Cody — 7
“Come on, Cody. It’ll be fun. I promise.”
I did my best to not roll my eyes or cringe at those famous last words coming out of Emme’s mouth. Whenever anyone told you it would be fun—the promise—it was usually the complete opposite. There was no way going out with Emme’s brother on a blind date was going to be fun. Never going to happen.
“You need to get out. Hawke said you haven’t dated anyone since back in the spring. That’s too long.”
“Hawke needs to mind his own business,” I said as I glared at my best friend. He did. He was also going to pay for this because Emme was like a dog with a bone. She was relentless and had been after me for the past several days to go out with her brother.
“You know, your brother probably doesn’t want to be set up just as much as I don’t.”
“He’s all for it. He wasn’t too thrilled with the idea, but he was willing to go along.” Emme batted her eyelashes at me, and I rolled my eyes at her.
“If I say yes, do you promise to leave me alone and never set me up again?”
“Promise. Swear I’ll never mention it.”
“You’re agreeing too easily. I don’t believe you.” I looked pointedly at Emme and knew she was simply saying whatever she could to get me to go out with her brother. Poor guy. “Fine. Just leave me alone. Please,” I said, giving in completely. I simply wanted her to stop nagging me.
“Yay! You won’t regret it. So here’s the info—just meet him there, tonight at six.”
“Wait, tonight? You never mentioned tonight. What about making plans? What about…never mind. Does your brother have a name?”
“AJ. He said he’ll be wearing a blue shirt, so hopefully he’s easy to spot.”
“Fine. Now skedaddle. I have muffins to make.”
I watched as Emme left. That woman was entirely too happy. Had been since the Fourth. I turned and focused my attention on my traitor of a best friend. He’d ratted me out, and I wasn’t happy about it. Damn.
“Don’t start, Cody. You haven’t been out since Angie. That was March. It’s July. You need to move on.”
“I’m over her. Trust me, I’ve been over her. I just haven’t had the interest in dating anyone.”
“Too bad. You should go out with AJ. I’ve heard a lot about him.”
“What does he do? What’s he look like? Can you give me anything at all?” I asked, getting a little concerned now that I’d agreed to go out with a complete stranger in just a few short hours.
“Sorry, I can’t tell you anything because I’ve never met the guy. I just know he dotes on Emme’s kids and he loves his sister. He’s the one who told her that this place was opening. I’m happy he did because this place wouldn’t function without her.” Hawke poured coffee cake batter into pans before he placed them onto a tray for baking.
“You know, before long we’re going to have to share this space,” I said, looking around at the kitchen.
“I know. I’m not too happy about it, but I agree. They honestly do need a full-service restaurant. And think about it, you can make your beignets then.”
I nodded in agreement. I loved making them, something I’d picked up from Rhett in the time I’d worked for him. I especially liked the ones that were filled with raspberry sauce and then drizzled with chocolate. And now I wanted beignets. That really wasn’t a good thing because I didn’t have time to make them. There was only an hour of baking time left. Nope. Not happening. And I had the next two days off, so it wasn’t happening then either.
“Where’d you go?”
“Nowhere. Just trying to figure out what I’m going to do on my days off.”
“Get laid?”
I sent my best “what the fuck” look in Hawke’s direction, which caused him to laugh. And not just a small laugh, but an outright deep belly laugh. I waited patiently for him to finish.
“Sorry, but you should see your face. And you really should get laid. It does wonders for the mood. I’m sure AJ would be willing to help in that regard.”
“I’m not sleeping with Emme’s brother. That would be awkward when I get back.”
“I’m sure he wouldn’t run off and tell her.”
“That may be, but I’d know and the thought of it really makes me cringe.”
“Fine. But if he’s hot, maybe a mutual blowjob?”
“No. Oh my fuck. You’re just as bad as Tristan. I just can’t with you two anymore.” I turned and walked to the cooler, grabbing another pound of butter for my dough. I decided to make croissants instead of muffins.
“I’m sorry, Cody. We just want you to be happy.”
“I’m not unhappy, Hawke. But you two need to realize I don’t need a boyfriend, or a girlfriend for that matter, to make me happy.”
“I know. We know you turn us down when we invite you out, though, and it’s upsetting to think that you do it because you’re the only single one of us.”
Damn, there really were no secrets from these two, were there?
“I’ll try harder, okay?”
That brought a smile back to Hawke’s face, which made me happy. I did not want to have to deal with Trace because I’d upset his boyfriend. The man could be intimidating when he wanted to be. Especially where Hawke was concerned.
After we’d baked another batch of coffee cakes and croissants, we cleaned up the kitchen and I drove the five minutes back to my place. I smelled like I’d been baking all morning, so I stripped off my clothes and climbed into the shower.
I couldn’t help it. Even though I was just a couple of hours away from going out on a blind date with someone named AJ, I couldn’t stop thinking about Adrian, and like always, when I thought about the man, my dick decided it was time to play. I ignored it, refusing to give in and rub one out to thoughts of the man.
There was no way I was falling into that trap again. If I did, I’d be a goner, and then all thoughts would be consumed by him. No, it was safer to…who the fuck was I kidding? I grabbed the soap, and after slicking up my cock, I gave it a good squeeze and started a slow stroking rhythm. My mind conjured pictures of Adrian and me, naked on a big bed, so we had to have been somewhere other than here because my bed was only full-sized.
