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But…he owed it to himself to try.
Didn’t he?
Austin kept his mouth shut while Peyton was ordering his food—choosing the special that night with chicken and potatoes because he wouldn’t have to worry about that fucking with his digestion and causing a blockage. He caught Austin watching him with a little frown once or twice, but the conversation eventually turned to normal things like hobbies, and Peyton’s baking, and Austin’s job.
They were reaching the end, Peyton turning down dessert when Austin suggested they share something. “It’s nothing personal,” Peyton insisted. “It’s just…ever since I started my bakery, I’ve turned into a total snob.”
Austin blinked, then threw his head back and laughed, holding up his hands in surrender. “Alright, I’ll give you that one. I’m having fun though, so do you mind if I order a coffee?”
Peyton was a little surprised the guy wanted to extend the date. Yes, the weirdness from earlier had passed, but he wasn’t feeling any kind of spark. And maybe that was just him being some kind of pathetic, hopeless romantic, but he wanted more than pleasant conversation.
Still, he wasn’t going to tell the guy no. It wasn’t like he had to rush home and it was nice being out of the house again—with a guy who seemed somewhat interested in him.
“Go for it,” Peyton said just as the server approached with the dessert menu.
Austin ordered his drink, then when the server walked off again, he leaned back, and Peyton felt a shoe touch his calf for a brief second as the man stretched his legs out. Austin grinned and didn’t apologize or even acknowledge that he’d done it.
“So, should we get into all the taboo stuff now?” Austin suggested.
Peyton felt his cheeks pink. “Taboo stuff?”
“You know, awkward relationships with family, exes…” He trailed off with a dark stare. “Unless you had other ideas in mind?”
Peyton tried not to choke. “Oh. Ah. I mean, my relationship with my family is pretty average. I don’t talk to my parents much, but I’m really close with my brother.”
Austin’s brow quirked. “Is it the cultural homophobic thing?”
At that, Peyton couldn’t decide if he wanted to laugh or scream because this man assuming that Peyton’s Asian parents would be homophobic was way too typical, and so damn frustrating. But he had no idea how his birth parents would have reacted to him—to the person he was now, because he’d never gotten the chance to know them.
He shook his head and thumbed the rim of his now-empty water glass. “My brother and I were adopted.”
Austin’s eyes widened. “Oh! One of those…Chinese baby international things?”
Peyton had been asked that before—in more ways than one. Usually with the person assuming the pair of them were found naked and screaming in some remote village or something.
As far as invasive questions went, Austin’s was on the milder side. He just felt a pulse of disappointment because he’d been hoping the guy would be different.
“I’m not Chinese,” he said quietly.
Austin shrugged. “So, what are you?”
Fuck’s sake. Never mind.
“I’m a baker,” he shot back. His palms were sweaty, but his frustration had been higher than he realized because normally he didn’t snap that quick.
“I didn’t mean it that way…”
“Yeah,” he interrupted. “No one ever means it that way.” He pushed his chair back and stood up. “Thanks for dinner. I can Venmo you my half if you want.” With that, he turned on his heel and hurried out toward the front, his stomach sinking when he heard footsteps behind him.
He had his keys out when a strong arm grabbed his own, and panic with a hefty dose of adrenaline gave him the strength to rip himself away from Austin and take several steps back. “Dude, didn’t anyone ever teach you not to be a fucking creep?”
“Didn’t anyone ever teach you that you should let people apologize when they fuck up?”
At that, Peyton laughed. He was tired of letting shitty men like Austin get away with being dickheads all for the sake of being polite. He shook his head then turned and started toward his car, freezing when he heard Austin start to follow him again.
“Read the fucking room, man,” he shot over his shoulder. “Stop following me.”
To his credit, Austin did, and when Peyton finally got to his car, the guy was gone. He slipped in behind the wheel and let out a trembling breath, then realized he was on the verge of crying.
