My body, which had been hibernating for want of motivation, got a hot flush of arousal at his mere presence. Hunky UPS Guy was on my back deck. In his everyday clothes. I swallowed hard.
"Thanks for inviting me over," Dan said. "I hope I didn't sound like I was inviting myself."
"No! No, not at all. Honestly, it's a treat to have someone to talk to. It's been so damn quiet lately."
"Yeah. I think people are getting squirrely with all the isolation. Somedays I feel like I should get therapists pay too."
He laughed, clearly joking. But it was another reminder that Dan's friendliness with me wasn't unique--and that this wasn't a date.
"Well, it's nice of you to come over and keep me company," I said. "I can't exactly argue with the squirrelly comment."
"I wanted to."
It was a simple statement, but it sounded like he meant it. "Well. Would you like beer or did you want to try that Merlot?"
"I'm all for checking out the Twelve Days of Christmas wine. Unless you wanted to save that for a special occasion?"
I had nothing in the near future that would be any more special than this. But I didn't need to admit that.
"I'd like to try it too. Have a seat and I'll be right back."
When I reemerged with the platter of food and the wine, Dan had pulled one of the rockers away from the other, giving us social distancing space. The little table that normally sat between the two chairs was in the middle of the void like a buoy in the sea.
He got up to take the wine and two empty glasses from my full hands so I could put down the platter. He offered to pour.
I smiled to myself. Dan was a thoughtful man. I realized it had been a long time since I'd been around someone who didn't expect me do all the work. Not that I was with Dan. Alas.
He removed the wine cork and poured each glass half full, then set the bottle down near the little table. He leaned forward to hand me a glass. I had little lights around the back deck, but it was still difficult to get a read on the expression in his eyes. They were almost black in this light.
He leaned back and unhooked his mask with one finger to take a sip.
I tried not to stare—and failed.
He glanced up. "What?"
"Nothing. That is... I've never seen your face before."
"Oh." He grimaced. "It's too late to cover up again, I suppose."
"Don't be silly. It's a very nice face."
It was a nice enough face that my belly got a little warm. He wasn't a chiseled Rock Hudson. His nose was slightly crooked at the bridge, as if he'd broken it once, and his upper lip was fuller than his lower one, his jaw a bit round. The whole effect was cute rather than He Man perfect. I liked that. He looked like a real person instead of, as Sean put it, beefcake.
Yes, it was an appealing, expressive face. The face of a man who smiled often and well.
He raised one eyebrow at me pointedly.
"I guess it's my turn." I moved my hand to unhook my mask and hesitated. Would he be disappointed? But if he was going to be, I might as well find out now. I couldn't go on forever hiding behind a mask. I took it off. "There. No comments from the peanut gallery, please. I don't think my heart could take it."
Dan smiled. "I already knew what you looked like, Paul. But it's nice to see your smile."
"You knew what I looked like?"
He nodded, looking a little sheepish. "I drove by the day you moved in. You were taking a break and you had your mask off to drink from a bottle of water. And, um, well, I've seen the author photo you use on your books."
"You have?" I sounded like an idiot parroting everything Dan said. "I mean, I have a pen name, so I'm surprised you could even find my books."
He took a sip of wine and shifted uncomfortably. "Sean was telling me about one of your books—I guess it was about a month ago. I thought it sounded interesting, so he lent me a copy."
I wanted to say He did? but I refrained.
"I'm not sure how I feel about that. Sean handing out my books."
"He's your biggest fan. He's always talking about you."
He is?
I knew Sean read my books and liked them, but I didn't realize he talked them up to other people. I guess that was sweet of him. Hey, free promo. And Dan was here, so he couldn't have hated it too much.
Dan rubbed his thumb along his jean-clad thigh. "You're incredibly talented, Paul. I could never put things into words the way you do. Your descriptions are poetic. And your dialog is so witty."
"Aw, stop. But go on," I said, trying to joke.
His grin widened. "I can if you want me to."
I laughed. "No, not really. I don't want to talk about my work. How about we sample the cheese? See if Mystery Man sprang for the good stuff."
I ran inside to get the small plates, and then we both filled them from the platter, first him, then me, keeping a safe bubble of social distance between us. At times COVID felt like being thrown back into the 20th century when it was improper to touch someone's hand or see an ankle. It had its own charm, I decided. There was something exquisitely tempting about not being able to touch, of being forced to keep one's distance. But then, I'd always been a contrarian, wanting most what I wasn't supposed to have.
We sampled the wine and cheese.
"The brie is nice. And so is the merlot," Dan pronounced.
"It is a good merlot." I held the glass out and studied it, frowning.
"You don't like merlot?" Dan asked.
"No. I do. That's what's strange. My mystery man knew I liked giallo movies and he picked a merlot. I've always been a merlot drinker."
"Hmmm. So he knows you well." Did Dan sound a little disappointed?
"Perhaps. Or he's a lucky guesser."
I tried to recall if I'd ever ordered wine delivered to the house before. Did Dan know I liked merlot?
But no, I'd never ordered wine by mail. And even a UPS driver with Dan's tendency to "notice" packages, wouldn't have been able to see through the Amazon envelopes to note the titles of the few blu rays I'd had delivered since moving here.
I caught myself mentally hashing this out. Since when had I even considered Dan a candidate for Mystery Man?
"You must have guys interested in you," Dan said, sounding casual. "Maybe someone from your old neighborhood?"
"No one that's jumping out at me. Well. At least he has good taste in wine and cheese." I took a bite.
"And men." Dan's gaze met my surprised glance briefly--and warmly--before he looked down at his plate. He plucked a grape and put it in his mouth, licked his thumb.
He wasn't trying to be sexy. But I felt a warm flush despite the evening chill. "So.... Are you from this area?" I asked.
He shook his head. "I grew up in California. My family's all still there. My parents and my younger brother and sister."
"How on Earth did you find Port Lodge?"
He finished a bite of cheese and cracker before answering. "Two years ago, I came up here with a friend on a backpacking trip in the Olympic National Park. I fell in love with the area. I was working for UPS down in California, so I watched out for job openings near here. When one cropped up, I transferred."