fast it was going. Tom sure had no reservations and was looking forward to taking Bailey out. He resolved to make the night special and hopefully give Bailey a break from whatever was bringing him down. He’d make sure Bailey was spoiled and had a good time. He hoped Bailey would enjoy what he had planned. It’ll be a great night.
Tom hummed as he straightened the doona cover and gave the pillows a final plump. The whole apartment had been given a once-over, including a long overdue dusting. The bed was stripped and remade with fresh sheets. He would have bought flowers for the lounge room if he’d had the time, but the cafe had been flat out all day and he’d hardly had time to scratch himself. Thank goodness for Cassie, who was turning out to be a lifesaver, giving him the time he’d needed to prepare for tonight.
He laughed to himself as he stroked the pillow. Who’d have thought I’d be prettying up the place for someone who may not even end up seeing it. But if Bailey does….
He shook his head. No time for that line of thought. He had places to go, people to see. Smiling, he turned to the wardrobe to select his clothes for the evening. He wanted to look good. He’d seen a lot of Bailey but it was usually downstairs in the cafe, or when they hung out at one of their apartments, but they’d never been out anywhere where he had to dress up for a real special date.
The warm feeling in his chest still hadn’t left as Tom walked into the bar an hour later, and only intensified when Bailey beckoned from across the room. He slid into the booth beside him, pleased to see Bailey beaming back at him, eyes sparkling with inner light. Maybe whatever has been worrying him has been resolved?
“Hey there, gorgeous.” Tom leaned in and placed a kiss on his lips, delighted to see the faint blush across Bailey’s cheeks. “You’re looking great.”
And Bailey was. He looked amazing in the lilac shirt, the colour setting off the grey of his eyes and the fabric tight enough to show off his slim physique. The top couple of buttons had been left undone to expose the smooth skin at the base of his throat, and with the gentle fragrance of Bailey’s aftershave in his nose, Tom wanted to lean forward and nuzzle at his neck. What the hell. He gave in to the temptation, moved closer, and did just that, ending with another kiss, this one longer than the first. He reluctantly pulled away, gratified to see Bailey’s flush spreading.
“Wow, that was some welcome.” There was laughter in Bailey’s voice.
“I’ve missed you.”
“I can tell.” Bailey’s voice dipped low. “I missed you too. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you all day.”
“What have you been up to today?” Tom asked as he shrugged off his jacket and got comfortable. “How was your shift?”
“Fine.” Bailey’s tone was clipped.
“Tough day at the office, huh?” Tom chuckled, playing on the old cliché, but when he met Bailey’s gaze, it was as if all the happiness had drained from his eyes. “Oh, it really was a bad day. What happened?”
“Nothing much.”
Tom placed a hand on Bailey’s thigh, the muscle tense under his palm. “It doesn’t sound like nothing.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Something in Bailey’s eyes made Tom hold back. Instead of delving deeper, he gave Bailey’s leg a gentle squeeze. “How about I get us a drink?”
“I’ll get them,” Bailey countered.
“Thanks, but I’m closer, plus it’s my treat. Beer? A cocktail? Wine?”
Bailey seemed to consider for a moment, and maybe it was just that he was effectively blocked in the booth seat, but he finally nodded without further argument. “Sure. I’m not really in the mood for drinking much tonight, so maybe just a beer?”
“You got it.” It didn’t take long for Tom to return with two bottles of Fat Yak.
“Cheers.” They tapped bottles.
“If you’re not up to talking about your day, how about I tell you what happened to me?”
“I’d like that.” Bailey took a swig from his bottle, placed it on the table, and swivelled to give Tom his full attention, his smile returning.
“Well….”
“Well what?”
“Well, I think you might be rubbing off on me—”
“Really?” Bailey’s eyebrows rose towards his hairline.
“Wh— no, not like that.” Tom chuckled. “Although, maybe a little later.”
“Definitely later.”
“Anyway, the boys called around today. I think it was an intervention.”
This time Bailey’s eyes widened as his eyebrows rose, the surprise evident on his face. “What the hell do you need an intervention for?”
“It’s not what you think.” Tom relaxed into his seat, sipping on his beer as he began to explain how he’d been so reluctant to ask for help, although he wasn’t sure he was up to telling Bailey all the reasons why. “Doing up the cafe is something I’ve always felt the need to do myself. But everything takes time and money, of course. I spend so many hours working that the last thing I feel like doing after the cafe closes is physical labour, and extra dollars haven’t exactly been piling up in the bank account. I’ve been doing a little bit at a time, like removing the plaster from the main wall. Thanks for your help with that by the way, it was awesome, and for coming with me to the hardware store.”
