He unconsciously rubbed his leg, his fingers kneading the beige fabric of his pants as he dropped the fork into his bowl and pushed the salad away. It was a shame he couldn’t push the memories away so easily—memories of Gareth, the motorbike, and the crash.
* * *
They were supposedto be talking campaign strategy, but Roger was more keen to direct the conversation to Jason and Sean’s date, which turned Jason’s thoughts back to the night before.
“I think he’s been hurt, Rog. There’s something vulnerable about him. It’s like he’s afraid, although I’m not sure of what. Don’t get me wrong, I think he was really into the kiss—trust me, he wasdefinitelykissing me back—but all of a sudden something changed, and he pulled away.”
“You’ve got no idea what triggered it?” Roger asked.
“None whatsoever. But he didn’t run. I thought he’d hightail it out of there, but he just asked to take it slow.”
“That’s positive, then.”
Jason smiled. “Yeah, it is. Still, I wish I understood him better, but there’s one way to fix that. We’ll just take it one day at a time and get to know each other better outside of work.”
“You’re sure it’s worth the effort? I mean, I know you think he’s cute but—”
“No buts. I’d like to see where this could go.”
“God, you must be serious if you’re willing to put in the hard yards.”
Jason barked a laugh. “Honestly, it’s no effort. None at all. He’s—”
Roger held up a hand, and his gaze focused over Jason’s shoulder. “Hey, Sean. You want to join us?”
Sean’s approach cut off any further discussion that Jason and Roger might have had, but Rog gave him a thumbs-up as Sean pulled up a seat. Despite his questions—which Jason knew came from a place of protective friendship—he knew Roger was pleased he’d asked Sean out and would be full of encouragement.
“Have you had a chance to review the tentative schedule?” Sean asked.
Jason pulled his notebook towards him. “We were just doing that now. I can’t see any issues. What about you, Rog?”
“Nothing from me. It all looks very workable. I’m happy to sign off.”
“Great,” Sean said. “It sounds a plan then.”
“Right-o.” Roger stood and gathered his stuff. “I’ve got another meeting to run to, so I’ll leave you guys to it.”
Once he’d left, Jason turned to Sean. “Speaking of calendars and plans, how about slotting me into your busy schedule?”
Sean beamed. “I can always find room for you.”
“Dinner then.” Jason grinned as he opened the calendar app on his phone and added the event for the following evening.
They slipped into a comfortable routine of seeing each other every couple of days. First it was the dinner out they’d arranged at a local sushi train, followed by a casual afternoon at a bar with a meal of pizza and beer. They caught another movie, spent an afternoon at the driving range (both of them pretty lousy at golf, but having a great time anyway), and finally got together with Roger and another of his friends, Warren, for a game of poker.
Jason was amazed at how much he and Sean had in common. Both loved to read, favouring murder mysteries, which gave them plenty to talk about. Both enjoyed the outdoors, but mainly solo activities like bike riding and hiking as opposed to team sports. Jason was looking forward to the time they could hit the trails together—maybe head up to the Blue Mountains or into one of the local national parks. They enjoyed the movies and dining out, and of course shared a similar interest in work, which was often a topic of conversation, but they had so much more to talk about. There were differences too, but Jason viewed these differences as benefits. Sean hated to cook with a passion and claimed to be seriously bad at it, while Jason enjoyed trying new recipes. He teased Sean that he was using bad cooking skills as an excuse to get out of preparing a meal for him, but secretly he was glad and looking forward to the opportunity to cook for Sean. Cooking and spoiling him with food would be something special he could do.Win his heart through his stomach.Sean was an avid fan of video games, so had promised to give Jason some tips on how to playCall of Duty. Jason had promised to share some of his photography expertise with Sean.
He hadn’t been disappointed as he’d gotten to know Sean better. Sean was just the man he thought he’d be, probably even better. Jason found himself daydreaming about him on more than one occasion. There was just something so attractive about a man who looked like Sean plus had a heart of gold. As each day passed, Jason knew his feelings were growing, until one day he realised that even though he’d only known him for about a year and only a couple of weeks had passed since they’d started seeing each other outside of the office, Jason was fast losing his heart to this wonderful man.
6
The beginningof February was significant for two reasons. On the work front, the first of the new campaigns went out—a social-media blitz aimed at getting people talking about Sean’s product, the restaurant-reservation app. There was some stiff competition in the field, but initial results were promising, and Sean was hoping a market-research focus group scheduled for the following week would further verify the results. If performance continued in line with the early take-up, he would definitely be back on track to achieving his quarterly results and getting his bonus. More importantly, though, his team would get recognition for all the hard work and long hours they’d put in lately, including the additional hours worked during the recent holiday season. The planning for the upcoming merger was also well underway.
However, the most significant thing to happen was Sean’s realization of just how much Jason had turned his world upside down. God, his chest fluttered at just the thought of it!
Sure, it was early days, and their relationship was still embryonic and fragile. He wasn’t even sure how to define it—were they even boyfriends yet? Whatever it was, Sean hadn’t thought that he would ever have it again—that sense of anticipation, the butterflies in the stomach, the thought of Jason on his mind all the time—allthe time.
He woke thinking about Jason, and he couldn’t help but stare during meetings or gaze at Jason’s desk during the day. He daydreamed and fantasised and actuallywantedmore. That was what surprised Sean most, the idea that he actually wanted both a physical relationship and an emotional connection.
