“Hayden? You coming?” Armi stood by the black car waiting at the curb.
“Yep.”
He slid into the back seat, and Armi settled in next to him. All he had to do was get through the next day, and this strange desire would be gone and he could concentrate solely on his job.
Chapter Ten
“Dinner first, or do you want to go through the questions you have for me?” Armi twisted his hands. The Scotch and few snacks he’d eaten churned in his stomach. “I have no idea what to say.” He laughed but was too tense to fake it. “I hate talking to strangers or people I think are out to make me look silly.” He met Hayden’s sympathetic eyes. “It doesn’t take much, as I’m sure you realize.”
The horrible vision of grad school reared its ugly head and cleared the fog from his brain. While studying for his master’s, he’d taken a few courses in tax law, and part of the curriculum was briefing the cases in class. When the professor would call on him, he’d agonize over reciting the facts of the case, then wait to see what questions would be fired at him. Anytime he was called on, Armi didn’t miss the sly smiles and behind-the-hands laughter from other students, knowing his quiet, halting words made him an easy target.
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Hayden held up a hand and ticked off his fingers. “In my time so far, you’ve held your own in the budget meetings, got your ideas into motion for scouting,and tonight the team signed a huge name with maybe more to come. So where’s the problem?”
“Old perceptions die hard.” He shrugged. “Anyway, maybe we should eat first. I should soak up some of that liquor.”
Hayden frowned. “How much did you have to drink?”
Shame flowed through him. “Two and was on the third by the time you arrived. I-I swear I don’t normally do this. Hell, I don’t even like Scotch, but everyone else was drinking it, and I didn’t want to be left out.” His gut cramped. “Ugh, I don’t feel well.”
Hayden took his arm and led him to the sofa. “Sit. I’ll bring you some water and Tylenol. Be right back.”
He watched Hayden move around in his house and liked it. He liked everything about Hayden. He closed his eyes.
“Mr. Winters? Mr. Winters?” A cool hand touched his cheek, and he leaned into it. “I have your water and pills.”
He opened his eyes. Hayden held a glass and two tablets and sat next to him. Close but not close enough. “Hayden…can you please do me a favor?” he whispered and watched as Hayden’s expression turned wary, but he nodded.
“If I can.”
“Please stop calling me Mr. Winters. I really hate it.”
The tension receded, and Hayden grinned. “I can do that, sure.”
“I liked it that night…you know…when you called me Armi.”
“If that’s what you want.”
“I do.” He took the glass of water and Tylenol and downed them. “Okay. What do you want for dinner?”
“Something light in your stomach would be best. How about some pasta and grilled fish?”
“Uh, yeah, sure. Whatever you think is best.”
Hayden frowned. “You need to start thinking about whatyouwant. Whatyouneed.”
Christ.
Did Hayden even think about what he was saying? He needed more of what happened between them the night they first met. More kisses. More touching. Ending with Hayden inside him. His heart pounded. Hayden remained close, his full lips parted. So tempting. Armi could taste Hayden’s breath on his tongue.
“I-I’d better order dinner.” Hayden scrambled away, and Armi cursed his stupidity.
Idiot. He already said he doesn’t want you. Stop trying to make the impossible happen.
“Do you mind if I go change? I hate sitting around in a suit.”
“Armi, you don’t need to ask my permission.” Fingers moving quickly over the phone screen, Hayden kept his attention down. “Okay, I’m going to order you pasta primavera and grilled salmon.”
“What about you?”