“My pleasure. You know I’m always happy to give you a hand. So what exactly was the intervention about?”
“Remember what we spoke about at the hardware store?” He waited for Bailey’s nod. “The guys want me to accept more of their help. For example, Phil can get me mates’ rates on appliances and materials for the reno, and the others want to pitch in with manual labour.”
“And that’s bad, I’m assuming, right?” Bailey looked confused and Tom didn’t blame him. He was sort of confused himself. Although he wanted to accept help, it still felt like cheating, as if he was getting ahead when he didn’t deserve to do so unless it was on his own merit—his heart and head still couldn’t get on the same page about it.
“Yeah. It’s hard to explain.”
“Thus the rain check from last time? How about you try? I’d like to understand.”
He sighed and launched straight in. “Short story is I fucked up at my old job. Some people got hurt because I was blind to what was going on. They lost money and….” He allowed the words to taper off, not wanting to put a total downer on the evening by mentioning Walter Downs. He cleared his throat. “But I got lucky and ended up on my feet with a second chance. I had a fallback option, a Plan B. Others weren’t so fortunate, and I feel it’s up to me to make something of myself, not to rely on other people.”
“I’m not sure exactly what happened, but whatever the circumstances, I’m sure that refusing help isn’t the answer.” Bailey put his bottle on the table and rested his hand on Tom’s, halting his movements. Tom dropped the coaster he’d been systematically tearing into little shreds. “As I’ve said before, everyone fucks up now and then, or people get themselves in bad situations through no fault of their own, and it’s not shameful to ask for or accept help.”
Tom nodded. “I know. I’m starting to realise that.”
“And punishing yourself won’t achieve anything. What’s done is done.” Tom was surprised by how easily Bailey had hit the nail on the head. He was punishing himself.
“I know that too,” he agreed.
“Good. So hopefully you’ll let your friends help you out where they can.”
“I will.” Tom picked up his drink and took a long swallow. He hadn’t wanted to put a dampener on their evening by raising his own concerns about Bailey, but now that their conversation had taken a more serious turn, he wanted to find out what was upsetting him and now was as good a time as any. In for a penny, in for a pound. “Hey, Bailey, since we’re on the subject of accepting help, I know something’s been bothering you these past few days. Is it something I’ve done, or something I can help with? If I’ve fucked up—”
“No. It’s not that.”
Tom noticed that Bailey hadn’t denied anything was wrong. “Then what?”
“I….” Bailey took a deep breath and looked at his lap as if he had trouble meeting Tom’s eyes.
Instantly Tom regretted pushing. “I’m sorry. If you don’t want to talk about it….” He let the words taper off but hoped Bailey wouldn’t drop the subject.
“It’s okay. I’ve just had a bit on my mind lately. But it’s not you. Honestly.” Bailey smiled, this time the smile making it all the way to his eyes. “I think you’ve actually been keeping me sane.”
“I have?”
“Yep. You’ve helped by solving my parking problem, which has gone a long way to helping financially and taking away a huge source of stress. And then I’ve been able to look forward to seeing you and it’s been great hanging out. It’s taken my mind off the crapfest that is my life at the moment.”
Tom’s heart plummeted, the beer sitting uncomfortably in his stomach. “It’s that bad?”
“Maybe.” Bailey shrugged. “I’m not sure. It could be fine. I’m just not 100 percent certain at the moment. I’ve lost my job. They retrenched the whole team.”
“Oh fuck!”
“You can say that again.” Bailey chuckled but Tom could see his pain. “They’ve given us a couple of months’ notice. So I’m looking for a new job. I’ll feel a lot better once I’ve got something lined up. It’s just a bit daunting, the uncertainty. But I’m sure everything will be fine.”
Tom admired Bailey’s positive words, but it was no wonder he’d been so stressed. “Losing your job sucks. But maybe this is the chance to do what you really want to do with your life. Perhaps look into more study, or at least do a job you enjoy.”
“Is that why you started the cafe?”
“Exactly. Take Two was my take two, my second chance. I knew the last thing I wanted to do was go back into the finance world. Admittedly I didn’t want to return to the scene of the crime, so to speak. But I also realised it was a world of fake people with too much focus on money. I wanted a job where I could be my own boss and be face-to-face with real people. I had an inheritance that became my deposit for Take Two.”
“And that’s what you mean about having the fallback option?”
