Page 34 of Wish We Were There

“You have to be more aggressive with him, Taylor,” Kylie urged. “You both want this, so make it so obvious that he can’t talk himself out of it. He says it’s because he doesn’t want to go too fast too soon, but I bet you anything he’s just too in his head about it and psyching himself out. When has he ever dated anyone longer than a month or two? He’s looked at you like you hung the fucking moon for as long as I’ve known him, so it’s not that he doesn’t have feelings for you. He’s just a baby scared of things changing between you guys. But he shouldn’t let that stop him, and neither should you.”

Taylor was silent for a long moment. Maybe there was some truth to that. Kylie was usually a pretty sharp judge of character, and it was true that in all the years he’d known Parker, the other man hadn’t ever dated anyone seriously. It had made sense each time—he traveled a lot for work, he didn’t want to settle down—but as far as Taylor knew, he hadn’t done more than casually date in years, if ever. Maybe he was afraid of change or commitment—not afraid of Taylor.

“I guess you’re right,” he finally relented, not meeting Kylie’s gaze. “But, I mean, if he doesn’t want to, I can’t force him.”

“I’m not saying that. I’m saying you have to call him out on his excuses. You told him it isn’t too soon. If he’s still saying it is, keep telling him it’s not! I know it’s been a while for you, or whatever, and the dynamic was really different with you and Zach, but you just gotta keep going after him, you know?”

“I... I guess so,” Taylor stammered, all at once embarrassed and defensive over her judgment of the situation. Not that she was wrong. Zach had been the one who pursued Taylor, and he’d been very up front. Of course, he’d been entirely enamored with Zach at the time, too, so it wasn’t like Zach had to chase him for long. He hadn’t had to think about what it would be like to date someone for years; in contrast, Parker would have had no real frame of reference of what a long-term relationship between them might look like.

Maybe it was hopeless. Maybe they were too different now for things to work between them. Kylie seemed to pick up on the dark turn of his thoughts right away, and she added quickly,

“Don’t worry too much about it right now, Taylor. Boys are stupid. He’ll come around, I’m sure. Just keep making sure he knows you’re still interested. Hell, maybe if you get his dick to do the thinking instead, he’ll fold.”

Taylor laughed aloud at that, and the mood lightened considerably. Kylie took a long drink of her boba, a sly smile on her lips. “You just gotta go with what works.”

“You’re right,” Taylor sighed, leaning back and turning the TV back on so Kylie could finish her episode.

He mulled it over for the remainder of the evening, until Kylie went back home, and he was alone again. What was Parker so afraid of? How much clearer could Taylor be?

If nothing else, his conversation with Kylie made him certain that he had to start acting instead of just reacting. Not just with Parker, but in the rest of his life, too. He wrote a short to-do list. Parker would be out of town for interviews all the next week, so everything between them would have to wait; but there were plenty of things he could do in the meantime. Like finally getting this damn cast off his arm, once and for all.

Chapter Fourteen

Parker

Something in Parker settled after their conversation; now, at least, they knew where they stood with each other. He’d thought it had overall been a neutral interaction, but Taylor had been quiet and distant ever since, making him worry that maybe the other man was regretting how things had gone. Maybe he wasn’t as into Parker as he’d hoped. Maybe Taylor was mad that Parker had wanted to take things slowly—had maybe just been looking for something immediate and casual. Although, the more he thought about it, that didn’t seem like Taylor either; but the thought lingered just the same.

He was out of state all the following week for interviews in Nashville—two for Tim, and one for his own podcast. Taylor texted him a few times, but mostly it was Parker trying to initiate conversations with varying degrees of success. Still, he asked if Taylor needed his help with the venue the next week, and Taylor agreed, so things couldn’t be that bad. Right?

Annoyingly, he could hear how distracted he sounded, listening back to the interviews to transcribe them for the articles. He hadn’t realized that he’d been so distracted, but he could remember his thoughts being elsewhere during the interviews. Not that the singers he’d interviewed seemed to notice, or care.

When he got off the plane back in San Diego, he took his phone off airplane mode and got an immediate buzz—not a message from Taylor like he’d hoped, but from Kylie.

Kylie

Heya, heard you’re back in town today! We’re doing a band dinner thing tonight and I figured I’d offer the invitation if you’re around.

He blinked down at his phone for a long moment, confused—then shuffled out of the way self-consciously, realizing he’d been standing right in the center of the walkway for the baggage claim. He and Kylie were friends, sure, but it surprised him that the invitation came from her and not Taylor.

But he didn’t have plans, and it would beat having to cook dinner himself after a day of traveling.

Parker

Sure, thanks for the invite. Let me know when and where.

By the time he’d gotten his luggage and made his way back to his car, Kylie had texted him back.

Kylie

Great! Don’t tell Taylor. We’re surprising him.

Parker laughed—he’d been just about to text Taylor that he was back and looking forward to seeing him tonight, so her text had come just in time. Instead, he replied that he wouldn’t tell, then sent Taylor a shorter text to let him know he was back in town.

Taylor called him while he was driving home.

“Hey!” Parker exclaimed. “Good to hear from you.”

“Glad you got home safe,” Taylor’s voice came from his car speakers. “I, uh, I wanted to ask you something.”

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