He placed the bottle back in the bucket of ice and grabbed two sets of utensils and cloth napkins. The hotel staff had, unsurprisingly, provided eight. William didn’t even know that many people he’d like to have dessert with.
“Do you need help?” Adathan asked.
William lifted the metal lids from two plates, the aromas of caramelized nuts and rich chocolate making his mouth water as he uncovered three bite-sized pecan tartlets and a lava cake. “Nope.”
“Good. Because I had no intention of offering.”
William blinked, snorting in surprise. He glanced at Adathan, then broke eye contact so fast it was almost embarrassing. He set the plates on the table a little too hard and grabbed two more—cheesecake and macarons—trying to act normal before his body gave him away.
There were still more plates in the trolley, but the table was getting crowded, so William took a seat.
“To your victory,” Adathan said, raising his champagne flute for a toast.
William did the same. “To your graduation.” He took a sip and closed his eyes as the effervescent liquid glided across his tongue, leaving in its wake notes of citrus and hazelnut. He had no idea champagne could be so smooth and creamy. To be fair, all he’d ever drunk was cheap sparkling wine from the grocery store.
Adathan hummed pensively as he studied the selection of desserts. “Everything looks so delicious. I don’t know where to begin.”
“I say we try the lava cake first. If we’re lucky, it’ll still be warm.”
Adathan pointed his spoon at him. “Clever.”
“They don’t call me a genius for nothing,” William joked tentatively.
Adathan’s smile turned mischievous. “Who’sthey? Your mom?”
William gasped, his face alternating between shock and amusement at Adathan’s quip. “That’s it”—he snatched the plate—“no cake for you.”
“Aww,” Adathan uttered with a pout. “But—but—I’ve never had lava cake before.”
“Never?”
Adathan shook his head, his big puppy eyes going straight to William’s heart.
William dropped the act and slid the plate back to the center of the table. “You’ve gotta try this.”
Adathan also dropped the act—the mock-act?—and carefully plunged his spoon into the cake, releasing a molten river of chocolate. He scooped some up and brought the spoon to his mouth, but the cake slipped before it reached his lips, landing on the table with a soft plop.
Shit.
William mentally kicked himself for not realizing it’d be difficult for Adathan to eat with his injured, non-dominant hand. “Here,” he said as he offered his own bite.
Adathan stared at his dropped cake for a second too long before opening his mouth wide.
William’s heart squeezed in embarrassment—it hadn’t been his intention to spoon-feed him. He had no desire to tell Adathan he’d assumed wrong, though, so he closed the remaining distance to his mouth, hiding his discomfort.
Adathan pressed his lips against William’s spoon and hummed as he sucked it clean. He held William’s gaze as he pulled away, his tongue peeking out and languidly traveling across his lips.
William urgently took a bite, the moist, decadent cake nearly distracting him from the heat that had once again crept up his neck. He grabbed his napkin and wiped the table, erasing all evidence of Adathan’s clumsiness.
“Verdict?” William asked.
“Out of this world!”
William slid the cheesecake closer to Adathan, reducing the distance between the food and his mouth to prevent further incidents. He couldn’t care less that Adathan didn’t have the dexterity of a master pianist, but it was obviously something Adathan was worried about—understandably.
“Is it your first time drinking alcohol?” William asked, gauging whether he should give Adathan a refill.
“No. They gave us wine four times a year.”
