by Shea Balik
Before Cabe knew it, he and Shine had emptied half the case. “I guess I’ll have to go bring you one more,” Shine grinned, clearly happy so many people had liked his new creation.
“You might want to make that two,” Cabe told him. “We’ll see how it does tonight and then I’ll let you know how many I’ll need through the New Year’s party.”
“No worries,” Shine told him. “Montague and I will be around. Just call if you need more.” As he reached the doorway to the back room, Shine turned back to him. “By the way, good job on getting Elden to agree to a date without realizing that what it is.”
Cabe grinned. It had been brilliant, assuming Elden showed up. “Yeah, well, he still might not come, so don’t go patting me on the back just yet.”
“You can only lead a horse to water, not make him drink,” Shine said with a wink as he walked out.
Not able to help it, Cabe chuckled. Shine definitely had a way of putting things. Though, he was not wrong. If Elden thought even for a second Cabe had actually intended New Year’s Eve to be a date – well, as close to one as Cabe could manage when owning a bar – the sweet man would never have agreed. As it was, there was at best a fifty-fifty shot of him being there.
He wasn’t sure why Elden felt that someone like Cabe wouldn’t be interested in him, but he’d made it clear the few times Cabe had tried to ask him out in the past. With some luck, this time Elden wouldn’t realize what was happening until they were counting down the seconds until midnight when Cabe fully intended to get his first kiss from those lush lips that had been calling to him for months now.
The rest of the night stayed busy. It was technically a work night, but because of the Christmas holiday and the New Year holiday, there were a lot of people off. It wasn’t until three before Cabe was able to finally go home.
He was once more thankful he’d bought a home only two blocks from the main square. Driving after a long day and night at the bar, especially when there had been a bit of snow on the ground, would have been hell.
Dropping his keys onto the table near the door, Cabe stripped on his way to the bedroom, not caring where the clothes landed. He’d get them in the morning. Right now, he needed a shower and bed.
Happy that the bar he’d worked hard to open was a success, Cabe only wished his personal life was doing as well. An image of cinnamon eyes behind thick rimmed glasses had his cock firming up as he stepped into the shower.
He tried to ignore his rising dick, but it became impossible as he imagined Elden naked with water dripping down his slim form. Cabe usually dated men as big as he was, not that he was huge, but at six-foot and just shy of two hundred pounds without an inch of fat on him, Cabe wasn’t a slouch, either.
Elden was not only several inched shorter than him, he couldn’t have weighed more than a hundred and forty, probably even less. Yet, there was something about him that had Cabe wanting to get to know him better. A whole lot better, if his hard dick had anything to say about it.
Taking himself in hand, Cabe let out a groan as pleasure coursed through his veins. His head rolled back onto his shoulders as the thought of Elden’s mouth on him had him giving himself several tugs.
Cabe reached out for the body wash with his other hand and poured it over his dick as he kept stroking. Heat crawled along his flesh as he pictured Eldon on his knees with those sweet eyes looking up at him. Lush pink lips would be stretched around him as Elden held onto Cabe’s hips while his head bobbed all the way down.
“Fuck,” Cabe cried out. His hand slammed against the shower wall as lightning raced along his spine until jets of fluid shot all over the floor of the shower, only to be washed down the drain.
Spots formed before his eyes as Cabe struggled to stop his knees from buckling. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d come so hard. If it was that good with nothing more than his imagination, Cabe couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to actually be buried inside Elden.
His cock twitched at the idea and valiantly tried to come back to life. Finishing his shower, Cabe was boneless. Between the long day and the mind blowing orgasm, he was sleeping before his head hit the pillow.
CHAPTER 3
“Oh, please,” Elden’s mother, Doris, said. “The man will be working. That is not a date.”
Something stirred within Elden. The question was, did he feel relieved or disappointed?
It couldn’t be disappointment. Elden knew a man like Cabe would never ask him out on a date. Maybe there had been a few times when Elden thought Cabe might ask him out, but nothing had ever come of it.
