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“Oh, I uh...” Uh oh. “I forgot. I was busy and I...”
He sighed and pinched my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “You need to look after yourself,” he chastised warmly. “You have to remember to eat. I know you’re busy and you’re stressed but, Jeremiah, you’ll be no good to anyone if you’re sick.”
I opened my mouth to argue, because I could damn well look after myself, just as something on the console started to beep. He sighed again and squeezed my hand. “I’ll be back with some dinner.” He went to open the door and found it locked, giving me a puzzled look.
“Reporters and... just people in general, really.”
He chuckled as he let himself out. “I’ll be back.”
I didn’t remember to say thank you until he’d already gone. I wasn’t used to having someone look after me, and I made a mental note to make more of an effort.
I switched off the beeping noise and uploaded the latest data to the news feed. The fact I still had to do this manually was a testament to the age of this gear, and after this cyclone, if this building still stood, I’d officially be requesting a full upgrade.
When Tully came back with a bag of takeout, he sat in Doreen’s chair and I reached over and squeezed his hand. “Thank you,” I said. “I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful before. I appreciate everything you do. I’m not used to having anyone look out for me, so my first knee-jerk reaction is to be defensive, and I want you to know that’s not a reflection on you, but rather on myself.”
He studied me for a quick second before he wheeled his chair over and gave me a quick kiss. “I know. But thank you for saying that.”
“I’m very new to this, and I’m set in my ways. And I would never mean to offend you or take you for granted, so if you ever feel disrespected or unappreciated, please tell me. What might be glaringly obvious to other people is somewhat lost on me, and I just want you to know that.” I cringed. “That you will probably have to tell me to stop every once in a while to remove my head from my arse.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll tell ya.” He grinned at me. “But thank you. I know it ain’t easy for you. I’m more of a let’s-talk-about-our-feelings kinda guy, and the idea of doin’ that makes you wanna die. I get it. There’s nothin’ wrong with it. It’s just how we were raised.”
I opened my mouth to argue that point, but everything he’d said was the truth.
He shrugged. “So I just hafta be extra mushy with you until you’re used to it.”
I snorted. “Excellent.”
“But it did feel good to hear you call me your boyfriend.” He gave me one of his killer smiles and handed me a takeout container. “Now eat something or I will get mad.”
It smelled so good, and I only truly noticed then just how hungry I was. He’d bought us each a gyros snack pack, which was basically shaved gyros beef over fries with Greek yoghurt dressing and a mix of salad.
It was the best thing I’d ever eaten.
I was half done the first time I looked up to find him smiling at me. “You were starving.”
“Mm,” I hummed with a mouth full of food. “So good.”
He laughed and stabbed some meat and fries with his fork. “So before, when I said you were on the news,” he said. “I do mean on every local channel. And on the radio on my way to the kebab shop just now.”
Ugh.
I rolled my eyes and groaned. “It’s embarrassing. Though I’ve since mastered the ‘I’m unavailable for comment at this time. Please stay tuned to the bureau’s weather channel for updates’ spiel. I didn’t really think how official my comment would be. I’m not used to managing press releases.”
His eyes softened. “You did great. You didn’t mince your words at all.”
I grimaced. “Was I too blunt? My forthrightness tends to land me in hot water.” I shrugged. “But I don’t see the point in sugar-coating anything, especially when talking about the severity of the storm that’s coming. I know it’s not my place to issue warnings in regard to evacuations and such, but she asked me what the residents of Darwin can expect. Rightfully, they should expect to evacuate.”
Then I looked at him.
Oh.
“You should leave,” I added with a lump of dread quickly solidifying in my belly. “You and your family. Do what you need to do with your shipping—”
“I’m not leaving.”
“Tully, it’s a reasonable response. There’s no reason why you should stay behind. If you have the opportunity and the means to leave, you should.”
His brown eyes met mine, curious and a little hurt. “Are you leaving?” he asked.
