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“I’d laugh, but my sense of humour has standards.”
Martin ducked in to kiss Adrian’s cheek before he slung an arm around his waist. “Okay, but in all seriousness—I like seeing you like this.”
“Like this?” Adrian echoed. He suspected he wasn’t going to likeMartin’s response, but experience taught him that resistance was futile. Might as well get it out of the way quickly.
“Smitten,” Martin said with great relish. “Smitten like a kitten.”
Adrian thought about denying it, but it wouldn’t change that Martin was right. Was this why people considered the impending three-oh a turning point? First, the scale tipped from hangovers to early rises, then you started ranking sleep and sex about equal in importance, and next thing you knew, you were humming along to cheesy love songs from the eighties.
“It’s just a phase,” Adrian told Martin. If he squinted hard enough, he almost believed it.
Martin patted Adrian’s head. “Sure it is, babe.”
Since Adrian didn’t think he’d win this one, he shrugged it off along with Martin’s arm and patronising air, and set about collecting the next round of orders. Kojo wandered off to his room not long after that, while Eric and Olivia stayed for another half-hour. When she said goodnight, Olivia gave Adrian a hug that caught him by surprise, his own arms coming up around her with a brief delay.
“Is it okay if I go up already?” Eric asked quietly once she’d left.
“Of course, yeah. Hang on a sec.” Adrian grabbed his keys from behind the bar and removed the one for his flat. He should have thought earlier of getting his parents’ spare for Eric—tomorrow. “Here.”
“Thank you.” Eric hesitated for a palpable moment before he swayed closer. A light brush of his lips against Adrian’s, then he was gone.
Adrian turned to find Martin staring at him with a smug grin. “Not a word,” Adrian told him.
Whistling, Martin set about preparing another drink.
They closedthe bar around eleven. When Adrian made it up to his flat, it was to the sight of Eric stretched out under the covers, writing into that little notebook of his. The glow of the bedside lampcombined with the flickering light of a candle on the windowsill that Adrian had all but forgotten.
Pen stilling on the page, Eric looked over with a smile. “Hey. Gonna join me?”
Adrian wasn’t quite sure why he found it hard to breathe for just a moment there. “Yeah. I’ll be, uh…” He pointed his thumb at the bathroom, and with another smile, Eric turned back to his writing.
Teeth brushed and bladder emptied, Adrian passed by the window to blow out the candle, then shed his clothes and crawled into bed next to Eric. Because he didn’t do shy, he tucked himself right up against Eric’s back, chin on his shoulder so he could read along. It earned him an indulgent glance before Eric resumed writing for another minute or two.
‘You left the key but took the tune. A word on a chain you never wear.’
“Gloomy,” Adrian remarked when Eric closed the notebook and set it aside.
“As ordered by the artist.” Eric rolled onto his back and grinned up at Adrian. “Somehow, I seem to have become Mr Breakup Song.”
Adrian liked him so much. Somuch. “Well. I’d like a happy line, please.”
“Of course you do.” Eric made it sound like a good thing, gentle heat in his eyes but no urgency to the way he ran his fingers down Adrian’s arm. “Paint this rainbow sky.”
“That’s pretty,” Adrian decided. He was about to draw Eric in for a kiss when a yawn took over.
Eric’s eyes narrowed in a playful squint. “Wow, I feel so wanted.”
“Sorry. Just…” Adrian tried to shake the haze of tiredness and didn’t quite manage. “Just a bit exhausted.”
“You’ve had a big day.”
“I guess.” Probably, yeah. With one of the housekeepers getting stuck on a delayed flight, he’d also spent part of the morning getting rooms ready, so … yeah. His parents had helped, but Dad’s knee was bothering him, and Adrian hadn’t wanted to ask Martin or Eric because they deserved to spend time with their loved ones.
“Babe.” Eric made it sound fondly exasperated, and it didn’t meananything, of course. “I don’t think I’ve seen you sit down all day. Get some sleep.”
Sleep.
Sleep sounded great. Soundedamazing.
