Vincent nodded. “Are you joining us for dinner?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder.
Jasper backed out of the kitchen and then bolted up the stairs and slammed his door behind him. He yanked the apron off and wadded it up into a ball that he threw against the door.
Stupid Terrance. Stupid Amber. Stupid storm. He should have known better.
Why couldn’t he get a damn break?
He ran his hands over his face and sighed before pulling his clothes back on. So much for a quiet date at home.
He grabbed the apron and shook it out as he trudged back down the stairs. He passed the apron back to Vincent and focused on stirring the risotto. “Isn’t this done yet?” he asked, even though he wasn’t hungry anymore.
“Yes.” Vincent moved the pan of blueberry compote to a different burner before picking up two plates. He filled them with risotto and passed them both to Jasper, then grabbed two more from the cupboard.
Great. Their dinner was being invaded then. Of course.
He stifled a sigh and took the plates to the table, setting one in front of Amber and the other in front of Terrance. He grabbed four glasses and poured the sweet iced tea Terrance liked to keep in the fridge, then sank into a chair across from him.
Amber sat to his right at the head of the table, and Vincent set a plate in front of Jasper as he took the seat to his left.
He could feel their eyes on him, but he ignored them both in favor of poking at his food.
“Vincent said you’re going to sign a new contract. For a year,” Amber said, her voice carefully neutral.
“Yes,” Jasper said, his fingers tightening around his fork as his heart rate picked up, expecting some kind of fight. She might not have tried to interfere before now, but who knew what Matt had told her.
“Finally found yourself a sugar daddy. Nice job,” Terrance said with a soft laugh. He winced as Amber likely kicked him under the table.
“It’s not like that,” Jasper muttered, glancing at Vincent. He wasn’t sure what reaction he expected, but the wry amusement was at least better than a glower.
Terrance cleared his throat. “This tastes great, Vincent.”
“Yes, thank you for dinner. Even if we crashed it,” Amber added with a smile.
“Jasper made it.”
Jasper felt heat creep up his neck as both Terrance and Amber looked at him in surprise. “I just followed your directions, Sir,” he murmured, shifting in his seat when Terrance’s eyebrows shot into his hairline. He turned his attention to his food, then nearly jumped when Vincent rested a hand on his knee, gave a light squeeze, and didn’t pull away.
“Huh. Learning to cook, getting your first real taste of kink. Little Jas is growing up,” Terrance teased.
Jasper made a face at him and rolled his eyes. “You’re such a dick.”
“I’m starting to think that’s an endearment coming from you,” Vincent said.
He turned to Vincent with a grin. “Yeah, maybe,” he said, reaching over to pat his leg. He couldn’t quite resist the temptation to let his fingers slide farther north, his grin turning to a smirk when he felt a bulge against his hand.
Well, at least it might be easy to get Vincent to stay the night.
VINCENT SPORTEDan erection all through dinner. It’d started the moment Jasper took his clothes off and only intensified when he first called him Sir in front of Terrance and Amber. The brat’s hand constantly touching his thigh hadn’t helped either.
And once Jasper noticed, he’d made a point to touch his leg every chance he got.
Damned brat.
Since he couldn’t exactly stand without giving himself away, he made Jasper serve the dessert.
It surprised him how drama-free dinner was. He’d expected some kind of fallout from Matt’s revelation, but apparently Matt hadn’t shared with anyone else, or they were pretending it was none of their business.
Seeing Jasper interact with someone besides him was interesting, though it was obvious Jasper wasn’t completely at ease, even in his own home. He told himself it was far too early to even think of getting involved in such personal issues, but he could at least satisfy his curiosity.