So why did Elden feel the same pit in his stomach that he’d always felt when the other kids in his class picked him last for teams in gym class? Or the way his heart sank when he realized he might never have a boyfriend after his first year of college and no one had asked him out.
That had changed, sort of, in his sophomore year when his roommate, Roger, had set him up with a friend of his. Paul had been nice enough, but he’d always made it clear that he was doing Elden a favor by going out with him.
They’d dated for six months when Elden had found out that Paul had been cheating on him the entire time, with multiple people. At one point, he’d apparently had seven guys he was seeing.
Hurt, Elden had confronted Paul, but he’d just laughed it off, claiming that Elden shouldn’t have expected any different for he was ‘too boring to hold anyone’s attention for more than a quick fuck,’ Paul’s words, not Elden’s. It was then that Elden realized he was most likely doomed to remain alone.
He just wished it didn’t hurt so much. But Paul was right. Elden was boring. Case in point, he was at his mother’s for their usual Sunday dinner. He’d come alone, while his mother had a date. Talk about embarrassing.
Then again, his mother never had trouble finding plenty of men to date. Many of them had asked her to get married, but she always refused, claiming there were just too many fish in the sea to settle on one.
“You know I’m right,” his mother said when Elden hadn’t responded to her comment. “Cabe was just being polite to a customer who is constantly in his restaurant.”
Her recently dyed red curls bounced along her shoulders as she shook her head in obvious disappointment. “I mean seriously, Elden, I’m surprised he hasn’t put a restraining order against you with the way you hang around his bar so much.” Lines appeared around her mouth as she frowned. “It’s embarrassing the way you chase after that man.”
Heat rose up along Elden’s neck and spread into his face. He hated that his mother felt the need to say these things to him at all, but especially when someone else was there to hear her. Wasn’t a mother supposed to support her child, not ridicule him?
“I’m not there all the time,” Elden defended. “I mostly work from home but sometimes I need to get out of the house.”
His mother’s date, Brad, snorted. “Please. You’re in that bar at least four or five times a week.”
Elden narrowed his eyes at Brad. He wasn’t sure how or why Brad cared, but Elden knew one thing, he didn’t have to stick around and take it. Getting up from his chair, with his dinner hardly touched, Elden said, “Thank you for another lovely dinner, mother. I think it’s safe to say, I won’t be staying for dessert.”
“Elden Richland,” his mother’s sharp voice nearly had him stopping in his tracks as he headed for the door. “You get back here and finish your dinner. I will not have you embarrassing me by acting like a petulant child.”
Far too many times Elden didn’t stand up for himself, but he’d learned long ago to do so with his mother. If he didn’t, Elden would end up curled up in his closet crying his eyes out by the end of the night.
It was that knowledge that gave him the courage to keep on walking right out the door. He didn’t stop, or even slow down, until he was safely ensconced in his own apartment.
Refusing to give into the need to cry over his mother’s harsh criticism, Elden went into his office and got to work
on his next project. This one wasn’t due for several more weeks, but the sooner he finished, the sooner he could take on more work.
Not that he needed the money, but he most assuredly would need the distraction to stop him from wallowing in the misery that he would end up alone in this apartment for the rest of his life.
***
One, two, three, four, five, pause, turn, one, two…
Over and over again, Elden paced his living room, the longest room in his little apartment that he rented along the square. He wasn’t a big fan of living right downtown, not that Dahlonia was a huge metropolis, but as a visitor mecca due to the wineries nearby, as well as the crafters that were showcased around the easily walkable square, it made for noisy living.
New Year’s Eve was the epitome of the kind of night why Elden would prefer a nice quiet house further away, but couldn’t afford. Not that it was exactly cheap to live in the middle of town, but a one bedroom apartment, as well as not needing to drive much since he could schedule all his meetings in one of the many restaurants in the area, made it worth it.
