Merry Cherry Christmas - Keira Andrews Page 0,52

to do whatever—or whomever—they wanted. But maybe Jeremy wasn’t as mature or evolved or cool as other people, because he absolutely hated the idea of Max dating anyone else.

Hated. It.

And he felt like Max didn’t like it either? On the way to the cafe, Max’s smiles had been so tight and quick that it seemed he wasn’t happy at all with the idea of Jeremy seeing someone else.

He crushed the bloom of sweet happiness and hope. Max was helping him out and being a friend, but was he really going to end up as Jeremy’s boyfriend? He’d made it seem like they’d pick up where they left off in January, but Jeremy needed to keep his expectations realistic. Max was way out of his league.

He was lucky he’d been able to touch and taste and learn, and that Max and his family had been so generous. Wishful thinking about the future wouldn’t get him anywhere. He needed to be an adult and go on this date. Even if all he wanted to do was run after Max’s truck and never look back, he’d agreed to meet this guy and couldn’t stand him up.

Where he lurked, he couldn’t really see the cafe, which spread out to his right after the narrow entrance. So he figured he couldn’t be seen either and took another minute to calm his nerves. It was fine.

Upbeat_drummer_guy probably went on dates all the time. This wasn’t a big deal. Jeremy needed to chill already. Now that he and Max had fooled around, this was supposed to be easier.

Yeah. Not so much.

He groaned to himself. Thinking about fooling around with Max was dangerous. When he hadn’t been obsessively replaying the kitchen conversation the night before, he’d fantasized about Max creeping across the hall and surprising him. Which had obviously led to jerking off as silently as he could.

Now that he’d kissed and touched Max for real—had experienced the wet heat of his mouth on his dick—getting himself off had felt disappointingly hollow. Even though he’d come hard remembering shooting into Max’s mouth, having Max so close but so far was torture.

Annnd if he didn’t stop thinking about it immediately, he was going to pop a boner in the cafe entrance at eleven o’clock in the morning like a huge perv. Not that there was a good time of day to have a throbbing erection in a cafe.

He banished all thoughts of Max and erections and forced himself to walk into the cafe and look for Upbeat_drummer_guy, whose name he realized he didn’t know yet. Shit. He should have asked. What an idiot. He was terrible at this. He should turn around and—

Upbeat_drummer_guy was waving to him from a table near the back. Jeremy waved back, then dropped his hand. Had he looked too enthusiastic? Dorky?

What would Max do?

Taking a deep breath, he passed by various groups of people playing board games and laughing loudly and joined his date at the table, shaking his hand and learning his name was Levi. Jeremy hung his coat on a nearby rack. He hadn’t brought his Blundstone knockoffs, so was in his clunky boots. But considering how much snow there was in Barrie, he certainly wasn’t alone. He resisted the urge to peek under the table to see what Levi was wearing.

Levi looked like his pic: white, shaggy brown hair, beard. He wore a plaid shirt and jeans, so was maybe a little hipsterish. Jeremy had gone with his new pink sweater and usual jeans. He adjusted his glasses and tried not to fidget as Levi went to the counter for a refill on his coffee and to get Jeremy a cappuccino.

“I’ve never been here before,” Levi said when he returned, setting down their cups. “It’s cool. You come here a lot?”

“No, actually. This is my first time.” Jeremy willed himself not to blush, his words conjuring a bunch of other thoughts. “I’m spending the holidays with a friend and his family. He recommended it.”

“He lives in Barrie?”

“No, near Pinevale. They have a maple syrup farm. It’s really cool. If you like maple syrup. Which I guess most people do? But maybe not.” Oh God. He needed to stop talking.

Levi smiled. “It would be un-Canadian to not like maple syrup.”

“Yes!” Jeremy agreed too loudly. “Um, so, yeah. They have this maple syrup farm. There’s an open house tomorrow, actually. It’s called Nadeau Farms if you want to check it out.” Wait, had he just accidentally asked Levi on another date? “I mean,