Chapter 6
SIX
JOSH
Even after we’d arrived at dinner, it took some time for my heart to slow to a normal rhythm again.
Coming out to someone new was always a risk, but David had rolled with it.
He’d looked a little surprised, but he recovered quickly.
And he wasn’t disgusted. And he didn’t hate me.
He wanted to go on the date and get to know me better.
We’d both been here before, but it was truly one of my favorite places. The staff was friendly, and queer, and the food was to die for. The queer part was important to me tonight because though I didn’t mind the age gap, the last thing I wanted was to get mistaken for David’s son.
“What’s your favorite thing here?” David asked as he perused the menu.
“I usually get the pan seared salmon. I’m not much of a cook to begin with, and I can never get fish right, so I tend to get things that I’d never eat otherwise. What about you?”
“I like the Cacio e Pepe. It’s simple, but I can never make a small amount and most of the time I’m cooking for one. Sometimes my son comes over with his boyfriends, but it’s still pretty new with them, and I don’t want to be needy or smothering.”
“Can I ask where your son’s mom is? Are you divorced or…”
“Wendy was a good woman, but she was troubled when I met her. Back then, I was young and dumb and thought love could fix anything. Well, sometimes, it can’t. She left not long after our son was born.”
“That must have been hard.”
“We pushed through.” David closed his menu, and it kind of felt like he closed the subject with it. “How about I order your favorite thing and you order my favorite thing?”
“Uh… okay. Yeah, why not?” I hadn’t actually had David’s favorite here before, so it would be a bit of an adventure. And if I hated it, I wouldn’t feel bad about swapping plates with him.
Our drinks arrived and we ordered our food, and then came the almost inevitable lull in the conversation.
“You never said what you did for work,” I said to him. David was hard to pin down. He was laidback, affable, likeable. He’d be well suited to a myriad of different things.
“It’s not as glamorous as editing film, that’s for sure.”
“Glamor is overrated.”
“I’m a custodian at the university. I’ve worked there since my kid was in diapers.”
“It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it. Don’t ask me what movie that’s from. I have no idea.”
“Aren’t you a film buff?” David quipped, taking a sip of his drink.
Was this another moment of truth for me? I wanted David. The more I knew about him, the more I liked him. My like had evolved into a full-blown crush, complete with X-rated fantasies. But he didn’t know the other me. The performer me. He’d had yet to meet River.
Our food arrived, breaking up our conversation long enough that it felt weird to circle back to the whole I-fuck-people-for-money thing, so I let it go. I would tell him later.
“This looks sinful.” David stared down at his plate, hunger evident in his expression. With the side of his fork, he cut off a small bite and then stuffed it into his mouth. His eyes fluttered shut, and he let out a moan that had me shifting in my seat.
“Oh, my God.” David looked at me. “Why have I not eaten that before?”
“Probably because you were busy eating this.” With my knife and fork, I sliced off a bit of the chicken breast and popped it in my mouth, taking with it a bit of pasta.
It smelled good, but holy shit, it tasted even better.
“You know, I had worried that we’d have had to swap plates, but this is so good. Almost as good as my usual.”
“This is a bit better, to be honest. And if you tried to swap it back, I’d have to fight you, and I don’t fight on a first date.”
“This isn’t a first date, though, remember? The dog park.”
“Right, so it’s a second date. All bets are off, Josh.”
We tucked into our meal after that, keeping our conversation away from heavy topics.
David was easy to talk to. He loved horror movies, though his preference was for psychological horror over slasher flicks.
He also loved disaster movies and could be compelled to enjoy the odd romantic comedy.
He disliked the intense heat of summer and preferred autumn out of all the seasons.
He wasn’t really the outdoors type, as I discovered through him telling the story of another date that had gone awry.
“When he said a light hike, I was thinking of a stroll around the park. Maybe down that one trail with a bit of a hill. But this was some sort of exercise in torture. He was the type that hiked uphill with a full pack—for fun. And I… am not.”
“What is your idea of fun, David?” I loved the way his eyes flashed when I said his name. The way he leaned closer like he wanted to hear it again, like it was a siren song luring him in.
I leaned in closer and in a move that felt forward, and a bit risky, I hooked my foot around his ankle. David jolted, his knee hitting the table, rattling our plates. We both parted like we’d been caught with our hands in the cookie jar.
Wow, did I feel stupid.
I’d clearly read David all wrong. I thought he was interested in me. Unless I was seeing things that weren’t there. The hunger in his eyes when he looked at me. The way he leaned in when I spoke like he was hanging off every word.
