“I’m not?—”
“Look, I’m not asking you to marry him. Just go out on one double date with us and keep an open mind. You have a lot in common, and honestly, you willlovethis guy.”
Love him? Doubted it. But what would it hurt? At a minimum, it could be fun. Maybe I’d get laid. Maybe not. But… “You’re buying.”
“Deal!”
I saw Eric Thompson across the room and waved at him. He smiled and came over to the bar. “Hey, long time no see.”
“I know. Things have been pretty busy with work. Running a business can be stressful. I hardly have time for anything.”
“Same here, but it’s still important to make time to have fun. We should totally hit the gym.” Eric was right, it had been too long since we’d worked out together, and I hadn’t been doing anything else for fitness either. “Let me know when, and I’m in.”
“You know, that’s a great idea. I’ll call you when I get a look at my schedule.”
“Perfect. Here’s to friends and health.” He raised his glass, and I tapped mine against his.
“Friends and health,” I repeated and took a swig. We chatted a bit longer before a few other guys came over, bragging about their games and ribbing each other. Sitting there, I realized that more and more over the last few years, my social circle had evolved to mainly consist of Lactin brothers. I didn’t associate much with others outside them except at work, and that kind of included my parents as well. They worried over me too much, and I didn’t have the mental capacity for it. I preferred to hang out with people who didn’t require anything from me, no explanations, no demands, just hanging out and having fun.
Maybe that didn’t leave me as content as I thought it had. Maybe it would be fun to meet someone new. Preston was right, we didn’t have to jump into a relationship just to have a fun evening out.
It only took a few days for Preston to set up a date for Friday night. Thinking about what Eric had said at our gathering aboutmaking time for fun, I took off early to get ready, since I could finish anything else I needed to do in the morning.
The initial meeting would take place with Preston at the boys’ apartment in about an hour. I wanted to bring a gift for Gilly, but I didn’t know him or what he’d like. So, I didn’t get anything, but I felt bad about it. Blind dates were hard enough, and normally I didn’t do them, but if he was a Little, it was customary to show up with a prezzie.
I pulled up to the address Preston gave me and shot him a quick text, letting him know I was here. The boys lived in a quaint complex right behind a row of shops. I admired the architectural style of the multi-colored buildings with soft yellow and peach exteriors. Since I built commercial structures for a living, great buildings always caught my eye.
Preston met me out front with a friendly high-five. “Let’s do this.”
His boyfriend, Bobby, buzzed us up, and soon we were standing in their living room. There were a ton of windows, which would bring in the natural light during the day, but now, it was dim with a few low lights on and a brighter one coming from around the corner. I suspected that was where the kitchen was. Bobby dashed over to Preston and kissed him. “Hi, Daddy.”
Before they got any smoochier, I cleared my throat, reminding them that they weren’t alone. “Nice to meet you.”
“Oh, sorry. Hi.” He stuck his hand out for me to shake. “Let me get Gilly.” He dashed off, and I barely had time to raise an eyebrow at my friend before they returned.
Bobby shoved Gilly forward, and I got my first look at him. Soft curls of the lightest dishwater blond, eyes a golden brown with ahint of eyeliner on, though I didn’t think he needed it. He looked younger than the twenty-two that Preston swore he was. Damn, if those puffy lips didn’t look like he’d been nervously biting them. The attraction was off the charts, at least on my side, though I didn’t dare tell Preston that. I’d never hear the end of it.
Then Gilly shyly smiled, “Hi,” and wiggled his fingers.
That was all it took. I was done for.
Damn Preston and his intuition.
Gilly was slightly shorter than me, and I topped six-two, but he was slim while I was a bit thicker. My internal Daddy had the overwhelming urge to feed him. “Nice to meet you, Gilly. Should we go?” I glanced over at Preston, barely able to take my eyes off Gilly, but I couldn’t stand there ogling this gorgeous boy all night, even though I wanted to.
“Sure. Yeah. I brought the sedan, so we can ride together.”
“Ooh. I like that, Daddy, thank you. Where are we going?” Bobby wrapped his arm around Preston’s.
“You’ll see.” He kissed Bobby on the top of his head and waited patiently while his boy locked the door before we headed out to his car.
The restaurant Preston had chosen was a good pick, Scoreboard Café. It was actually a pub with upscale bar food, but unlike your normal sports bar, it had arcade games, darts, pool tables, and a double line of pinball machines right down the center of the place. When Preston pulled into the parking lot, Bobby hooted and cheered.
I glanced at Gilly, and his eyes lit up with excitement. “Gilly? Do you like the games here?”
He nodded. “Yes, sir.” Such a shy, but polite boy.
“Great. Let’s go in.” I opened the door and stepped out then helped Gilly do the same, keeping hold of his hand after we’d emerged. He smiled at me. I wanted to tell him he was being such a good boy, but it was way too soon for that.
