Joey unlocked the cabinet and took out two boxes. “Here you go.” After a moment, he stood. “Anything else?” There was enough of a lilt to his voice to suggest he meant more than products on the shelves. “That coffee maybe?”
Luca fiddled with one of the cell phone boxes. “I can’t…” And damn it would have been nice to be able to. A date, even a coffee date. Even if it never went beyond an hour of conversation, it would be something to experience. “I’d like to but…”
Joey toed the carpet. “Hey, no, no problem.” He tossed a thumb over his shoulder. “You want to bring those up to the front so I can make sure they get you checked out?”
“That’d be great, thanks.”
A tall blonde with her hair in braid rang Luca up. He paid, and Joey bagged his stuff. Luca had a feeling it was just a reason to stay close a little longer.
He handed Luca the bag and their fingers brushed. The brief contact lacked the electric pull Luca experienced when Nox touched him.
“Can I walk you to your car?”
“I’m getting a ride from someone, but thanks.” Luca stepped into the foyer. Joey stayed over by a shelf full of batteries, moving packages around and glancing in Luca’s direction every so often.
Nox pulled up in the van. Joey’s gaze slid from Luca to Nox, then back. Joey dropped his shoulders and slipped out of Luca’s line of sight. The idea he’d hurt the guy left a weight in Luca’s chest.
He walked out to the van and tucked the bags in the back with a pile of others. By the look of it, Nox had done some serious turbo shopping.
“You okay?” Nox wore a black shirt now, dark gray cargo pants, and urban boots. Every bit of fabric hugged him in all the right ways. It made Luca all the more aware of what he didn’t have and never would.
“Yeah, sure.” Luca buckled his seatbelt.
Nox drove toward the street. “Remember how I told you I could smell it when someone was being deceitful?”
Great. “Then I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Did that guy in the store say something to you?”
“What guy?”
“Redhead watching every move you made.”
Luca sank in his seat. “Yeah, you can say that.” He rubbed the sun-worn vinyl on the door. “He asked me out to coffee.”
Nox took a left into the street. “Why did that upset you?”
“I’m not—”
Nox raised his eyebrows.
“Upset isn’t the problem. I’ve just…” Luca crossed his arms. “I’ve just never gotten to go out with someone for, well, coffee and stuff.”
Nox stopped at a traffic light. “How come?”
“A hospital isn’t exactly the kind of place you make friends, let alone pick someone up.”
“But you’ve been in remission.”
“Yeah, for a year. And a year ago my parents died. I’ve had things to take care of, and…” Luca’s stomach growled. He fished one of the sodas out of the bag on the floorboard. “I guess I didn’t use my time very well.” He turned the cap, and it opened with a hiss. The burn of carbonation soothed his dry throat. “It’s probably a good thing I never did.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because with my luck, I would have found someone and fallen in love.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“When you know you’re going to die, yeah, it is.”