Chapter 20 #2
“Thank you,” Jamie said, looking down at himself.
Adjusting the collar of his light blue shirt—the one he’d spent over an hour picking out—he took the time to look Caleb up and down.
Once again, the man had taken all of ten minutes to get ready and…
heavens above, he looked good. He’d gotten a hair trim.
The sides were a bit shorter now, leaving his curls longer on top.
He looked bloody incredible.
Per Jamie’s instructions, Caleb dressed in casual layers: beige chinos, slightly cropped at the ankle, and a soft white Oxford with the sleeves rolled up.
Draped over his arm was a dusty olive crewneck he could tie around his waist if things got too warm at the venue.
Caleb still had no idea where they were going.
Jamie’s stomach did a nervous little flip at the thought. Fuck, he hoped Caleb liked what he had planned.
Caleb cleared his throat. Jamie jolted, realizing he was staring at Caleb’s chest with his mouth open. “You ready?” he squeaked, earning a small chuckle from Caleb.
“Hell yeah, I am.” Caleb slipped the crewneck over his head. With a hand on Jamie’s back, he led them to the door and opened it.
“No, no, no,” Jamie said, shaking off Caleb’s hand. “I’m taking you on this date. I will be opening doors, and all that rubbish.”
“Rubbish?!” Caleb leaned away. “I like holding doors for you.”
“Tough nuggets. Tonight is about you.”
As they shuffled out of the flat, locking the door behind them, Caleb muttered under his breath, “You did not just say tough nuggets.”
Leading Caleb down the sidewalk and into the heart of SoHo, Jamie mentally retraced the route to the restaurant.
Neither of them had been—at least, not that he was aware—and he’d spent an embarrassing amount of time at work memorizing the directions.
He didn’t want to spend their date faffing about with his phone.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going now?” Caleb slid a hand around Jamie’s waist and pulled him closer.
“You’ll see in…” Jamie checked his watch. “About four more blocks. So approximately six minutes at the pace we are walking.”
“Ugh,” Caleb sighed dramatically, but reeled Jamie in tighter. “I guess I can be patient.”
His playfulness bolstered Jamie’s confidence that tonight might not be a total disaster. They were just out to have a good time—and for Caleb to feel special.
Ellie’s text from earlier flashed in his mind: You could take him to the Museum of Stinky Rubbish, and he’d still worship the ground you walk on. Chill.
Jamie frowned. His friends were just trying to ease his nerves and all that, but those comments didn’t actually help. Because he didn’t see it that way.
He wasn’t that Jamie… the one Caleb had apparently worshipped. He was this Jamie.
Squaring his shoulders, he turned to look at Caleb.
He was smiling straight ahead, gaze dancing around the street, trying to decipher where Jamie was leading them.
Jamie smiled at his profile, struck again by how bloody handsome he was.
The lights from the street emphasized the cut of his jaw, and the green in his sweater brought out the different shades of brown in his eyes.
Caleb must have felt his gaze because he turned, lips twitching with amusement. When their eyes met, something tugged at Jamie’s chest.
He wanted to earn Caleb’s affection. Not simply assume it.
After another few blocks, Jamie stopped in front of a black paneled wooden door. Not realizing they’d arrived, Caleb kept walking.
“Caleb!” Jamie reached out and tugged him back.
“What?” Caleb turned, confused. “Wait. This is where we’re going?” He eyed the door, then Jamie. “Are you going to murder me in there?”
“What? No,” Jamie huffed. “We are going to eat.”
“Is this even a restaurant?”
“Yes. It’s a Nigerian fusion restaurant.”
Caleb’s eyes widened, darting between Jamie and the door. His face cycled through a series of emotions—first, the realization that this was indeed a restaurant, switching rapidly to pure, unfiltered amusement.
Jamie frowned. “What is it?”
A booming laugh erupted from Caleb, and he doubled over. When he finally stood straight, his eyes were crinkled at the corners.“Oh shit, you’re not gonna make it. Do you have any idea how spicy the food in there is?”
Jamie deadpanned. “Caleb—” With an eye roll, he tugged him towards the door. “Come on.”
“Oh, you’ll die,” Caleb said with unbridled joy. “The spices in that building will literally kill you.”
“Would you hush? We have a reservation.”
“This is the best surprise ever. You have no idea what you’ve done.”
Jamie ignored the git, opened the door, and gave Caleb a gentle push by the shoulders.
After less than thirty minutes in the restaurant, however, Jamie realized that Caleb was right.
