Page 25 of Free Wind (Lifeguards of Barking Beach #2)

Huh. This thing with Blake really was brand new, wasn’t it?

Beachgoers were drifting away, but the after-work crowd were stalking, creeping up and down, waiting to pounce as a spot opened.

There were only spots on either side making two long rows, the car park built years ago before Barking became so crowded.

Overflow parking was desperately needed, but there really wasn’t room unless they bulldozed the park, and residents had fought it for years.

Damo stopped in front of the cafe and took off his sunnies as if that would help.

“Oi!”

His heart skipped, and he spotted Blake down the end of the car park with his hazards on, standing half out of a small SUV waving. Knowing he was grinning like a fool, Damo practically sprinted down the footpath before forcing himself to slow.

The car was running, and it was blissfully cool inside. “G’day,” Blake said from behind the wheel as Damo climbed in.

Damo lurched forward and yanked him into a kiss.

Blake tasted like coffee and kissed him back hard, their tongues meeting.

He slid his hand into Damo’s hair, which was tangled from the dried salt water that Damo should have rinsed off.

It tugged, the nerves flaring on his scalp, but Damo didn’t mind.

Blake broke the kiss. “Sorry.”

“No worries.” He ran his hand through his hair awkwardly. He’d been too eager to rush out. Why hadn’t he taken five more minutes? “Bit of a mess.”

“I like it.” Blake murmured. “You’re like a selkie.”

“A what?”

“Mythical creature that lives in the sea and shifts to human form.”

“Like a merman?”

“Kind of. A cousin.” He brushed back Damo’s hair. “You’re definitely a saltwater creature.” His gaze dropped. “Do you ever wear shoes?”

“Got my thongs in my bag. Besides, I wore shoes to the club on Friday, remember?”

“That’s true.” Blake’s gaze darkened. “I remember.”

They met over the gearshift for another rough kiss, and Damo was ready to crawl right onto Blake’s lap. He pushed his hand up under Blake’s tee to rub his chest hair, and—

The beep had Damo jerking back against the passenger seat door, nearly hitting his head on the window. Shit. Shit! He whipped his head around, realizing they were blocking someone from leaving, and that another car was waiting to park.

Laughing, Blake gave an apologetic wave and shifted into drive, but Damo’s mouth had gone dry. Did he know them? Had they seen him? He slumped low in his seat, face flaming. As Blake slowly drove along the car park toward the one exit, the seatbelt alarm started dinging.

“Sorry,” Damo mumbled as he sat up straighter to yank it on.

Blake smiled uncertainly. “You right?”

“Yep!” he exclaimed too loudly and forcefully before wincing. “I’m just…” He shook his head.

Blake softened and reached over to squeeze Damo’s knobby knee. “It’s okay.” He turned left and headed north. “You don’t have to leap out of the closet overnight.”

The closet. He hadn’t really thought about it like that.

Liam had been miserably closeted for years, going really far out of his way to keep being gay a secret.

Damo was still rolling around bisexual in his head, but it hadn’t been long.

“Yeah. It’s new. Just couldn’t resist kissing ya.

Didn’t think about who might be watching. ”

Smiling, Blake rubbed his thumb across Damo’s thigh before putting both hands on the wheel. “I’m hard to resist. But seriously, I can’t expect you to be telling people already.”

“I did, though. One person, at least. Cody. He was great.”

Blake grinned. “Glad to hear it.”

“Where are we going?” Traffic slowed on the coast road as they left Barking.

“Thought we could have dinner in Freo.”

“Cool. What’dya feel like?”

“Oh, I made a reservation at an Asian fusion place. It’s a great little spot.” He frowned. “Unless you don’t like Asian? I should’ve asked. We can go anywhere you like.”

“Nah, I love Asian food. All kinds of food. Easy.” He wasn’t sure he’d ever made a restaurant reservation in his life. He eyed Blake’s outfit of long navy shorts and a fitted white T-shirt. Not fancy, but neat. “Should I change, though?”

“Just put on your thongs, and we’ll be sweet as.”

