“Shit.” My cheeks heated, all too aware I’d made a spectacle of myself.
“No.” He shook his head, reading my reaction. “I think we were all surprised, but the guy had it coming. He could have simply said hi and walked away, ignoring the memory of the bullshit he threw at you years ago, but he didn’t. The wanker instead made a joke of it. That shit’s not okay.”
I absorbed his words, clutched on to the thread of praise I heard in his voice. That and the fact he didn’t think I’d made an idiot of myself helped me release a heavy breath.
“I just got started, you know? The words, they just spilled out and kept going.”
When his frown eased away, and amusement filled his gaze, I grinned. His mouth twitched in response. “I kinda got that.”
I laughed, the sound loud in the quiet restaurant. It took me a moment to control myself, enjoying the sensation of feeling safe and appreciated in Dan’s company. And more than that, feeling fucking victorious in my smack down.
“You good?”
“Surprisingly, yeah.”
“Perfect, ’cause the food over there I think is ours, and after those mad few minutes, I’m starving.” He lifted his beer bottle and tipped the neck out to me. I tapped mine to it. “Cheers to us and cutting through homophobia, one idiot at a time.” He followed up with a wink, and I struggled to swallow my beer, my skin flushed and tingly, and wishing we could have celebrated with a proper date and a kiss.
By the time we ambled back to Dan’s, exhaustion beat hard at me. The food coma didn’t help, but I was still wired from the exchange with Jamie.
“Thanks again for the meal.” Dan’s voice echoed in the quiet night. Until then, only the sound of cicadas and the occasional car engine in the distance had filled the air.
“No worries. I owe you more than one with all the work you’ve been doing, which I really appreciate, in case I hadn’t told you.”
Dan chuckled. “You may have already said a time or five.”
The side of my mouth quirked up as we carried on in companionable silence. I appreciated the ease of Dan’s company.
Focusing ahead on the moonlight spilling between the frangipanis lining the pavement, I hummed in contentment. It would be awesome if this was the norm, a part of our life, but I could read Dan well enough to know he wasn’t looking at anything beyond friendship.
There was a distance between us, miniscule, but it was there all the same. Sure, there was an occasional look or even mild flirtation, but there were similar levels of friendliness between Dan and a couple of our friends, so nothing had changed.
For the moment, though, I was content in getting to know Dan all over again.
The past few months we’d spent a good portion of our days and evenings together. Regardless of how my body practically sizzled when he was close, I could keep that emotion at bay and luxuriate in his company.
“You planning on staying the night?” Dan asked when we arrived outside his house.
“If that’s okay?” I asked. After the confrontation with Jamie, I’d had more to drink than was safe to drive. The walk had helped clear my head, but a breathalyser would have me over the limit.
“Course. You can even test out the new bed in the spare room.”
When a nugget of disappointment bloomed in my chest, I batted it away. “Awesome. When did you get that?”
“It was delivered a couple of weeks ago. Just thought I should make an effort in case someone needs to stop by.” Unlocking the door, he gestured me ahead.
The rental property was a relatively plain two-bedroom low-set house, but it was convenient for his work and had a small garage and carport.
“You planning on having visitors?” I asked, heading straight into the kitchen so I could grab a drink of water. Once at the tap, I glanced over to Dan. “You want water too?”
He nodded. “There’s cold water in the fridge, though, in the filter jug.”
I turned to the fridge and pulled it out as Dan collected a couple of glasses.
“And as for visitors, you’re here, aren’t you?”
I leaned against the countertop. “Not sure I count. What about your friends in Brissy?”
He scrunched his nose and passed me a full glass of water. I took it and followed him into the sparse sitting room. It wasn’t a surprise the place didn’t exactly look lived in, considering where he spent most of his time. The sliver of guilt cutting through me took me by surprise. Had I monopolised his time so much he hadn’t even settled in properly?
