Page 15 of The Princess

“Pub crawls?”

“It was some weird tradition of theirs. The guy felt bad for how drunk I got, though. He thought from the looks of me—his words—that I could hold my booze better.”

Taylor wrinkled his nose, clearly unimpressed with the antics of someone who’d played a walk-on role in Damon’s life.

“Anyway, I needed food to soak up the alcohol and I ordered the baked macaroni and cheese. And it was the best thing I’d ever eaten.”

“What happened with the guy?”

“His friends kept crawling to a different pub, but he stuck with me until he was sure I was sober enough to get myself home.”

Taylor’s scowl deepened. “After all that, and he didn’t even put out?”

Damon tipped his head back and laughed at how indignant Taylor was on his behalf. “We still text from time to time. He’s not a bad guy, but getting laid had never been on his agenda that night.”

“I suppose that’s probably for the best, considering how wasted you got.”

“I had such a hangover the next day too. But I’d at least had enough wits about me that I knew how to find this place. I don’t usually bring dates here. I know it’s not mine, but I like to think of it that way. Like it’s my special place. I haven’t drank since either.”

“And you brought me here?”

Damon shrugged, like it wasn’t a big deal. “You’re special too. It seemed appropriate.”

Taylor looked happy beyond words and Damon felt like a fool for all the times he didn’t pay Taylor the compliment he’d wanted to. Luckily, he had Nash, and Nash had made him stop being a moron. Damon gave his head a shake. He was here on a date with Taylor. He had to stop thinking about Nash.

CHAPTER 7

TAYLOR

“What’s that look for?” Taylor asked, still floating on that last compliment Damon gave him. That he was special. It was easier to believe something like that when it came from people who weren’t related to him. But then Damon got a weird look on his face. Did he regret saying it?

“I’m sorry. I—” Damon took a drink. “I’m trying not to think of Nash, because I’m out with you and you deserve my undivided attention. But I was thinking how lucky I am to have him. He let me have it the other night after I acted like a jerk.”

Taylor dragged a fingertip down the outside of his glass, playing connect the dots with the drops of condensation. “It’s okay to think about him, you know. I know you two are a thing. It’s not like your brain comes with a switch and you can turn your thoughts off. He’s important to you, so of course you think about him. And you’re with him, so we’ll probably end up talking about him sometimes.” And maybe if this thing between them went further than an apology date, or whatever this was, they’d have to sit down as a unit and discuss rules and boundaries.

Damon agreed that it was okay to think about his boyfriend, at least a little, when he was on a date, and before Taylor could think too much about the way that was odd, but also not…the food arrived.

“This looks sinful.” Taylor picked up his fork and immediately speared into the macaroni and cheese. The dish was piping hot, and there was a layer of cheese on top with some crunchy breadcrumbs. The cheese was gooey and stringy and perfect, and Taylor blew on the bite before sliding the fork into his mouth.

“Holy fuck,” Taylor said around a mouthful of food. “That’s heavenly.” He’d eaten a ton of macaroni and cheese in his lifetime. It was one of his favorite foods. Had Damon known that? The sauce was creamy and rich without being too heavy. And the crunchy breadcrumb topping put it over the top. Taylor could marry this food.

While he was obsessing about the macaroni and cheese, Damon had cut his burger in half. “Try the burger next.”

Taylor put his fork down and took half the burger. He had to admit, as far as first dates went, this was a good one. Usually Taylor felt awkward. Between not knowing what to say or how to act, he’d had better luck with hookups than dates. Hookups were simple. Far more straightforward than a date. Hell, you didn’t even have to like your hookup. They only had to be suitably hot and passably tolerable until the deed was done.

Taylor tried not to think too much about how easy it was to be with Damon, just the two of them. Or the way he watched Taylor with twinkle-eyed interest and his wide, contagious smile.

The moan that slipped from Taylor’s mouth was embarrassing as hell, but worth it to see the expression on Damon’s face. He’d dreamed of having Damon look at him like that. It made Taylor feel powerful when men looked at him that way, like he was the only thing in the world worth wanting. Taylor’s head spun with the realization that this was happening. This was a date, and he was on it with Damon.

“This is amazing,” Taylor said.

Damon snatched a fry off the plate and popped it in his mouth. “I knew you’d like the food.”

“I meant being out with you. On a date.” Taylor knew he was blushing, but he didn’t care. “Is it weird that it’s not weird?” he asked before he took another bite of the burger. He’d definitely be going back for more of that macaroni and cheese, but the burger was addictive.

“I don’t think so. I mean, we know each other already. I hang out with your family all the time. I think that it could be weird, but I’m glad it’s not.”

Taylor took a drink of his virgin mojito. He didn’t want their whole date to be about Nash, but there were things he was curious about. Like how they ended up together and whether they’d shared anyone between them before. Taylor wanted to know all the rules of their dynamic.

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