Page 50 of Twice Shy

“Now then,” Jackie announced, getting them all organized. “Drinks. Who’s having white wine?”

Since he hadn’t driven, Joel opted for a beer. A little Dutch courage. Or, in this case, the German pilsner variety. There were about ten of them in total around the table, he and Ollie the only men. Conversation, as it usually did between parents who didn’t know each other outside school, tended to revolve around their kids. And it wasn’t that Joel was uninterested, just that he needed to avoid saying anything specific about any of the children he taught and—mostly—that he was hopelessly distracted by Ollie. He was close enough that Joel could hear his conversation with Jackie, and with the woman sitting on Ollie’s other side who Joel thought was called Holly. They were discussing kids’ softball and Ollie was laughing, his face lighting up and his lovely eyes sparkling.

Joel could hardly believe he’d kissed him, that those smiling lips had opened beneath his own. And that it might happen again, tonight. Perhaps Ollie could sense his gaze because he glanced over and their eyes met for a sizzling moment before Joel quickly looked away, face heating.

“Hey guys, good evening.”

Glancing up, he found Luca Moretti standing at his shoulder, as brawny and handsome as ever and drawing everyone’s eyes. Especially Ollie’s. As always when he was around Moretti, Ollie’s expression was difficult to decipher, but intense wouldn’t be far from the mark. An unpleasant sensation slithered into the pit of Joel’s stomach. Envy. He didnotneed envy back in his life. It had taken him years to root it out after Helen.

Turning his attention to the menu, Joel studied the choices and kept his gaze away from Ollie. The guy had a right to look at Moretti however he damn well chose.

“Ah! Mr. Moretti,” Jackie said smilingly. “I was just saying to Ollie how marvelous everything is. What a wonderful job you and your, er, friend have done with the place.”

“Thank you,” Moretti said coolly. “And Theo’s my fiancé now, actually.”

A flurry of congratulations followed, which Moretti received with a half-smile, but Joel couldn’t keep from sliding a quick look under his lashes to see how Ollie took the news. He didn’t seem perturbed, but there was a definite self-consciousness about him that Joel couldn’t figure out.

“Now, what can I get for you all tonight?” Moretti said, pulling a notebook and pencil from his pocket. “The special is seabass with sizzled ginger, cilantro, and spring onion and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Comes with our twice fried potatoes.”

“That sounds great,” Ollie said, glancing up from his menu with an expression somewhere between defiance and hope. “Yes please.”

“Cool.” Moretti kept his eyes on his notepad. “You need an appetizer?”

“No, thanks. But everyone else go ahead if you want.”

Joel remembered the tension he’d noticed between Ollie and Moretti at Dee’s and sensed it again now. Ollie had denied it, but Joel was beginning to wonder whether they knew each other in some way… But whatever its origin, the tension didn’t seem to be dampening Ollie’s spirits. In fact, once their orders had been taken, his mood flew as high as Joel had ever seen it, and as the night wore on, he grew flushed and talkative in a way that Joel might have mistaken for buzzed if he hadn’t been aware of the single beer Ollie had nursed all night.

No, his mood had nothing to do with artificial stimulation. This was what Ollie looked like with the weight lifted for an evening. And maybe—judging from the number of times his smiling eyes met Joel’s—what he looked like when he was enjoying the company.

The only fly in the ointment was the way Ollie’s attention kept drifting toward Moretti, watching as he spoke to other customers and went in and out of the kitchen. But it was only a passing concern, dispelled whenever Ollie’s eyes met his with a gaze so sizzling Joel was surprised the whole table couldn’t feel the heat. And so fierce Joel’s pulse accelerated until it became increasingly difficult to make small talk instead of grabbing Ollie’s hand and making a break for the door. From the increasing frequency and intensity of their shared looks, he was pretty certain Ollie was on the same page.

Joel didn’t want to be the first to leave—too obvious—but once the check had been paid and people werestilllingering he was starting to consider radical escape plans. But at last Sofia Flores pushed back her chair and started talking about getting home for the babysitter.

“I should go too,” Ollie said, scrambling to his feet. “Uh, Joel? Do you need a ride?” His overly casual question, twinned with the pink in his cheeks, couldn’t have been more obvious—it certainly was to Alyssa, who started making stifled noises behind her delicately raised napkin.

“Uh, great. Thanks,” Joel said, standing stiffly. He hoped his own flush wasn’t as apparent as he grabbed his coat off the back of his chair and slipped it on. “Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone, if I don’t see you before.”

He felt a dozen pairs of eyes on his back as he and Ollie made their way out of the restaurant, keeping a discrete distance apart.

“Thanks, guys, have a good evening,” Theo called from the reception desk as they crossed the foyer. Ollie called back, “You too!”

Then Joel pulled open the door, held it for Ollie, and at last they were out into the crisp night air. They both let out a long breath, and then laughed.

“That was fun,” Joel said, shrugging deeper into his coat. “But sometimes… I guess there’s only so many parents I can handle.”

Ollie gave him a silly, flirtatious look. “Oh yeah?”

He laughed. “Figuratively, I mean.”

Together they trotted down the porch steps onto the drive, gravel crunching under their shoes. The moon had set, but the stars were out in legions and the air felt brisk against Joel’s heated skin. They paused there, Ollie shivering a little. “Where’s your coat?” Joel said.

“In the car. I was thinking…” His gaze darted over Joel’s shoulder. “Do you fancy a walk on the beach?”

Joel laughed. “In the dark?”

“Sure, why not?”

Because it’s cold, late, and possibly dangerous?“I can’t think of a single reason why not.”

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