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“Okay. Just wondering if I have competition.”
“Definitely not.” Stephen shook his head and took a drink of his margarita. “I’m not good at dating. And I don’t juggle different people. My schedule tends to be too busy to try to keep multiple people happy.” His smile seemed a little more fragile when he looked at Ehren again. “Not that I’d ask you to date only me. I guess I’d like to know if you were dating other people at the same time.”
Ehren bumped his shoulder into Stephen’s. “Nah. I like the idea of giving you my undivided attention. What is the average length of your dating in the past?”
“Three dates.”
Thankfully Ehren hadn’t been taking a drink at the time, because he would have choked. As it was, he was trying not to choke on the air he’d sucked in. “Three?” he wheezed.
Stephen cringed and nodded. “By three dates, I usually know if we’re compatible, if we fit. Don’t forget I’m good at reading a person’s tells, their face. I can tell when someone is holding back to make a good impression.”
“I’m never playing poker with you.”
“I don’t want to waste their time or mine if it’s clear we’re not going to work out. I want people to be happy, and hanging on to a person who doesn’t fit won’t help them find a good match that will make them happy.”
“Yeah,” Ehren murmured. “But it still sucks if the other person hasn’t reached that conclusion as fast as you.”
“That’s true. My brother complains that I’m way too picky. Of course, he thinks life is one big sexual buffet.”
“You’re both crazy.”
Stephen shrugged, looking completely unbothered by the observation. “Probably.”
Ehren bit his tongue. He wasn’t going to ask. He was not going to ask. He was—
“How am I doing?” he demanded in one big rush.
Stephen’s wonderful laugh filled the air. “I was waiting for that.”
“Come on,” Ehren groaned. “I think you’re smart enough to figure out that I like you, and I have no idea if you’re counting this as date number one or two.”
“Well, I don’t know. This could technically be one since I did steal Friday night.”
“You didn’t steal it. The date landed in your lap,” Ehren corrected. “You were insane enough to not run in the opposite direction.”
“Or this could be date number three.”
“What?” The single word escaped Ehren in a very undignified squawk, his mouth left hanging open.
“Friday night was date number one; then we had breakfast Saturday morning at my place, which could be seen as date number two—”
“You’re on crack if you think that.”
Stephen continued as if Ehren hadn’t interrupted. “And tonight is date number three.”
This was a horrible development. He was already at date number three, and the first two had been tainted by the disasters in his life. Not the best way to make a good impression.
“So, I guess I really need to impress you tonight,” Ehren said nervously, trying to make it sound like a joke.
“Nah. While I was waiting for you to meet me, I was wondering if it was too soon to ask if you wanted the see the live Van Gogh exhibit at the art museum next weekend.”
That knocked Ehren speechless for a second as his brain and heart did a happy dance on his lungs. “You’re thinking about our fourth date?”
Stephen’s smile lost some of its confidence and turned a bit more nervous. He leaned close, bumping his forehead against Ehren’s. “I think you’re smart enough to figure out that I like you. Things are usually pretty hectic during the week, but my weekends are typically free. I’d love to spend some time getting to know you better.”
“Yeah, I’d really like that too.”
Around them, the lights dimmed and the enormous screen on the stage flickered with the beginning of the movie. Stephen snagged a quick kiss, and they settled in. But even before the movie started, Ehren was sure this was going down as one of his best dates ever.
To make it even better, Stephen quoted the same lines of the movie as Ehren. Yes, the sexy man was even a bit nerdy.
At the end of the movie, the main lights rose, pushing at the darkness, but it was too soon. He’d never seen Princess Bride on the big screen, and Stephen had been the perfect companion. They’d made the same silly jokes, laughed at the same parts, and had even held hands through most of the movie. Why did the night have to be over?
Well, maybe he could try the coffee ploy again? It had gotten Stephen up to his condo the first time, and there was no way he was making any promises that this was just about coffee. He was getting under the cute doctor’s clothes at last.
Releasing Stephen’s hand, Ehren bent down and picked up his empty cup to throw it away on the way out. As he straightened, his eyes snagged on a man standing off to the side by one of the exits as if he were waiting for the rest of his party.
