Exposed (boyxboy) (Book #2)

~Chapter Eight~

He cracked his neck, then his knuckles, before he knocked on the apartment door. The place was old, the building slightly dilapidated and lacking a doorman, or any security at all for that matter. It reminded Parker of his old place with Xander, and was nothing like the places he'd looked at for himself and Wyatt.

Footsteps approached the door, paired with muffled voices which became clearer when it swung open, revealing his date for the evening. Green eyes were the first thing he saw, crinkling as he smiled and stepped aside. But then something nudged his feet, and he looked down to see a small sausage dog wagging its tail happily. It stood on its hind legs to paw at Parker's knees.

Grinning, he knelt to scratch behind its ears, the dog preening at the touch.

"Hey," Adrian greeted him casually. His curls had been tamed, no longer looking like the flustered intern he'd first met. "Come in. Don't mind Peanut, we don't often have guests so she's overly excited." Adrian glanced behind him, before picking up the tiny pet.

Like he expected, the inside of the apartment was small, the living room and kitchen open plan to give the illusion of more space. However, the mess all over the place defeated the purpose of the layout. A circular, wooden coffee table sat in the center of the living room, surrounded by an old leather couch and armchair. Hunched over the table was a boy around their age, his hair a light shade of brown, skin olive and tanned. He didn't even look up to greet Parker.

"Excuse my roommate," Adrian said with a roll of his eyes. "That's Isaac's mess all over the apartment, by the way. Promise we don't always live in filth and squalor."

"Don't worry about it," Parker muttered as he glanced around again. Dirty dishes lay in the sink, and Adrian rummaged through a pile of papers, finding his house keys between a layer in the stack. It was then that Isaac stood, blinking at him with big brown eyes and long lashes to frame them. Peanut immediately moved to follow him instead, obediently waiting at his feet.

"You're that musician guy, right?" Isaac asked, shoving the pen he was holding behind his ear. The boy picked her up, holding her with one arm and petting her with his free hand.

"He has a name, Isaac," Adrian reminded him.

"Parker," the musician supplied. "Are you an intern like Adrian?"

"Intern, yes. In music, no," Isaac replied. He set the dog down, though she stayed beside his feet. His voice was smooth, like butter, and an easy smile rested on his lips as he picked up the stack of paper Adrian had been forced to rummage through. "I'm interning on a movie set. I wanna be a script writer."

"But so far he's been getting coffee for arrogant cast members and doing all their paperwork," Adrian added.

Isaac rolled his eyes. "You two have fun on your date. I, unfortunately, am swamped. It was nice meeting you, Parker."

"You too." Parker flashed him an amused grin as Adrian's roommate disappeared down the hall, the dog padding after him. Hearing a door click, he turned to his date who was leaning against the kitchen counter.

"You know you didn't have to come here to get me, right? We could have met outside the restaurant for dinner," Adrian told him, slipping on his shoes which were by the front door.

Parker hummed. "I forgot it's not L.A. custom to be kind to your date."

A chuckle escaped Adrian's lips. "Or kind to anyone at all."

To prove a point, Parker held the door open for Adrian, who sheepishly thanked him before walking to the stairwell doors. Apparently this building was too old for an elevator, so he supposed Adrian was lucky he was only on the second floor. God forbid if he lived on the seventh.