It’s probably a reflection of my own.
“Fine. Obviously, there’s the whole ‘daddy’ thing, but that speaks for itself, and you might as well own it. It’s hot. But other than that? You’re the strong, silent type. Out of reach somehow. Unapproachable, even if you’re one of the nicest guys I’ve ever known. But men are suckers, and they dare to try anyway, and then you flirt with them more smoothly than anyone on that sideof the bar.”
“Nice caveat. Rileyisquite good at making everyone fall in love with them,” I tease. “Barely has to try.”
Darren starts to shove me, but I think he remembers my accident somewhere halfway through, and he does what he can to pull back at the last second. It leaves him closer to me than he’d intended, and he doesn’t have time to do much about it before our server returns with a tray full of food. We get easily distracted then, and I doubt either of us is sorry. Everything on the table is incredible, and our best attempts at conversation are mumbled compliments about one flavor or another. Everyone at Adrian’s grand opening will be incredibly well fed.
Our shoulders remain pressed together, easy only because Darren’s left-handed and has no reason to give me space. The sangria goes down smoothly, and we keep offering each other bites of things we’ve already tried. Neither of us is tipsy, but I think we’re both close to sated, and small talk feels new when we haven’t wasted time on it before. I’m not sure how much longer passes before we push the last of the plates away, but then we’re still touching and too lazy to put distance between us.
I think it’s only when I can't suppress a yawn that anything changes.
“You should probably get back home,” Darren says. “You’re looking a lot better since the night I tucked you into bed, but I’m not gonna be responsible for keeping you up too late.”
“No?” I ask.
“No.”
He gets our server’s attention then and pays shortly after, my fight to take care of half of it—at the very least—lost before it’s really begun. I surrender and thank him, and we’re outside before I think I want to be, but I sort of wave over my shoulder in the direction of my car and try to remember how a night like this is supposed to end. It’s not a date, but it’s not Trailhead either, and I’m grateful for the confidence that keeps my head up while my heart pounds.
“Thank you for dinner.”
“You’re welcome for dinner. Mind if I walk you to your car? I parked over there, too.”
“No,” I say. “I don’t mind at all.”
It doesn’t take long to get there, but something about rounding the corner and ending up in the dark—the dim of the restaurant only partially preparing us for this—makes me wonder just how far we’ve gone. Darren has never seen my car before, but he’s following closely enough to slow when I do, and instead of moving toward my door, I back myself against the passenger side and don’t blink when he crowds me there.
“Are you planning to stay out a little later?” I ask. “You’re a night owl. You probably have plenty of time to grab another drink or two.”
“Is that your way of asking if I’m gonna get laid tonight?”
“It’s been known to happen.”
Darren grins. “Happens all the time.”
“Then yeah, I guess that’s what I’m asking.”
I don’t know why I’m so curious about his sex life when I’vehad a decent view of it for years, but I don’t run from my question, even when I think he’d let me. And Darren’s smile hasn’t gone anywhere, but he takes another several seconds to respond, like maybe he’s giving me time to change my mind.
“Not sure I’ll go straight home from here,” he says. “But I won’t be fucking anyone, and nobody will be fucking me.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask where he’ll be, but something about it seems off limits, and I nod instead. “Have fun and be safe then. And I’ll see you back at Trailhead this week.”
“Hmmm.”
“Hmmm, what?”
“Youdon’tknow, do you?” Darren murmurs. “I mean, you know you’re attractive and you know you’re smart and you know you’ve got a good job and a great house and plenty to offer someone if that were a thing you were looking to do, but you—that night in WeHo.”
I raise an eyebrow. “What about it?”
“You could’ve had anyone you wanted.”
“As long as I didn’t want you, right?” I chuckle. “I’m pretty sure you were halfway to the bathroom with that guy before you even remembered I was there.”
“I remembered you were there, Jake.”
“Okay.”