by Shea Balik
Cabe knew he was staring at Shine as if he’d lost his damn mind, because that’s exactly what he was thinking. But Shine just waved off his concerns. “No worries,” Shine told him. “We’ll eat over there.”
Shine pointed to the other end of the barroom. As he pushed the two wheeler he’d brought in loaded with boxes of Midnight Kiss toward the back of the bar, he called over his shoulder. “Just bring us out a couple of bowls and you won’t even know we’re here.”
A giggle brought Cabe’s attention back to where it belonged to begin with, on Elden. It was cute the way he blushed after making the slightly higher pitched sound. “I guess I’ll try the cottage pie,” Elden said as if he were trying to distract Cabe from his unplanned sound but Cabe was sure with the way his cock had thickened, it would be a long time, if ever, that he forgot the sweet sound.
“You got it.” He headed into the kitchen where, of course Shine waited on him with a huge smirk on his face.
“I have to say, I would have bet on seeing a fox cuddle up with a hen before Elden agreed to stay,” Shine said as he opened the door to the storage unit to put away the boxes of moonshine.
Still irritated with Shine for nearly blowing this night, Cabe shot him a withering glare before telling Enrique to make him four bowls of cottage pie. Then he turned back to Shine who had finished stacking the boxes near the front where Cabe could easily get at them. “No thanks to you,” he finally said when he thought he had a shot of not yelling at the man.
“Any reason you wanted to ruin this night for me?” Cabe asked.
He shouldn’t have been surprised when Shine gave another analogy that made no sense. “You can’t stop a tornado from coming, but you can batten down the hatches.”
Cabe wasn’t sure when the pounding in his head had started but he was sure it was around the time when Shine walked into his bar. “What?”
Fuck. What had he just done? Hadn’t he learned more times than he could count not to ask Shine that question?
He wasn’t at all surprised by the odd look from Shine, but it was the one from Enrique that nearly had him laughing at the ridiculous conversation. “He means that nice boy out there was going to figure it out sooner or later. This way you had the chance to talk to him about it before he ran out.”
Shine nodded emphatically.
Cabe turned and left. Apparently, he was the only crazy one in this circus since he hadn’t understood Shine. Then again, in Dahlonia, that shouldn’t surprise him. The whole town was like a zoo where the animals ran free and the keepers were in cages.
By the time he poured himself a beer and Elden a cider, Enrique rang the bell that the pies were ready. Shine was already putting two on a tray when he went into the back.
“Hope you don’t mind if I serve myself.” Shine picked up the tray and pushed open the swing door to the front. “Oh, and not to worry, I’ll pour us our drinks, too. Have fun tonight.”
Then he was gone and Cabe put the remaining two cottage pies on a tray along with their drinks and headed back out to where he hoped Elden would still be. The moment he opened the swinging door, his gaze went to the table where Elden had been sitting earlier and his heart sank when he didn’t see his brown locks or those cinnamon-colored eyes.
“Cabe.”
His heart soared when he heard the familiar sound of Elden’s voice. He should have known Elden would have moved to his usual table. It was one of the things he’d figured out about Elden, the man liked his routine. Not to the point of being obsessed, but he had two tables he tended to frequent when he was at The Cure All. The second only being used if the first was already taken.
“I was afraid you’d left,” Cabe admitted when he placed the two bowls on the table along with the drinks before putting the tray on one of the unused seats for him to use to clean up later.
A shy smile formed on those lips that Cabe had been fantasizing about for far too long. “I told you I’d stay and I always keep my word.”
“I appreciate that.” Sort of. “But I don’t want you to stay out of some sort of obligation.” Cabe reached out and took one of Elden’s hands in his. “I want you to want to be here.” After a moment, he added, “With me.”
Cabe had never in his life felt as vulnerable as he did in that moment. He was putting his heart out there, something he rarely had in the past, and he feared Elden would crush it. It was one of the reasons his prior relationships had never amounted to much. Or at least, that’s what his exes told him.
