“Thanks,” he said, smiling at Seth. Then he looked a bit shy for a few beats.
That was when Leaf stepped in.
“Okay, I’ll let you know where we’re going and when I’m picking you up. You two finish your date,” he said, reaching to squeeze Dev’s shoulder. Then he backed away and vanished deeper into the house.
“I think he expects us to kiss,” Dev mock-whispered at Seth.
“Do you want to do that?” Seth whispered back.
Dev nodded at him, and Seth took a step closer to him.
He hadn’t kissed anyone but Leaf in a long time, so when his lips touched Dev’s, he reveled in the foreignness of the feeling. They were roughly the same height, Dev maybe a bit shorter, so there was no real reaching, just bending heads slightly. The kiss was sweet, very much like a first kiss should be. A promise of future heat but, for now, chaste and all about getting to know the other person.
They both trembled just a little when they separated, and then Dev huffed out a breath and ducked his head. “Damn. I want to do a lot more of that, but maybe wait for the next date?”
“Yeah, same,” Seth admitted. “Text me? And have fun on Saturday if I don’t see you before that.”
“We will. Thanks, Seth. Thissowasn’t how I thought tonight would go, but….”
“Better?” Seth hazarded a guess.
“Better.” Dev shouldered his bag and quickly pecked Seth’s lips again, then opened the door. “Bye.”
“Bye, Dev,” Seth murmured at his back and closed the door.
The butterflies in his stomach were still flapping around, but this time they felt almost content instead of excited and frantic.
Chapter Six
LEAF PACKEDthe dogs into his beat-up SUV and double-checked he had their collapsible water bowl with all the other stuff in the back. He’d gotten an idea on Friday evening and called a friend who co-owned a dude ranch by the mountains. Leaf felt certain that Dev would appreciate the dogs being able to roam free there instead of being leashed on a public hiking route.
He’d texted with Dev a bit since their dinner, and the thought of having Dev to himself for the day filled him with excitement. It felt weird, almost, to feel all this again. He was fifty, but sometimes he felt that, in gay years, he was closer to a hundred. He’d sometimes wondered what he’d do without Seth in his life, how he would have ended up during the last decade. Probably still on the road, even more than he was nowadays. Having occasional lovers in every port, so to speak. There was nothing wrong with that, but with age he’d come to understand that it might be more fulfilling to have a home somewhere with a lover, a life partner, waiting for him.
He found his way to Dev and his brother’s house easily and parked by the curb to wait. The dogs were in the crates in the very back of the car, peeking out as much as they could to try to figure out where they were.
Leaf glanced at the clock and realized he was five minutes early. He’d always liked a schedule when outside the house. At home, he’d laze about or work on his computer, but there wouldn’t be set times for anything. He went to bed when he got tired and woke up when he felt rested enough. When he had somewhere important to be—and this morning definitely qualified—he would set an alarm and be early anyway.
The door of the nice-looking house opened and Dev came out, then made sure it locked behind him. When he turned to walk to the SUV, he smiled widely, looking oh so very young for a moment. It twisted something inside Leaf briefly, reminding him of their age difference, but as fast as the sensation came, it also receded, when his heart bounced with joy. Dev looked happy to spend time with him. It made Leaf happy in response.
He pressed the button to open the passenger’s side window. “Just toss your bag into the back seat and say hi to the dogs so they’re calmer?”
“Will do!” Dev opened the door and smiled at the crates, which took all the space, including the back seats Leaf had taken out ages ago in favor of the larger crates for the kiddos.
“Hey there, babies,” Dev cooed at the dogs and petted them as much as he could through the holes. “We’ll be able to say hi properly soon, okay? Yeah, you’re such good dogs, aren’t ya?”
Leaf smiled at the way Dev seemed to be as charmed by the dogs as they were of him.
Dev dropped his light backpack and a small cooler next to Leaf’s bigger cooler and raised his brow. “I thought I was bringing the picnic?”
“Oh, there’s drinks in there. Mostly I have it with me so I’ll always have water for the dogs,” Leaf explained as Dev closed the back door and climbed into the passenger’s seat.
“You’re such a great dog daddy,” Dev said, clearly half teasing, half admiring, so Leaf just smiled at him.
“Thanks.” He waited until Dev had his seat belt on before starting the car and maneuvering it to the relatively busy suburban street. People were out walking dogs or just themselves. On one slightly safer driveway, young parents were teaching their child how to ride a bike. It was all so very normal, yet here Leaf was, taking a potential second boyfriend out for a date.
“What are you smiling at?” Dev asked, then reached over to squeeze his forearm. “And hi. I forgot to say that because the kids distracted me.”
Leaf shot him another smile. “Good morning. I’m smiling at the fact that all these people around here seem so all-American and wholesome, and here I am, going out on a date with a man half my age while my life partner waits at home for his turn with either or both of us.”
