Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
The Holiday All in One was only moderately busy at this time of day. Red, white, and pink streamers hung from the ceiling with little hearts of various shapes and sizes were littered everywhere. It didn’t take very long in line for them to place their orders for food, coffee, and bakery. Their drinks and desserts were quickly passed over.
Maverick nodded to the stand off to the side with condiments, utensils, and napkins. “I’ll collect the extras we need. Can you get the food?” Evander nodded as he collected his coffee before heading to the other end of the counter. Trying to tear his eyes away from the incredibly tempting man quickly becoming a very good friend and a housemate, Maverick reached blindly for the soy sauce packets. A well-manicured hand bumped into his own, drawing his attention. “Oh, I’m sorry about that.” Glancing at the owner of the appendage, Maverick paused briefly before doing a double take. With a groan, he quickly snatched a handful of the condiment packets popping off as he did so. “Don’t you have other places out of your way to haunt, Kevin?”
The man before him only grinned confidently as if proud of himself over the situation. “Mavy, I thought that was you. Fancy seeing you here.” Biting back a retort about the stupid nickname he had asked the other man to stop using a long time ago when they had been dating, Maverick popped back, “Yeah, fancy seeing me here in the diner I come to every Wednesday and at least two more times every week. Last I heard, you thought this place was a dumpster fire, one step above a walking healthcode violation. What are you doing here?”
“Kev, did you see how cute their Valentine’s display is on the tables? I just had to have it.” A shorter male, definitely several inches less than Maverick’s six foot four frame, with dark blonde hair slicked back from a sharply defined narrow face came to a stop just behind Kevin drawing the attention of both men. In his hand was one of the handmade vases used to display edible desserts and treats people could purchase individually or as an entire product. Maverick could only watch in disbelief as the man that had trampled all over his heart when they broke up, turned adoring eyes onto the shorter man and smiled lovingly. “I did see them, Jared, I was going to ask you if you wanted one.” Jared smiled in return at their matching mindset before noticing his boyfriend’s companion. The smile turned more friendly as he moved the vase carefully to one hand to reach out and offer the other.
“Hi, I’m Jared.” Maverick couldn’t help smiling kindly at the friendly-sounding man, grasping his hand he replied. “I’m Maverick. I’m happy to hear you are enjoying your first time here. We really love the place. Zane, who owns the bakery portion, has fun coming up with decorations for holidays and events. It took some time to convince Derick who owns the diner half.’’
Jared’s smile widened as he reached with his freed hand to start gathering the condiments for his order. “I asked Kevin if he knew of any small diners or mom-and-pop places in town that had good food. I just moved here after commuting for the last year a ridiculously long distance. He said this was a great place with incredible desserts and yummy sandwiches. We just had to wait until midweek to come, because he said it was guaranteed to be spectacular.” He turned at a call from the counter and with a nod, left the two men to collect their order.
Maverick paused in his collection of straws and coffee stirrers as he digested this information. So Kevin had made sure to bring his new boyfriend to the one place Maverick frequented but made sure it was a day he was without a doubt going to be there. Jared didn’t seem to be aware of the two men’s connection, so probably had no clue he was supposed to be a rub to an old wound. Brushing off the slight sting he felt at the situation, Maverick tried to speed up his gathering which was now taking way too long.
Seeing that the situation wasn’t going how he seemed to envision, Kevin turned a nasty little sneer toward his ex-boyfriend. “Are you still playing at being a patrol cop? I remember you used to be so convinced you would fly up the ranks.” He paused to give Maverick a good once over, he knew what Kevin saw. It was a rare day off, so Maverick and Evander had spent the morning running errands. This meant that Maverick was dressed to relax. He was dressed in a baggy sweater and a pair of old worn-out sweatpants with his feet shoved into the most ragged and beat-up pair of sneakers he owned. Kevin’s look turned more self-satisfied as he continued. “I see all of those workouts and eating habits went out the window. How long did it take to let yourself go? I bet you’re still single even.”
Maverick frowned at the comment. They had been broken up for three years now, while Kevin had never understood Maverick’s rigorous exercising or times when he was adjusting his diet to include muscle packing, Kevin had never complained about the results. So Maverick was really confused. Just as he opened his mouth to pop back, a firm muscular arm wrapped around his waist from behind, causing his sweater to bunch up a bit. A warm puff of air skimmed his jaw, followed closely by a press of dry slightly chapped lips.