“Sorry, I… that was forward of me. I shouldn’t have—”
“You shouldn’t have gone on a date with someone as out of practice at this as I am.
” David cut me off, his expression soft, but serious.
“You surprised me, that’s all. I promise.
” He took a deep breath and let his shoulders slump.
“I’ve been wound a bit tight, to be honest. I wanted this night to be perfect. ”
The defeated look on David’s face made my heart melt. He was earnest and honest and too good for me, probably, but he looked at me like he wanted me, and he talked to me like he wanted to know me. I hadn’t misread anything.
“Can I try that again then?” I asked, leaning close again. The attention we’d drawn had already moved on. I held his gaze while I slid my foot next to his, then ran it up the back of his leg. I hooked my foot around the back of his ankle and pulled it closer.
“Well…” David cleared his throat. Crimson slashed across his cheeks.
I didn’t think someone his age would be capable of blushing. He’d raised a kid by himself. He’d lived a whole life before I was even born. It gave me a rush of power that I was able to affect him like that. Little old me.
“Well, that was hardly worth rattling the white off the china.” David smirked at me, still slightly embarrassed.
“If we’re going to talk about worst date stories, I have a doozy.” I threw David a lifeline. A change of subject put him instantly at ease. His shoulders relaxed and he took a sip of his drink.
“The perils of dating is that sometimes it fucking sucks.” David let his gaze linger on my mouth, and then he looked up at me again.
His voice was huskier, thicker, and I wondered what it would do to me if he used it while he whispered things against my mouth, my neck, my body.
“And sometimes it doesn’t.”
My heart thrashed in my ribcage like a bird trying to escape captivity. David made it want to soar. It was my turn to blush and take a sip of my drink.
“Sometimes it doesn’t,” I agreed, feeling lightheaded with hope.
There was something brewing between David and me.
There had been since I first saw him in the park.
I’d have to remember to thank Blue for basically forcing me to adopt a dog.
Though that was also on Asher, because he’d fallen in love with a whole family of cats, and he was convinced that everyone needed a pet.
“Not to be awkward and ruin the vibe,” I said, my curiosity and anxiety winning out over my common sense. “But can we check on the pups?”
David flashed me a blinding smile and pulled his phone out. “Thank God. I’d wanted to look in on them, but I could never seem to find a place to slip it into the conversation. But I’ve been going half-crazy with worry, wondering about how Nitro is getting on.”
He tapped at his screen, smiled, then passed it over to me.
Nitro and Wally had curled up on the couch together and were fast asleep.
“That’s such a relief, you have no idea.”
“You can bring him anytime. Even if I’m not going to be home. Wally clearly loves the company.”
The server had impeccable timing, and they swanned over at this moment to clear our empty plates. “Would you gentlemen like the dessert menu?”
David looked at me, the question clear on his face, but I shook my head. He looked at the server. “Not tonight, thank you.”
“I’ll be back with your bill then.”
“Thank you.”
When they were gone, David looked at me. “I’d like to pay for dinner, if that’s okay, but if you’re not comfortable with that, we can split the bill.”
“David, the thing about me is that I will never turn down free food.” I tipped my glass to my lips, emptying the last sip. “And I will never leave my drink unfinished.”
He left the last bit of his drink, however, and he put the meal on his credit card, in addition to leaving a cash tip at the table. He met my gaze and shrugged. “I like to tip in cash; that way I know they get their money.”
God. How was he so perfect? Kind and thoughtful and, yeah, a little awkward, but he was also so fucking sweet.
It made me want to dirty him up. To debauch him and tear him apart.
To undo him completely. He was gorgeous, composed, and endearing when he was awkward.
And I bet he was devastatingly sexy when he was all mussed up and lust drunk.
We left the restaurant, and I walked side by side with him to my car. I opened the passenger side door for him, and it was clearly an unexpected move, but David didn’t balk or argue. He just smiled at me like I was the best thing he’d ever seen.
It was easy to believe I was when his eyes kept flashing to my mouth, then darting away like he was scared of getting caught. It had me wondering what he kissed like. Was he soft? Aggressive? What would his mouth taste like?
I was throbbing with need by the time I got into the driver’s seat and buckled up. Part of me wanted to take him home, so maybe I could finally get that kiss he seemed to be nervous about, but the other part of me didn’t want the night to end yet.
“Where to?”
“If you’re not sick of me, there’s somewhere I’d like to take you.”
Joy unfurled in me as I turned the key, prompting the engine to come to life. “Lead the way.”