Sweet Sensations

Chapter Seven

Xavier

I climbed out of the car that Dominick had called for me and took a minute to admire the sleek exterior of the bar. My reflection stared back at me from the tall glass windows that served as the front wall. I knew the suit I had chosen fit me well. It looked gray from a distance, but when you got close, you could see that it had a slight pink tinge to it. Getting a steal on it from a thrift store, I splurged a little to have the pants and jacket fitted properly.

So why did it look so awkward in my reflection? Like it was clinging to me in all the wrong ways.

Like I was outgrowing myself.

I took a deep breath, then walked into the bar. When I turned a corner into the main lobby, he was sitting there, waiting for me. There was a handkerchief, something silk, folded in his breast pocket. He still hadn't shaved, and in the short time since I'd met him, he had grown a handsome, full beard. It made his features somehow more striking, from the curves of his face to the black lengths of his eyelashes.

Intimidating, but also sweet.

And so handsome I still couldn't believe it.

Although as my go-to masturbatory fantasy for the past seven years, I was probably predisposed to thinking that. And yet somehow, a guy like me was on a date with a guy like him. Everyone always saw me as the friendly neighborhood shop owner, quick with a smile and a wave. No one would expect me to spend my time with a man like Dominick.

Or to want the things I wanted from him.

But I did. And as he stood from the bar and offered me his smile, I could have sworn I felt a flash of heat tingle my cheeks.

"Xavier," he said. "I'm glad you could make it. I took the liberty of ordering you a cocktail. I figured something sweet?"

I smiled and took the hand he offered me. The meat of his grip held my fingers just tight enough that my breath caught in my throat, and then he released me again.

"Thank you," I said, taking a seat beside him. I lifted the glass, filled with a clear and bubbly liquid. "Hold on a second, is this a gin fizz?"

He lifted his own cocktail in the air, something brown sloshing around at the bottom of his glass. "It is! A good eye for that kind of thing, I see. Although I'm not surprised."

I would normally feel a date was being too forward in ordering my drink, but somehow, it just felt like a compliment from him. Proof that he was thinking about me and about what I liked.

It was flattering. And accurate.

"It's one of my favorite drinks," I said, taking a sip. The bubbles burst against my tongue, and I tasted the sweet lime and crisp gin. "Thank you."

"We have some time to kill before heading to the gala. I would have taken you to dinner, but there will be so much food there, it will be more fun to go hungry."

I felt myself blushing again. "Sounds good to me."

He leaned forward on the bar, and when the sleeve to his blazer fell, I saw the tattoo of the rose beneath his wrist again. There were a few thorns sticking out of its stem, which extended up his arm an inch or two. "I never asked how the rest of college went for you," he said. "Campus life treat you right?"

I laughed. For once, being thrown back into memories of school around Dominick wasn't sending me spiraling into anxieties. It must have been the cocktail and the dim lights.

Or maybe that charming smile.

"I had a good time in school. It was pretty easy for me, I guess. I always knew I was going to take over my dad's business, so my grades didn't really matter that much. As long as I got my business degree and learned what I needed to know, I had a clear path ahead of me after graduation. That made it easy to have fun and enjoy the time."