Alex looked thoughtful for a moment. “Then I won’t say no,” he finally said.
“I’ll get it done then.”
Alex clapped a hand onto Daniel’s arm. “Thanks, man.”
Chapter 5
Wednesday, November 28th
However hard Chris tried otherwise, Daniel was in the front of his thoughts. That damned kiss had unnerved him to the point where he even started to think he had imagined it. There hadn’t been flirting or suggestion when they had sat in the café, too involved in catching up on college memories and sports. Safe subjects. Still, a kiss in the frosty air, a mere touch of soft lips, and Chris’s whole world had been rocked. Was it even possible that the boy he had craved to taste in his college years and who he wanted even now had become a man who was interested in the same thing? And now he was here with Daniel about to embark on an evening that could include a lot of kissing. He could get with that.
Deep red carpet emblazoned with the name of Brasserie Ruhlmann led up to the door. Stepping inside was another world. Champagne, hors d’oeuvres, and smiling waiters and all Chris could do was stay close to Daniel. Some guy in a tux was standing by a small group talking about the history and architecture of Rockefeller Center, but Daniel wasn’t stopping. He didn’t seem interested in much past grabbing champagne and then near dragging Chris through the small crowd to wide patio doors. Finally they made it to the patio area, bundled up in coats against the brisk cold air, and Daniel exhaled noisily.
“Are you okay being out here?” he asked Chris.
Chris looked out at what they could see from this place. Searchlights scanned rooftops and tall buildings. A million stars and snowflakes lit up nearly every conceivable storefront on the way here. The Christmas music played for the crowds waiting for the tree lighting was familiar. He’d been in those crowds before when he first came to New York. There was never a good time to get there to grab a place and there weren’t really any good spots. It was probably an event that was much better seen at home if you wanted the details and the view, but standing in the crowd you were carried away by Christmas spirit. Chris smiled and moved to place two gloved hands on the balcony.
“It’s perfect,” he said. They had an excellent view of the tree and a short amount of time to kill before it was lit up.
A waiter stopped at their side with a tray that held a plate with two wrapped shapes. Daniel took them off and thanked the waiter.
“Can you tell Laurent thank you?” he said softly.
“Certainly, sir.” The waiter returned Daniel’s wide smile and then went back inside. No one else had ventured outside yet. It was actually somewhat warm from patio heaters, still there was no way it would be warm enough for Chris to remove his coat.
“Here.” Daniel took off his gloves and passed one of the wrapped packages to Chris. He unwrapped it to reveal some kind of complicated roast beef sandwich. The bread was warm to the touch and the scents wafting up from it were redolent with
garlic and spices. “These are my favorite. When my dad used to bring me here the chef would make these because I was always hungry.”
“You know the chef here?” Chris blurted out. Stupid. Daniel nodded and took the first bite from his sandwich. He half closed his eyes as he chewed. Chris took a bite and he felt like closing his eyes as well as the spice hit his tongue. Food like this needed to be savored. Some of the fragrant sauce leaked out of the side and he licked to capture it.
He made a small sound in his throat and he looked up immediately to see if Daniel had heard. Based on the look in Daniel’s eyes, he had. Chris was embarrassed.
“You have a bit…” Daniel’s voice sounded a little odd and then he reached and wiped at sauce that Chris must have missed. For a second, time stopped. When Daniel offered him his finger with sauce on it, Chris moved instinctively. He curled his tongue around the finger and sucked off the sauce.
“Fuck,” Daniel muttered. Chris released the finger and Daniel moved right up into his space. Using the same hand, he curled his palm around the back of Chris’s head and brought them together in a kiss. Food and drink forgotten, Chris lost himself in a kiss straight from a romance novel. Heat and passion and want so bad flooded him and he was hard in seconds, pressed against Daniel as close as he could get given they both wore coats. He tilted his head to deepen the kiss and Daniel moaned low in his throat.
The taste of champagne and spices sparked on his tongue and he wanted to climb inside Daniel.
