Confliction ; Joetrick

four; of muffins and flirting

It was as if the time between Patrick last saw Joe and the next time he'd see Joe was longer than usual. He couldn't wait until he'd be doing nothing more than just sitting and drinking coffee with Joe, and that's what made him feel so weird about it. What if he'd once again freeze up, and not say a word?

As much as he wanted to impress Joe, he also didn't want to think of this as anything more than two friends grabbing a coffee. That's all it was. And, with Elisa as his wife, he couldn't.

He was ashamed of the fact that he constantly had to remind himself of that.

Patrick couldn't even see Joe in the morning, because Elisa had already left the house with Declan by the time he had woken up. Although she'd been to the daycare many times before, he still worried that she'd bump into Joe. The conversation would inevitably end up about Patrick, and then she would find out everything, and Patrick would die.

Not literally, but figuratively was just as bad.

Joe didn't seem like an asshole, but then again, Patrick knew next to nothing about the guy and for all he knew, Joe could be telling Elisa about the way Patrick had been staring at him for the past week in that very moment.

Patrick knew he shouldn't be stressing about it so much, he told himself it'd be okay, but he knew he was an idiot. What he's doing makes it look like he has a crush on Joe, and he does, and he knows it, and Joe knows it, and it's only a matter of time before Elisa knows it. Even if not told directly; she'd notice his weird behaviour.

Patrick was close to smacking his head against the wall, but he stopped himself before he looked insane. Of course, he already felt insane, but he didn't want to look the part. Everyone at work already had that suspicion.

He wanted to tell someone -- anyone -- about his problems, but he was sure nobody would listen. Or, they'd listen, then blab to the entire world; absolutely not what Patrick needed. What he needed was a friend. He looked around the dull workplace, wondering if there was anyone trustworthy enough.

There was his old friend, Pete, but their friendship was in the past, especially since Pete had a tendency to let secrets slip. The only other person whom Patrick had ever trusted in who wasn't one of the two involved in the situation, was Declan.

As long as Patrick pretended to zip his mouth, Declan wouldn't breathe a word to his mother.

When Patrick came home from work that afternoon, Elisa and Declan were already home, waving at him from the kitchen. He smiled, pressing a kiss to Elisa's temple before scooping Declan from the high chair and into his arms.

He was supposed to take Declan into the other room, but he faltered as his pocket buzzed. Maybe his data was almost used up and he was getting a warning text, because he barely got texts. That's why he nearly dropped Declan in surprise when he saw who had texted him.

He had momentarily forgotten that they had exchanged numbers yesterday, so his heart beat fast as he wondered how on earth Joe got his number. Much to Declan's annoyance, he placed the toddler back into the high chair and walked out of the kitchen alone, hoping Elisa didn't see how red his face had gotten.

It was unnecessarily red, because all Joe had asked was if he should pick him up or meet him there, to which Patrick immediately replied. There was no way he was telling Joe his address, because he really didn't want Joe anywhere near where he and his wife lived. The reason was obvious.

When the time came for Patrick to leave, he wondered if he could get away with just slipping out without Elisa noticing. He was reluctant to let her know he was with Joe, but there was more logic in telling her. They were only friends, after all, and he wasn't letting his crush on Joe get in the way of this. The only reason Patrick didn't want to mention Joe to Elisa was because he was worried his face would flush at the very thought of the man.