Chapter 2
When Gray returned to the table after taking a quick break to use the bathroom, Jack looked up from his phone and said, “I ordered you the cod with a side of broccoli. If you want something else, it’s not too late to catch the server and change it.”
“The cod’s perfect.” After sharing countless meals over the years, Jack knew his food preferences as well as he knew his own. Tipping his chin toward Jack’s phone, Gray asked, “Kevin bugging you about the date?”
“I’m sure he will, but I was responding to a work email.” He set the phone down. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be.” Gray shook the napkin onto his lap. “You have a demanding career. I get it.” Owning and running a successful video game production and distribution company wasn’t a nine-to-five job. He reached across the table and nudged the phone toward Jack. “Go ahead.”
“I’m done.” Jack smiled at him. Gray adored that smile. It was soft and gentle, like the rest of Jack.
When slender, timid Jack Storm had walked into his office all those years earlier wanting help securing trademarks for his fledgling company, Gray had worried about someone that unassuming succeeding in a cutthroat industry.
But there was something special about Jack.
He was brilliant, sure. But that alone wouldn’t have been enough to rise to his level of success.
Jack was also thoughtful, well-spoken, intensely hardworking, and a skilled problem solver.
“Have I told you how impressed I am with what you’ve done with Snow Storm? I read an article about you on TechCrunch the other day and they were gushing.”
“Thanks. They interviewed Jaime and he’s amazing at PR.”
Jaime Snow. Jack’s ex-boyfriend and business partner who Gray hated to admit was almost as responsible for Snow Storm’s success as Jack.
Gray’s feelings about Jaime were complicated.
The man was charming as hell, gorgeous, smart, and generous.
From what Gray knew, he hadn’t done anything intentionally cruel to Jack and to hear their friends tell it, he had sacrificed his own personal life in order to support Jack after their breakup.
Despite all of that, Gray didn’t like him.
It wasn’t jealousy, although he had spent nearly ten years being envious that Jaime had and didn’t appreciate someone Gray adored beyond measure.
The reason Gray couldn’t stand Jaime Snow was because whether it was intentional or negligent, he had wounded Jack so deeply that it had taken a decade for the scars to scab over.
“It’s easy to promote such a well-run company,” Gray pointed out. Jack was responsible for all the internal operations at Snow Storm.
“I try. It’s definitely gotten harder as we’ve grown bigger. I learned that when Oliver came on board.” He sighed and took a drink of water. “In a few months, he figured out things I should have noticed years ago.”
Oliver was a sweet young guy who moved to Seattle to work for Snow Storm and, apparently by coincidence, ended up dating Jaime.
They were now married and, by all accounts, blissfully happy.
Jack’s support of their relationship and genuine joy for them demonstrated his selfless nature.
Gray thought Oliver could do better than Jaime, but he kept his mouth shut because doing otherwise would have been rude, and also because he didn’t trust himself to have fair judgment when it came to Jaime.
“It’s easier to hear some types of complaints when you’re at the bottom of the food chain like Oliver. That doesn’t mean you aren’t a great boss.”
“Thanks, Gray. I rectified the gaps once I learned what I wasn’t noticing. I have good committees set up to help crowdsource input from all levels in the company and we’re meeting weekly. It’s been fairly effective but I’m working on more solutions too.”
“While you’re doing that, maybe you can outsource some of your responsibilities. You have good people working for you and you need to make time for sleep.” Jack was a notorious night owl and yet also an early bird.
“Sleep is the enemy. I barely have enough hours in the day as it is!”
“I hear you.” Gray wasn’t a big sleeper either. That worked out well because he could chat with Jack during his free time, which was late into the night. It was yet another area where their lifestyles meshed perfectly, which reminded Gray about Jack’s New Year’s resolution.
“So. About the date.” Gray picked up his water glass and took a drink. “You dodged a bullet like Neo.”
“Disaster, I know.” Jack sighed and shook his head.
“Not a good match, but probably not quite at the level of disaster.” Gray grinned at Jack.
“You’re right.” Jack returned his smile. “I was being dramatic.”
Jack wasn’t dramatic in the usual sense.