Daniel broke the kiss and for a second Chris was disoriented. He immediately stretched up for more.
“The tree,” Daniel said. He smiled. “And there’re people out here now.”
“Right,” Chris answered like he had a clue about what Daniel was saying through the fog in his head. Something about people and a tree. He blinked up at Daniel, who had an expression on his face that Chris couldn’t gauge. He looked as shocked as Chris felt but there was also a hint of mischief there.
Daniel leaned down to whisper in Chris’s ear. “We could keep kissing if you like.
Just, it’s a bit public.”
“I like kissing you,” Chris said. He quickly realized what he had just said. He dipped his head and took a step back. That kind of stupidity where his brain got ahead of his mouth had gotten him in trouble before. Daniel closed the new gap and then turned Chris to face the tree. He pulled him close and gripped his hand.
“Well I like kissing you too,” Daniel said. “I plan to do a lot more.”
Warmth suffused Chris at the thought and he linked his fingers with Daniel’s before putting the twined hands into his big pocket where they would be warm. Eating the steak sandwich with his free hand was awkward but he wasn’t letting go of Daniel and he concentrated on the countdown and the crowds milling around the center. By the time this was over Daniel would have to leave to go on duty, but they at least were able to share something that always made Chris imagine Christmas wasn’t that far away.
The music finished and the announcer began the countdown.
“… five… four…”
“Three… two…” Daniel joined in.
“One!” Chris ended and then both he and Daniel laughed as what must be thousands of small lights lit up the giant Norway spruce. People cheered and clapped and the music changed to a medley of Christmas tunes that Chris found himself joining in with until one by one, the people on the patio area left and it was just him and Daniel in the shadows.
“The Swarovski star is the largest star they’ve ever had on the tree you know,”
Daniel said conversationally. There had been no more of the frankly awesome kissing but the responsibility to start that was just as much his as it was Daniel’s. Surprisingly, he was content with just holding hands in the cold air.
“And you know that how?”
Daniel huffed a laugh. “As much as you used to tell me I couldn’t, you do know I can open books, right?”
Chris shrugged and remembered back to several occasions when his exasperation with Daniel and his attitude at college had spilled through his normal reserve and out into the open. For a second he debated whether to tease or if Daniel was being serious.
“Sometimes,” Daniel continued, “I even read them.”
“Ass,” Chris muttered.
“Then they also have this wonderful thing called Google.” By this time Daniel was laughing and Chris could no more have kept himself from joining in than he could stop wanting to kiss Daniel. “Come on, Professor, let’s take you home, and then I need to get out and patrol these mean streets.” He waggled his eyebrows at Chris and then led him by the hand through the Bistro and out onto the dark red carpet. There were no cabs to be had and instead they were caught up in the throng of people going home until finally they made it back to the coffee shop via subway.
A gentle shared kiss and then Daniel was walking away.
“Daniel?” Chris said quickly. Daniel turned at Chris’s call. “Stay safe.”
“I will.”
<
br /> “And thank you.”
“No,” Daniel said. “Thank you.”
Chapter 6
Saturday, December 1st
The clientele changed on Saturdays. No longer was it business meetings over cappuccino or secretaries balancing cardboard trays of orders. It was more the tourists, the shoppers, the ones who tipped more for table service and were not in so much of a rush.
Amelia had asked for him to cover the tables at the front near the windows, and he liked that way more than standing behind the counter. He could go down on one knee to coo at babies and locate lost blankies. He could flirt a little, sweet talk mommas, smile, and be friendly. He could assist people out of the warmth and into the cold with a cheerful “Merry Christmas”, and then when the tables were wiped and chairs righted, the whole thing could start again.
He hadn’t spoken to Daniel since the tree lighting. They had exchanged cell phone numbers, but after a flurry of texts exchanged during the first couple of days, Chris’s cell had been depressingly silent. The thought of being the first person to text… no, that wasn’t happening. He didn’t want to come off as needy and verging on pathetic.
