CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Reachingfor the door handle to the little restaurant, Peyton momentarily wished he’d taken Taylor up on his offer for a bite of his edible. The last thing Peyton needed was to be stoned out of his mind on his first date in God only really knew how long, but with the way his stomach was churning, he wasn’t sure he’d manage to get a single bite of food down, let alone make coherent conversation.
Austin had been sweet, if not a little pushy, when Peyton finally started cracking on the idea of meeting up. They had a long phone conversation where Peyton got to listen to Austin’s low rumble tell him there was nothing to worry about because he wasn’t interested in just a hook-up. Peyton had waffled between keeping his stoma a secret and just having it out right then, but Taylor and Linden had both reminded him that only he got to choose when he was comfortable enough to tell someone he didn’t know.
And if his date couldn’t understand why he didn’t tell him right away, he wasn’t the right man.
It all sounded good. It was all the right words and all the right actions, but Peyton wasn’t a fool. He knew life was more complicated than a set of black and white standards.
But he did keep it to himself.
Now, he wasn’t sure he was regretting that or not as he walked to the host stand and gave a tense smile at the young woman behind a little computer screen. “Hi. I’m…I have a date? It’s kind of a blind date, and…”
“He’s already here,” she said with a kind smile. She leaned in close and dropped her voice. “He’s pretty hot, so whoever set you up did a good job.”
It was mostly nerves that made Peyton laugh as hard as he did, but he still appreciated her for her words and the little wink she gave him after. She kept her pace slow as they made their way through the busy dining room, and Peyton saw Austin before the hostess pointed him out.
He was attractive, his face matching the little profile pic from the app. Even seated he could tell the man was tall. His shoulders were broad, his hair was a light brown and expertly styled. He looked like some sort of high-powered CEO or attorney or something so far above Peyton’s little baker status that he had no business being there.
When Austin looked up at him, his face was unreadable. There wasn’t a twitch in his lips, or a flicker of his brow. He just gave him a steady stare and then rose when Peyton was close enough. He extended a hand with thick fingers and a tight grip, and he squeezed gently when Peyton offered his own.
“Glad you could make it,” Austin said. His voice didn’t entirely match his face. It was deeper on the phone, and Peyton had to wonder if maybe the guy was using an affect. Not that it mattered, but it was a little odd.
He smiled anyway and took his seat as Austin dropped back down into his chair. “Sorry I’m late.”
Austin quickly waved him off. “No. I was early. I got nervous so I decided to come in and have a drink.” At that, he lifted his hand and made a sharp gesture in the air which Peyton realized was him calling their server over.
It wasn’t…rude, necessarily, but it still made Peyton’s skin crawl a bit because who did that? Why not just be patient?
Before he could decide whether or not he wanted to say something about it, the server appeared. He looked barely nineteen with clear braces that wouldn’t let his lips close all the way, and an ill-fitting button up.
“Good evening, sir. What can I get you to drink?”
Peyton hadn’t been called sir in a goddamn long while, and he almost laughed, but the serious look on Austin’s face had him holding it back. “Uh…water’s fine for me.”
Austin finally reacted. He lifted a brow and leaned in toward him. “Order a drink.”
Peyton shook his head. “I don’t drink.”
Sitting back, Austin gave him a look, then turned to the server. “Surprise him with something non-alcoholic.”
“Water,” Peyton cut in, then smiled at the server who now looked terrified. “Seriously, please. Just water. And some lemon on the side if you don’t mind.”
“Of course.” The kid gave Austin a terrified look, but when Austin didn’t argue further, he hurried off.
Peyton turned his irritated gaze on the man. “I can order for myself, you know.”
At that, Austin laughed, totally unfazed. “I know. But you should treat yourself tonight. I asked you out so it’s on me.”
Peyton choked a little, then cleared his throat. “I didn’t order water because I’m broke.” Austin pinned him with a look of disbelief, and Peyton fought the urge to defend himself because this man had no business making any kind of assumptions about him. He let himself crack just a little bit—not enough to give anything away, but at least he could set the tone because it was already obvious Austin was the kind of man who wasn’t going to deal well with Peyton shitting into a bag. “I have a medical condition and I have to be careful with what I eat and drink.”
Something flashed in Austin’s eyes, but it was gone before Peyton could get a good read on it. He sat back and crossed his arms, but the tension in his shoulders had melted away. “You should have said something.”
“Normally my dates don’t try and order for me,” Peyton fired back. “I didn’t think it was going to be an issue.”
At that, Austin laughed like what he’d said was a joke. “What can I say? I’m a little old school.”
Not as charming as you think it is, bud, he thought to himself, but he decided not to voice that. The date was already going weird, and he wasn’t sure there was anything to be saved.