“Yeah. I’ve been so fucking lucky, Bailey. My family have some money—we’re not stinking rich by any means but we’re comfortable, you know? And my parents love me unconditionally. They don’t have any unrealistic expectations for any of us kids, they just want us to be good people and be happy. We’re generally not spoiled—well, except maybe for Anne just a bit.” He smiled at the thought of his sister. “Mum and Dad expect us to work, but they paid for our education and we each got some money from the grandparents when they passed away, and that’s what I used for the deposit. I know I’ve got it good. So I guess it just feels wrong that everything went down so badly at work but I came out okay. I came through it to be in a better place. Happy even. ”
“You’re happy?”
“Of course I’m happy.” Tom leaned close to Bailey. “In case you haven’t noticed, things have picked up for me, especially lately. And in case that wasn’t clear enough, that good thing is you, Bailey. And I know good things are going to come your way too.” He sat back. “You believe in karma, Bailey?”
Bailey shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Karma is how I know that you’re going to land on your feet. You do so much for others—the people who read the books you provide, helping Emma with her reading, hell, helping me whenever you’ve got some spare time.”
“If that’s the case, then maybe karma applies to you too. Offering me the parking spot, supporting your friends, and all those ‘leftover’ treats you give away.” Bailey made air quotes around the word leftover, leaving Tom no doubt Bailey was on to his tricks.
“You could be right.” He placed a hand on Bailey’s thigh. “How about we both give ourselves a break and just go with the flow?”
Bailey’s hand dropped on his and squeezed. “I think that’s an awesome idea.”
“Excellent. I see a couple of drinks and some dancing in our future. What do you think?”
“I think you are spot-on.” Bailey’s grin was wide and Tom knew his own smile reflected his happiness.
* * *
The discussion had taken a load off Bailey’s mind. Tom hadn’t thought Bailey was pathetic for losing his job, although Bailey should have known that would be the case. After all, Tom was a reasonable guy and gave no indication he’d think less of Bailey, but Bailey hadn’t been able to shake his own low self-esteem. He knew he had hang-ups from his father’s lack of approval, and in a way, felt as if he hadn’t done enough to follow his own dreams. Sure, he had his reasons—starting out on his own and the lack of money—but he could have tried harder, could have looked at other opportunities.
Stop! He shook his head. Fuck, I’m doing it again. Bailey wondered if he’d ever be able to put the self-recrimination behind him but vowed to give it a good go.
He dried off his hands, gave himself a last look in the mirror, pleased at the image reflected back. His hair had grown a bit shaggier, but it suited him—more relaxed, less cookie-cutter corporate. More like the real Bailey and less like a uniform. Maybe I’ll even grow it longer?
Feeling more at ease, Bailey made his way back to the booth.
“Wow. What’s this?” His gaze slid over the huge platter piled high with a selection of cheeses, salami, prosciutto, crackers, and other accompaniments.
“I hope it’s okay. I thought we should have something to eat.”
“No. No. It’s fine. I just thought by getting something at the bar you meant a couple of bowls of nuts or olives. I had no idea you meant”—he indicated the platter—“something like this. It looks amazing.”
“I got you another beer too.”
“Thanks.” Bailey smiled at Tom and took the bottle. He took a sip, enjoying the amber liquid, the slight bitterness of the lager. “You’re spoiling me.”
“I hope so,” Tom said, a smile in his voice.
Bailey watched as Tom loaded a cracker with brie and slathered it with some sort of jelly stuff, surprised when Tom passed it to him. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had taken care of him so thoughtfully, put him first.
“I wasn’t sure what sort of cheese you liked but most people like the mild creamy ones and I think you’ll enjoy this. I put quince paste on. It’s a little sweet, a little tart.”
The combination was wonderful. Bailey couldn’t hold back the groan. “Damn, this is heaven.”
Tom chuckled. “I know. Where you like the sweet stuff, my weakness is cheese. Don’t care what type or how it comes, just give me cheese, and lots of it. Yum.” Tom popped a wedge of cheddar in his own mouth as if to highlight his point.
“Ah. That explains a lot. Pizza, cheesy topping on the moussaka, grilled cheese sandwiches.” Bailey waggled his eyebrows. “Need I say more?”
Tom swallowed and held his hands up in mock defence. “Okay, okay. I might just go a little overboard where cheese is concerned.”
Bailey raised his brows. “A little?”
Before Tom could utter another word, Bailey grabbed a grape off the platter and held it to Tom’s lips. Tom opened and allowed Bailey to place the fruit onto his tongue. His lips closed around Bailey’s finger and the atmosphere immediately went from fun and teasing to serious and seductive.
Bailey decided he could get very used to date night.