Page 55 of A Hard Sell

Thomas hummed as he leaned against the counter across from Luka. “I got an email that I can go back home today. Thanks for letting me stay here.”

“Anytime.”

Thomas took a sip of coffee, then frowned as he studied Luka.

“What?” Luka shifted, self-consciously trying to smooth his hair.

Then Thomas smiled. “Nothing, just…how old is your robe?”

Luka gasped. “Are you judging my robe?”

“Not at all. It looks…very comfortable.”

“Hmm,” Luka sniffed, mollified to a degree. “My sister gave it to me when I left for university.”

“Ah. Well, I love it.”

“Thanks.” They drank their coffee in silence.

“So did you go to university fifty years ago, or…?”

Luka leaned forward to poke Thomas’ gray shoulder. “Pretty bold for a man who only wears shades instead of actual colors.”

Thomas’ eyes crinkled again. “Fair.”

Thomas’ scent hit him, fresh and clean from the shower. His stomach swooped. “Well.” Luka cleared his throat. “I’d better get dressed.” His mind spun as he went back into his room. He didn’t want him to leave. Having another big, warm body around was comforting. He liked seeing Thomas in his kitchen, on his couch. Washing dishes, folding the tea towel and putting it back so neatly. He could smell him everywhere he went and Luka just wanted more. He fell back onto his bed, stifling a groan of despair. On the other hand…maybe what he needed was some space. This obsession was not good. It was hard to think about anything else when he was justright thereall the time.

They took turns refilling their coffees all day at work, humming bits ofTheQuestion Songat each other when things got too quiet. Luka’s shoulders were shaking at another time travel joke when he realized that they were friends. Good friends. Even if nothing could ever happen with Thomas romantically, he had that to hold on to, and it was pretty great by itself.

As the end of the day approached, they finally got the track from Morgan to add to their third and final commercial. Luka hit play and they watched it with the music.

Thomas rubbed his forehead as it ended.

Luka sighed. “I know.”

“It’s not awful, but…”

“It’s missing…depth.”

“Exactly.”

“What if we added a few more layers of the vocals right before the logo, and maybe hit the tag a little harder?” Luka suggested.

“I like that.”

They scribbled a few more notes, and Luka went to go catch Morgan in his office before he left for the day.

“Hey, thanks for the track—” Luka started.

“But?” Morgan interrupted.

“Well, we had a few suggestions—”

“Why don’t you just do it, then?” Morgan said, keeping his eyes on his screen.

Luka paused, biting back the retort that came.

“I don’t have any time, anyway,” Morgan muttered, giving a few angry clicks on his mouse. “I have, like, ten other projects on the go right now.”

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