Page 5

Chapter Five

Theodore

I hate the way my body reacts when I see him.

I knew he was hot from his photos on the website, but holy fucking hell , this man is sex on legs.

He has this classic model look about him, something I didn’t know was a weakness of mine until I’m staring him dead in the eyes.

His smoldering gaze is the exact kind that draws you in and makes you think of nothing but sex.

Never mind the way he’s dressed. Looks like he popped off the page of a fucking magazine. Christ, I’m in so much trouble.

He gives me a smug smile, almost as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking. There's no way he doesn't. He must get this sort of reaction all the time.

“I’ll let your server know you’re all set for her,” the hostess says cheerily as he takes his seat across from me.

“Thank you, Miss,” he says politely, folding his hands and resting them on the table. Oh my God, even his voice is like sex. Smooth and husky… “So, Theo? ”

And my name—he said my name, and it sounds so fucking good. This was so stupid of me. What am I doing here? All I can do is stare at him, blinking, my mouth going dry as my mind runs rampant. Bouncing from dangerous topic to dangerous topic.

“Are you okay?” he asks gently, as if he actually cares. But obviously he doesn’t. He’s being paid to be here as my date. This isn’t real.

I still can’t answer, and so now I’m thinking that getting up and leaving is my best bet.

Stranger or not, there is no way I can talk to this man about what I’m feeling.

Look at him, for fuck’s sake! He’s hotter than literal hell.

You could jump into a volcano and it would be nothing compared to this man.

“This can be a lot,” he says with a gentle smile. “It’s intimidating and scary. For a ton of reasons, too. But I promise I won’t bite.” He grins, leaning back in his chair. “Unless, of course, you want me too.”

Oh, fuck…

This is such a bad idea. My dick is so hard, and these tight pants are not helping. I feel like I’m having an existential crisis. I can’t figure out if I’m panicking because of this situation or because I am so attracted to this man—it’s pathetic.

“So, have you been here before?” he asks.

You’re being rude, Theo. So fucking rude. This man was nice enough to grace you with his otherworldly beauty, and here you are just ignoring him .

“Uh,” I say, licking my lips and taking a shaky breath. “Yes." I clear my throat. "Yes, I’ve been here before.”

“Cool, me too,” he answers simply, as if I’m not acting like an incompetent idiot. If my mother saw me, she’d have a coronary. “There’s actually an underground tunnel beneath us. It was built after the Great Seattle Fire.”

Good lord, he’s smart too. I’m going to cry. I am going to jerk off to this man later as tears spill down my face, because how the hell is he real?

“1889,” I manage to get out.

He gives me a bright smile, a proud look in his eyes. “Yeah, that’s right. You like history?”

I shrug. “My dad likes history. I grew up listening to him ramble off all sorts of things about the city.”

“Is he affiliated with the city in any way?”

“Not really, no.”

The waitress comes over, bright and happy. Her dark hair is pulled back in a thick, shiny ponytail, the end of it reaching her middle back.

“Evening, gentlemen. Can I start you off with some drinks?”

“Scotch, please,” I say.

“Same,” Tobias says.

“And have we thought of any appetizers?”

I glance down at the menu in front of me.

“We’ll need a few more minutes for that,” Tobias answers easily .

“All right. I’ll be back shortly with your drinks,” she says before moving off.

“I swear I’m not usually such a mess. I’m just nervous.”

“Hey, there’s no judgment from me,” he says with a wave of his hand. And I actually believe that. There’s a calming presence about him. Something about his face tells me he’s trustworthy. His kind eyes, maybe. “It’s normal to be nervous in a situation like this.”

“You’re not.”

“Well, this is my job. I have to be good at it.”

His job… right. Why the hell am I acting like such a fool?

I’m never going to see this man again after tonight.

I have a date with him. I paid for him… for the next three hours.

I did this for a reason, and I’m not going to waste it.

He wasn’t cheap, and I need to figure my shit out before the wedding.

I huff out a laugh. “Yeah, that’s a good point. How long have you been doing this?”

“Eight years.”

“And you like it?”

“Love it,” he says. “I get to meet so many different sorts of people. Sometimes I get free vacations.”

“Wow,” I say in awe.

“It’s kind of a dream job.”

“Don’t you ever consider settling down?” I have no idea why I ask that. “Sorry, that’s personal, and—”

“It’s okay.” He waves me off. “I’m an open book. I’ve got no secrets, and I’m comfortable talking about almost anything.”

“Almost?”

He smirks. “Don’t get me started on religion and don’t tell me the Seahawks suck.”

I can’t help but laugh at how seriously he says it.

“Well, you don’t have to worry there. I refuse to speak about religion and I’m not much of a sports guy.”

“Ah, you wound me.” He presses his hand to his chest, smiling at me. It’s a fucking blindingly beautiful smile, and if I were on my feet, I’d have fallen over.

The waitress drops off our drinks, and we still haven’t looked at the menu.

“May I suggest the prosciutto wrapped figs? They come stuffed with goat cheese, a little drizzle of honey, and topped with thyme. It’s our newest item, and a hot seller.”

Tobias looks at me expectantly, and I shrug.

“We’ll give it a go,” he says.

“Perfect. I’ll get that in right away.”