When Adrian started kissing down my body from my neck down, I moaned as my hand sped up on my cock. When he sucked my steel-hard length down without hesitation, I screamed as those thoughts sent me over and I shot all over the tiles in the shower. Fuck. I leaned against the cool tiles while waiting for my legs to stop wobbling and I could hold myself upright without assistance.
Once my legs no longer threatened to give out, I quickly rinsed my come off the shower wall and down the drain. That was one of the strongest orgasms I’d ever had, but now that it was over, I felt guilty. I was thinking about one guy while I was planning on going out on a date with another. That was seriously fucked up. And since I didn’t have AJ’s number, I couldn’t call and cancel. Besides, that was a really shitty thing to do to Emme’s brother anyway.
I knew AJ was older than Emme and that he loved Adelaide and Josh, but that’s about all I knew. Oh, and he’d be wearing a blue shirt tonight. Well, also that he had good taste in restaurants because we were meeting at the Range and I was really looking forward to a nice, juicy steak. I’d only ever been there once, but it was quite memorable.
I got out of the shower, and after drying off, I wrapped the towel around my waist and left the bathroom, my destination my bedroom. Once the blinds were closed, I tossed the damp towel on the end of the bed and let myself air dry the rest of the way. I walked to the closet and selected a white button-down, then placed it on the bed. After getting dressed, I checked the mirror one last time before grabbing my keys, wallet, and phone.
It didn’t take too long to arrive in Jackson, and since the Range was on this side of Jackson, I was there with plenty of time to spare. I walked in and smiled at the hostess. I’d always found a smile went further than a scowl, unless one was warranted. “Hi. I’m meeting someone.”
“Hello. Do you know the party’s name?”
“AJ.” I watched as she ran her finger down the screen and tapped it before looking up at me with a smile of her own.
“He’s already here, so if you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your booth.”
“Thank you.” I followed just behind her as she led me through the restaurant to a booth in the back. It was against the wall of windows that had a gorgeous view of the mountains, so that was a bonus. But the absolute last person I expected to see in the booth she led me to was Adrian Fuckin’ Fisher. He was there, though, wearing a blue shirt and a hesitant smile on his face.
“No fuckin’ way. Is this some kind of joke?” I asked both the hostess as well as Adrian. When the hostess gave me a blank look, I knew she had no clue what was going on, so I turned my glare toward the man who shouldn’t be there. “I’m meeting someone. Why are you here?” I watched as Adrian got up from his seat and gestured to the one across from where he’d been sitting.
“Would you please sit and let me explain?”
I sat, because there was no way this wasn’t going to be good. I needed to hear why Adrian had either somehow managed to get Emme to lie or he’d somehow set this all up.
“Start talking.”
“Good evening, gentlemen. I see your guest arrived. Can I take your drink orders or get you an appetizer?”
It took great restraint to not glare at the waiter. He was only doing his job, and it wasn’t his fault that Adrian had somehow managed to trick me into having dinner with him.
“Water, please,” I told the waiter, hoping he’d leave.
“You sure?” Adrian asked before looking up at the waiter. “I’ll have a glass of the house wine—red, please.”
“Very good. Let me get those for you and I’ll be back shortly.”
Once the waiter was gone, I returned my stare to the man across from me. I sat back in the booth, arms crossed, pissed.
“I suppose I owe you an explanation, huh?”
“That would be part of the ‘start talking’ bit, yeah. How did you get Emme to lie for you?”
“I didn’t. Emme is my sister.”
Holy shit! That I never would have guessed. Nor was it expected. “No way. You two look nothing alike.”
“We have different mothers. But she’s one hundred percent my little sister. I take after our father, she, her mother. But that’s not the point.”
“Why lie about your name, then?”
“I didn’t. Emme’s always called me AJ. My middle name is James and she had too difficult of a time saying my name when she was smaller, so our dad shortened my name. She’s the only one who calls me that though.” Adrian let out a big sigh and looked over at the mountains in the distance before returning his brown-eyed gaze to me.
“I haven’t lied about anything, but you wouldn’t agree to dinner, so I had to go to drastic measures. When I found out you worked with Emme, I thought fate had taken a hand in things, and so I asked Emme to set you up with her brother.”
“You know, you should have just taken the hint when I kept saying no.”
“You’re probably right. But I’m too used to going after what I want to give up that easily.” I watched as the waiter brought my water and Adrian’s glass of wine. Only a few more months and I would have been able to join him in having a glass. If only.
“Are you two ready to order?”
I finally took my eyes off Adrian long enough to glance up at the waiter, who had a hopeful look on his face. Did I want to do this? Did I want to have dinner with Adrian Fisher after he all but lied about getting me here? The simple answer was yes. I wanted to spend time with him, but I knew it wasn’t ever going to work, so I tried to be reasonable and tell my brain that this man wasn’t for me.
“I’ll have the rib eye. Medium well with a loaded baked potato.”
“Very good. And what do you want for salad?”
“House salad with ranch. Thanks.”
“Excellent. And for you?” he asked, looking at my companion. I glanced at Adrian, who was staring at me.
“I’ll take the porterhouse, medium, steamed broccoli, and a house salad with a vinaigrette, please.”
“Great. I’ll put these in for you two and be back with your salads.”
I watched the waiter leave and head to the computer to input our orders. If nothing else, I was hungry and looking forward to having dinner here. But this was not a date.
“Thanks for staying. I really want to get to know you, Cody.”
“Yeah, well, I’m hungry and that’s the only reason why I’m still here.” There was no way I was going to make this easy on Adrian. He and his sister had tricked me, and that was so messed up.