Free Attachment Strings by Chris T. Kat

serious. No harm done,” I lied.
    Parker eyed me knowingly before he spoke softly, “We both know you’re lying to yourself. I’m really sorry.”
    Listening to him calling me out was not nice—not at all. I really didn’t want to wallow in self-pity, so I asked, “What happened to you and… what’s his name? David? Is that the one with the mustache?”
    A smile spread all over Parker’s face and lightened it up considerably. A tad taken aback, I stared at him. Shouldn’t he look angry or sad? His enchanted smile confused me to no end. Parker twirled the glass in his fingers and watched the water swirl inside it. “Yes, that’s the one.”
    I waited for almost a minute but Parker refused to come forth with more information. Impatiently, I pressed on, “ And ?”
    “I think I fell in love yesterday.” His voice held so much astonishment it was almost tangible. He added, “And it seems to be mutual.”
    “ Okay ,” I drawled. “Just to get this straight: You fled to work on your day off because you fell in love and the feeling is reciprocated? Did I get it right?”
    Parker pulled a face and looked at me. The smile turned sheepish. “See, it sounds as if I’m completely nuts.”
    “You are completely nuts! Shouldn’t you spend the day with David instead of me?”
    “I’ll see him tonight. He has to grade papers this weekend. They are due on Monday.”
    “He’s a teacher?”
    “Professor at Atlantic Cape Community College. He teaches English literature.”
    So, Parker loved David. They’d known each other for one night and already Parker knew more about his lover than I knew about Alex, whom I had bedded twice. I felt a pang of envy. Pulling myself together, I did the polite thing and said, “Congrats to you.”
    “Thanks.” Parker beamed.
    His smile vanished when he looked at me. I didn’t want to be responsible for killing his good mood, so I forced a smile on my face. It probably came out as a sour grimace. A tad too brisk, I got up and opened the oven to have a look at the casserole.
    “It’s finished,” I said thickly.
    “Want me to set the table?”
    I nodded and pointed at the drawer with the silverware. I pulled out the dish while Parker set the table. By the time everything was ready, I had regained my composure. I filled Parker’s plate and couldn’t fend off a smile. “Don’t look so suspicious. It’s good.”
    “If you say so.”
    I watched him taking the first bite. My smile developed into a full-fledged grin when Parker’s expression changed from doubtful to delighted. “Hey, it’s good!”
    “Told you so.”
    Parker rolled his eyes. “You’re not trustworthy.”
    “I’m not? For that low blow you’ll have to make it up to me. You’ll do the dishes.”
    “Great. Not only did I have to go grocery shopping and chop vegetables, now I also get to do the dishes.”
    “Stop sulking or you can stop eating what I cooked for you.”
    Parker pulled his plate closer to him and shoveled another forkful into his mouth. “Jerk.”
    I raised an eyebrow at him. “Tsk. I should talk to your David about that potty mouth of yours.”
    Parker lifted his fork and pointed it at me. “You keep your mouth shut or I’ll dig deeper into what happened with you and Alex yesterday. I swear the kid was smitten with you— smitten , I tell you. Are you sure there wasn’t a misunderstanding?”
    “Neither of us was smitten with the other one,” I replied acidly.
    “Oh, come on, Jeff. Are you kidding?”
    “No, I’m not, and there was no misunderstanding. We’re not going to talk about this subject anymore. We’re having way too many of those heart-to-heart talks lately.”
    Parker laughed. “All right, let’s be done with those talks.”

Chapter 9

     
     
    G ORDON C LARK looked how I imagined a headmaster would: middle-aged, his brown hair interwoven with silver streaks, and silvery-framed glasses sitting on his long nose. He wore a beard and a paunch and spoke to us as if he