Chapter 23 #2
It had been a busy week, and Austin was in the Stag and Lantern with Michael and Nathan.
Gerard was flitting around the place, and Tony was in London.
Liam was joining them soon, but had wanted to speak to his dad after work.
He had stayed with Austin every night since he’d turned up in the early hours, and Austin was grateful to Chloe for managing the bakery on Monday.
He’d also kept Maisie off school after she’d stayed up comforting Liam.
Austin had asked his crew to manage without him on the job, and they’d just had time as a family.
Nothing major, just TV and comfort food, once they’d all caught up on sleep.
“Is Liam feeling better?” asked Nathan.
Austin gave him a puzzled look. How did he know? Austin was sure the town gossips didn’t know what had happened on Sunday night.
“Chloe said he was sick on Monday. There were no chocolate orange muffins.”
Austin chuckled. Nathan was a caring guy, but he also didn’t like disruptions to his routine.
Ever since Liam had been back and his chocolate orange muffins were a regular on the menu, Nathan had one on a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as a treat with his afternoon cup of tea when he was working.
He picked it up in the morning with his coffee.
“He’s okay. Just missing Sylvie.”
Nathan nodded, understanding what Austin meant. “That’s good. I didn’t want to upset him with the news.”
“What news?”
“Mr Thorpe is retiring.”
Austin looked at his friend, who was speaking matter-of-factly, but he could see this had upset him. Mr Thorpe had been running the geek shop since they were kids. The guy had to be well into his seventies, so Austin wasn’t surprised he was putting his feet up.
“You should buy it, Nathan.”
His friend shook his head. “No. Too many people.”
Austin couldn’t help but chuckle, but Nathan was smiling, so it was all good.
“He already sold it. Said that the man had promised to keep it the same, but people lie to get what they want.”
“That’s true, but I don’t think Mr Thorpe would let just anyone take over his baby. He’s had that place for over thirty years.”
“Forty-five years.”
Jesus. The guy must be even older than Austin thought, unless he’d opened it when he was really young, which was impressive given that it would have been the eighties. Were geek shops even a thing back then?
“When does the new owner take over?”
“Soon. Apparently he’s taking Mr Thorpe’s stall at the Festival of Pride. I can meet him then and ask what his intentions are with the shop.”
Austin had to suppress a smile. He could only imagine how that conversation would go. He almost felt sorry for a guy he didn’t know yet. Hopefully, his answers would be acceptable to Nathan.
“Michael, have you met this guy who’s taking over the geek shop?” asked Austin.
“Freddie? Yeah. Seems like a nice guy.”
“Who are we talking about?” asked Gerard, sitting down with a glass of white wine.
“Freddie Albright.”
“Seems okay. I spoke to him for only a few seconds. His dog is adorable, though.”
“Dog?” asked Nathan, perking up.
Nathan loved dogs, but had never owned one. He was worried he’d do something wrong, but was always happy to spend time with other people’s pets. As a teenager he’d had a very lucrative side hustle as a dog walker.
“Yeah, it’s a golden retriever,” said Gerard. “I also definitely get a gay vibe off him. Uses his hands a lot to speak.”
“Isn’t that a stereotype?” asked Austin.
“I also saw him checking out Kevin’s arse in his chef whites.”
Austin snorted. “Yep. Can’t argue with that one.”
“I think even lesbians check out Kevin’s arse,” said Michael.
“They can look at it all they want. I’m the only one who gets to –”
“Anyway,” said Austin, cutting his friend off before they got more detail than any of them wanted.
Gerard would happily talk about his sex life with his husband in front of the poor guy. Thank God Tony wasn’t here. They would both try to one up each other. Austin was no prude, but there were some things you didn’t need to know about your friends.
“Fine,” said Gerard with a pout. “We can talk about Liam, then.”
Austin prickled. “What about him?”
“He had a fairly intense conversation with his dad here on Sunday night. There were tears, and then he wasn’t in the bakery the next day. Then he’s stayed at yours every night this week and not been home.”
“Fucking hell, is nothing private in this village?”
“Of course not,” said Gerard. “So, if I were speculating . . .”
“Keep your nose out of my man’s business,” Austin growled.
Gerard and Michael cracked up laughing. Even Nathan was smiling, the traitor. These fuckers knew just how to push his buttons.
“Walked into that one, didn’t I?” he smiled.
“I love how protective and growly you are with him. It’s kinda hot,” said Gerard. “And well done to Nathan for setting it up.”
Nathan’s eyes widened. “I just thought they might like each other.”
“Exactly, so now we have to find you a man,” said Gerard.
Nathan’s eyes widened even further, and he shook his head.
“Well, Tony will never settle down. Michael is too blinkered to see he has the perfect guy right in front of him.”
“Who?” asked Michael, looking bewildered.
“If you have to ask, then we can’t help you.”
“Do you know who he’s talking about?” he asked Austin.
“Yes, we already discussed this.”
“You can’t be serious. I thought you were joking. Nathan, do you know about this?”
“No comment!”
That caused them all to laugh again. He loved being with his friends, and that he got to see them all the time.
There wasn’t a day that went by when he didn’t see at least one of them.
Granted, he didn’t see Tony as much, as he still lived in London, but he was here at least once a month, which was a lot more than it had been over the past twenty years.
Austin was about to ask everyone if they wanted another drink when he saw Liam walking towards him with a big smile on his face. Before Austin could say anything, Liam sat in his lap and planted a big smacker on his lips.
“I love you.”
Austin would never tire of hearing him say that. “I love you too.”
“You spoke to my dad.”
“Yes. I’m assuming from your reaction, you’re not pissed off.”
“No. I mean, I don’t want you fighting all my battles, but . . . thank you for this one.”
Liam kissed him again and then wriggled on his lap.
He could feel himself getting hard, so he slipped his tongue into Liam’s mouth before they heard a cough.
It was then Austin remembered where they were.
He looked over at his friends, who all had big grins on their faces.
Liam went bright red, which was adorable.
He went to get off Austin’s lap, but he held him tight.
“Just stay there for a second . . . but don’t move.”
This made them all laugh, although Liam, the little tease, still kept subtly moving on Austin’s lap. He didn’t mind, and would sit like this with the man he loved all night.