“He’sa liar!”Ansonhollered from the kitchen. “Themutt just loves you more than me.”
“WhatcanIsay?I’ma lovable guy.”Ipressed onBart’schest the wayI’dseenAnsondo whenBartwas out of control, and he dropped to the floor.Ihad to fight my way with every step asBartran circles around me.Iclosed my eyes and inhaled deeply, impressed by the delicious scents filling the house. “Damn, the house smells amazing.”
Notthinking about whatIwas doing, my earlier daydream seeped into reality.Iplaced a hand on the small ofAnson’sback and looked over his shoulder.Interestingly, he didn’t pull away.Ineeded him to recoil, to make it clearI’doverstepped my bounds.
Butno, the big jerk did the exact opposite.Myknees nearly buckled when he turned his head to the side, flashing a broad smile. “Thanks.I’mnot sure how it’ll turn out.Ifound the recipe online and stopped by the store on my way home.”
Hismouth was so close.Tooclose.Andhe seemed completely oblivious to what he was doing to me.Myentire body went taut asIreminded myself over and over thatIabsolutely could not lean in to kiss him.
Icleared my throat, dropped my hand, and stepped back.Oneof us had to be rational here, and it had to be me.WhenIturned away,Ispotted the table already set with a bottle of wine open to breathe and a small garden salad.Iwondered ifAnsonate salads often or if he’d been confidentIwouldn’t turn down his invitation and had made it for me.
You’relike a damn rabbit, you know that?Ihadn’t taken offense to his teasing earlier in the week when he’d laughed at my need to have a salad loaded with veggies every night with dinner.Iwasn’t a health nut, butIneeded something to start filling my stomach before the main course soIdidn’t gorge on unhealthy options.Saladswere a good way to do that and get in extra servings of veggies.
“Youmade it sound like you were just playing around, not going all out.”Withnothing to do,Ileaned against the kitchen counter, watchingAnson.Itook pride in how much more confident he looked in front of the stove than he had a week ago.Heglanced up at the recipe he’d taped to the front of the microwave as he worked on a pan sauce.Ishifted uncomfortably.Ifsomething didn’t give soon,Iwasn’t sureI’dbe able to keep spending as much time with him asIhad been.Ineeded to guard my heart because it would be easy for my crush to tumble head-first into unrequited love.
“You’vebeen taking care of me all week,” he explained. “Iwanted to return the favor.”
“Well, you’ve definitely raised the bar,”Iteased.Hehanded me a plate that looked almost worthy of a fine-dining restaurant. “Looksgreat.Thanks.”
“Youdon’t need to thank me.”Heseemed annoyed thatIwas trying to show my appreciation. “LikeIsaid,Iwanted to do something for you since you’ve kept me fed.Betweenthat and the fence, one meal hardly seems like enough.”
IfollowedAnsonto his kitchen table, which was much larger than mine, and sat across from him.Wechatted our way through a small salad each.Theentire time,Itried figuring out a way to ask him about what led to today’s altercation, even thoughIcould guess.Themayor liked to throw around his title as if that made him some sort of king.Thetruth was, in a small town, being mayor was just another job.Anoften thankless job, which might be part of why he felt the need to assert his authority wherever he could.
Thesalmon, rice, and roasted carrots had cooled perfectly by the timeImoved the empty salad bowl aside soIcould dive into the main course.Ansonwatched asIlifted the fork to my mouth.Icouldn’t stop the moan that escaped my lips asItook the first bite.Mostpeople steered away from fish when they weren’t adept in the kitchen, butAnsonhad done an amazing job.Thepan sauce had just the right amount of acid to complement the meat, which flaked apart easily. “Thisis delicious.I’mimpressed.Youshould eat instead of watching me like a weirdo.”
