Page 18 of Bonus Game
There was a long pause, and then Allen asked, “That’s not Italian, is it? About the mob boss joke?—”
Jake laughed and shook his head, making Allen release his hold on him. With his hands already feeling colder, Jake pouted and straightened, looking up at Allen, who was standing beside him.
“Spanish,” said Jake. “It’s my mom’s name. She refused to give me my father’s last name because she claimed hers hadmore historical importance, and my father gave in and changed his name the day I was born.”
It was all useless information for Allen to know, but talking helped shake off leftover tightness in his chest. Jake didn’t get overstimulated often, but he had never self-regulated so fast before.
Allen didn’t speak until he was sitting down across from him again. “I just wanted to clarify that we’re going back to my place tonight, because even though I trust you’re not the main love interest of a dark romance novel, the chance of you having a jail cell at your place is never zero.”
That was a tempting idea.
“Don’t even think about it,” Allen grumbled. “I see the evil thoughts glimmering in those dark eyes of yours.”
Caught red-handed, Jake smiled.
Allen's face went scarily expressionless, but then he shook his head and sighed. “Are you good? I know it might be weird to ask, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to fight your way through a conversation if you’re tired.”
Jake held his hands up, like he could physically push the question away. “I’m fine, thanks to you.”
As expected, Allen’s blush returned with a vengeance. They took a quiet moment to study each other; Allen looking adorably grumpy, and Jake feeling like he was on top of the goddamn world.
The restaurant had fast service, so the food arrived before Jake had a chance to restart the conversation. He was content with that, though, because it meant he got to watch Allen’s expressions while he ate the best steak in the city.
In Jake’s opinion, anyway.
Jake cut into his own steak, but most of his attention stayed across the table. Allen wasn’t doing anything special, just eating silently, but something about it pinned him in place.
The low restaurant lighting caught Allen’s hair, turning the brown into warm, coppered strands every time he moved. His eyes were the same deep brown as his hair, soft when he was unguarded, but piercing when he was focused on something.
Right now, it was the food, and Jake couldn’t pretend not to be jealous of the attention.
Allen chewed thoughtfully, eyes flicking down, then up again, as if gauging whether Jake liked his meal. The tiniest smile tugged at his mouth before he looked away, and it was ridiculous how something that small could feel like a punch to Jake’s ribs.
Jake leaned back in his chair and pretended to study the décor, but really, he was just trying to get a handle on himself. He didn’t know when admiration had turned into something deeper, but it had, and there was no point denying it now.
When they left the restaurant after finishing their meal, Allen didn’t fuss when Jake took his hand while they walked to the car. Any other night, he would have insisted that they stay and stroll along the boardwalk, but it was snowing and bitterly cold, and Jake wasexhausted.
“Thank you for dinner,” Allen said once they were in the car. “It was delicious, and the private room didn’t feel as weird as I thought it was going to.”
Jake grinned and nodded, forgetting to use his words to answer.
But Allen didn’t seem bothered by the less-than-stellar communication. He was too busy blowing his warm breath onto the passenger side window and drawing hearts in the condensation.
Jake’s pulse skittered, his heart aching at how cute his soon-to-be-husband was.
No words were spoken between them until they arrived back at Allen’s apartment, and he directed him into a spot reserved for the car he didn’t own. Jake had been so fixated on theirdate that he had forgotten about what part came next and what awaited him inside Allen’s apartment.
Allen seemed nervous, too. He wasn’t talking anymore, and his movements were jerky and awkward as he led Jake into his building and up the stairs to his door.
The building only had three floors, and Allen lived on the top one. The structure wasn’t rundown by any means, but it was an older place, and lacking good ceiling height. Jake had to duck to make it through Allen’s doorway, which didn’t go unnoticed.
“Whoa.” Allen kicked off his shoes and took a few steps back, eyes trailing over Jake’s body. “I knew you were big, but Jesus.”
He wasn’t wrong. Compared to Jake, Allen was tiny. The beautiful man barely reached his chest when they were standing beside each other.
“Right,” said Allen, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “I’m going to take a shower and get ready. You can…I don’t know, go through my bedside table and try to find a condom that’s big enough to fit.”
Allen was making a lot of assumptions, but he wasn’t wrong.
