“He is lying,” Sharpie said, exasperated. “Give him twice the normal amount, and then his sweet tooth might be happy.”
“Seriously?” Jamie turned to Sharpie, indignant.
Sharpie looked completely unfazed. “What, I am wrong?”
Jamie heaved a sigh. He’d forgotten what a pain in the ass his old captain was. Turning back to Tyler, he offered him a smile. “The topping would be great,” he admitted.
“He likes that too,” Sharpie went on. “Topping.”
“What the fuck?” Jamie hissed, feeling his face and ears burn.
Sharpie just shrugged, looking pleased with himself.
Tyler looked like he was trying to hide his own amusement as he looked alternately at the two men. “That’ll be twelve eighty-five.”
“I should make you pay,” Sharpie muttered as he handed over his card. “You’re the one making big money now.”
“You’ve made more in your career than I’ll ever see in my bank account,” Jamie shot back.
He looked at Tyler, wanting to say something. He wasn’t ready to walk away from him. Not yet. “You look nice,” he said, immediately wishing he could take the words back. Not because he regretted saying them, but because Tyler looked so much better thannice. There were so many words that would do a better job of describing how Tyler looked to Jamie then.Beautiful. Breathtaking.
Tyler stared at him. “Um, thank you.”
Jamie felt Sharpie’s hand on his arm guiding him away. “If I let you stay there any longer, I am afraid of what you will say to that poor, pretty man.”
They found an empty table, and Jamie sat down, burying his face in his hands. “Oh my god,” he groaned.
“That was bad.”
“I know.”
“Have you always been shit at flirting?”
“I wasn’t flirting.”
“Okay,” Sharpie said, like he didn’t believe him. “But you know him, yes?”
Jamie glared at his captain, but then told him the whole story. He told him about the game and the fight and the shots and the snowman, how he’d hoped it was wearing a Sharpie jersey, only to find his own name on the back. About the ER and the hangover, about the tattooed dad and the adorable kid living in chaos.
“Now he and his son live with my moms.” He finished.
“You like him.” Sharpie’s expression was amused. “Ask him on a date.”
Jamie looked up at that. “I can’t do that.”
“Why? Are you worried about what people will say about you being gay?”
“No, it’s not that.” He’d been out for years, and other than the occasional comment online, people seemed to forget about Jamie’ssexual orientation. He’d had boyfriends here and there over the years, but he hadn’t found someone who would stick around through the madness of the season. “I don’t have time to date anyone.”
Sharpie frowned at him. “Explain.”
“Drinks for The People’s Captain!”
Sharpie let out a barking laugh. Jamie groaned, dragging his hands over his eyes. “Kill me,” he muttered, feeling the heat of embarrassment climb up the sides of his neck.
As Sharpie walked over to get their drinks, Jamie took a chance and glanced over his shoulder at the counter. Almost like he could feel Jamie’s eyes, Tyler looked up from where he was busy making another drink.
He flashed Jamie a smile, a teasing, amused smile, and Jamieknewhe was seeing something rare and precious, that Tyler didn’t let just anyone catch a glimpse of his dimples.