“It’snot weird to let the guest have the first bite,” he insisted.Andmaybe it wasn’t, but riling him up was so much fun.Thelook on his face as he tasted what he’d made ought to be illegal.Mybrain had been struggling all day, and beforeIcould stop myself,Iwondered if his dark eyes went wide that way when he came.Icoughed and cleared my throat whenIchoked on my own saliva.God, this man was making me stupid. “Fuck, that is good.”
“Yousound surprised,”Imused, trying to act totally natural, as ifIwasn’t thinking about him having sex.Preferablywith me.
“Yeah, well, it’s not likeIhave a lot of experience…”
Mydick throbbed, making sitting still nearly impossible.IfIdidn’t know better,I’dthink he could somehow hear my thoughts.Myface flushed hot, andIblinked rapidly asItried to get my mind back on the completely innocent topic of the amazing dinner he’d prepared for us.Itdidn’t help when he licked his bottom lip.
Hisjaw went slack, and his eyes widened. “Withcooking,Imean.Ididn’t even realize how bad that probably sounded.Iswear,Iwasn’t trying to turn the conversation dirty.”
“Youdidn’t,”Iassured him.Thatwas all on me. “Andyou know what they say, practice makes perfect.”
Nowthat he’d felt the need to clarify he was referring to his culinary prowess,Iwondered about his experience in other areas.Ihad to be imagining the way his gaze traveled from my eyes to my toned chest and back a bit too low to make eye contact.Nomatter how muchIwished he was interested in guys,I’dnever dared to thinkI’dbe lucky enough that he actually was.ButasIreplayed the way his muscles seemed to relax whenItouched his back, the fact he’d made a nice meal for the two of us—complete with wine—and now his comment about being inexperienced,Iwondered if this was an awkward attempt at flirting.
“Ithelps when you have a good teacher,” he responded.Hislips parted slightly, and he leaned in closer so subtly thatIwasn’t sure he even knew he’d moved. “ImaginewhatIcould do with more lessons.”
“Allyou have to do is ask.”Itook a bigger bite of my rice than was polite to keep my internal thoughts from escaping my lips.Ifhe wanted lessons,I’dhappily volunteer as his private teacher, no matter the subject.
Therest of dinner fell into a silence that drifted between awkward and totally normal for two men enjoying the food in front of them.Likeevery night we’d shared dinner,Bartplopped himself at my feet, staring up at me with his big puppy-dog eyes, waiting for the tiniest scrap to hit the floor.Toobad for him.Tonight’sdish was tasty enough thatIwouldn’t dare let anything fall.
Whenwe finished eating, we fell into the rhythm of cleaning up.Irinsed our dishes, andAnsonloaded them into the dishwasher.Whilehe filledBart’swater dish,Iwiped down the counters and the stove.Partof me hated how easyAnsonmade it for me to feel at home in his presence.
“Doyou want to stick around and watch a movie or something?”Ifit had been anyone else asking,Imight have thought it was a subtle invitation for aNetflix-and-chill night.ButwhenAnsonasked, he was simply inviting me to hang out and watch a movie.
Itwould be easy to say yes, butIwas wiped after walking around the park all day.IfIstayed,I’dlikely fall asleep in the first twenty minutes, and thenIcouldn’t be held responsible for anythingIdid. “Raincheck?Ihate to beg off, butI’mabout to fall asleep in my soup.”
Thesecond the words passed my lips,IwishedIcould take them back.Itwas a ridiculous saying, one that hung around from weekends spent with my mom’s parents before they passed away.
“Youprobably had a long day, huh?”Ansonstraightened a pile of papers on the end of the counter, then started wiping down the stove even though it was already clean.Thefact that he wouldn’t make eye contact fractured my resolve to walk away.Icould be totally off-base, but he seemed disappointedI’dturned him down.
Takinga chance,Istepped closer to him, placing a hand on his forearm. “Hey, it’s not you,Iswear.I’mnot usually the type to eat and bail, butIdon’t want to be a lousy houseguest ifIpass out on your couch.”
Thecorner of his mouth twitched as if he was resisting the urge to smile. “Iget it.Ididn’t think about how long of a day you had.”
