Do something that will see you bloom and enjoy long life on the earth. His mother’s words resounded like the old kirkyard bell in his head.
‘I’llbloomright here where I’m planted, thanks very much!’ he huffed. ‘All by my bloomin’ self!’ and he hiked off along the path.
29
Kurt hugging him had recalled everything about their date that had come so very close to being perfect, and even now, after ten days, Murray regretted their evening being interrupted.
Though, if it hadn’t been, he wouldn’t have the pups. Maybe it was for the best.
‘You are walking the dog,’ Kurt pointed out, needlessly.
‘I am,’ Murray confirmed, also pointlessly.
‘I have been thinking, Murray, about you and me…’
Everything about Kurt’s lovely mouth, his lovely accent, his personality, it was all so nice and so appealing, but Murray couldn’t deny something had come between them since the date, something that made him hope Kurt wasn’t about to suggest they try going out again.
‘I like you a lot…’ Kurt was saying, his smile breaking sweetly, all his emotions on show and nothing hidden. All the qualities Murray had shied away from in the past.
He’d been afraid of keen men. But Kurt liked him, plain and simple, and had Murray run a mile in the opposite direction? No. He’d tried finding out if there was something more between them, other than fancying him a ridiculous amount. In the last few days, when he allowed himself to be honest, it wasn’t Kurt’s generous feelings and easy manner that put him off attempting a second date; it was simply that they weren’t all that well suited.
‘Listen, Kurt,’ Murray interrupted, ‘I like you too, a lot, you’re gorgeous, actually, but…’
‘I think we should be friends,’ both men said at the same time.
‘What?’ Kurt laughed. ‘You’re passing up on this?’
This sent Murray into a fit of throaty laughter, which, were a particularly sensitive person straining their ears for it, might be heard resonating across the mountain range.
‘Hey!You were giving me the brush off too!’ Murray said, landing a friendly fist on Kurt’s arm. Murray ignored the accompanying intrusive memory of the inked skin and taut muscle hidden away under Kurt’s padded winter layers.
‘Oh, well,’ Kurt said laughingly. ‘Friends is good.’
They’d stayed like this for a while, chatting about the dogs, and the builders’ progress on the extension, how the scaffolding was coming down soon, and Kurt’s plans to leave in a few days. His next posting would be in a villa complex in Andalucía.
‘Sounds terrible,’ Murray mugged. ‘Won’t you miss all this?’ He was pointing to the low clouds rolling in, but Kurt was gazing right into his eyes, making a small bite on his bottom lip.
‘I’ll miss it,’ Kurt said, before stepping close and delivering a kiss to Murray’s mouth, lingering the teensiest millisecond longer than was strictly friendly, and then he was off, on his way to the construction site, leaving Murray glad they’d talked and (because he’s not made of wood) a tiny bit giddy from the kiss.
However, the light-headedness from Kurt’s goodbye was obliterated almost immediately by a text message making his phone ping. It was from Ally.
Incoming in about 10 seconds. Barbara is on her way to her office to phone you! We just had the morning huddle and your name might have been brought up to take on some upcoming freelance jobs.
Murray’s instincts were to immediately swipe his phone off, but she’d anticipated this.
PICK UP! And say YES to anything she offers you. P.S. You owe me big time!!! This is your return ticket back into the world!
He didn’t have time to reply, because sure enough his phone was ringing with Barbara Huber’s name on the screen next to the descriptor ‘Big Boss’.
‘Y’ello!’ he answered, stupidly.Since when did he answer calls like that?
‘Murray? It’s Barbara, but I suspect you knew that,’ said a sharp, smart woman with a sharp, smart German accent, ‘since your sister has forgotten the office walls are made of glass and I can see her texting you.’
‘Oh!’
‘And now she’s staring in at me through the glass, and now I’m waving, and… yup, there she goes, back to work.’
Part of Murray cringed for his interfering twin, because she didnotwant to piss off Huber, but part of him loved her all the more for trying to wangle whatever this was about to be.