Cabe preferred to keep his heart protected so no one could really hurt him. Yet, with Elden, he found that was impossible. Cabe wanted more with this shy, sweet, funny, at times awkward, gorgeous man who had somehow found a way to burrow a place in his heart without even trying.
Maybe it was love, or at least Cabe wasn’t sure if it was, but he also knew without a doubt the feelings he had for Elden were far more than anything he’d even felt for anyone before. Which was just weird, since they hadn’t even kissed.
Elden gently squeezed Cabe’s hand. “I want to be here. I promise.”
There was a huge part of Cabe that wanted to push Elden further on that admission, but the slight shakiness of Elden’s hand in his was all Cabe needed to know to do his best to put Elden at ease. He wanted this night to end with a kiss, not have Elden running because Cabe couldn’t control his need to know exactly how Elden felt by peppering him with questions.
This was supposed to be a semi-date not an interrogation.
Handing Elden a spoon, Cabe said, “I hope you like the pie.”
There was a moment there when their eyes met and clung together as if they both wanted more but were too afraid to go for it. It gave Cabe the hope he needed that maybe, just maybe, his feelings for Cabe were reciprocated, at least a little.
Then, as if by some mutual agreement, they dipped their spoons through the potato topping and into the meaty pie. The moment the food touched their tongues, they both groaned in appreciation. There was a reason this was one of Cabe’s favorite dishes.
The seasonings, the creamy potato, and the savory meat all combined to make the perfect bite. Add to that a sip of his beer and all was right with the world. It was also why Cabe had to force himself to only indulge in this meal no more than once a week, or he’d have probably gained about fifty pounds since opening his bar.
“You were right,” Elden said. “This is delicious.” He reached for his cider and took a very tiny sip.
Only because Cabe had been watching him so closely did he manage to see the grimace Elden had tried to hide when he drank the cider. His suspicions about Elden not liking cider were confirmed. What he didn’t understand was why Elden ordered it if he didn’t like the taste.
“Do you just not like that brand of cider or don’t you like cider in general?” Cabe asked him before taking another bite of his pie.
Pink rose up to color Elton’s cheeks causing Cabe’s unruly dick to thicken once again, wondering if that cute shade could be found all over Elton’s body or just his face. This was going to be a long night if Cabe couldn’t find a way to control his reactions to everything Elden did.
“I…um…It’s not…I mean…”
Damn. There was no question in Cabe’s mind. He was completely fucked when it came to Elden. His already thickening dick went rock hard at the way those sweet eyes glanced from the table, to Elden’s clasped hands, to the floor, before landing on Cabe’s only to restart the cycle all over again. Or the way his voice sounded breathy as he stumbled over what to say. Hell, even the fact that he fought to find a way to speak more than a coherent word or two seemed to make Cabe’s body react in the most inappropriate way.
If he had his choice, Cabe would drag Elden into his office and have his way with him. Something he hoped would be a possibility in the near future.
But that wasn’t now and he didn’t want Elden to feel embarrassed, even if it did all sorts of crazy things to Cabe’s libido to see him this way.
He placed his h
and over Elden’s, which stopped the stream of staggering words that didn’t make any sense. It also seemed to allow Elden to take a much needed breath.
CHAPTER 5
His face was on fire. Elden was sure the heat would trigger the alarm and start the sprinkler systems. Not that it would matter. He was mortified. Fire alarm or not, he wasn’t sure it was possible for it to be worse than it was at the moment.
That was until he felt the warmth of Cabe’s hand on his. One touch was all it took for everything within Elden to settle. Odd, but Elden couldn’t think of a time when even his mother had that effect on him as a child. Then again, she tended to be the one to not only instigate his inability to think with her outlandish behavior, but tended to egg it on as if she found the whole thing hilarious.
“It’s okay if you don’t like it,” Cabe reassured him.
Why that touch and those few supportive words allowed Elden to finally speak, he had no idea, but he also wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. “I’ve never been a fan of beer or wine. Actually,” he laughed softly. “I can’t stand them.”
