Chapter 13
“This is all for us?” Jamie’s eyes were as wide as dinner plates as he took in the room. Caleb was thrilled by this reaction, and yet, sad. This place had been special to Jamie, once.
“Yep. All for us,” Caleb said as he rushed forward and pulled Jamie’s chair out for him. The room was beautiful, just as he remembered, with its dark wood furniture and soft leather chairs. The lighting was dim and warm, casting a golden glow over the table.
After Jamie settled into his seat, Caleb sat in his own. As requested, Loretta placed a vase of lilies on the table. Caleb made a mental note to send her a thank-you card.
“I love these,” Jamie said, sniffing the bouquet. “Lilies are my favorite.” His eyes shot to Caleb in question. Caleb swallowed the words I know and said instead, “I’m glad you like them.”
He took a steadying breath. Tonight didn’t have to be about what Jamie didn’t remember or the fact that he used to like to come here. They could make new memories, starting right now.
“So you know the manager here?” Jamie asked, glancing at the door Loretta had just disappeared through.
“Sort of. Loretta’s husband is a season ticket holder, and I met them at a Chelsea function. Loretta and I hit it off, and…” He shrugged. “She gets us reservations and throws us free appetizers, here and there.”
Jamie smiled. “That’s brilliant.”
Caleb smiled back, but it didn’t feel quite right on his face. He wanted to tell Jamie that this restaurant meant so much to him because he had declared things to Jamie in this room that he had never said out loud before.
The server appeared and saved him. She was a nice, young lady standing pin-straight with a sleek blonde ponytail. “Gentlemen. What can I get you to drink?”
“The, uh, Soberoni? If you don’t mind?” Jamie always ordered drinks like he was wildly inconveniencing the staff by wanting one.
“Absolutely, sir.” She jotted down his order. “You’re aware that it is a zero-proof cocktail, yes?”
Jamie nodded. “Yes. The name is pretty clear.” He said it so genuinely, but Caleb still chuckled.
“Beautiful.” The server turned to Caleb. “And you, sir?”
“I’ll have the Beetroot Breeze, please.”
“Very well. I will be back with those shortly.”
Caleb smiled as she trotted away. “You didn’t want a glass of wine or anything?”
“No.” Jamie fiddled with the corner of his menu. “Well, I remember that you don’t drink, so…”
Caleb couldn’t help the grin that spread on his face. “That’s sweet of you. But, just so you know, it doesn’t bother me if you drink.”
Jamie smiled. “Okay. Next time, maybe I’ll get a pinot noir.”
“Nice. See anything on the menu you like?”
Jamie flipped to the starters and studied the list for a moment. Caleb studied him, particularly interested in the way he was nibbling on his plump bottom lip. Maybe it was the lighting, or the smell of the lilies, but Caleb felt drunk on the sight of Jamie, here, on a date with him.
After the accident, Caleb didn’t know if he’d ever have this again.
And now Jamie was sitting across from him, tracing his bottom lip with his thumb in thought, and Caleb was slowly losing it.
He wanted to pull Jamie’s hand away and replace it with his own, running his own thumb along Jamie’s bottom lip, and then tug it gently until Jamie sighed.
He wanted to watch those spring green eyes turn dark and aroused, waiting for Caleb to kiss him.
And he would. He’d ravage Jamie with his tongue and taste what he’d been missing all these weeks…
Caleb took a sip of water. Those thoughts were uselessly making him horny right now, because nothing physical was going to happen between them tonight. It was too soon for Jamie, and he knew that, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t still try to woo him. Make him feel loved in other ways.
Jamie was so easy to woo. All Caleb needed to do was, like… order something vegan. Was that manipulative? Caleb didn’t think so. Just because Jamie got slightly horny when Caleb did good things for the environment, they were still good for the environment, right?
“What’s good here?” Jamie asked, blissfully unaware that Caleb was playing mental gymnastics. “I assume we’ve been here before?”
“Yeah, the minestrone is great. And it’s vegan.”
Jamie’s eyes flicked up. “Oh, do you—are you vegan?”
Caleb shrugged easily. “No, but I like to make plant-based choices when I can.” He flashed a smile that he hoped was charming. “For the environment. Every little bit helps, right?”
“Yes, absolutely.” Jamie smiled shyly and tried to hide behind his menu. A swell of pride filled Caleb’s chest alongside a tiny bit of guilt. Maybe he was playing dirty, but he couldn’t help coaxing those cute little smiles out of this man. He was just too fucking adorable.
After a few more minutes, Jamie plopped his menu down on the table. “I have my eye on the cheese and truffle croquettes,” he decided. “I love pepper dip.”
A snort escaped Caleb’s lips, and Jamie’s eyes went wide. “What? Why’s that funny?”
Caleb covered his mouth. “I’m so sorry.”
Jamie’s shock quickly turned to amusement. “What is so funny?”
“You just love eating things that you shouldn’t.”
Jamie’s cheeks turned pink, and he glanced away. Caleb pointed across the table. “I knew it! You know peppers give you a rash. You know it, and you eat them anyway.”
Jamie scrunched up his nose. “They’re good!”
“Not that good.”
Jamie rolled his eyes, but they twinkled with amusement. “Fine, I get a tad itchy. What else do I eat that I shouldn’t?”
Caleb folded his hands in front of him. “Oh, plenty. You love drinking soda, even though it gives you major heartburn. And don’t get me started on peppermint—”
Jamie gasped. “You—I—I am not allergic to peppermint,” he spluttered adamantly.
