TWENTY-SEVEN
Ifanyonehadtold me a year ago I’d be going on a date with another man, I would have thought them mad. With my hand planted firmly on Kit’s lower back, I guided him toward our seats. I admitted there was a bit of lunacy to the whole thing. That was the only way to describe the gamut of emotions I’d been through with him. From the moment we met, I’d been aware of him, but only considered him a boy to be used. Then my appreciation of him grew to not wanting him to be with anyone else, and now I wanted the world to be envious of what I had with this boy.
And this was a good start.
Kit cleaned up better than good. He was stunning. No one would believe what he’d been doing in back alleys until a few weeks ago. The confidence he clothed himself in was enough to attract attention. He was dressed in one of the expensive outfits he’d bought earlier today—a pair of form-fitting pants that clung to him like a second skin and a corset vest in a royal-blue-and-gold woven design. I’d never seen a man in a corset before. I’d nearly dragged him back to the bedroom, but my need to show him off had won.
A therapist would probably find my obsession with parading him for others to be problematic, but all that mattered was that he liked the attention as much as I took pleasure in the fact that he received the attention. It was a gift both of us enjoyed.
“Here’s your table, Mr. Matthews.” The host stopped in the main area of the restaurant and placed two menus on the table. “A waiter should be with you shortly. Enjoy your meal.”
“Thank you.” I pulled out Kit’s chair, and because I could feel the eyes of strangers watching us, I dropped a kiss on top of his head, then took my seat across from him.
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” He smirked at me. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you specifically asked for this table.”
I shrugged. “I enjoy showing you off. I’m not going to be ashamed of that.”
Kit’s face turned pink. “It’s weird having someone look at me like that.”
A waiter arrived before I could ask him to elaborate. I ordered a bottle of wine. Just this once, I’d make an exception for Kit to drink when it had nothing to do with the job.
“Will you help me choose?” he asked.
“Sure thing.”
I placed our order of appetizers and main courses. Kit glanced around the restaurant, but his gaze flicked away quickly. It was more crowded tonight than I would have thought.
“Are you comfortable?” Maybe I should’ve had him choose the restaurant instead of coming up with the most expensive place in the city.
“I am.” He gave me a ghost of a smile.
“Something’s bothering you.”
“Not bothering. Just…” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. We’re here on our first date.”
“That’s not true. We went to Florida together.”
“That was a vacation. I meant a regular date.”
“You don’t seem excited about it.”
He unrolled his silverware from the napkin, then rolled them back up. “Maybe it was a mistake coming here.”
“Why? I like being here with you.”
“Maybe you wouldn’t like it so much if you knew I recognized a few of the men here.”
“Recognize? What does that…”
Oh. Oh. I glanced around us, then back at Kit. “You think I care that you’ve slept with someone here?”
“I don’t know. I keep expecting someone to pull the blinds from your eyes and you’ll see what you ended up with.”
“I don’t need to remove anything. I know about your past, Kit.” I reached across the table and placed my hand over his, stilling his fidgeting with the napkin. “I’m not in denial about what you used to do for a living, but that’s not who you are, just a part of your past. You want to know what I see when I look at you?”
He nodded, just a slight gesture of his head.
“I see a confident go-getter who smashes through the world as if it’s his own and we’re all his subjects. You’re brave and strong. I would never have let you work with me if I thought otherwise.”