Page 41 of Grounding the Baker
Austin was always touched when Gerard referred to him that way. It was also a reminder that Gerard’s family had disowned him years ago, but he more than made up for family on Kevin’s side. The man was one of seven siblings, and they were a very loving bunch.
They were in the Stag and Lantern. It was mid-afternoon on Thursday. Austin had finished up a job and had stopped in to grab something to eat before he picked Maisie up from school. Gerard had ordered him to sit down, and then Kevin brought out fish finger doorstop sandwiches for them all. Everything in them was homemade, even the bread. The man was a wizard in the kitchen. It had tasted incredible.
“I wouldn’t bring him here anyway,” said Austin. “And you know why. I want us to enjoy this date without the entire village watching and gossiping about it the next day. The last thing I want is for him to say no to a second date.”
“He’s hardly likely to do that when you show him all your moves,” said Gerard, wiggling his hips, making his husband smile.
“I’m not sleeping with him on the first date. He’s not just some quick fuck to me, you know, Gerard.”
“I know that, Austin,” he said, his smile disappearing and being replaced by hisauntieface. “You just might want to set that expectation clear with Liam.”
“What do you mean?”
“The two times I’ve been in the bakery with you this week, Liam has looked like he wants to climb you like a tree.”
Austin smiled at the thought, and his dick twitched. Buthe would hold his ground on this. He’d said to Liam early on that he wanted to woo him, not just take him to bed. That hadn’t changed, so he shared that with Gerard and Kevin.
“Haven’t you already been sort of dating him for months, in a roundabout way?” asked Kevin. “Liam might have expectations that things will progress quickly, and let’s be honest, gay men don’twooguys.”
“Yeah, but Austin’s one of those bisexuals,” said Gerard, which made them all laugh.
“I can make it clear at the start of the date, so he’s not upset when things don’t go that way.”
“You are at least going to kiss him, aren’t you?” asked Gerard. “I mean, give the poor guy something.”
Austin wanted nothing more than to kiss Liam. He had a feeling that their first kiss wouldn’t be something quick, and he wanted to be somewhere he could savour it, but he didn’t want to build it up too much in his head. It added unnecessary pressure.
“You can’t tell him that at the start of the date,” said Kevin.
“Why not?”
“Thank you for joining me for dinner. By the way, I’m not going to fuck you.”
Austin snorted. He had a point.
“And what if he’s cleaned out ready for a dicking and you pull the no cheek clapping card over the appetisers? I’d be telling you to get fucked about a second date if that was me.”
They all cracked up laughing.
“Fine, I’ll talk to him beforehand and make things clear to him.”
“Can I be there when you have that conversation?” asked Gerard.
“Can you fuck!”
They all laughed again.
Austin walkedinto the bakery on Friday morning for his coffee before heading to work. He was finishing a patio for one of his neighbours today. Hopefully, he could get it finished, or he’d have to work tomorrow as well. His date with Liam wasn’t until the evening, but he wanted the whole day to prepare. Austin wanted it to be perfect. Any fuckups, and he might not get the chance with this guy again.
“Morning, Austin,” said Chloe. “Your usual?”
“Yes, please.”
The door from the kitchen opened, and he smiled until he saw it was Callum. He was a nice guy, kind of cute, but not who Austin wanted to see. He looked back at Chloe, who was smirking at him.
“He’s not here today,” she said.
“Oh, okay,” he said, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice. “Will he be here at all today? I wanted to talk to him about something.”
