Obviously that wasn’t me. But they’ve agreed to leave for a couple of hours tonight. And we can do stuff together.
I sucked in a breath, feeling it grow heavy in my chest. Three people in town now knew I was gay. My skin tingled, and it wasn’t a fun feeling, but right now, being outed was worth a get-to-know you date with Cas. This wasn’t Daddy-like behavior. I was strong, I was in charge, and I wasn’t going to take shit from anyone.
Calling a meeting was the only way. Rip the Band-Aid right off. I didn’t care if it hurt, I had to get this out before someone else tried.In the lounge, Janey, Tom, and Rooney stood, waiting for me to speak. Tom was halfway through mowing down an apple.
“I have something important to tell you,” I said.
“Fuck, you’re not quitting?” Janey said.
“If you quit, who’s going to take over?” Rooney asked, his head turning to Tom. “God no.”
“Relax,” I said, gesturing to turn the heat down—we didn’t need any combustion. “It’s personal.”
Tom sighed. “What illness is it?” he asked. “We can fightit.”
“No, no, no, guys, come on,” I said. “I know most of you have tried setting me up in the past. Janey, I’m sorry, your friends were never my type. Neither were any of your wife’s friends, Tom. And Rooney... you’ve not been here long enough to hear those stories.”
Rooney laughed. “Oh, are you coming out to us?” he asked.
All heads turned.
“Yeah, kinda,” I said with a huge grin. “Well, actually, yeah. I’m gay. So, do with that as you will.”
Janey slapped a hand on her knee. “Damn. My gaydar is usually good.”
“Nothing changes, brother,” Tom said, pulling me in at the arm for a hug.
It turned into a huge hug with all of them joining. The relief lifted right off me. I could only laugh, because I’d been worrying about life for so long but there’d been no need. People weren’t as closed-minded as I’d thought them to be.
“So, now we get to try and set you up with our gay friends,” Janey said inside the hug.
“No, I—” I kinda shook everyone off.
Rooney gasped. “I think he’s seeing someone.”
“Who?” Tom gave my arm a jab. “Come on. If it was important enough for you to come out, must be serious.”
The fuzzies traveled up the side of my face and I just laughed. My response was laughter, belly-aching laughter.I’d done this for a crush, a head spinning, heart thumping, crush, and his name was Caspian. “We’ll see,” I finally said. “But it’s still new.” As in brand new, like,todaynew.
5. CASPIAN
I told them everything. I spilled every single little detail. He kissed me—well, he asked for a kiss the moment we were alone. They were hysterical, and we screamed in unison for a while, hoping it wouldn’t cause people to come in from the streets in worry—but talk about a good way to get people into the bakery, besides the absolutely delicious bakes.
They couldn’t wait to grill me once we closed the bakery for the day. Scrubbing down the counters, I tried to look busy, so they didn’t interrogate me.
“You’re gonna have to clean your room,” Keaton said.
“Oh my god, yes, that place is a mess,” Toby laughed. “I hope you have fun playing. Do you think he’s versed in Daddy?”
I shrugged. “He seemed to know a lot, and he kinda just fits the bill, don’t you think?”
“A hot man dressed in uniform always fits the bill,” Keaton said. “And I think there’s only the other new fireman there now.”
Toby laughed in Keaton’s face. “No way, you need a Daddy who’ll be around you all day. You couldn’t deal with a Daddy on call.”
Keaton groaned. “You’re so right. But it doesn’t hurt to ask if he has friends who—you know, work from home.” Keaton blinked his eyes at me. He never asked for anything, especially favors, but this seemed somewhat jokey. “I’ll find someone, eventually, once I can take a break from this place.”
“Is that an opening to hiring someone for the cash register?” I asked, looking him up and down.
