Coming Home- Rock Bay 1 (6 page)

“I’m fine, Ma. I promise. Let me just get this baseboard done so I can go home and hit the sack. If I leave the furniture movers on, can you guys push this stuff back when it’s dry?”

Lex finished the baseboard, cleaned his supplies up, and gave both of his parents a hug before bundling everything into his trunk to head home. He was tired, but it felt nice to have taken care of at least one thing so his dad wouldn’t have to deal with it. It was hard to keep his eyes open on the way home, but it wasn’t hard to worry. He knew his mother wasn’t going to love the idea of Tally working for him, and she was going to love the fact that Lex had kept it from her even less.

He supposed that keeping it hidden from his family meant it was probably a bad idea—or maybe he just didn’t want to get nagged.
Lex only wished he knew.

I
T HAD
been nearly a week that Tally worked for Lex, and he was determined to make his new boss like him. It was important to him; who knew why. Maybe because he had to work for the guy every day, or because he was so damn gorgeous, and Tally hated the idea of someone that pretty not liking him. Or maybe, just maybe, it was because there was something in Lex’s smile that he wanted more of.

Every day he learned more about the business, the people of Rock Bay who he’d always considered beneath his notice before, and Lex— him most of all. Tally learned that Lex was nothing like the asshole he’d thought at first, at least not with most people. He smiled at people’s long-winded stories and remembered what they liked. He laughed with his best friend every day and fed her free coffee and treats and talked about her dog like it was a real person. He had a smile and a wave for everyone who came in and seemed to know them all by first name. Tally had never seen a friendlier person.

But when they were alone and there was no more business to talk about, Lex was completely different. It grew awkward and quiet, almost like Lex was trying
not
to get to know him, trying not to let him in like he so obviously did for everyone else. Tally understood, at least to a point. He’d been a jerk. His dad was the town scandal. But that was all so long ago. It didn’t make sense for Lex to still hate him, but it made Tally even more determined to win the guy over.

When Lex had let him in that morning, he’d looked cautious, guarded, not a whole lot more friendly than he’d been the morning before, or the other three before that, for that matter. He’d quietly greeted Tally and then gone to work setting up the pastries, which had been delivered soon after Lex had unlocked the door. They’d worked through the morning customers, exchanging only the words necessary for the job, never anything personal. Tally had spent the time making sure he was comfortable with the ordering and pricing, while observing Lex so that when it came time for him to learn the coffee machines he would already have a basic idea of how everything worked. Tally tried not to notice Lex’s ass or the way his scent made Tally’s nose and chest and stomach tingle every time he got close enough.

It didn’t matter how much Tally wanted to strip him naked and lick him up and down, though. Project “Win Lex Over” wasn’t exactly going swimmingly. Every time Tally thought he was getting somewhere, everything went right back to the uncomfortable silence that was, right at that moment, lying heavy on the shop.

Tally was busily wiping the crumbs and coffee dribbles off of the bistro tables and surreptitiously watching Lex as he continuously reorganized the offerings in his glass shelves until they looked perfect. Lex had a soft little smile on his face, the genuine kind that already made Tally’s stomach weak, but Tally knew that as soon as Lex looked up and caught him watching, the smile would disappear like it had never been there in the first place. It surprised the hell out of him when, instead, Lex looked up and continued smiling, hesitant.

“So, Tally, I know you’ve got a day off coming up the day after tomorrow, right?”
Tally nodded. “Yeah, is that still okay? I mean, I can work if you want. Honestly, I could use the hours.”
“It’s fine. I was just hoping you could stay a little late tomorrow. I host a local open mic once a month. It gets a little hectic. I can pay you overtime.”
“Really?” Tally tried to control his grin. “I mean, yeah, that’s no problem.”
“Good. You won’t have to stay until it closes down, just until the main crowd gets settled in with their orders.”
“I’ll help as long as you need, Lex. Really, I’d be happy to.”
Lex nodded and went back to arranging the pastries on his shelves.

T
ALLY
was shocked by how many people flooded the little coffee shop come seven o’clock on a Friday night. He wouldn’t have even guessed that there were that many people in Rock Bay, let alone people who wanted to watch nervous teenagers and wannabe singer/songwriters sit on a stool and attempt to entertain. The shop was warm and filled with the smells of coffee and warmed muffins and a mix of perfumes and colognes. It was almost too much, but still somehow pleasant.

