Page 58 of Heart

“Yes,” he whispered. “Please get them out of here.”

“I will. I Promise.”

“Kinda funny, isn’t it?”

“What’s that, George?”

“Now, we’ve been on a baddouble-date.”

“They’ve been like this all night. Ned fawns. Fabio flirts, then ignores him. It’s gross.”

“Yes, it is.”

“I’ll get ‘em out of here, boss.”

George reached for his hand. “You...youare welcome. Here. Anytime.”

Mikey’s smile went past pleasantry, bordering intimate. He reached out and touched George’s cheek. It was a gentle gesture, but the tenderness was warm and welcome... achingly so.

Mikey stood, heading for the door. “Let’s go guys. We’ll take the Metro.”

“Ciao, George,” said Fabio.

“Good luck with the place,” said Ned, handing Mikey his coat.

George waved.

The door jingled as Mikey held it open for them. Fabio and Ned passed through first, allowing Mikey a final, lingering glance before he joined them.

George stood, moving to lock the door behind them. When he returned to the table, he lifted his glass and drank the last of the wine Mikey had poured for him. He picked up the bottle and looked at the label.That’s Amorewas the brand. Shiraz, vintage 2016.

The old song by Dean Martin immediately came to mind, and he hummed it as he gathered their glasses, blew out the candle, and headed back into the kitchen.

He decided to wash the rest of the dishes by hand, letting the water run and putting the stopper in the drain. He added some detergent and the wine glasses, allowing the soapy water to fill the sink a good ways before switching it to the secondary basin for rinsing.

As he sponged the glasses, he reflected on the success of the evening—but his mind kept returning to Mikey... his strong hands catching him as he fell... his kind eyes and sweet smile... the kiss. He gently set a clean glass down to rinse in steaming hot water and shut the faucet off.

An odd electrical chiming sounded behind him. He toweled hands dry and picked up his phone. On it, there was a pulsing blue-bubble notifying him that he had an incoming Skype call from M. Napolitano. He answered it.

“Hey, there.”

“Hey, George.”

“What’s up?”

“I put them on the train and told them which stop.”

“Youditchedthem?”

“Yeah.”

“You must be tired too.”

“No. Not at all. But by the time I get all the way home and attempt another sex-call with you, you’ll be asleep and I’ll be disappointed. So, I decided to call you now.”

“I see.”

“Did you mean what you said... about me being welcome anytime?”