Page 12 of Puppy Pride (Pride Camp 2025)

Chapter Twelve

Demetrius

I prided myself on always being early and arrived at Stavros’s at ten minutes to six.

To find Jai outside, fidgeting.

Inwardly, I sighed. I’d hoped he’d be relaxed. Outwardly, though, I offered a wide smile. “Perfect timing.”

He returned my smile. “I parked in the lot out back but then wasn’t certain which way you’d be coming, but since you said you were coming from your hotel…” He gestured. “But then I realized I didn’t know which hotel, because there are three—”

“The Grand.”

“Which is what I figured because the other two aren’t that close, and…” He winced. “I’m rambling.”

I grinned. “I find it charming.” I gestured to the door. “Shall we go in? ”

“We’re early.”

“There’s a seating area where we can wait.” Truthfully, Stavros had been a little amused at me making a reservation for a Monday night. Apparently that was their slow night. “But I suspect our table will be waiting for us.”

Stavros promised the perfect table and the best server.

I was touched.

The man himself greeted us when we arrived. “My friend Demetrius, so wonderful to see you.”

My cheeks heated at his enthusiasm. “This is my friend, Jai.”

“You are welcome here. Let me take you to your table. Best in the house.” He grinned.

As Jai and I followed, I resisted the urge to put my hand possessively at his lower back. Yes, he’d responded to my touch earlier—but that had been in private. Tonight was public.

Well, for the five other occupied tables. Stavros hadn’t been lying when he said Mondays weren’t as busy. Still, Foster had mentioned Thursdays could be full and how he and Arnav had their first unofficial date here.

I’d smiled.

The best table was a booth set near the back—away from everyone else.

Jai slid in, facing away from the rest of the place, while I took the seat that afforded me a view. I couldn’t imagine we’d run into anyone I knew, and this provided my companion with some semblance of privacy.

Stavros placed the menus on the table. “Water to start? Would you like a bottle of wine?”

“I don’t drink.” Jai met my gaze. “Sorry.”

“Why would you be? I rarely have any. If it’s okay, though, I might have one glass of red. ”

“Yes, please.” He looked almost eager.

I turned to Stavros. “A glass of your house red would be perfect.”

“I’ll have an ice water.” Jai offered a small smile.

“Wonderful. Timothea will be over shortly to take care of you. Only the best!” With a flourish, Stavros headed off.

Jai’s eyes were wide. “Uh…”

“I asked for a reservation. We got to talking, and I said I was from out of town and…” I waved my hand. “Suddenly I feel like I made a new friend.”

“One glass of house red.” A slender woman with clear-blue eyes and long, black hair pulled into a ponytail placed the wine before me. “As Uncle Stavros said, I’ll be your server tonight, and I’m to take extra-good care of you.” She grinned impishly.

Right away, I liked her.

“And ice water.” She flashed Jai a brilliant smile.

He smiled back.

Yep, she’d be getting a big tip. Anyone who made Jai smile deserved to be rewarded. He just didn’t do it enough.

“I’ll give you a couple of minutes with the menu.”

“Actually…” I met Jai’s gaze. “I thought we could get the Greek Platter for two, to share. Do you have any allergies?”

He shook his head.

“Anything you don’t like?”

“Well, my mother was of the eat what I put before you because of the starving children in Africa school of child rearing.”

I winced.

“Yeah. I have yet to find something I don’t like. Oh, except pineapple on pizza. That’s just gross.”

I pressed a hand to my heart and gasped.

His face fell. His smile disappeared .

Before I could speak, Timothea was nodding frantically. “Right? I mean anchovies are better than pineapple—”

Jai and I both winced.

Our server laughed as she collected the unread menus. “If there’s anything you don’t wind up liking, we can swap it out. We just want you to be happy. I’ll be back with pita bread and tzatziki in a minute.” Then she was gone.

“Anchovies?” Jai scrunched his face.

“Yeah. Gross.” I reached across to snag his hand, only pulling back at the last minute.

“I was teasing about pineapple on pizza. Keegan feels the way you do. It’s a friendly war between my kids and in the end, we usually wind up ordering two pies.

Mine with, his without, and Alaina eating all the slices she can. ”

“That sounds…lovely.” No missing the wistfulness in his voice.

“They also fight like cats and dogs. What with one being thirteen and one being a very mature eleven. I remember grade eight being the worst time of my school life, and Keegan’s counselor confirmed eighth graders are the worst human beings on the planet.”

“I can think of worse…” His eyes radiated sorrow.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I…” I had no words because I didn’t know what had triggered him.

He waved me off. “Long story. Not why we’re here tonight.”

“Well, that’s not true. I’m here to listen to whatever story you wish to tell. I want to get to know you. If I move to Mission City, you’ll be my first official friend.”

He cleared his throat. “I think Arnav and Foster—”

I shook my head. “You were the very first person I met. So if we become official friends, then you’re number one.

You’ll always be number one.” God, please don’t let that freak him out .

He was still so skittish—as his reaction to me this morning proved.

Maybe that was because you asked him out…

? And I still hadn’t told him that I knew him from before.

I hadn’t ventured into that territory, since he clearly didn’t recognize me.

“That’s a really nice thing to say.” Color slowly crept into his cheeks. “I still think Arnav and Foster should take that spot—you got invited to their house after one lunch.”

I shrugged. “And I had dinner with Aaron and Noel last night. You might know Noel Barker. He’s about your age.

Or maybe a couple of years older. Great guy.

