Page 23 of Steady Stroke
Lincoln’s gaydar pinged hard toward the Yes side of the scale. He hadn’t meant to seduce Emmett via food consumption, but apparently he’d done that very thing. Emmett’s own food was barely touched.
He tilted his head until he could make eye contact with Emmett, then winked. Emmett’s forked scraped across his plate, and he looked away. At his food, the table, the wall, everywhere but at Lincoln.
Embarrassed Emmett was Adorable Emmett, so Lincoln decided to turn on the charm and flirt for real. “That was one of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth,” he said.
Emmett made a cute little squeaking sound, then drowned it with long gulps from his soda. Too many gulps too fast, because he started choking. Then coughing into a napkin, face flaming, and Lincoln regretted his words. They got a few curious looks from other diners. Lincoln pushed Emmett’s own water glass closer. Emmett took a swig, then coughed again.
“Sorry,” Lincoln said.
Emmett shook his head. “I’m the one who can’t drink soda without choking.” His voice was raspy, and that shouldn’t have been as sexy as it was, given the circumstances.
“Yeah, try not to do that again.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Emmett resumed eating his lunch, while Lincoln picked at his chips and fished for a new topic of conversation. Something that wouldn’t end with another coughing fit. While Emmett’s family was a somber topic and off the table for now, he wanted to know more about the guy.
And the musician in him wouldn’t let go of the singing thing. “What’s your favorite song?” Lincoln asked.
“In general?” Emmett said around a bite of steamed carrot.
“To sing.”
“‘Sound of Silence’ by Simon and Garfunkel.”
Lincoln’s pulse jumped. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“That’s mine, too.”
Emmett’s eyebrows rose. “You’re just saying that.”
“No, really. It was one of the first songs that Dominic and I played together. Neither one of us is that great of a singer, but we both loved Simon and Garfunkel, so we made it work. When Benji joined XYZ, he had the perfect voice for it, and we added the song to certain venue sets.”
“I bet you guys sounded amazing.”
“We did.” Lincoln had never been a fan of false modesty. XYZ had been a fantastic group, and last year they’d almost touched the dream that had kept Lincoln going since he was a teenager. They had fucking deserved to play in New York City at the Unbound finals. They had deserved to be heard and seen by tens of thousands ofpeople.
At least Dominic and Benji were still out there living that dream.
Their server swung by to see if they needed anything. Lincoln asked for a water refill, then excused himself to piss out what he’d already consumed that day. The bathroom had the same beach-chic decor as the restaurant, and he found himself staring at a foam crab while he whizzed.
Everything about his day so far had been confusing as fuck. Emmett came across as interested, but he never directly flirted with Lincoln. Maybe it was only an intellectual interest, and not sexual.
Except for watching Lincoln eat like he wanted to be the one between Lincoln’s lips.
Usually Lincoln wasn’t shy about asking for what he wanted. Shyness had never gotten him anywhere, and he never had time for it. Only Emmett was different. He didn’t want to come out and directly ask Emmett if he was gay. He got an odd sense that if Emmett wasn’t, the query could damage this brand-new friendship they were building. Lincoln would rather move forward with a friend than risk the odds of it having potential to be more.
Right now, he could use a friend over a lover.
You keep telling yourself that.
He zipped, washed, and returned to the table. Emmett had finished most of his food, and Lincoln’s second water was there.
“Our waitress asked if we wanted dessert,” Emmett said. “I told her I wasn’t sure.”
“I’m stuffed.” Lincoln couldn’t even find fun in that innuendo. “You want to head out? Find something else to do?”