But the potential noise wasn’t what was bothering him at the moment. No. Right then, all he could think of was Cabe’s invitation in – he glanced at the clock – ten minutes.
Ten minutes and Elden hadn’t made up his mind if he was going or not. He had about five mintues to make up his mind or he’d be late, something Elden didn’t do. Tardiness was disrespectful in Elden’s eyes. Actually, it already was later for Elden, as he always arrived at least fifteen minutes early.
Did that mean he wasn’t going? Would Cabe hate him for not going? Probably not, but he might be disappointed. Or worse. What if he didn’t even notice Elden hadn’t shown up?
His steps faltered and then stopped altogether when he realized that was what was bothering him the most. Had Cabe really invited Elden because he wanted him there, or was he just being nice?
Elden wasn’t sure he could handle the latter. Who was he kidding? It would be even more terrifying if Cabe actually wanted him there. Was it as a customer, friend, or more? Cabe did kiss him on the cheek.
What had that even meant?
Another glance at the clock. Two minutes left. What was the right thing to do?
Elden sighed in resignation. That was a no brainer. No matter the reason why Cabe had invited him, Elden was expected to show up. It would be rude to not be there.
Grabbing his wallet and keys off the kitchen counter, he headed out the door. It wasn’t until he was halfway across the square when his steps faltered and he realized he had no idea what to do when he showed up.
“Cabe’s a nice guy. You could do a lot worse,”
Elden spun to find Shine pushing a dolly nearly groaning with boxes of moonshine. “Oh, hey, Shine.”
“Walk with me.” Shine pushed the dolly with one hand and linked his other arm through Elden’s, not giving him a choice but to follow. “I take it you’re having second thoughts about your date?”
“Date?” It wasn’t until he noticed several people staring at him in alarm that Elden realized he’d shouted the word. Hopefully with it being dark, no one would notice him turning red. “What do you mean date?” It took effort to control the pitch of his voice when all he could imagine was humiliating himself with Cabe.
It couldn’t be a date. Right?
“I believe when a man asks you to New Year’s Eve event, even requesting you come for dinner beforehand, that would be called a date,” Shine explained with way too much humor in his tone.
The whole time Shine talked, Elden was shaking his head in denial. “It’s not the same. He wasn’t asking me to go with him to a party, he’s just inviting customers to his bar for the big New Year’s Eve bash he’s having.” At least Elden really, really hoped that was all it was because he was might have a heart attack otherwise.
Was his heart racing? He placed his fingers to his throat, trying to feel for his pulse as Shine continued to drag him along the sidewalk through the throngs of people heading out for the night.
“Really? Because I’m a customer there and I didn’t get an invitation, and I’m fairly certain Cabe didn’t ask anyone else to eat dinner with him.” Shine finally stopped when they reached the elevator. “And I’m positive he didn’t kiss any of his other customers on the cheek.” Shine winked at him as the doors of the elevator opened.
Elden would have ended up standing there not moving if Shine hadn’t of yanked him along. “Now, I suggest you pull up your big boy panties and get ready because I can promise you, Cabe wants you there as more than just a customer.”
Before Elden could respond the doors opened again and Shine was dragging him down the balcony into The Cure All.
Elden’s heart went from rapidly beating to stopping altogether as Cabe looked up from the bar. Their eyes met and Elden feared he was about to pass out when Cabe smiled at him. “Elden, you made it. I was afraid you’d decided to not join me tonight.”
Me. Not the party. Cabe really wanted to spend time with me.
Yep. It was official. Elden felt his head spin. He was going to faint.
“Whoops,” Shine put an arm around his waist and led him to a chair. “You need to open up those lungs of yours and take a breath, hon, or you’re going to end up on the floor and not in a good way.”
Clearly, Elden wasn’t in his right mind, since he asked, “Is there a good way to be on the floor?”
Much to his mortification Cabe rushed over just in time to hear Shine chuckle as he said, “Well, I admit I prefer the bed, but sex on the floor is definitely a good way to end up there.”
