'Til There Was You - Jerry Cole Page 0,49

he might explode. It was just like that... only somehow different.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, Finn was pretty sure that Austin had a crush on him. The kid wasn’t very good at hiding his feelings, and the way he looked at Finn every time he spoke, the way he laughed at his jokes, or looked for reasons to touch him, spoke volumes to his feelings and his intent. Austin wanted Finn. Finn just wished he knew what he wanted.

“Do you have a bouquet?” Clarice joked.

“Not that I care... but how do I look?” Finn asked when he was finally done. He knew he looked good too. With the dark shirt, dark jeans and dark boots, not to mention his hair, tattoos and everything else he was working with, he was looking fine. But still...

“Yum,” Clarice agreed. “Someone is getting laid tonight—”

“Will you shut the fuck up!”

Dinner was scheduled for eight o’clock at a restaurant called Jazushi – a sushi bar that had the setting of a fifties Jazz club. The food was delicious, the vibe was even better, and the company was... well, it was bound to be the best part. Finn, master of the late arrival, actually got there early this time. He wanted to be able to settle in and have a drink, calm himself, assess what he wanted to get out of tonight.

But of course, when he walked in the door some ten minutes early, Austin was already there, seated at a table in the very back, looking even more delicious than anything on the menu.

“You’re early,” he cooed as Finn headed over. The lighting was dim, there was a light mist in the air from the incense candles that burned, and the music was a vibe. “Trying to impress me?”

“Yeah, that’s why.” Finn rolled his eyes as he sat down. “That’s all I try and do now.”

Austin was looking good, and Finn wasn’t at all ashamed to admit it. He too was dressed in dark colors, but opted for a more casual approach; a black t-shirt, black jeans and his buckwheat colored Nikes. His blond hair was slicked back, his blue eyes seemed to pop in the candlelight and his teeth seemed bigger and whiter than usual. He was looking hot.

“Nice place though.” Austin indicated the restaurant. “Jazz-sushi fusion, who would have guessed? You bring all your clients here?”

“Every single one,” Finn said decidedly. For some reason he needed Austin to know that this was all business. There couldn’t be any misunderstandings.

“Good to know.” Austin half-smiled as he picked up the drink menu. “We’re drinking tonight, though, yes? And it’s on you -- just making sure before I order the most expensive drink on the menu.”

Finn hated how funny Austin could be. “Yes, it’s on me,” he laughed. “When they offer you the deed to the place though, I’d appreciate it if you turned it down. Money is a bit tight at the moment.”

“All right... so I also shouldn’t order the gold encrusted lobster? With a side of gems?”

“Unless you really had your heart set on it...” Finn pretend as if it were a real question. “... then I suppose you can – but you better eat the whole damn thing.”

Austin bit into his lip in thought. “You know what? I’ll stick with the gin and diet-tonics. And maybe just some sushi?”

“How very controlled of you,” Finn winked... and then cursed. He was already starting to flirt, and the drinks hadn’t even started flowing. Somehow, he was pretty sure that tonight was going to end in the exact fashion he didn’t want it to... even though he actually did.

The next two hours of the night was an exercise in self-restraint. Finn and Austin ordered some drinks, and then some more, and then some more. On top of this they ordered plenty of sushi, all shared, all interesting and all providing plenty of opportunities for banter. They fought over pieces with their chopsticks, they joked about raw fish and prawns that still had the entrails in them, and they laughed at just about anything the other said.

But as this perfect dinner went on, Finn made sure to monitor his self-control. If this were a date, it would have been two drinks in when he moved from across the table to sit next to Austin. It would have only been one more drink that saw him escalate to touching and a little bit of petting. And by the time the food arrived, Finn probably would have hinted very