Page 10 of A Daddy for Christmas 3: August
“I don’t mind.”
“But now you’re going to get cold.” Still, Auggie had grabbed the sides of the sweater and drawn them across his body as he snuggled in, enjoying how the sweater smelled like Thor, hadn’t he?
“Well, if we go to the pub around the corner tonight, I won’t have time to get cold. And if they’ve got the fire lit, I’ll be toasty again in no time.”
Auggie didn’t quite believe the not having time to get cold thing—he’d gotten cold the minute they’d walked outside—but he was enjoying being warm and cozy inside Thor’s sweater and so he was going to take it at face value.
“I admit, the idea of that fireplace having an actual fire going sounds amazing.” It hadn’t been any time they’d been there yet, but the weather had definitely taken a turn over the reading break.
“Then let’s hope it’s not just for show.”
Thor held the door to the Stag and Crown open for him and Auggie slipped in, hit by a wall of warmth and the smell of a wood fire burning. His gaze immediately went to the big hearth, and he was pleased to see a fire blazing away, flames dancing and sparks leaping up toward the chimney.
“Score,” Thor said. “Looks like there’s a table just to the side of it—close enough to be warm without the heat becoming too much, I bet.”
Auggie nodded and headed over to the table. He took Thor’s sweater off with some reluctance, not because he was still cold, but because it was Thor’s. He handed it over and Thor put it on the back of his chair. Auggie took his own meager sweater off and set it on the back of his own chair and they sat.
“What are you going to try tonight?” He liked knowing that Thor was going to choose something he hadn’t had before. Not that they had come here every time they had supper together, but they’d come often enough that he knew that about Thor. Once the fish and chips had passed muster, Thor was game for anything and was making his way through the menu.
“I’m going to have the butter chicken with extra naan because that’s the best part of butter chicken.”
“It’s not actually a part of the butter chicken, though,” Auggie pointed out.
Thor shrugged, clearly unperturbed. “But I always have it when I have butter chicken, so in my mind, it is. What are you going to have?”
“The roast.” Unlike Thor, Auggie tended to stick with what he liked. He’d had the burger and fries the second time they’d come here and it hadn’t been nearly as good as the roast, so he’d had the roast every time since.
Thor chuckled. “Surprise, surprise.”
Auggie shrugged. “I know it’s good. I know I like it. I know it’s worth the money.” Besides, it felt like a nice hearty meal night so he probably would have chosen it even if he had another favorite on the menu.
“If you tried some of the other stuff, you might find you like more than just the roast,” Thor noted.
“Maybe, but the burger was just average. I’m happy with the roast.”
“Whatever you want—it’s your supper.”
It was, and if it made him boring because he always got the same thing, well, then it made him boring. Besides, Mrs. K. had been sick the last couple of weeks, so he hadn’t had any meals to take home from her. It wasn’t like he couldn’t cook for himself, he totally could, but he was lazy and tended to just grab some ramen or make something else easy so he hadn’t had a good filling supper in a while.
“Besides, the Yorkshire Puddings are so good. I’ve had them before but they’ve never been this good.”
“They really do seem to have the British pub food thing down,” Thor admitted.
Auggie ordered a Guinness to go with his roast; he figured that by the time he’d walked home he would have walked thealcohol off, but it might make him not mind the cold so much. Thor ordered something else on tap.
“So what did you do with reading week?” Thor asked after they’d placed their orders.
Auggie shrugged. “I picked up some extra shifts at the store. Mrs. K. was under the weather so I filled in for the busy hours. And I got my main paper finished for class and read ahead from the book list.”
“You read during reading week?” Thor gasped and pressed his hand to his chest in fake shock.
Auggie had to laugh. “I know most kids goof off, but I don’t like to get behind.” It stressed him out if he didn’t stay super on top of everything. “How about you?”
“I painted.”
“Yeah? Like the whole time?”
Thor nodded. “Pretty much. I was inspired and just went for it.”
