Page 190 of Untouchable

“I wanted to talk to you about Christmas,” Parker blurts out. He squeezes his eyes shut and brings all his focus to Harp’s hand warm and dry and calloused in his, Harp’s grip solid and centering.

“What about it?” she says, and he can practically hear her expression—narrowed eyes, pursed lips, suspicion and annoyance written clearly across her elegant features.

“I’m gonna stay in Mink Creek,” he says. “I, um—I have a lot of work to do, and—”

“Parker, don’t be ridiculous,” she says. “You get time off, don’t you? I can’t imagine anyone needs a massage therapist on Christmas Eve.”

Parker opens his eyes and shoots a desperate glance at Harp.

“I—I’m gonna spend the holiday with my boyfriend,” he stammers.

* * *

Harp bringsParker's knuckles up to kiss them. He holds steady eye contact with Parker and nods, thinking hard at him Yes, you're doing the right thing. You're allowed to do this. Let them be mad.

“Your what?” Parker’s mother says on the speakerphone.

“My boyfriend,” Parker says. “I—he invited me to stay with him, so—I am.”

“Who is this person?” she says. “I can’t believe you’re choosing… a date over your entire family.”

“It’s not a date,” Parker says. “We’ve been together for—a few months now.”

Harp knows that it’s barely true—but he’s glad Parker says it, because it feels true. It’s not just a date—Parker isn’t just a date—and he’s proud that Parker isn’t leaving this up to discussion.

“What am I supposed to tell the family?” she demands. She sounds exactly the way that Harp imagined she would.

“Well, um—I don’t care what you tell them,” Parker says.

Harp nearly bursts out laughing, he’s so happy to hear the truth coming out of Parker’s mouth. He can’t be heard, though, so he slaps a hand over his mouth in an imitation of Parker’s favorite method of stopping himself. He smiles so hard behind his hands that he knows Parker sees him from the corner of his eye, even though he’s trying hard to look down at the phone.

“You can tell them that I’m dating a really great guy,” Parker says quickly, and Harp’s heart soars. “And I’m very happy and I’ll see them at Easter.”

“Parker—” she says, and Harp can hear the anger curling the edges of her voice.

“Well, um, I really gotta go—we’re about to see a movie—”

“Don’t lie to me, Parker—”

“I’ll email you when I get the quote for the car okay love you bye—”

Parker hangs up the phone before she can get a word in edgewise. Harp watches him silence the thing and set to his side before turning wide-eyed back to Harp.

“Holy shit. I did it.”

He launches himself into Harp’s lap, throwing his arms around Harp’s neck and kissing him, near-giddy with relief.

"I'm really proud of you," Harp says. "You didn't have to tell them the truth but... it makes me feel great that you did."

What it really does is terrify Harp now that it’s done—because he knows it'll bring questions, they'll want to know who Harp is and what he's like, and if they're hard on Parker, Harp knows it's only a matter of time before Parker's boyfriend will become a choice punching bag.

Still... He is proud of Parker—and more than anything else relieved that Parker won't have to deal with them during the holiday.

* * *

“Well, I’m a shit liar, anyway,”Parker says with a grin. He realizes he’s still shaking, as if he’s just finished a sprint. “And… wow. I can’t believe I just did that. Holy shit. I’m going to have like, 15 missed calls from her by tonight. She’s gonna be pissed.”

"Yeah, but you've given plenty of time and a good reason why you'll miss it. By all standards, you've been very polite," Harp says. He pulls Parker in closer. "And why be their punching bag when you could be my center of the universe?"

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