Sarah’s luau themed birthday party. It had lived in the back of his closet since. He sprayed his hair back off his face, brushed his teeth, and called himself done. It wasn’t like there was anything to shave off his chin.
When Day met Jackson back in the kitchen, a fat ginger cat sat on the counter, Kevin presumably. He eyed Day warily as he ate his food, like Day might steal it. “Your cat is huge.”
“Don’t fat-shame my roommate. Kevin is his own man. He does as he pleases.”
Day rolled his eyes. “Does anybody else know what a dork you are underneath all that swagger?”
Jackson picked Day up and plopped him on the counter, making Day a head taller than Jackson. “Only my family…and you.”
Day cupped Jackson’s cheeks in his hands, enjoying the feel of his beard on his palms. “Why me? You don’t even know me.”
“Because I know I’ll never get to know you if I don’t let you know me. The real me. The dork who likes musicals and names his chunky cat Kevin because that was the name on the delivery bag I found him sleeping in. I also play a mean game of Dungeons and Dragons, and I cheat at Monopoly.”
Day’s heart squeezed up into his throat, forcing him to swallow hard. “Everybody cheats at Monopoly,” was all he could think to say.
“You look really hot tonight,” Jackson said, punctuating each word with a lazy kiss. “How about when we get back, you let me peel you out of this outfit.”
“We’ll see,” Day said, leaning down to give Jackson one last kiss before saying, “We’re going to be late.”
“Nah, the restaurant’s only around the corner,” Jackson said, contradicting his own words from earlier.
Day smirked at him, shaking his head. “Come on, Daddy. We can’t be late. This guy’s already mad at you.”
“Come on, you little tease,” Jackson growled, spanking Day’s ass hard enough to sting, causing him to bite back a moan.
The walk to La Mar was nice. The Florida weather was balmy but not so humid that it made Day sweaty or sticky. They walked hand in hand with nobody so much as batting an eye at them. It was only two blocks, but in that time, the sky shifted from blue to pink and orange fire, and the city lights seemed to spring up around them.
“Have you ever had Peruvian food?” Jackson asked.
“No. I’ve never been anywhere but LA and Idaho, and I can’t afford to get experimental with food choices. If I’m feeling fancy, I eat my ramen noodles out of a bowl instead of the styrofoam cup.”
Jackson leaned over and kissed Day’s temple. He didn’t say anything, but it felt like an apology.
Once they reached the restaurant, Jackson held the door open for Day, and they were met by a bubbly blonde girl. “Welcome to La Mar. Do you have a reservation?”
“Avery, party of four,” Jackson said, flashing the girl a bright smile.
She blushed all the way to the tips of her ears. “Yes, sir. The rest of your party is already here. Follow me.”
Day made a googly-eyed face behind the girl’s back, mocking her reaction to Jackson. He gave Day a single upturned brow. “Behave yourself.”
The soft warning left goosebumps up and down Day’s whole body. Before he could respond, they were led to a table looking out over darkening waters where a middle-aged man in a linen shirt and hat smoked a cigar and a woman ten years Day’s senior sat wearing a skintight strapless, floral dress with diamond studs in her ears and a diamond ring on her left hand so big it spanned from knuckle to knuckle.
They both stood as Jackson and Day approached. Jackson clasped Angel, slapping his back like they were old friends, before kissing the woman on both cheeks. “Angel, good to see you, my friend. This is Dayton. Dayton, this is Angel and his wife, Sylvia. I hope you don’t mind if he joins us tonight?”
“Of course not, mijo. He’s your novio, si?” Sylvia asked.
Day looked to Jackson, eyes wide, but Jackson simply smiled. “Si.”
“¡Es maravilloso!” Angel said with a laugh.
Was it? Day thought.
The server arrived with two more glasses of water. “I’ll give you a few minutes to look over the menus. In the meantime, our wine list is right here in the center. Can I get you started with something from the bar?”
Day’s heart stopped. The menu. How the fuck was Day going to order off the menu? He could say he’d