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Harry laughed, breath hot against Jack’s skin, the tension in his shoulders easing. “Thanks, I think.” He lifted his head. “Seriously, though. You’re sure you want to do this?”
Jack leaned in and stole a soft kiss. “I told you. I can’t wait to show you off to everyone.” He meant it, too. He hadn’t heard from Mia, but he also hadn’t had any phone calls with his mum berating him down the phone, so he hoped they were so distracted by new of their impending grandchild that they didn’t care who Jack was dating.
Harry stole another piece of Jack’s toast, then raced upstairs to get dressed for his lunch date with Gino. Jack made himself some more toast and ate it leaning against the sink, smiling up at the ceiling like a lunatic.
When Harry came back downstairs again, Jack’s breath caught. And not in a Disney princess kind of way. Harry was wearing the peacock suit he’d fought Beryl tooth and nail for the day they’d gone to the op shop. It was—well, it was something. It was possibly even more awful than he remembered. Magnificent in its impact, if nothing else. Harry almost made it look fabulous but, even as adorable as he was, he was no miracle worker.
Jack laughed as Harry did a twirl for him.
“What do you think?”
“Um.” Jack shook his head, still laughing. “It’s certainly very eye-catching.”
It was amazing really, that Harry could be so shy on one hand, but he could also go out in public dressed like that. Combined with his Bad Boyfriend act, there was no way Gino would be getting that fancy job in the family business—or any job. Hell, the suit alone might see him disinherited by the end of the day.
Jack left the dishes for Harry while he went upstairs and had a quick shower. He dressed in shorts and a T-shirt and checked that his bag was packed for the drive to Goulburn—suit, tie, dress shoes and a couple of casual outfits. Also, the wedding present. He’d ended up getting wine glasses, which felt particularly cruel since Mia couldn’t even drink right now, but he couldn’t think of anything else. He’d promised to help them out when it came to painting the baby’s room and stuff, though.
“Bye, Tris!” he yelled as he went back downstairs, carrying his bag with him.
“Bye!” Tris yelled back, his voice muffled by his bedroom door.
Harry was eating a chunk of cheese.
“You already put your stuff in the ute?” Jack asked.
“Yep,” Harry said around his mouthful. “Overnight bag, plus suit bag. I’m set.”
“How long is the date with Gino going to last?”
“It really depends,” Harry said. “If they’re nice and don’t like to cause a scene, maybe about an hour, an hour and a half? But it could be a lot less than that. Why?”
Jack shrugged. “I thought I might go check out Myer or something while you’re at lunch.”
Harry slid his arms around him. “You’re having second thoughts about the wine glasses, aren’t you?”
“I really am.”
“Well, just so you know, if you don’t find anything else, the wine glasses are fine.”
He leaned in and gave Jack a cheese-and-toast flavoured kiss, and Jack found that he didn’t really care about the wine glasses anymore, not when he had the prospect of a weekend away with Harry to look forward to.
Jack trawled around Myer listlessly. He didn’t find anything better than the wine glasses, though he looked at some fancy vases for a long time, unable to decide if they were chic or just plain ugly. A glance at the price tag convinced him they were ugly. He killed some time in the baby section, checking out tiny little socks and trying to imagine humans that were so miniature they’d actually fit them. Being an uncle was going to be fantastic—as soon as the kid was big enough to at least hold its own head up. Jack wasn’t keen on the helpless, fragile stage.
Harry, though. Jack just bet Harry would be amazing with tiny babies. He tried to picture it and found himself standing there with a dumb smile on his face. A passing sales lady caught his eye and nodded at the socks. “Father to be?” she said knowingly.
Jack dropped the socks like they were on fire. “God, no.” At her pursed lips he said, “I mean, I’m just browsing, thanks.”
She gave him that patented we both know I’m better than you but I’m pretending to like you smile that all Myer ladies seemed to have perfected and sashayed off.
Jack put the socks back and checked his watch, wondering if Harry had finished disgracing himself yet, but it was a bit early, so he went and got himself a coffee and drank it while he people-watched in the food court.
He was just finishing up when his phone buzzed.
Ready to go.
He sent back a thumbs-up emoji and made his way back to the ute where Harry was already waiting, grinning from ear to ear. “What did you do?” he asked.
Harry’s grin widened. “I propositioned Grandpa while Gino was in the bathroom.”