“Suppose I can manage that.” He worked his fingers through his tangled hair, wishing again he’d stopped to shower. “How’re you feeling today? About the whole baby thing. Kid thing.”

“Pretty good.” Blake inhaled deeply and breathed out, nodding. “Moments of panic, but we’ve got a plan now.”

“How long until you meet him?”

“Eleven days.”

Damo teased, “And how many hours?”

Blake smiled. “Shut up.”

“It’s good that you’re excited. If you didn’t want anything to do with your own kid…” He grimaced. “That would be a huge red flag, mate. You don’t even seem aggro that she kept it from you for so long.”

Blake frowned as he slowed for a red light. “Of course not. It was her choice. We were strangers.”

“Some blokes would be.” Or they’d blow it off and not take responsibility. Blake wasn’t like that, and it made Damo want to kiss him again.

“Where would that get us, though? I’m not angry. Just sad about everything I’ve missed. I’ve daydreamed about maybe having a baby one day, and I missed those years with Cooper. Might be the only chance I have.”

“Shit, yeah. I’m sorry.” Damo reached over and gently squeezed Blake’s thigh. In what he hoped was a comforting way. Was he doing it right? Why was he overthinking everything?

“Tash sent me hundreds of videos and pictures. Maybe we could watch some later?” Blake winced. “Because nothing says fun date like watching videos of someone’s kid.”

“No, I want to! Honest.”

“It’s not too much? I know we just met, and this is still new for you.” He shook his head with a smile and turned right at a roundabout, heading inland. “I really wasn’t expecting this when I asked you out.”

“Expecting to have a secret baby? Who does?”

Blake’s dimple appeared. “That, and also…you.” He motioned between them. “This. I mean, am I being absurd, or do we have something here? Wait, you don’t have to answer that.”

“Yeah, nah.” Heart racing, Damo stroked Blake’s thigh with his thumb, brushing his skin just past the hem of his shorts. “You’re not being absurd. Or…preposterous, even.”

“Ohh, that’s a fifteen-dollar word.”

“Twelve at least, hey.” They laughed, and Damo added, “Not sure where I dug that one up. Guess I learned a few things in school after all.” He bit his lip. “But, yeah, this is good. I wasn’t looking for it at all, but…it’s good.”

He buzzed with it—the thrill and…what? Hope? He’d gotten so set in his routine of work, surf, and home. Especially home, which was feeling more like a prison as time passed.

Now, out of nowhere, he had this new, exciting person to go to dinner with and talk to and kiss. And he was all Damo’s. His secret. His escape.

With a giddy rush like he’d just caught a wave, Damo leaned over and kissed Blake, who laughed and said, “You’re going to get me ticketed!”

Damo raised his hands. “Sorry. I’ll behave. Mostly. Can’t get enough.”

As he slowed for a light, Blake said, “Actually, I wanted to ask you something.”

Damo was going to make a joke, but Blake had gone too serious. “Okay.” His stomach flip-flopped.

“What do you think about coming with me, Cooper, Tasha and Tony down to Bremer Bay to see the killer whales? It’ll be two nights.”

The nerves evaporated into a burst of joy. “I’d be stoked!”

“Yeah?” Blake’s face lit up.

“Totally.”

Reality slapped Damo upside the head, and familiar dread sank through him. What was he saying? Go away for two nights? He hadn’t slept away from home since the accident. Not even once. He’d been late after the night with Blake at the club, but he’d still gone home.

It’d been a bone of contention with Shaz, which was why she’d spent that one disastrous night at his place. Ugh. He cringed to remember it, fidgeting in his seat and tucking his foot under him.

“What is it?” Blake asked. “Look, no pressure at all. If it’s too soon, or you can’t get off work, or…”

“No, no! Like I said, I’m stoked.”

And he was! It would be okay, wouldn’t it? He was twenty-two, and he couldn’t stay home for the next however many years. Years. He felt like he’d spew just thinking about the endless nights stretching out in front of him.

“I’ll ask Teddy to be rostered off those days, and if it’s too late, I can switch shifts. A few guys owe me.” His heart thumped. He was going to do this.

“You sure?” Blake frowned.