He glanced to his glass of cider and shrugged. “Someone suggested I try cider instead.” It had been when he’d been desperate to fit in after Paul dumped him. “The best I can say about it is that I don’t feel the need to spit it out like I do the others.”
Cabe chuckled. “Not exactly a ringing endorsement but I’ve heard worse. But why drink it if you don’t like it?”
Elden felt his cheeks heat up even more as he glanced around. “Because I’m in a bar and it’s kind of expected.”
Hazel eyes were staring at him as if they were picking Elden apart to figure him out. It was more than a little disconcerting, especially when he would swear at the end a light came on inside of them as if Cabe had indeed discovered a piece of what makes Elden tick.
“What about liquor?” Cabe asked.
Elden frowned. “What about it?”
“Have you ever thought of having a mixed drink?” Cabe got up and went to the bar. “Do you prefer fruity drinks or sodas?”
That was easy. “Fruity. I hate soda almost as much as I can’t stand beer.”
Cabe smiled at him as he went to the other side of the bar and pulled out a few bottles to pour them into a steel cup of some sort. Then he shook the ingredients together and poured out a reddish concoction into a glass filled with ice.
“A strawberry margarita,” Cabe announced as he set the glass down in front of him.
Leaning forward, Elden took a sip from the straw, letting the different flavors coat his tongue as he tried to decide if he liked it or not. “It’s better than the cider,” he told Cabe. He wasn’t even that tempted to spit it out, but he had to admit, it wasn’t great.
“But still not what you were wanting?” Cabe asked him.
Elden hated to disappoint Cabe, but he wasn’t going to lie. “Not really.”
Cabe went back to the bar and poured Elden a glass of water. “Not to worry. I can make you several kinds of drinks to see if there’s anything you like better, but we need to finish our meal before I have to get back to setting up before the crowd comes in.”
Stupid as he felt drinking water at a bar, Elden appreciated Cabe giving it to him. More importantly, he was grateful Cabe hadn’t made a big deal about it.
They ate silently for a couple of minutes, which got Elden thinking he should probably go home after eating. What was the point of staying at a bar for a New Year’s Eve party when he didn’t like drinking and the guy who asked him there would be working?
After discovering what a doofus he was for not liking alcohol that much, Cabe probably thought asking Elden out was no longer a good idea. The guy was the owner of a bar, after all. How would that work if Elden didn’t like to drink?
Then again, he’d been faking it fine for the past few months, maybe he could again. At the same time, now that Cabe knew, it would make pretending that much more challenging.
A hand landed on his, calming the voice that was starting to spin out of control in his head. Elden looked up to find worried hazel eyes staring back at him.
“Hey, what has you thinking so hard over there?” There was a gentleness in Cabe’s voice that had Elden opening his mouth and spewing everything he’d just thought.
Cabe didn’t even let him finish before he stood so he could kneel in front of Elden. Zero doubt in Elden’s mind the man was going to break things off with him, because even as he was thinking all this, Elden was still rattling off all the reasons Cabe couldn’t possibly want him around.
That’s when it happened. The impossible. Cabe leaned up and placed a hand at the back of Elden’s neck to draw him forward until their lips were practically touching.
“Stop me if you don’t want this,” Cabe said as he closed the gap between them and then…
They were kissing.
Cabe Donovan’s mouth was moving over his slowly, as if savoring the taste. This couldn’t… Could it? Elden didn’t know what… how… why.
Then Cabe deepened the kiss and nothing else mattered. Time, space, the world, no longer existed except for the two of them, right there – kissing.
Never in his life had Elden felt anything remotely as thrilling as this moment. His entire body felt alive as the blood rushed through his veins. Yet, at the same time, he sank against Cabe as if completely boneless.
It was weird, exciting, invigorating, and empowering. For this one moment in time, Elden was sure he could conquer the world. After all, Cabe Donovan was kissing him, what could be a bigger accomplishment than that?
Not even the catcalls from Shine bothered him. Well, it almost hadn’t, until Cabe pulled back and muttered, “I swear, I’m going to kill Shine.”