Cabe either didn’t hear Shine, or most likely, ignored him as he knelt down in front of Elden. “Are you okay? Do you need me to call an ambulance?”
Elden couldn’t explain what came over him but instead of assuring Cabe he was fine, he opened his mouth and blurted out, “Is this a date?”
Already stunned not only by the thought that Shine could be right, but by his audacity to ask the question, Elden gaped at Cabe when he smiled and simply said, “Yes.”
Butterflies, knots, and sheer terror all rolled around in his body until Elden wasn’t sure if he shouldn’t request that ambulance after all. He was nearly ready to bolt and run home as fast as he could when Cabe put his arms around him and whispered in his ear, “I’ve been counting down the hours until midnight.”
Elden didn’t get it. “What happens at midnight?”
Cabe leaned back, his eyes filled with a mix of what Elden thought was humor and lust. “It’s when I finally get to properly kiss you,” Cabe told him.
Elden’s body reacted to that statement by all of his blood pooling either in his head, where he was sure his face burned bright as any Christmas bulb, or down into his dick, causing it to push painfully against his zipper. It was all too much. Elden was sure he really was about to faint.
“I think I might need that ambulance after all,” he mumbled. It wasn’t until he heard both Cabe and Shine laugh that Elden realized he’d said that out loud. “Duck water.”
Shine stared at him with his jaw dropped, while Cabe pulled him back into his arms. “One day, I really hope you’ll tell me what that means.”
No way was Elden going to do that. Then again, showing up to a bar on New Year’s Eve hadn’t been something he’d thought he’d ever do, either. Maybe this was going to be a year of firsts. He was on a date, which was something he hadn’t done since Paul had broken his spirit all those years ago.
Anything was possible. Elden just wished he believed that was true because life had taught him long ago that nothing ever went his way.
CHAPTER 4
For several tense minutes, Cabe was sure Elden was going to leave. He shook as Cabe held him, praying he could find a way to convince Elden to stay. It had taken him months to get this chance, Cabe didn’t want it to be ruined before he even had the opportunity to make his case for a real date in the future.
He might call this a date, but other than
spending time with Elden and the possibility of a kiss at the end of the night, nothing about the evening would be his idea of a date. First and foremost, Cabe wouldn’t be working. Then there was the fact that it had been so ambiguous, Elden hadn’t even known it was a date.
Okay, so maybe Cabe had planned it that way to make Elden a bit more comfortable, which would have worked if it hadn’t of been for Shine – who he would need to address later – but tricking Elden into a kind of date wouldn’t be necessary if Cabe had his way. He’d take Elden to a real restaurant, maybe take a walk, or go bowling. Would Elden even like bowling?
Cabe was getting ahead of himself. The point was, he wanted to get to know Elden better. Find out if they had a chance at a future, because what he knew of Elden so far, Cabe liked – a lot.
“Will you stay?” he asked when Elden’s shaking had diminished greatly. “Please?”
Relief flooded his body when he felt Elden’s head bob up and down against his shoulder. He’d had relationships in the past, even thought he’d been in love a time or two, but Cabe couldn’t ever remember feeling as if his future hinged on someone agreeing to a kind of date before.
“Good,” he breathed. Not wanting to push Elden too fast, he pulled back enough to once more look into those cinnamon-colored eyes. “Now, I believe I promised you dinner before the crowd comes in. Would you like your usual, or something different?”
Lush lips curved upward just enough to let him know that Elden wasn’t planning to bolt the moment Cabe went into the kitchen. “I wouldn’t mind something else,” Elden said shyly. “What do you recommend?”
Unfortunately, they mostly served bar food, but there was something on the menu that was Cabe’s favorite. “We have a great cottage pie.”
“Oh my God,” Shine exclaimed. “Good doesn’t do it justice.” Then he pulled out his phone and made a call. “Montague, get your sweet ass over to The Cure All. We’re having cottage pie for dinner.”
