Page 93 of A Real Good Lie

The hostess led them to a table set for four, and Jace found Callahan and Sebastian already there with drinks in hand. When the hostess stepped out of the way, Callahan jumped out of his chair, his eyes big and his chest heaving with his breaths.

“Hi,” he blurted.

When Jace saw him, it was like a knot in his gut loosened, and he huffed a quiet laugh out through his nose. He gave Remington a squeeze, then pulled his arm free and went to his boyfriend, pressing a chaste kiss against the corner of his mouth.

“I missed you,” he whispered.

Callahan smiled against him. “It feels like half a day is too long.”

“Does that ever pass?” Jace pulled away so he could see Callahan’s eyes. They sparkled like sapphires under the lights of the restaurant.

“I hope not.”

“Excuse me, sirs.” A waitress dressed all in black appeared beside the table, and Jace took the interruption as opportunity to take his seat. “The sommelier sends his regrets, but we are temporarily out of the Chateau Lafite.”

Sebastian audibly sighed.

“He suggests an Opus One.”

Callahan scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You don’t need a five hundred dollar bottle of wine, Sebastian.”

“The Opus One will be fine, thank you,” Sebastian said, ignoring Callahan completely.

Jace choked, gripping the edge of the table until he was able to breathe again. Beside him, Remington cast a knowing glance, but said nothing.

“You must be Remington,” Sebastian continued, as if he hadn’t just ordered a drink that cost as much as Jace’s half of the rent on his apartment. “Sebastian St. George.”

Sebastian stretched his hand across the table, and Remington wiped his hand on his leg before returning the gesture.

“Nice to…” Remington’s voice cracked. “Nice to meet you.”

“I’m not in prime form,” Sebastian said. “I’ve been drinking most of the day and Callahan has told me that’s atrocious, but I don’t care. So, I apologize in advance for anything untoward that I say over the course of dinner.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Remington whispered, taking a large swallow of his water.

The waitress returned, sommelier beside her, and they made a grand show of opening the wine and pouring a taster for Sebastian, who downed it like it was a shot. Jace didn’t know much, but he was fairly sure thatwaspoor form, then again…

“It’s fine,” Sebastian said, and four full glasses were poured, the bottle left on the table, and the group left alone.

Beneath the table, Jace stretched his legs and connected the tips of his toes with Callahan’s feet. Even though the restaurant was nicer than a place Jace would have picked on his own, he was thankful for the opportunity to get use out of the expensive clothes and shoes Remington had convinced him to wear. But after two weeks of dating Callahan officially, the handful of pieces had already earned themselves out twice over.

Jace wouldn’t be able to keep up with Callahan’s lifestyle, and the worry in the back of his head remained about when the novelty of dating someone so poor and unrefined would wear off. Sure, Jace gave Callahan enough orgasms to send him into a restful sleep every night, but if the ribbon cutting had been any indicator of things, the differences in their classes proved a relationship was not sustainable in the long term.

He swallowed back that pessimism with a drink of wine that tasted like it had been fermented by the gods themselves and did his best to not let his despondency fester.

That was another Remington word.

He turned to his best friend, and found Remington out of sorts, twisting his napkin in his lap and doing his best to not stare at Sebastian, who was solely focused on drinking the bottle of wine on his own.

“Sebastian,” Jace said, and Sebastian looked up, “I really can’t thank you enough for your offer about the gallery prints.”

“It’s nothing,” Sebastian said dismissively. “Someone has to sustain the arts.”

“Do you?” Remington blurted, his eyes going wide.

Sebastian’s gaze shifted to Remington, and he looked at the man like it was the first time he’d seen him.

“Do I what?”