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“Afraid it won’t get any better for a while yet, looking at the forecast.” Adrian gestured at the darkening landscape outside the windows—the edges of the river no longer frozen, winding its way through patches of green and brown fields, snow still clinging to the nearby mountains. “It was lucky you arrived when you did, or this would have been your first impression.”
“It’s not that bad.” Eric paused to straighten a chair. “I like seeing the seasons change.”
“You’re welcome to stay for spring and summer,” Adrian told him with a wink. “Saves me from having to hire and train your replacement. Plus, it’ll improve the chance that Kojo will stay too.”
“I feel so appreciated,” Eric said dryly.
“Mission accomplished.” Adrian bumped their shoulders together, and Eric wasn’t sure when they’d grown close enough for that kind of thing, but it was … nice. Yeah. “So,” Adrian said right into that thought. “Line of the day?”
It was a question he’d started asking after Eric’s first time at the piano last week, like he hadn’t truly believed Eric’s claim about being a songwriter until then. By now, it was an established part of their table-setting routine because, according to Adrian, he’d been passedover when the fairy godmother had distributed the gift of creativity, but he could still encourage it in others.
“Echoes of luminous silence,” Eric told him.
Adrian took a moment to digest it, and Eric liked that about him—he didn’t immediately jump to offer a comment, let the words sit for a moment by themselves before adding his own. “That sounds kind of sad and kind of hopeful.”
“It’s about a long-overdue breakup.” That had been the theme they’d served him—a necessary breakup that hurts even though both people see it coming. As long as Eric had some leeway, he honestly didn’t mind clear instructions, had spent an hour on the phone with the artist to sketch out a rough storyline that felt promising. Still, once in a while, he missed working with Max—the way they’d bounced ideas and lines off each other to see which ones would stick, no final destination in mind, like guerilla gardeners throwing seed bombs that exploded into shapes and colours.
Too bad they’d fallen in love with the same guy. Bit of a blow to their collaborative energy, to put it mildly.
“Autobiographical?” Adrian asked, setting down the last teaspoon. Together, they moved towards the glasses they’d already stacked on a side table next to the kitchen’s swing door.
“Not specifically,” Eric said. “Or only in the generic sense that sure, yeah, I’ve gone through breakups. But then, who hasn’t?”
“Uh.” Adrian raised a hand to wiggle his fingers.
“You’ve never had a breakup?” Eric hadn’t meant for it to come out quite so thickly coated in disbelief.
“According to my limited understanding of the subject, a relationship is a precondition for a breakup.” Adrian’s grin showed white, even teeth. “Never had one.”
“You’ve never had a relationship.” Eric wasn’t sure why he felt a need to repeat it. “Why? Are you allergic to the idea of hooking up with the same person more than once?”
“Not as such.” Adrian’s grin persisted. “In fact, rumour has it you’ve seen me and Martin hook up a number of times, in different constellations.”
Twat.Fortunately, exposure therapy had allowed Eric to develop a certain resistance to the teasing Kojo, Adrian, and Martin dished out so liberally.
“Congrats on doing your job,” he said flatly. “I meant outside of working hours.”
“Ah.” Adrian pursed his lips, deliberate thoughtfulness creasing his forehead. “Well, I’m not philosophically opposed to the concept. It works for my parents and Martin, right? Just seems like a fair bit of effort when I have friends to give me hugs, and dating apps and hookups in clubs to give me orgasms.”
“Yeah, I don’t know. The casual thing doesn’t seem to work for me, and ditto for relationships. I thought I might give celibacy a go.” That, um. Had been a tad more information than Eric had intended to offer. He busied himself with carrying stacked glasses from the side table to the ones set up for guests.
“Celibacy? Now that would be a loss for the general population.” Laughter wound through Adrian’s voice. “What’s wrong with casual?”
“Nothing.” Eric kept his attention on the task at hand. “It’s just that somehow, I tend to attract the kind of people who want breakfast and a second date. And I… You know. I hate shooting people down. It’s not fun.”
“Yeah, you’d hate that.” Adrian sounded inexplicably amused, although maybe not at Eric’s expense. “And I guess you do give off boyfriend material vibes.”
Right, sure. Until people took a closer look and decided that eh, not so into it after all. Eric didn’t say that—just as well, because Adrian continued.
“Me? No shortage on the casual hookup front. Everyone looks at me and thinks I’m fun for a night, thanks and see ya.”
That was … well.
If people truly looked at Adrian that way, they were missing out. Granted, Eric had known him for less than a week, and occasional impressions of Kevin Pine still blurred the contours of reality—but even so, Adrian was exactly the kind of guy Eric would have fallen for if he hadn’t decided to do away with that.
“That’s on them,” Eric said. “You’re smart and funny, okay? And Iknow I see only glimpses of what you’re doing around here, but running a hotel of this size, and a historic building, no less? That takes guts and focus. How many people your age handle that kind of responsibility?”
Ah, shit. That had come out rather too intense, hadn’t it?