“Sorry about the wait, Babe, there is a new cashier and they kept mixing up the orders. After the third time, I called Derek and we had to look carefully over five different food orders to sort it out. I also managed to bye half of the Valentine’s Day displays that are on pictures. Derek will have them in a few days. Did you miss me?” Quickly realizing that Evander had to have heard some of what Kevin had blasted. Not missing a beat, he turned to look back at his friend, locking eyes and replied. “Of course you would buy the biggest displays, Mr Lottery and yes, I missed you, Doll.” Evander’s arm tightened a moment around his waist at the use of the endearment, getting a small smile from Maverick.
Movement behind Maverick caused Evander to break visual contact. Staring at the man with his roommate who had been so rude, “Maverick, who’s your buddy? You seem to know each other at least on some level, considering how he felt comfortable making comments about your job and body like he was.” Maverick turned back toward his ex, stating. “Not a friend at all. He’s an ex that apparently brought his current boyfriend to a diner he hated specifically on a day I would be here, to try rubbing his relationship in my face. The only really sad part is, the guy seems to be pretty great.” Glancing back at the dirty look his roommate was currently sending Kevin, he continued. “I got the condiments and whatnot, so if you’re ready we can go.”
Moving his arm from around the taller man’s waist, Evander reached down to grasp his hand. Pressing a kiss to the back of it he stated, “I believe I was promised a sparring session in the backyard, so let’s head out.”
As they made their way to the door, “Maverick! Wait up!” was heard, drawing them to a stop. Turning as one, they found Jared coming to a stop with some kind of browning substance sliding down his chest and dripping from his chin. Derek was coming from the back of the counter carrying a towel as one of his workers headed in the other direction with a mop. “I swear I had no idea he was planning this. I just wanted to find a decent diner near where I lived.”
Maverick nodded as Derek reached them and passed Jared the towel. “I had a feeling that was the situation. Don’t worry about it on my part, Jared. I’m not mad at you about it.” The man seemed to let out a breath like he had been holding it and smiled. Accepting the offered rag, he carefully wiped at the worst of the mess on his shirt. “I’m so sorry about the mess. I walked up to the end of the conversation and was too stunned to say anything before these two left. When I confronted Kevin, he was offended that I wasn’t on his side and said a few ugly comments. He threw his coffee at me, so I poured the last half of my iced coffee over his head. He was storming out a side door when I headed this way.”
Derek gave a small smile as he commented. “It’s fine, I’m just glad you weren’t burned by his coffee.” Jared smiled in return, “I don’t think I was. Thank you.” Clearing his throat to get the two men’s attention, Maverick asked. “Do you need a ride?” Shaking his head, Jared answered, “No, my work partner is picking me up on his way to the station. Man, am I glad no one called the cops on us. That would be embarrassing to explain to my boss.”
Evander shifted next to him, drawing Maverick’s attention once more as he tugged the arm he was holding a bit. Squeezing the appendage slightly, he started turning to the exit. “While I wish it was under better circumstances, it was nice meeting you, Jared. Bye, Derek.”
The two men made their way to Maverick’s truck, pausing by the passenger door. Evander rubbed his thumb across the back of the other man’s hand as he said. “I’m sorry if I overstepped in there or made you uncomfortable, Maverick. I heard the crap he was shouting and just reacted. I know you don’t think of me that way and I hope you know I wasn’t trying to make things awkward between us.”
Such a soft look overtook Maverick’s face before growing confused at the last part of the short speech. “Let’s put a pin in this conversation until we are back at the house, but I want you to know, I am very into you. Now get in the truck.”
A layer of tension seemed to hang in the air as the two men set out their food. They had ordered enough for lunch and dinner as neither man felt like cooking. Setting their extra dishes in the fridge, Maverick started sorting out the rest of it while Evander grabbed plates and drinks for when the coffee ran out. As was becoming a habit, they sat next to each other at the little card table instead of across the way. Since they had been munching on the fries in the truck, they split the remainder between them. They each took half of their sandwich and switched plates. Even with the feeling of a conversation unresolved, they easily demolished half of their meals before they even attempted to start talking.
Maverick took a drink of his mocha caramel coffee before taking a breath. “Evander, I don’t have any idea where you got the idea that I am not interested in you, so I’ll cut to the chase. I am way beyond into you. I would really like to have a relationship with you and see where it goes. I was attracted to you when we were teens and barely even aware of relationships, then when we were both in Junior High, you got a boyfriend. After y’all broke up when we were both in High School, I was the one in the relationship. It happened back and forth so often I eventually figured it just wasn’t the right time for us. When I saw you at the crime scene when your rental house was broken into again, the first thing that came into my head after, ‘Fuck, he got even hotter.’ was that I might finally have a chance.”
