Page 255 of Untouchable

"Don't we need to take your dogs for a walk, or whatever you do?" Gil asks.

"Sure," Harp says quickly. "We could do that. I'd like that."

"And, um, I found this place in town for dinner we could go to. It's got crazy good reviews online but I figure it's a Tuesday night so if we go early, it shouldn't be too crowded. It's called Capriccio's—have y'all been?"

“Oh, wow,” Parker says from the kitchen. “Yeah, that place is, like… really cool. I haven’t been but Mindy went on a date with this, like, investment banker or something and he took her there. She said their cocktails were amazing.”

"That's great," Harp says quickly. "Sounds great. Thanks for suggesting it," Harp says, nodding at Gil. He stands up to help himself to the leftover cinnamon buns from the day before, stopping long enough to kiss Parker on the neck and smile.

"I've got some chores to take care of with the animals and then we can go for a walk," Harp offers. "Unless of course y'all want to put on some boots and help me outside?"

“Sure,” Parker says.

Gil snorts.

“I did not come all this way to do chores,” he says. “Let’s take the dogs for a walk. Hey, Harp, I found this article after you went to bed about a woman who—”

Parker darts upstairs to change out of his pajamas, not wanting to hear the grisly details of the story once more.

When he comes back down, he finds Harp alone in the kitchen, putting away the leftover bacon from breakfast.

“Where’d Gil go?” Parker asks, glancing around before coming up behind Harp, stretching to put his chin on Harp’s shoulder and lacing his arms around Harp’s waist.

"He's downstairs putting on something warmer before we go to walk," Harp says. "It's snowing again."

Parker goes to the window, pulling Harp along with him. Sure enough, the sky is a low, brilliant gray, and snowflakes are floating down, barely sticking.

“God, this has been perfect Christmas weather,” Parker says, leaning back against Harp. Harp presses a kiss against his neck, and Parker hums appreciatively.

“Would you believe me if I said I planned it out for you that way?” Harp says.

“No,” Parker says with a laugh. “But I might let you take credit anyway.”

* * *

They’re quiet for a moment,watching the snow drift down.

“Are you okay with going to dinner tonight?” Parker asks quietly. “Like, the place sounds cool, but if you feel anxious—”

"I'll be fine," Harp says, channeling everything he has into being reassuring and confident. "We'll be like a posse together—no way to intimidate all three of us, right?"

Parker twists to look up at Harp.

“Are you sure?” he says. “Like, it’s really no pressure—or, if you want, we can work out something where… if you… I dunno, text me an eggplant emoji or something, it means that you wanna get out and we can leave.”

"Sure, there we go," Harp says, certain that he will absolutely never take Parker up on this offer but happy to make the compromise. "That's a great idea."

He kisses Parker quickly on the lips and steps back as Gil comes up the stairs, highly overdressed for the little walk in hiking boots, a utility vest, and a hat with flaps.

"Christ. You ready to lead this expedition, Gil?" Harp says, tugging on one of the flaps.

Gil rolls his eyes.

“Come on,” he says. “Let’s take these mangy mutts for a walk. Besides, you never know what could happen out there in the great outdoors. I heard there were coyotes.”

Harp leads the way, hooking up leads for all of the dogs. Parker gets Bo by default, and when offered Petunia or Gunny, Gil happily takes Gunny.

Bo leads the way, tugging Parker down the path, Parker trotting obediently behind him and laughing. Harp grabs a branch and launches it as hard as he can down the road after Parker, tempting Gunny into a charge after them and she drags Gil forward. Petunia waits patiently, then, as Harp begins to plug in the outside lights around the house. Most of the outdoor LED lights he'd used on surrounding trees have burned out their batteries, but the house is still brilliant and dripping with light when Harp is done.

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