He was never loud, never demanding, never selfish.
But his brilliant mind gave him a tendency to react to what he thought would happen well before it had a chance to occur.
Jack’s brain operated like a chess game, with him always five moves ahead.
When it came to his professional life, the ability to predict outcomes helped Jack steer his company in an optimal direction.
He made smart choices in who he hired, what he produced, and how he took it to market.
Unfortunately, in his personal life, Jack almost always perceived huge failures when there were only small speed bumps, sometimes even before the bumps were reached.
He was brilliant, driven, and highly successful at work, but when it came to men, Jack struggled with a fair amount of anxiety and a heaping dose of insecurity.
“You’re being hard on yourself again.” Jack had been doing that for as long as Gray had known him, which wasn't all that long after he had started dating Jaime Snow, so while Gray wasn’t sure if that unhealthy relationship was wholly responsible for Jack’s issues, it had unquestionably exacerbated them.
Jack’s confidence and happiness had diminished during the time he was with Jaime, and while he had healed in the years since then, he still didn’t have a clear image of himself.
Jack sighed and then smiled and shook his head. “Everyone has bad dates. It isn’t an indictment of me.”
“Perfectly stated.”
“Glad to know the therapy’s paying off.”
The waiter walked up to their table, so they paused their conversation and situated the plates and glasses.
Gray relaxed into his seat. He was having dinner with his favorite person who was smiling and happy.
The only way the situation could be better would be if they were at home, naked, for the meal.
And for the first time, Gray thought he had a genuine chance of making that happen.
“Eric told me about your New Year’s resolution,” he said when the waiter left, and they were alone again.
Brow furrowed, Jack said, “What New Year’s resolution?”
“Something about putting yourself out there. He said that’s why you were dating that guy.”
“This was only the third time I’ve been out with him.
” Jack shook his head and laughed. “The resolution thing is all Eric. You know how he’s into all that stuff.
” He waved his hand as he spoke. “I told him about what my therapist said about me being ready to give dating a real chance, and he turned it into a resolution because I guess that makes it more likely to happen?” Jack shrugged.
“If he finds out about that scene at the bar, he’ll probably say it fell apart because of my horoscope or something. ”
“Probably.” Gray chuckled. “At least he means well.”
“He does.”
“Resolution or not, I’m glad you’re finally ready to really try another relationship.”
“Not sure ready is the right word after I crashed and burned tonight.”
“That guy was a no-go but look at you.”
Jack arched his eyebrows in question.
“How do you feel right now?”
“Good,” Jack quickly responded and then tilted his head to the side, paused, and repeated himself. “I feel good. A little embarrassed because of the theatrics and the yelling, but otherwise…”
“You’re not blaming yourself for things not working out with what’s-his-name from the bar?”
“No, Gray,” Jack sing-songed.
“You don’t want to run home, put on those gray sweats with the fleece lining, and hide under your duvet with a bag of salt and vinegar chips?”
Jack coughed into his hand and lowered his gaze. “I may have given it a fleeting thought earlier, but the chips were going to be those lime-flavored ones you got me.” He looked up at Gray from underneath his eyelashes. “And I’m glad I didn’t go home.”
Damn did that shy expression and those red-tinged cheeks do it for Gray. His lips tingled with the need to kiss Jack’s sweet mouth, and his breath quickened with the hope that, someday soon, he would finally have that opportunity.
“I'm glad too.” Gray winked at Jack. “But the night’s still young. The sweats and the chips are waiting for you at home.”
“Not that I’ll have room after this huge meal.” Jack looked down at their table.
“I’ll take one for the team and help you out,” Gray said. “I’ll come over after dinner. We can cuddle under a blanket and make a dent in the next episode of the Great British Bakeoff while we regain our appetites.”
“Good plan.”
***
“Maybe I should learn to bake,” Jack mumbled, his feet curled under him, his body relaxed into the sofa, and his attention on the television where a man was kneading dough.
“Then I’d have fresh bread and more developed muscles.
” He leaned his head toward the television and squinted.
“Really, really well-developed muscles.”
Next to him, Gray chuckled. “We’ve reached the time of night where you see thirst traps everywhere.”