Evander grinned so big it looked like it might hurt, leaning forward, he pecked a kiss to Maverick’s cheek. “I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I wanted to ask you out when we were younger, but like you said it was never the right time. When you enlisted before I graduated school, I wanted so badly to join you. That was why Brandon and I got our GEDs instead of finishing that last two years. We were able to get our clearance and everything and as soon as we hit 17 we enlisted too.”
He paused to take a sip of his drink before giving a slight grin. “Granted, Brandon talked me into the Navy with our goal being the SEALs. He was adamant that no other military would be able to handle the two of us, plus the recruiter was very convincing that we would be kept together as battle buddies. It wasn’t until much later after we were well into bootcamp that we found out otherwise. We were lucky though that they saw us as a good team.”
Finishing off his very sugary caramel coffee, he went on. “When you came home on your first leave, it was so tempting to jump you, but I was so worried you wouldn’t see me as anything but your kid brother’s best friend. While I was completely devastated about the third break-in to my place since it came out about the wrong numbers, but still winning the lottery, once I saw you as one of the responding officers I knew everything would be okay. It was so exciting that you were in the same town as me. It was even better when I was looking for a place to live and found out you were one of the people with the place I really wanted to get into. To be honest, when I realized we would be in the same house, then the same floor, I thought we would get a chance to reconnect and get to know each other again since we are different people than we were when we were kids and just into the military.”
Leaning back in his chair a bit he grinned over at the other man, “It was so awesome to find that while you had definitely grown up and were a lot more serious, the boy and young man I was so gone over is still there. Before you say it, I’m not stuck in the past. While I still see that version of you and care for him deeply, the you I see before me and have gotten to know over a couple of months is the best version of you and one I could easily see myself being with.”
The silence stretched between them for several minutes where both men let the conversation digest as they went back to their food. Maverick polished off the other half of his sandwich and fries while Evander had pushed his own aside to eat his giant slice of chocolate mousse layered cake.
Staring at the smear of the filling on the other man’s lips Maverick had to shake himself for he started quietly, almost afraid that should he talk any louder the moment would break and they would miss their chance once more. “There is a lot we don’t know about each other anymore. We’ve both changed a lot.” Evander grinned as he wiped at his mouth not getting all of the mousse, “That’s what dating is all about, Maverick, getting to know each other. The question now I think is, do you want to give it a shot?”
Maverick gave a somewhat shy smile. “I’d really like to do more than give it a shot. I’m all in, one hundred percent.” The bashful look that crossed Evander’s face was everything as he leaned forward, “I do believe, your fake date for the Valentine’s Day Gala you invited me to for work, is now a real date.” Pressing a soft kiss on the other man’s cheek he grinned as he stood to put up the rest of his food and their empty dishes. Maverick sat completely shocked for a moment before following after the other man into the kitchen.
Evander had the remains of his sandwich in a container on the counter and was placing the dirty dishes in the dishwasher before he got to him. With two steps he cleared the short distance, stopping beside the smudged man. Evander looked up from setting the appliance with a curious look. Before he could ask, Maverick gently cupped the younger man’s face, leaning down and licking his lips. Evander gasped as he pulled back to ground out, “You missed a spot and it's been driving me crazy.”
Leaning back in, Maverick caught the damp lips in a heated kiss. His tongue slipped inside as Evander groaned. The kiss was so much better than he thought. After a short battle of control, the younger man let him lead. The taste of chocolate and something distinctly Evander was drugging. Maverick pulled back just a bit to nip the plump lower lip before retreating completely.
Finally retreating as he gasped for air Maverick paused to take in the image of the other man, after a moment, all he could say was, “Fuck it.” Before softly threading his hand through the hairs at the base of Evander’s head and diving in for another kiss. It was calm, gentle in comparison to the heat and flare of the first kiss, more of an exploration than an investigation. With a soft humming, he brushed one more soft kiss to his lips and stood to his full height. Running his thumb over the now puffy lower lip, he said. “We’ve got a sparring session to get to if we want to beat the rain.” Dropping his hand, Maverick stepped back, “I’m going to change right quick and meet you out there.”