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Ben offered him a smile. “It’s nice to meet you. I hope you weren’t waiting too long.”
“Nah. I was a little worried about parking, but this place seems pretty dead.”
Ben bristled instantly, even though it wasn’t really a criticism about Nova’s place. “Snow and the holidays,” he said, ignoring when Levi pushed a menu toward him. Instead, he drummed his fingers on the table. “So…is this weird for you?”
“The blind date thing? Or the blind date for Chanukah thing?” Levi asked with a tiny grin.
Ben laughed. “If my brother wasn’t trying to take my mom’s place as family matchmaker, I would have rescheduled.” Actually, he would have called it off, but he didn’t want Levi to feel rejected.
“My mom’s the same,” Levi said, shaking his head. “She seems to think that I’m going to die miserable and alone if I’m not married by the time I’m thirty-five. But I’m just grateful she came around to the whole me liking men thing.”
Ben winced. “Rough?”
“Not the worst of my childhood trauma, but it’s up there,” Levi said. He smiled wider, and although there was no attraction in the slightest, Ben was pretty sure he and Levi could have been friends. Not that Levi would want to once he learned that Ben was most definitely taken, but maybe in another life. “If this wasn’t a date, my mom would probably be plotting how to punish me for not showing up to dinner every night this week.”
Ben grimaced and nodded. “I get the excuse of not living close enough for every single holiday she celebrates. Which is all of them. But I think that’s just an excuse to make me feel guilty for being unmarried and focused on my job.”
Levi threw his head back and laughed. “Why are they all the same?”
A small weight lifted off Ben’s shoulders. Maybe he could let Levi down easy. Maybe he could just finish the date, have a nice meal and conversation, and not feel like eighty percent of single, queer men in the city needed to be put in a landfill.
“Your drink?”
Ben’s entire body froze when a familiar hand slid his usual drink in front of him. He swallowed heavily and managed to look up, startled when he found heat in Nova’s eyes. And not the good kind. “Thank you,” he rasped.
Nova gave him a single, stiff nod before turning on his heel and walking away. Ben curled his fingers around the glass, but he wasn’t brave enough to take a sip.
“Uh…that was weird, right?”
Ben’s gaze snapped up to Levi, who was staring across the table at the bar. “Um…”
“Do you think he’s homophobic?” Levi went on. “I swear to everything, I will ruin this place on Yelp.”
Ben leaned forward. “No. Trust me, he’s not homophobic. He’s just…” Ben had no idea how to finish that sentence. He trailed off as he glanced behind him to find Nova once again behind the bar, glowering in their direction. He had two choices—the truth, which would destroy the date, and a lie, which would probably end just as badly.
“Is he your ex?” Levi asked.
Ben tried not to choke on his own tongue. “Uh. No. We’re just friends. I do have a complicated ex, but he doesn’t work here.” Levi was still frowning, so Ben decided he had to handle it to avoid a scene. “Will you excuse me for just a moment?”
Levi nodded, but Ben could feel the man’s gaze on him as he got up, turned his back, and walked over to where Nova was leaning against the liquor shelf with his arms crossed. Ben cleared his throat and did his best to keep his voice low.
“What the hell?”
Nova’s jaw ticked, and his voice was heavy with bitterness. “Looks like you’re having a good time. Good for you.”
Ben sputtered. “Please tell me you’re joking. I didn’t even want to be here tonight, but you insisted I show up to this fucking farce. And unless you have some humiliation kink where you get off on watching me suffer bad dates…”
Nova’s face immediately fell, and he glanced off to the left before pushing away from the counter and coming closer. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize how bad it was going to feel to see you laughing and having a good time.”
“He’s nice,” Ben said, hating the pain that flooded into Nova’s eyes. “If I hadn’t met you, I might even consider a second date. But he doesn’t make me feel the way you do. The moment I laid eyes on you…”
“When you thought I was a frozen homeless man being kicked out of a café?” Nova asked with the barest hint of a smile.
“Yes, I mean then,” Ben told him, and he heard the way Nova sucked in a sharp inhale. “No one has ever made me feel the way you do. Now, if we can just stop the madness and call off these dates…”
“No,” Nova said. “I’m going to stop being an asshole, and you’re going to go buy that perfectly nice, charming man dinner.” He leaned in closer, and his voice got quieter and deeper. “Then, tonight, I’m going to call you and make you come so hard you’ll see God.”
Ben took in a trembling breath. “Don’t.”