Except. Maybe he was actually okay with coming off as needy where Daniel was concerned? What if Daniel had been hurt? A New York cop was faced with dangers every day. Chris slipped into the kitchen area and hid himself in the corner, pulling the cell from his jeans and eyeing the screen thoughtfully. What the hell should he say? Hi?
Great start, but it really wasn’t going to cut it. He selected text and started to type, “hi, you’ve been quiet, was hoping we could meet up again? xx”. He winced as he reread and then deleted the kisses. He shouldn’t use x’s. What was he, fourteen? He then reworded the start and added his name to the end, just in case Daniel wouldn’t realize who it was from.
What? Of course he knows it’s me, we’ve been texting.
He deleted that, then the start, added it back, removed his name, and finally in complete exasperation at his stupidity, he backspaced and removed the whole thing, sliding the cell back in his pocket.
“Chris?” Ame’s voice was loud and curious; she was clearly trying to find him.
“Here.” He moved out from behind the fridge area and acted innocent. “Sorry.”
Ame moved into his space.
“Don’t apologize, you haven’t had a break all morning. I think you are entitled to hide from the shopping masses for ten minutes. Anyway, I wasn’t in here to hassle you, just to say that tall, dark, and handsome is at the table in the front. Take five, take ten, jeez Christian, for that man out there please take the whole day.” She grabbed his sleeve and unceremoniously pushed him out into the shop where he skidded to a halt. Daniel had his back to him as he sat at one of the front tables, but there was no denying it was him. The broad shoulders and the softly curling dark waves that nearly touched his collar were a dead giveaway. Chris would know him anywhere. In a flurry of motion he had his hands washed, his apron removed, and coffees on a tray. He added two freshly
baked banana mini-cakes and weaved over to the table by the window, sliding into the chair opposite Daniel, who grinned up at him at his arrival.
“I brought coffee,” Chris offered, then instantly had the most horrible thought.
What if Daniel wasn’t here to see him? “Um, I wasn’t sure if it was me you were waiting to meet.” He waved between them to indicate a whole missing sentence. “Ame didn’t say.”
“You brought cake too?” Daniel didn’t answer, just concentrated on breaking a chunk of cake off one corner and popping it in his mouth. He half closed his eyes and made this goddamned sexy murmur of appreciation. “I love banana cake,” he murmured and leaned forward in the chair, closer to Chris, the scent of coffee and banana mixing with the scents of snow and outside that lingered on him, “and Christian, I’m not here to meet anyone else, I came to see you.” They were inches apart and Chris lowered his gaze. This whole flirting thing was something he was so out of practice with.
“Okay,” Chris finally managed to say, wondering if Daniel was going to kiss him, wondering if Daniel was the type of guy for public displays of affection.
Disappointment coursed through him when the other man leaned back in the chair. No kiss then.
“Sorry I’ve been quiet the last few days. I got called out to support an operation and was stuck in the middle of it all for what seemed like forever.”
“No worries. I know your job is busy.”
“I think we should finish the coffee and go,” Daniel said. “I’ve missed you and I really want to kiss you again. Properly. Without an audience of snobs who stare. Wanna go sit in the theater, see a movie, and maybe neck in the back seat?”
Chris stood abruptly. It was a no brainer.
“I’ll get my coat.”
* * * *
The hero of the film did something with a guy who was doing something with a gun, or thereabouts, and the heroine was screaming and another guy was holding a gun to her head. Or something. Jeez, who was he kidding? From the minute they had sat down, a bucket of salty popcorn on Daniel’s lap and the lights dimming for the afternoon showing, Chris hadn’t watched a thing.
It was subtle. Daniel didn’t immediately start with the promised—and on Chris’s part, much anticipated—kissing. To begin with he just held Chris’s hand, his fingers lacing and unlacing and stroking, and it was nice. Actually it was more than nice. Chris couldn’t remember ever doing this in such a casual yet intimate way, and the heat building inside him was incredible. Unfortunately, it was a busy theater and an almost full showing—so much for necking in the back seat.
