AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Trey said, “It’s okay. Let’s just relax and see where the night takes us. Steve, huh?”
“Sorry. I promised myself and my daughter I wouldnotbring him up tonight. I definitely didn’t want to bethatguy, the one who goes on a date and then won’t shut up about his ex.” Connor sighed. “But it’s hard when someone has been such a big part of your life for so long. So apologies and excuses in advance.” He smiled. “I’m sure it’ll happen again.” This was so not where he wanted to take things, so he asked Trey to tell him about his work as an attorney. “That must be exciting. Remind me what kind of law you practice again.” Connor wasn’t sure it was in Trey’s profile, but at least the ‘remind me’ was a good way to cover if it had been.
“Actually, it’s duller than dishwater. I kind of regret my choice of profession, but what can I say? It pays the old mortgage.” Trey sipped his drink.
“Well, is it too late to do something else? You’re young enough to make a change. What don’t you like about it?” Connor asked. He was surprised when Trey abruptly changed the course of the conversation, throwing it back to him.
“Ah, I don’t want to talk about my dull job. You’ll die from boredom.” He rolled his eyes. “But you? Mr. Famous Author! That must be amazing. Making a living from telling lies.” He chuckled.
Connor wished Miranda hadn’t outed him as an author so quickly, but he hadn’t thought about warning her before Trey arrived. “Never really thought of it that way, but I suppose you’re right. People tend to think I have this glamorous life—all the fame and fortune, you know? But the truth is, it’s mostly me and a blank screen with a blinking cursor waiting for me to get started.”
“You obviously get started…again and again. How many bestsellers have you written?”
Connor often got questions like this, along with where he got his ideas. He thought the question was a little out of line, like asking what his income was, so he said, “You know what? Even I’ve lost count. A couple dozen books, I guess. I don’t kid myself. People enjoy them. People also enjoy Burger King and Taco Bell.”
“And they’ve all done well?”
Connor thought, but didn’t say, that after the first couple books were out, his books had done spectacularly well. His quarterly royalty statements were often in the six figures. He invested and gave a lot of it away to local charities like Lifelong AIDS Alliance and Youthcare, which provided food, shelter, and job training to homeless youth, many of whom were in the position they were in because their families had thrown them out for being queer.
“They’ve done okay.” Connor was relieved when their waiter set their appetizers down. There was no question—the smell of deep-fried food was a little bit of heaven. It was also a great distraction.
Fortunately, Trey was ready to dig in and so was Connor, partially out of hunger (he’d skipped lunch) and partially because he wanted to steer the conversation away from his success.
But, after the appetizers were a memory and a second round of drinks was ordered, he was disappointed that Trey brought their conversation back to Connor’s success.
“So you must rake it in, then? Your girl said you’d been to the top of theNew York Timesbestseller list a bunch of times. You must have lots of fans. You get recognized at Pike Place Market? Do you travel the country on book tours when a new one comes out?”
“I used to. But these days, I just don’t think there’s a good return on investment for that sort of thing. And I always hated them anyway. I’m an introvert. INFJ, if that means anything to you. A book tour totally drains me. I have to spend lots of time in bed after the tours wind up, just to reclaim some of that massive energy suck.” He eyed Trey across the table and tried to suggest, as gently as he could, that they change the subject. It had always made Connor uncomfortable to talk about his work. He felt as though someone were shining a spotlight on him. And despite his fame, he wanted nothing more than to be the wallflower in the corner, barely noticed.
Trey relented, and they discussed lots of things for the next hour or so—favorite movies and books, where you’d find the best Pad Thai in town, ferry trips to the San Juan Islands, stuff like that. Things were going well enough that they decided to go ahead and order dinner and a couple more drinks—fish tacos for Trey and fish and chips for Connor.
When the bill came, Connor reached slowly for his wallet. He didn’t mind paying, not at all, especially since this was a pretty cheap dinner date, but he wanted to see if Trey would at least offer. But Trey seemed oblivious to the bill lying on the table between them, his gaze suddenly transferred to the TV screen above the bar, where a Seattle Seahawks game was being replayed.
“Let me get this,” Connor said, smiling.
Trey glanced down at the check, then back at the screen.
Just when Connor had given up on him making an offer, Trey turned his attention back to what was right in front of him. “You sure?”
“Yeah, it’s fine.” Connor gave him a tight-lipped smile.
Trey burst into laughter. “I have a confession to make. I left my wallet back at my place…totally by mistake. I was too embarrassed to say anything.” He winked. “I’ll get it next time, and I promise we’ll do better than this dump.”
Connor was a little taken aback. Trey seemed to enjoy both the food and the atmosphere. Still, he reminded himself that these were early days, and he didn’t really know Trey well at all. Their conversation had always come back to Connor, and the truth was, Connor had learned very little about the man sitting across from him.
And he could admit, if only to himself, he was swayed by the man’s looks—the powerful physique and broad shoulders, the shock of thick dark hair, sexily untamed, but most of all his gorgeous blue eyes, so pale they were almost ice. He particularly loved Trey’s lopsided smile.
He consoled himself thinking that he wasn’t the first man to fall for a pretty face—or body.
“Sounds like a plan,” Connor said, pulling out his wallet and laying four twenties on the table. “That should do it. Give our cute little waiter something extra.”
“Stop. He’s young enough to be your son,” Trey said, laughing.
Connor sighed. “I was going to suggest we walk home, maybe have a nightcap at my place.” He crossed his arms. “But I think I just changed my mind.”
“Oh, come on. I was kidding. He’s cute.”
“And I was kidding you.” Connor stood. “Now, let’s go before I decide it’s too far, or too cold, or too drizzly, to walk.”