But, since he was British and stubborn and determined to carry on with tonight’s date, Jamie was holding back every tear in his tear ducts, cursing his pathetically sensitive palate.
And his mother, for never introducing him to spicy food.
And all his ancestors, for good measure.
“How you doing over there?” Caleb snorted through a mouthful of jollof rice.
The man hadn’t even flinched, and Jamie was pretty sure just the smells in this place were making his own neck sweat.
“Great. Delicious,” Jamie said as he popped a piece of vegan suya into his mouth. He wanted to enjoy spicy food. He knew it would be good, if he could taste any of it. But his British taste buds were on fire, and his eyes felt like they were going to melt out of his head.
Even with Caleb telling the server to take it easy on the spice—which they had exchanged a very pointed glance about—Jamie was still dying.
Literally dying.
“Your birthday’s coming up,” Caleb said. “Any ideas about what you wanna do?”
“Oh.” Jamie gulped down some water, which did absolutely nothing. “I’m not sure yet. Maybe we could go see my family?”
“Yeah, sure. Whatever you want.” His expression fell slightly, and Jamie could tell he was forcing his voice to sound casual. “I also don’t have to come, if you want it to just be family.”
“What? Caleb, of course I want you to come.” He reached across the table and took Caleb’s hand in his. “In fact, my mum will protest if you’re not there.”
Pippa had been dead on; his mum was quite obsessed with Caleb. A twitch of Caleb’s lips gave away his relief as he dug back into his plate of beef and rice.
“This was super nice of you, J,” Caleb said after he chewed and swallowed, glancing around the restaurant at the atmosphere. The space was brilliant on the inside, even better than the website. More black-panelled wood and loads of African art on the walls. “My mom would’ve loved this place.”
“Yeah,” Jamie said, swallowing another piece of suya. It tasted like fire. “I just figured we always do English things. I wanted to see you in your element.”
Caleb grinned, big, toothy, and boyish. His teeth were bright against his dark skin. It made Jamie’s heart swell with joy.
Surrounded by colorful art and spicy food, Caleb really did look so happy. It made Jamie feel more at ease, knowing he was having a good time.
“I wish I could have met her,” Jamie said, dabbing his lips with a napkin. “Your mum.”
“Me too. I hadn’t seen her in forever when she passed. After divorcing my dad, she spent most of her time with family in Texas. Or traveling back to Nigeria. Couldn’t really blame her.” He shrugged. “I think she always hated Ohio. And me and my sisters were grown up, so…” he trailed off.
“Did you have a funeral service? In Texas?”
Caleb frowned at his fork, twirling it skillfully in his hand. “No, we had her ashes flown to Ohio. She wanted to be buried at the church we went to as kids.”
“How about this?” Jamie said, pointing at Caleb with his suya kebab. “You tell me everything you loved about your mum while I eat this food from her country.”
Caleb laughed, glancing at the kebab. “You really don’t have to, J. I think you’ve proven your point.”
“I want to.”
“Okay.” Caleb leaned forward, elbows on the table. “The first thing to know about Marlene Adeyemi is her cooking…”
Jamie leaned back in his chair as Caleb let loose. He talked more than Jamie ever remembered. His smile spread across his face as he told story after story about his mum—how incredibly kind she was, her vibrancy.
Ever since they’d first met, Jamie assumed there was an explanation for Caleb’s contagious energy. Apparently, that explanation was Marlene.
Something about this restaurant brought Caleb fully into himself, and Jamie felt a swell of pride for bringing him here.
Caleb spoke about the way his mum had always cheered louder than anyone at his football games, how she was a brilliant artist, and how music filled their house from morning till night.
As he spoke, his brown eyes shone with both love and loss.
Jamie hung onto every word.
Glancing up at the ceiling, Jamie imagined Marlene looking down at the two of them.
“If you think you’re messy,” Caleb was saying, “my mom was the messiest person alive. Drove my dad fucking insane. Every surface in our house had something on it. Pencils, earrings, trinkets… You name it.”
Caleb smiled wistfully down at his rice. Something in Jamie cracked open. A deep, aching need to know everything that lived inside Caleb’s heart.
“You’re finished,” Caleb said, suddenly. It took Jamie a moment to realize he was talking about his food. “And your tear ducts finally gave in.”
Jamie chuckled, swiping at his eyes with the back of his knuckles. “Right,” he said, laughing again as he gently shooed Caleb’s hand away from the check when the server brought it.
As they rose from the table and headed to surprise destination number two, Jamie wondered if Caleb knew the real reason for his tears.