Then all of Elden’s insecurities came rushing back along with the blood rushing to his face, setting it on fire. They were in public. People were watching them.
Wait. Cabe kissed me in front of everyone. Me? Elden Richland. Dork. Nerd. Geek. “Frog mushrooms.”
Cabe chuckled, letting Elden know he’d once more let out his nerdy side for the world to see. Not that they didn’t already know, but it would have been nice to have one moment when Elden didn’t show it. Like now, when Cabe Donovan kissed him in front of everyone.
“You really are going to have to tell what that means one day,” Cabe said before placing another peck on Elden’s lips as if to reassure Elden, or maybe the rest of the bar, that he had in fact meant to kiss Elden in the first place.
“I hope my kissing you now instead of at midnight doesn’t mean you’re going to go home after we’re done eating,” Cabe told him with one more kiss before taking his seat again.
“You want me to stay?” Elden blurted out a little louder than he’d meant. He cringed as he prayed either no one heard him sound so needy, or they ignored it.
Cabe leaned closer and ran his finger along Elden’s jawline. “Of course, I want you to stay. After a kiss like that, I’m hoping you’ll never leave.”
Those hazel eyes widened dramatically and it was Cabe’s turn to sputter a bit. “I mean… I don’t expect… You don’t have…”
Finally, Elden got to be the one to place a hand over Cabe’s and be the calm one. “I know what you meant.”
Cabe blew out a relieved breath. “Does that mean you’ll stay until midnight?”
There was so much hope in those words that Elden couldn’t have said no even if he’d wanted to, which he most assuredly did not. “Yes, I’ll stay.”
His answer was rewarded with a smile and another peck on the lips. “Good. Now let’s finish our dinner so I can whip you up a few more drinks to try.”
Elden wasn’t sure there was a drink he was going to like, but for Cabe, he was more than willing to try.
CHAPTER 6
“I wanna try tha poma… pamag… poma… grate… no, wait…” Elden slurred.
“Uhm, Cabe,” Montague chuckled as his own husband was trying to correct Elden’s pronunciation of pomegr
anate but he was nearly as drunk as Elden and having just as much difficulty getting the word out. “I know why my Sunshine is drunk, but is there a reason you felt the need to get Elden drunk on your first date?”
Some of Montague’s words slurred a bit, indicating he wasn’t exactly sober himself. Not that anyone in the bar was with only fifteen minutes left until midnight. Thankfully, everyone had rides or lived close enough they could walk home.
“Yeah,” David chimed in. “Are you planning to take advatage…” David shook his head knowing that didn’t sound quite right. “Ad-vat-age,” he said still not getting it right even as he tried to sound it out. Waving a hand as if to wave off his mistake, David giggled. “You know what I mean.”
David owned a tanning salon on the square and was married to Macalister, a lawyer for one of the local wineries, Twisted Vine. Macalister was as straight-laced as they came, although David had managed to loosen him up a bit. Not that anyone there would ever know it as the man had only had two drinks that night and appeared as sober as Cabe was.
“Pomigrit,” Shine blurted out happily as if he’d just figured out the code to the lotto.
Cabe rolled his eyes. “It’s pomegranate and you’ve both had more than enough.”
“But…” Elden started to say, but then was distracted by something Shine was whispering in his ear.
Suddenly, they both slid, nearly falling, off their barstools and headed toward the opening for the rooftop deck. Like Cabe didn’t know that was how Elden had gotten so drunk in the first place.
He may have wanted Elden to try a few drinks and maybe get a little tipsy but not rip roaring drunk. At this rate, he was going to need to stay with Elden to ensure he didn’t end up asphyxiating when he threw up, and there was zero doubt in Cabe’s mind that Elden would end up throwing up – a lot.
“Don’t bother,” Cabe called out before they had gotten more than five stumbled steps. “It’s my turn to man the rooftop bar and I’m letting all the others know you two are cut off.”
Slightly unfocused cinnamon brown eyes looked at him with a sad, disappointed confusion in them. “But I was begging to like the pomamama…” He shook his head and started again. “Pomamagritty…”