Chapter Four
Julian stared up at the sign for the restaurant Isaac had asked to meet him at, peering inside just to make sure Isaac hadn’t beaten him here.
He was a solid fifteen minutes early, so it seemed unlikely, but he would have hated to stand around outside like an idiot if Isaac was waiting for him.
Every time he thought about seeing Isaac again, a swarm of butterflies took flight in his stomach. It’d been a while, and they’d probably both changed.
The fact that Isaac had actually taken him up on his offer was a surprise, but Julian wasn’t about to complain. He genuinely wanted to help, if he could. Isaac had been there for him. He’d never forget that.
Julian turned to check his hair in the reflection from the window, pushing the one stubborn strand that kept sticking out into place again. It wasn’t his worst hair day, but it wasn’t his best, either.
Not that Isaac would care what he looked like, probably. Julian wanted to look good for himself.
That was totally it. He didn’treallybelieve he had even half a chance with Isaac, whether he was straight or not.
Just as he was thinking that, a familiar face appeared in the window in front of him. Julian jumped, turning to see Isaac standing there, grinning broadly.
He looked good.Reallygood. A warm summer tan made his skin glow, even though the city was still struggling to free itself from the last of the cold weather. His hair was neat and just a touch artfully disheveled, a look that worked a lot better on him than it did on Julian.
Julian wet his lips. “Uh, hey. I was just…”
“Staring at your own reflection?” Isaac teased, still grinning. “I guess that vanity never wore off.”
“Yeah, well… some of us can’t make the just-rolled-out-of-bed look work for them.” He shrugged. Isaac probably put a lot of effort into looking effortless.
That was what Julian planned on telling himself, anyway.
“C’mere,” Isaac said, holding his arms out. Julian accepted the hug eagerly, wrapping his arms around his oldest friend and squeezing tight.
His heart swooped in his chest at the contact.
Isaac smelled as good as he looked, a fresh, masculine scent that he couldn’t quite break down into component parts, but seemed as though it had been made for Isaac’s personality. Bright and confident, a little sharp on the edges, but gorgeous once the hard top notes had faded.
“You look great,” Isaac said as he pulled away. “I love this whole… business casual catalogue model look you’ve got going on.”
Julian’s stomach flipped at the compliment. And itwasa compliment, despite the way Isaac had phrased it. Julian knew him well enough to know when he was being sincere.
“Th-thank you,” he stuttered, blushing as he did so. “Should we, uh…” He gestured vaguely toward the door.
“Absolutely, I’m gonna die of starvation out here,” Isaac said, leading the way toward the door.
Julian followed, like he always did. The shredded jeans Isaac was wearing did wonders for his already great ass, so the view was more than worth hanging back for.
Being around Isaac always made him happy. Julian knew that was never likely to change.
“I’m gonna have to trust you on the menu,” Julian said as they sat down. “Since I’ve never been.”
Isaac’s entire face lit up. “This place is like a little hidden secret. Well…” He nodded to the crowd behind them, having picked a table in the far corner. “Not that good a secret, but it’s definitely underrated. You trust me to order for you?”
Julian nodded. Ofcoursehe trusted Isaac to order for him.
A pretty waitress beamed at Isaac as she came over, and Julian tuned out of the conversation, wanting to be surprised. Something about a house special, and then something else.
Isaac was flirting, but he wasalwaysflirting. He’d grown up from the awkward teenager Julian had first fallen in love with to a gorgeous, confident man. It was nice to see, even if the flirting wasn’t directed at Julian himself.
“So, uh…” Isaac leaned forward, planting his elbows on the table as soon as the waitress was gone. “Are you, umm, seeing anyone?”
Julian blinked. That was… an interesting question to open with.