“Here you go, Lex.” Tally handed his most recent order slip, an orange mocha, to Lex who put it in his queue. He bagged the sugar cookie the woman had ordered with it and handed it to her with a smile. “Your drink will be right up.”

He and Lex were kept ridiculously busy taking orders and making hot drinks. It was a good thing that he’d had a few days to learn the contents of the pastry shelves, because there was no way that Lex would’ve been able to keep up with the drink making if he had to dish out muffins and cookies as well. Tally only hoped that no one ordered a sandwich because he would probably have to make it, and he was so rushed that he’d most likely do it all wrong.

They worked well together, busy as they were. It was a kind of well-timed counterpoint dance behind the counter: Tally working the register, dishing up desserts, and giving Lex drink orders while Lex made the drinks and lined them up neatly on the counter with handwritten stickers that described the contents.

The customers seemed to be used to Lex’s methods, and went very smoothly, even with the hectic pace. Tally liked working there with Lex, watching how organized and relaxed he was. Tally hoped things were going to keep getting better. He’d already figured out a few days before that he really enjoyed the job, and Lex finally seemed to be warming up to him—not exactly tropical, but not the deep freeze they’d had the first few days, either. He could only hope that he was finally getting somewhere with his mystery of a boss. Lex brushed by Tally and gave him a half smile that sent Tally’s stomach spinning.
Professional. Friendly. That’s it. Knock it off, dumbass.
He figured if he just kept giving himself that lecture, eventually it would sink in.

I
T WAS
an unavoidable fact. Tallis Carrington was going to drive Lex insane. Every day it got harder not to touch—the kind of touching that he’d told Amy was off limits. He wanted to test Tally’s hair and see if it was as soft as it looked, run the pad of his thumb across too prominent cheekbones, brush his lips against Tally’s pulse, and inhale that mind-numbing scent he’d been trying to ignore. Lex couldn’t believe how stupid he was. Tally knew he was gay and seemed to have no issue with it, but that didn’t mean he’d want Lex pawing him—and pawing was exactly what Lex wanted to do. It didn’t seem to matter that he couldn’t bring himself to trust the guy’s motivations. His body didn’t notice his mind’s ambivalence. Hell, his body hadn’t noticed all those years ago when Tally was an outright asshole. Of course it was responding now that, at least on the surface, he seemed to be genuinely nice.

Lex knew it had been a mistake to ask for his help at the open mic night. He should’ve just had Amy do it like he always had before. The whole night had been torture, worse than the past five days combined. Smelling Tally in the heat of the crowded shop, bumping up against him constantly as they worked together in the cramped space that had only seemed to shrink in the crush of the crowd—it was testing his willpower like nothing before. Lex wasn’t sure if he was going to make it much longer before he did something he’d regret forever, like maybe throwing Tallis Carrington on the ground and taking every drop of his frustration out in a punishing kiss.

He was foaming a latte, the fourth pumpkin spice of the night, when he felt Tally’s presence behind him, close and warm and looming. Tally brushed up against him and reached around Lex’s shoulder to grab the big cinnamon shaker that was sitting on the counter right in front of Lex.

