“I’ll be forty at the end of the year. New Year’s Eve, actually.”
“Is that so?” he inquires.
I nod and then take another sip of my champagne. After a few minutes, the waitress returns pushing a cart full of food. She moves it closer to the table and spins it around making it easier to grab items from and after she removes the lids from the cloches she heads back inside.
“I didn’t know what you liked, so I ordered everything off the menu,” I say.
“It all looks incredible,” he says.
We make our selection and place the plates on the table, then grabbing my cutlery, I carve into my steak. As we enjoy our meals, the waitress returns and refills our glasses with more champagne then disappears inside again. I grab my fork andpoke at a piece of steak, then lean across the table with the fork in my hand as Liam opens his mouth and I place the meat between his lips. His lips bite down on the fork and he slides the piece of meat into his mouth. He reaches for the Caesar dressing and pours it over his Caesar salad, then pokes at it with his fork and shovels it into his mouth. I can’t quite explain it, but there’s something incredibly sexy about watching a man eat his meal. Especially when that man is Liam Samuels.
After finishing my steak, I pierce one of the sausages with my fork. I bring it to my mouth, and with my eyes locked on Liam’s I slide the piece in and out of my mouth. I suck on it several times before breaking off the end piece with my teeth, making a point to make a huge show of it. Liam coughs, almost choking on the piece of food in his mouth and shifts in his chair, then takes a sip of his champagne.
“You fucking tease,” he says.
“Don’t sit there and tell me you didn’t enjoy that little show.”
“That’s beside the point. Let me tell you, Dylan Lewis, the moment the doctor gives your dick a clean bill of health, I’m going to make you pay for that little number.”
Okay, so I guess I was asking for it, but I’m not going to lie, seeing Liam get all worked up and jealous over something that he knows he can’t have right now is totally worth it. We continue to eat through the rest of dinner with no more sexual antics, and when the waitress returns with a cart full of desserts and sweets, I frown. I can’t possibly eat anything else without being violently ill.
“Is there anything else you’d like to know about me?” Liam asks, breaking the silence.
“Not really. Unless of course there are things about you that you think I should know,” I reply.
“You know everything else about me. I get that we’re supposed to be on a date, but can’t we just jump and skip this part?”
“I suppose so,” I say, taking another sip of my champagne.
I grab the napkin and wipe the edges of my mouth, then my hands and place it back down on the table beside my plate. Thisissupposed to be a date, and with a date comes questions, even the awkward ones that we want to avoid for risk of screwing up what has so far been a wonderful evening. But as I stare at the man sitting opposite me, sipping on his champagne, I come to the realization that now is a good time to ask him the one thing that has been on my mind for days now.
“Liam?”
He turns to look at me and asks, “Yeah?”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course. Isn’t that what being on a date is all about?”
I smile.
“Why did you choose me?” I ask.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Out of all the people in the world you could have chosen to have a relationship with, why did you pick me?”
He frowns and replies, “I’m not sure I understand your question, Dylan.”
“It’s a simple question, Liam. I don’t have money or the popularity that you do. What was it about me that attracted you so much?”
He lets out a sigh, then places his glass of champagne back down on the table and stares at me blankly.
“Haven’t we already been over this?” he asks.
“I want to know, Liam. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of men out there who have much more attributing qualities than I do. You could have chosen any one of them. Why did you pick me?”
“Because I felt alive when I met you. You made me feel things I’ve never felt before. Sure, you could argue the fact that if our brothers never married, we may never have met or crossed paths. But the fact of the matter is that they did get married and we did meet, and I’ve spent the last five years obsessing over you because every day when I see you at the office, you make me happy. You know what it’s like, Dylan, a casual hook-up is just about sex, there’s no love or real connection. Most of the time, well in my case anyway, there’s not even an attraction, it’s just about getting laid with no strings attached. I know how that makes me sound, and to be honest, I don’t really care because those days are over.” He stretches his hand across the table and grabs hold of mine, then continues. “You’re my entire world, Dylan. I know it’s taken me five years to realize that, but it’s five years too many, and I’m glad I made my move when I did because if I hadn’t you would have slipped right through my fingers.”
