Hearts and Headstands

Chapter 4

"Wait, it doesn't go in the fridge? Then why does it have 'milk' in the name? That's misleading." Patrick pulled another label off the sticker paper and carefully lined it up on the white bottle. The tip of his tongue stuck out at the side of his mouth.

David held back a laugh as he watched Patrick's concentration. If Patrick kept up like that, David wouldn't get anything done. Patrick had made the process fun so far. When David got derailed by his over-thinking tendencies, Patrick was there to bring him back to reality. When he couldn't decide on something, Patrick helped him think through his options and make a decision that David felt good about. Patrick turned out to be exactly what he needed.

What he needed to get the business off the ground. David forced any other thoughts from his mind.

With David's track record of a string of relationships that lasted barely a blip, he feared Patrick would leave before anything could even start.

Even as his business manager—entrepreneurship coach?—David couldn't help but feel queasy any time his mind wandered and think about Patrick's inevitable departure. David didn't know what Patrick's plans were for after the grand opening, but he didn't need Patrick to fill in the blanks about his career. He had talked a lot about the businesses he had helped start, but there were no stories about the businesses he stuck around.

Patrick looked up and smiled. David let out a breath. That smile did a number on him.

"What?" Patrick asked. "Am I doing it wrong?"

No. "Just wondering if you're going to take eternity on each one? I'd like to get done before dinner tomorrow."

Patrick smirked. "I'm just trying to live up to the standards of David Rose. One crooked label and I know you'll poison me with spoiled body milk."

"I told you! You DON'T EAT IT!" What was so hard to understand about that?

Patrick doubled over with laughter. "It's just too easy."

David bit his lip, but a laugh escaped. "Knock it off. You're such a brat." He swatted Patrick with a sheet of labels.

"David?" A voice traveled from the store entrance. He needed to start locking it when they were in the back. "Dear, are you hiding in some unsuspecting corner amongst webs like Charlotte?"

David's eyes widened. No, no, no. "Shit. It's my mom."

"Your mom? Moira Rose?" Patrick smoothed his baseball T-shirt. David swore the man had a closet full of them.

"Don't get too excited. She's a handful."

"Think she'll let me get an autograph for my mom? I told her I was working with you and she begged me to get her an autograph. She was a huge Sunrise Bay fan." Patrick smiled, like a kid at Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.

"You told your mom about me?" Aww.

"Really, David. Are you ignoring me? I know you don't have a back door to sneak out of."

"Don't you dare ask her for an autograph," David hissed. His mom would never let him live that down. Neither would Alexis. He couldn't handle the taunting. "I'll get you one later," he blurted, after Patrick's shoulders dropped almost imperceptibly.

David walked out of the storage room and into the front room. "Hello, Mother. Why are you here?" He leaned his hip against the front counter and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Is that how you should greet the woman who birthed you from her womb?"

"You scheduled a C-section to have me on a day off in your filming schedule, then left me with a nanny and a bottle," he muttered.