Wound up following his sister to a small town in the States and falling in love with the innkeeper.

Then he came back to Mission City, and the innkeeper basically followed him because he loves him too. ”

He blinked. “Just like that?”

“Yep. And now they’re thinking about fostering, and they wanted to talk to me about what it’s like to raise kids who are from your heart and not your blood.”

“You’re doing a great job.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “I don’t always feel like it. I didn’t realize how bad things had gotten for Keegan. I mean, he wants to move a hundred klicks just to get away from the bullies.”

“He’s met people who support him. He looks at Parvan, Paisley, Luli, and the others and thinks that would be nice .”

“Is it?”

“Nice?”

I nodded.

He appeared to consider. “I think Arnav and I would see things differently when it comes to our experiences growing up in Mission City.”

“How? ”

“Well, he was out almost from the day he understood what that meant. Like, twelve or so. His family embraced and loved him. His mama lamented she wouldn’t have grandkids from him, but by then several of his sisters were married or close to. God, he’s got so many nibblets.”

“And Parvan isn’t even one of the official ones.”

“True. But it’s just like Arnav to take the kid under his wing. Being queer is tough. Being queer and Indian is doubly so.” He eyed me.

“Same with being Black.”

“Right. So I didn’t come out. I just went along to get along, and only when I went to the University of British Columbia, and lived on campus, did I start experimenting. But nothing serious. Not until…” His eyes flashed pain.

“Greek platter for two.” Timothea started laying out the plates of various dishes. The aroma wafted over me, and I grinned.

Jai didn’t.

Fucking hell. Whoever not until is, I want to kill the fucker.

His pain hurt my heart.

Timothea, as if sensing the shift in mood, left quietly.

Jai blinked. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m the one who’s pushing.” I pointed to the calamari.

“Yeah, sure.”

We each took a piece. Then we split the chicken souvlaki, dolmades, spanakopita, keftedakia, and rice.

He indicated I should keep all the roast potatoes, and I magnanimously offered him the larger portion of the Greek salad.

We dug in and several minutes passed as we devoured our food.

Apparently, the veggie hot dogs and burgers of lunch were long forgotten.

Jai wiped his lips with his napkin. “I can’t believe I’ve never been here. This is amazing. ”

“That’s what Foster said when we discussed restaurants in the area. I’m trying to vary between fast food and nice dining while not breaking the bank.”

“We’re going Dutch tonight.” He wrinkled his nose. “Can they split the platter for the bill?”

“I doubt it.” I had no idea if this was true or not—but I wasn’t going to let him pay for tonight. “You can pay next time. When was the last time you went to Fifties?”

“Never.”

I blinked.

“We didn’t eat out often.” He held up his hand. “I lied. Arnav took me there. I had an amaretto milkshake.”

“They make the best milkshakes. We need to go again. Do you have tomorrow night off?”

“You’re here with me now, and you’re already planning to see me again?”

“That’s what friends do—they make plans.

Normally I’d invite you over to my house to hang out, and I’d go to your place.

You’re obviously worried about the optics of being seen with a camper’s father, and my place is currently a hotel room.

Nice view, cute microwave, and an adorable mini-fridge.

King-sized bed and friendly staff round out the amenities. ”

“I hope the friendly staff aren’t in the king-sized bed.” He pressed his fingers to his lips as color crept back into his cheeks. “That was very impertinent of me.”

I hooted. “I think that’s awesome. I’ll have to tell Aaron, the manager. He’ll laugh.” I cocked my head. “I knew you had a bawdy sense of humor.”

He paused with a forkful of calamari in the air. “How do you know that? ”

Shit. “Because you just have this magnetic personality. I know you don’t see it. Not until took that away from you, but I believe you can get it back.”

“ Not until …? Oh. Him.” He shoved the fork into his mouth.

I bit into a dolma. Don’t push him. Let him come to you.

You don’t always have to be in a hurry to solve the world’s problems. Except I did.

I saw injustice, and I stood up to defend.

I witnessed wrongs, and I wanted to right them.

Seeing people hurting also hurt me. I just had to be careful to only lash out at those causing the pain.

Jai swallowed. “His name was Gary. We met in our final year at UBC. We…hit it off. Then we applied for, and secured jobs at, the same accounting firm.” He wrinkled his nose.

“I didn’t love working for high-net-worth clients, but I did enjoy the challenge and complexity of the files.

Gary…? He was all about wining, dining, and securing bigger deals. He was flashy. I was…not.”

“You mean you were reliable and hardworking. Not looking for credit.”

He blinked. “Yeah, sort of.”

“I know the type, Jai. Like your ex. I’ve met them. Taking credit for other’s work. Coasting along doing the minimum while appearing to do more.”

“Yeah.”

“So what happened?”

Jai bit his lower lip. “He discovered something about me. Something incredibly personal. And he…shared that knowledge. With everyone. I mean everyone . I was ostracized, and I decided I needed a fresh start. I packed up my car and headed east.”

His words hit me. Hard. Because unless he was talking about being gay—which he very well could be—he was also talking about being exposed as a pup .

Which explained everything .

“I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

He toyed with his rice. “Long time ago.”

“Six years?”

His gaze shot to me. “Yeah. How did you know?”

“Just a hunch.” Please let him believe the bullshit I’m shoveling.

“Okay.” He said the word slowly. Then he shook his head. “I got through it. And came out on the other end.”

Without any family support and with few friends. As far as I could see.

Well, you’ve got me now, pup. I’m not letting you go.