They exchanged murmured comments, keeping it low, leaning in to whisper in each other’s ears. Chris had never smiled so much. Daniel was such a large presence next to him, taller, broader, the impact on his senses incredible. He was so turned on
just having the other man touching him. He had finally gotten to that place in his head whereby it seemed Daniel may possibly, actually, want Chris.
They walked back to Amelia’s as evening wrapped the city in dark, and they actually made it all the way back without Chris even realizing what route they had taken. By unspoken agreement Daniel trailed him up the stairs and hovered behind him as he located beers in the fridge in his room. When Chris turned with the ice cold beer cooling his heated hands, it was to Daniel not more than a sigh away. The first kiss stole his breath, Daniel’s hands cupping his face—god that was so freaking sexy—and Chris didn’t hesitate in deepening the kiss. He wanted to touch, but with a beer in each hand and the wherewithal not to drop the bottles, he was reduced to just sinking against Daniel and into the embrace.
“It’s been too long,” Daniel murmured into the kiss.
“Too long,” Chris repeated.
Daniel moaned something low and jumbled, a growl in his throat. That was the final straw. Roughly Chris pulled back, dumping the bottles on the counter and turning back to face the man who didn’t take one second to think. Before Chris could say a word, Daniel had half dragged, half lifted him up on the counter, one of the beer bottles crashing to its side and rolling backwards to the tiles behind them. It was nothing Chris had the time or the inclination to worry about, because Daniel was there, slotting himself between Chris’s spread legs and—holy shit. So freaking hard. Both of them.
“Fuck…” Daniel whispered, laying a trail of kisses from ear to neck, focusing on the fluttering pulse in the base of Chris’s throat. “What you do to me. What you have always done to me.”
“Daniel?” Chris arched his neck; the feel of Daniel marking him with soft kisses coupled with his hands sliding down to rest on Chris’s hips was too much. They needed to take this to the bedroom. “Please.” Daniel pulled back slightly and Chris saw hesitation in his gaze.
“I want to do this right—” Daniel started.
“We need to stop and think—” Chris insisted.
They spoke at the same time and then both stopped just as suddenly. Da
niel huffed a laugh and rested his forehead against Chris.
“God, Chris, the taste of you—we should have done this before.”
“Then why didn’t we when we were at college?” Chris near whined, and really, he actually did want an answer to that one. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t almost thrown himself at Daniel on more than one occasion. What had been wrong with him then that all of sudden wasn’t wrong now?
Daniel just let out a disbelieving snort. “You’re kidding me, right? I was a slut! I was so not what you needed.”
“Would it help if I told you that I always envied your slutty ways?” Chris smirked as he offered this deep insight into his college education to the one man who clearly doubted what he said.
“You envied me?” Again with the disbelief.
“Only because the whole campus got to sleep with you and I didn’t.”
“Not the whole campus,” Daniel began seriously. “I never touched the boys in Poli-Sci,” he deadpanned, and Chris found himself smiling despite himself.
“Do you remember Christmas?”
“The eggnog?” Daniel said. He was smiling and tilted his head as he was evidently reminding himself of what happened. “Damn bourbon. I’ve never got so close to breaking all the promises I had in my head.”
“Promises to whom?”
“Does it seem weird to say promises to myself? In my head I told myself I wouldn’t sleep with you, that I would stay away. I wasn’t right for you. You deserved a better man than I was then and I respected that you had focus and a direction to your life. You were one of the good guys and I was basically a sensation whore.” Daniel barked a laugh. “I ended up getting my damn degree. Couldn’t play so hard after you left, it didn’t seem right somehow. I only pushed the limits in the first place to get rid of my resentment at having to attend the damn college and somehow, despite my issues, you got it fixed firmly in my head that I needed to work. Then I started to do the damn studying. I had three years left, got my head down and passed everything. All your fault.”
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