“We should probably figure out what we want to eat before she starts to hate us,” he says with a chuckle, picking up his menu. I do the same.

When she drops off the appetizer, which looks delicious by the way, we put in our meal orders. I get the pan-seared scallops while Tobias orders a steak.

“Do you actually get full on that?” he asks when the waitress leaves the table.

“Guess we’ll find out. ”

“So,” he starts, leaning forward slightly. “What made you want to rent a date?”

“And here I thought I’d be at least three drinks in before answering that question.” I pick up my glass and take a sip.

He chuckles. “That bad, huh?”

“Bad isn’t the right word. Maybe embarrassing.”

“Color me intrigued,” he says in a low tone that has my dick stirring to life again. Fuck that thing already. Why does he get a mind of his own?

“This is going to sound so ridiculous.” I take another sip, the glass already half gone.

“Here,” he says, taking a sip of his drink then dumping the rest into mine. I raise a brow. “For courage.”

I chuckle before taking a mouthful, then the last dregs of it. The waitress walks by, and he gestures for two more.

“Need another minute?” he asks.

“No, I should probably just get it over with.”

“All right, let’s hear it.”

There’s excitement shining in his eyes, that I fear I’m going to destroy when I tell him how lame my reasoning is for getting him here.

“So, I… Well, I…” I blow out a breath, rubbing the back of my neck. “Don’t know where to begin, it seems.”

“Okay, so let’s try another way.” I settle into my seat a little more, waiting for him to continue. “How’d you find out about Foxy’s?”

“A friend of mine is a bartender. She gave me a card. ”

“Love that,” he says enthusiastically. “And why’d you choose me?”

I groan. “Do I have to answer that?”

“Well, you do now.” He chuckles.

I shake my head, then stare right into his eyes. “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.”

He rolls his lips between his teeth to stop from laughing, but I see how badly it wants to come out.

“Here you are, gentlemen. Can I get you anything else while you wait for your meals?”

“No, thank you,” I say, reaching for one of the figs. She nods and leaves, and I pop it into my mouth. Wow, this is good. Better than I thought it would be. Not typically a goat cheese fan, but everything works nicely together.

“I’m going to say fate led us here together,” he says, picking up his drink.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.” He shrugs. “Whatever reason you’re here for, it’s supposed to be me here with you.”

I sigh, picking up another fig and chewing thoughtfully, then washing it down with a mouthful of scotch. When I look up, I find him watching me carefully.

“I think I’m gay,” I blurt.

If he’s shocked by it, he doesn’t show it, and for that I am grateful beyond words.

“Not the first time I’ve heard that,” he answers simply .

“I’m supposed to be married in a few months,” I add, knowing I can top anything he’s ever had before.

“I’m going to take a leap here and say it’s to a woman?”

I nod. “It’s to a woman.”

“And you’re trying to figure out if you should call it off or not?” he asks carefully.

“That’s the thing,” I say, reaching for another fig. The alcohol is starting to work now, not only warming my belly but settling my nerves. “I don’t have a clue. I just… need to know.”

I have no idea what I’m going to do with this information, but trying to ignore it hasn’t helped. Calling off the wedding isn’t an option. My family would disown me, and I’d ruin Marianne’s life. It’s just… for my own peace of mind, I need to know.

“And you thought going on a date with a guy would tell you this about yourself?”

Maybe it’s the alcohol, but I feel like I could tell Tobias anything and he wouldn’t judge me.

Maybe it’s just because he’s so calm and his eyes are trusting.

I feel like I could expose my soul to him and not feel weird about it.

He’s the kind of person you spill your heart to without even realizing it.

And I think that’s why I end up word-vomiting everything to him.

“I have these dreams. Sex dreams that turn into wet dreams.” His eyes flicker with excitement, but for once, my dick acts right and I keep going instead of stopping to wonder why he’s excited about that. “They’ve been going on for months. It’s always with a guy.”

“Since we’re being so open here, let me ask you this: have you had sex with your fiancée?” I nod. “And you’ve come?” Fuck, that word out of his mouth, the way his lips press together when pronouncing the M … I nod again. “But…”

“How do you know there’s a but?”

“Because you’re here.”

Right. That makes sense.

“But,” I say with a sigh. “Something is missing. It’s not enough. Not… satisfying.”

“And I’m also going to guess you’ve never had sex with a guy before?”

I shake my head.

“Is that what you were expecting to happen tonight?”

“What? No.” I shake my head, panic seizing my chest. “No, not at all. I wouldn’t think that about you or anyone else. You’re a professional.”

He’s chuckling, and I frown.

“Calm down, Theo. Is it okay if I call you Theo?” I nod, reaching for my glass again. “Cool. You can call me Toby if you want.”

“I like Tobias.”

“Yeah, me too.” He grabs his drink, taking a sip.

“Anyway, I think the only way you’ll actually know is if you do it.

And I’m not condoning you cheating on your fiancée.

Not a fan of cheating at all, and I don’t condone it in any way, but this isn’t about me.

You have to think about it, right? What’s going to bother you more?

Cheating on your fiancée or never knowing if you’re gay? Or bi or anything else.”

I nod carefully. “I hadn’t looked at it that way.”

“Like I said. I was meant to be here with you tonight.”

And suddenly, I really believe that.