Damo could just tell him it would be the first time sleeping away from home in seven years. But how would that sound? Like he was a kid. He’d tell him eventually, but not now. Not after a week.

Yeah, Blake had told him about his secret baby, but… Damo just wasn’t ready. Not yet.

“Okay,” Blake said, smiling. “And we might not go—it’ll depend on how it is when I meet Cooper. We’re going to play it by ear.”

“All good. If we both have the days off, we can surf. And if it goes well, we’ll check out Bremer Bay. Seeing killer whales would be sick.”

“Have you ever been out there?”

“Nah. Only gone as far southwest as Walpole to see the tall trees when I was a kid. Went down to Augusta on a class trip to see where the Indian and Southern oceans meet, and I’ve been to Margs to surf a bunch of times.”

“When I was a kid, I never understood how there was surfing at Margaret River.”

Damo laughed. “I mean, there is a river! It ends at the ocean. The break’s epic. We should go.” He hadn’t even stayed away for a single night yet, and he was already making plans.

But for once, Damo didn’t want to rein himself in. It was bloody exciting to think about going away with Blake. Seeing new places and doing new things and spending the night together in the same bed…

The thrill that ran through him was followed by a wave of guilt. Damo realized with a sinking sensation that Tabby was expecting him home soon. Shit. Was there enough in the fridge?

He quickly thumbed a text, telling her he was going out to eat. At least he’d picked up some frozen meals on sale so she could toss one in the microwave.

“Semi-nervous about it?” he asked Blake. “Or heaps? Meeting Cooper, I mean.”

“The latter.” Blake shook his head as he slowed for a roundabout. “I wanted time to process, but now I’m dying to meet him.”

“You’ve, like, processed having a kid?”

He laughed sharply. “No. But at least I feel like I can breathe. It’s…not what I planned. Not when I planned it, at least.”

“Guess there’s no good time to find out you have a secret baby.”

“Especially when the baby’s eight.”

“I’d be shitting myself.”

“Oh, I am, trust me.”

“This is you freaking out?”

“I guess so? It’s not really my style. I usually have everything under control. Organized.”

Damo ran his finger over the dash and fiddled with a vent. The car wasn’t flashy, and the seats were fabric, but there wasn’t a crumb or coffee spill in sight. Compared to his mum’s mess of an SUV, Blake’s seemed very grown-up. Which made no sense since Mum was twice his age.

It was certainly more grown-up than Damo’s skateboard. He drove his dad’s old ute to the grocery store and if Tabby needed a ride somewhere, but most of his life was walking distance.

“Everything okay?” Blake asked.

Damo blinked. “Yeah, why?”

Smiling, Blake nodded toward Damo’s jiggling foot. He’d crossed his ankle over his knee and hadn’t realized he’d been moving. He put his feet flat on the mat. “Sorry. I’m a fidgeter. Used to drive my dad mental.”

“Not anymore?”

Here was a chance to tell Blake about his dad’s accident and what it was like now. But Blake had enough on his mind with his secret-baby-who-wasn’t-a-baby. He simply said, “Nah.”

Blake tapped at the screen on the console, and a moment later, a song played. It sounded old and folky, and Damo leaned forward to read the title: “Ventura Highway.”

“Cool tune,” he said.

“Yeah?” Blake looked pleased. “I grew up listening to my parents’ seventies stuff. Suppose it was my grandad’s mostly. Cold Chisel and AC/DC. The Eagles and America. Makes me think of home and long drives.”

“I bet. Was it hours to everywhere?”

“Oh, you’d better believe it. At least it was only two and a half to Port Augusta to get a taste of the sea. Well, technically Spencer Gulf, but I’d take it.”

“Could you surf it?”

“Not even a little. It’s the top end of the gulf, so it’s more like a river. But I still loved getting the salt on my skin. There’s just something about the water, you know?”

Damo had to lean over and kiss him quickly as they came to a stoplight. “I know.” Leaning back, he couldn’t stop smiling. “Can you play that again?”

Smiling too, Blake tapped the screen, and Damo opened his window, letting in the sunshine and breeze as they drove up the coast, the ocean glittering over the dunes.