Caleb nodded to the menu. “You’re not getting the brownie with peppermint ice cream, I can tell you that right now.”
“Caleb!”
“Ellie’s orders.”
“Ellie? You two are conspiring against me.”
The petulant tone of Jamie’s voice was childish and adorable. Caleb quirked a stern brow at him, and, after a few moments of silent standoff, they both fell into a fit of laughter. It felt amazing.
The server dropped off their drinks and, apparently deciding that now was not the time to take their order, quickly rushed off. Jamie took a sip of his Sobroni, still giggling.
“I am in complete denial about being allergic to peppermint.” Jamie tried to compose himself. Caleb wished he wouldn’t. His laughter was music to Caleb’s ears. “I can’t even blame the amnesia. I’ve been lying to myself about peppermint since I can remember.”
“Yeah, I caught on after the fourth or fifth time you broke out in hives after going to get gelato,” Caleb said, taking a sip of his mocktail. “You tried to convince me it was my detergent.”
Jamie shrugged. “It could be. You can’t prove it was the gelato.”
Shaking his head, Caleb muttered under his breath about stubborn British people. It made Jamie laugh some more.
“Do we know what we want to order, gentlemen?” Their server came back for a third time and was trying very hard not to look impatient. She wasn’t succeeding.
Jamie nibbled on his fingernail as his gaze bounced around the menu. “Could we have just one more minute?”
“Of course,” she said, but it sounded more like sure, I have nothing better to do than keep coming back.
“What are you getting?” Jamie asked, slightly panicked. He had always struggled to make decisions, and ordering at restaurants was a specific anxiety of Jamie’s. Caleb had made a habit of looking up the menu of each place beforehand and always having suggestions on deck.
“Not sure yet,” he said reassuringly. “The breaded aubergine is great.”
“Really? It is?” Jamie said, looking up. “Have I liked it here before?”
Caleb took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “It doesn’t matter what you’ve liked before. Take your time and get what you want.”
The stress in Jamie’s forehead smoothed out, and he looked back down at his menu. “I think I want the pumpkin, ricotta, and sage ravioli.”
“Lovely,” Caleb said as he waved over their server.
“What can I get you?” she asked dryly.
Jamie lifted his chin and ordered.
“And you, sir?”
Without even cracking his own menu, Caleb flashed a smile and said, “I’ll have the same.”
“You’re not going to look at the menu?” Jamie asked as their server flitted into the kitchen equipped with their orders.
“Don’t need to,” Caleb said coolly, sipping his drink. Something in Jamie’s stomach did a little flutter watching Caleb’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. This whole time Jamie had been studying the menu, Caleb’s attention was laser-focused on him.
Why did it make Jamie randy as hell?
To be fair, many things about Caleb made him randy, more than just his choice to order ravioli.
For one, Caleb looked fit as hell in his button-down shirt that was just a touch too snug—to professional tailoring standards, at least. He had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, showing off the muscles in his forearms.
Caleb was effortlessly gorgeous. The man had taken less than ten minutes to get ready for dinner and looked like that. Jamie had agonized over his hair and suit for… Christ, over an hour?
The dim lighting made Caleb look dark and mysterious, straight out of a James Bond movie, and the way he always knew exactly what to say and do to keep Jamie’s anxiety at bay was… well, Jamie’s heart was doing a lot of weird, unfamiliar things in his chest.
Also, Caleb choosing to eat vegetarian? Why was that so hot? He also had a sneaking suspicion that Caleb had something to do with these lilies…
“Y’alright there, J?” Caleb asked with a cheeky grin, like he knew exactly what he was doing to Jamie’s brain.
Realizing his mouth was hanging open, Jamie snapped it shut. “Yes, great. Lovely.” He quickly, and somewhat awkwardly, tried to make pleasant conversation. “So, um, how was the game?”
“Chelsea lost. The girls were bummed, but I was proud of them.”
“They’re lucky to have you,” Jamie said, earning him a big smile from Caleb.
“Thanks.”
The atmosphere became light and airy, both of them letting down some guards, and Jamie felt his heart breathe a sigh of relief.
You can do this.
They talked about Caleb’s journey to becoming the Head Athletic Trainer for Chelsea, starting back during his time playing high school football, getting injured, and deciding to study exercise science.
His transition to Ohio State and then, by pure luck, according to him (though Jamie didn’t buy it), getting picked up by the Premier League.
Caleb skillfully avoided talking about his family, and Jamie sensed some hurt there. He didn’t push.
“Apologies if any of this is repetitive,” Jamie said carefully. “I’m sure we’ve talked about most of this stuff, erm, before.”
“Jamie.”
He felt kind of dumb, knowing that he was making Caleb repeat so much to him—
“Jamie.”
He stopped poking his ravioli around on his plate and looked up. His chest squeezed tight, and he regretted saying anything at all.
“You are not a burden,” Caleb said seriously.
“Do you understand? This right here,” he said as he pointed between the two of them, “is exactly where I want to be. If you have questions, ask them. If you get confused, I’ll help you.
” His brown eyes became glossy in the candlelight as he stared at Jamie, as if bracing for him to have some big reaction to these words.
Not far off. Jamie was a bit of a mess on the inside. “Thank you,” he managed to get out. “Thank you so much.”
He took a deep breath and continued poking his ravioli, trying to tamp down the storm of emotions surging through him.