“Sorry,” he muttered quietly, right up against Lex’s ear. “Molly wants cinnamon sprinkled on her muffin.”
Shivers burst across Lex’s skin. “It’s okay,” he tried to mumble back. His voice came out in a squeak.
He felt the warmth of Tally’s breath on his neck, and when he inhaled he could smell him, spicy and sexy and lingering in the air. Tally hadn’t moved. The moment stretched, excruciating and hot. Lex felt every single one of his crashing heartbeats.
Why doesn’t he move? He has to know what he’s doing to me!
And then Tally did move, but closer, just a small little movement, the difference barely perceptible other than from the wash of warmth that Lex felt deep in his belly. There were fingers brushing lightly at his hip, a touch that could be interpreted in so many ways, and then he was gone—back to chatting with Molly Bates, the girl who always wanted cinnamon sprinkled on her chocolate muffin.
Lex clenched his jaw.
Get a grip, Barry!
But he couldn’t. His pulse thundered, turning his face red, making his groin throb painfully. He had to stare at the counter and do multiplication tables in his head for long moments before he could even consider turning to place the drink on the counter without making a public spectacle of himself.
“You okay, Lex?” There it was again—that light touch, on his shoulder this time, and Tally’s voice so concerned against his ear. Lex’s stomach quivered and clenched in on itself.
“Yeah, just hungry I guess,” he lied. “Got a little lightheaded.”
“You want me to make you a bagel with cream cheese? You probably need to get some carbs in you.”
No, I need you in me. Or maybe me in you. I don’t care as long as I can fill my mouth with your skin.
“Sure,” Lex answered weakly. He’d have to choke the bagel down. Bread wasn’t even close to what he wanted to swallow.
Moron. That’s Tallis Carrington. Tallis jerk-of-the-century Carrington. Straight, asshole… well, reformed asshole. Maybe. Point is, hands off!
In the self-lecture department, Lex knew he’d get an A for effort. It was the follow-through where he failed. Couldn’t seem to talk his body into listening… or his mind, for that matter. They both kept screaming “I want him!”
“Here, eat this, Lex. You’ll feel better.”
A toasted bagel with cream cheese was placed in front of him, accompanied by another hand on the shoulder. Lex stood at the counter, breathing slowly and trying to slow his racecar libido down before it crashed all over the place.
“I’m good. Thanks.”
Lex was surprised by the sharpness of his voice. His lust and selfannoyance had come out of his mouth aimed at the undeserving Tally. He turned to apologize, but by the time he’d turned, Tally was on the other side of their space, taking an order from two giggly teenage girls who made no secret of the fact that they were checking him out. Lex thought he might look a bit hurt, but he hid it with an open smile and flirtatious banter. The two girls ate it up, flipping their hair and applying lip gloss. Tally silently handed Lex the girls’ drink order, then turned to wipe off the counter.
“Hey, Tally. I’m sorry. It’s been a long week. I don’t want you to think I’m a big asshole, I’m just—”
“Really, don’t worry about it. I understand. No hard feelings.” Tally gave Lex a shy smile. “You better make those two girls their drinks before they eat me alive,” he whispered. “I think one of them tried to slip me her phone number.”
Lex returned the smile, glad that he could breathe again. “You should escape while you have the chance,” he whispered back. “I think I can take it from here if you want to get home.”
“You sure?” Did Tally look disappointed?
No, more like you’re projecting your own shit onto him.
“Yeah, I’m sure. Go get some rest. I’ll see you Sunday morning.”
Tally untied his apron and gave Lex another one of those killer shy smiles. “Night, Lex. I’ll see you Sunday.”

T
ALLY
couldn’t keep from smiling. The entire morning as he did his laundry, straightened up his grandma’s kitchen, and started a pot of soup for dinner, he’d break into these silly smiles when he was least expecting them. He understood. He finally got why Lex had been acting so squirrelly all week, holding Tally at arm’s length and being what could only be called a jerk.

He’s attracted to me.
There it was again. That grin Tally couldn’t control. The only problem was that it was pretty obvious Lex didn’t want to be attracted to him. Maybe because of what he’d heard, maybe because Tally worked for him… maybe because he thought Tally was straight. Tally stopped still in his chopping and tried to remember any single moment where he may have told Lex that he was gay too. There wasn’t one. Tally knew he couldn’t rule that out as Lex’s reason for not wanting to like him unless it was eliminated.

Hmmmm… now to come up with the perfect way to tell him.
Tally went back to chopping potatoes for the soup, trying to decide how he was going to let it slip to Lex that he’d been dreaming of sex with boys since the day he figured out he wanted sex at all… and how more than anything he wanted it with Lex. His boss. And from what he could tell, Lex wanted him too. Tally made a face into the pile of potatoes on the cutting board. Only problem was going to be getting him to admit it.

Tally had a pleasant and peaceful dinner with his grandmother, potato soup and rolls with butter. Dessert was some store-bought cheesecake served with tea. She’d been surprised that he could cook, but he’d been taking care of himself since he was eighteen and hadn’t been able to afford daily takeout for nearly that long. Cooking had come to him slowly but was a necessary skill.