Aftermath by Bailey Bradford (most important books of all time txt) 📗

listings back. “We have the usual line up—Bud, Bud Light, Miller and so on, or we have an excellent local brew, Dare’s Pale Ale. It’s been getting rave reviews. Dare’s also has a stout that I would highly recommend.”

“I’ll try the stout,” Eddie said.

Carter preferred a lighter beer. “The Pale Ale, please.”

“Very good, sirs. Mathias will be right over with them.” Rogelio left them.

“It’s good to see you again,” Eddie murmured, his gaze burning through Carter’s nervousness. “It might seem too soon to say but the truth is, I’ve missed you.”

That confession eradicated the rest of Carter’s unease. “It’s not too soon. I feel the same way.”

Eddie shifted in his seat, leaning back and resting his folded hands on the table. “I wasn’t sure. You seemed kind of uptight when I got here.”

“I was afraid you’d change your mind.” Carter rolled his eyes and groaned. “And now you know how insecure I am. Sorry. I swear I’m not usually so immature.”

Eddie chuckled and surprised Carter by reaching across the table to hold his hand. “I worried you’d realize I’m just not good enough for you, so let’s both admit we have faults and let it go. You’re here, I’m here, and for what it’s worth, I can tell you I never once thought of not showing up. You’ve been on my mind every day since I saw you two weeks ago.”

“Oh.” Carter was so pleased he figured he was beaming. “Same. I… This starting a new relationship thing is complicated.”

“It’ll be worth it.” Eddie released his hand and sat back just as a waiter approached.

“Good evening, gentlemen. I’m Mathias and I’ll be your waiter tonight.” He set their beers on the table while he started naming off the specials, spending a solid minute extolling the virtues of the aged steaks that cost a ridiculous amount of money.

Carter’s mouth watered. He was going to splurge since he’d been anticipating this date for two weeks. “Thank you. We’d like a few minutes to examine the menu.”

After Mathias left them, Carter perused his options. “I think I’ll have the aged steak. How about you? No pressure, of course. I just want to try it once in my life at least.” And since they were going Dutch on the bill, he didn’t feel bad about ordering it, either.

Eddie hummed and didn’t answer right off the bat.

Carter liked the way he took his time and didn’t seem to feel rushed. He thought Eddie was enjoying their date so far.

“I’ve had it before,” Eddie finally said. “Not here, but at this place in Indiana. It was really good, too. So I’m hung up on ordering it or the surf and turf.”

Carter gave an exaggerated glance around them, then whispered, “You have to wonder about the surf part of that since we’re practically in the desert.”

Eddie chuckled and closed the menu. “True enough, but I’m feeling daring tonight.”

“Daring enough to risk the chance of botulism?” Carter asked, arching a brow at him.

Eddie arched one right back. “I doubt that’d be a possibility here.”

“Probably not.” Carter had only been teasing, and Eddie’s expression let him know he was aware of it. “I’ve really been looking forward to seeing you again. It feels kind of weird being out like this after what we’ve done.”

Eddie’s smoldering expression had Carter’s dick firming up fully. “What we’ve done has led us to understand we want something more. Although, I intend to be doing more of, well…you.”

The cheesy line should have been laughable, but Eddie said it with so much sincerity that Carter considered forgoing their date to head back to his place instead.

“We know we’re more than compatible in bed,” Eddie continued, after a glance around. “That’s a huge thing in a relationship and so far, what time we’ve spent talking shows that we do well there, too.”

Carter didn’t want to be a downer, but he knew how it always started in relationships. Everyone was on their best behavior, trying to win the other person over and once they did…people changed. He’d done it himself, back when he’d been younger. Of course, he and Eddie were both older, so maybe they were more comfortable in their own skin so far. Plus, they’d met at a club and immediately hooked up with a third man to have sex with. Perhaps they didn’t have to pretend to be better than they were.

But Carter did wonder something. “How old are you?” He would have put Eddie in his mid-thirties. “Sorry if that’s rude to ask.”

Eddie waved the apology off. “It’s not rude. Anything having to do with me is open for the inquisition.” He winked. “I’m thirty-four. You?”

Carter’s stomach went a little jittery from that wink. On all levels, Eddie just did it for him. “Thirty-one. Just had a birthday on the twelfth of last month.”

“Oh really?” Eddie asked, amusement lighting up his features. “Well, I think you should get a belated birthday spa—” He cut himself off when Mathias suddenly appeared. “I’ll have the surf and turf and another beer with it, along with a glass of water.”

They’d been so tied up in each other that neither of them had noticed the waiter approaching. From the amusement clearly showing on Mathias’ face, Carter thought the waiter might have heard enough of what Eddie had been saying to catch on about the spanking. Not that Mathias knew it was more than a joke, Carter reassured himself. Only Carter and Eddie knew he liked things rough.

“The aged steak, loaded baked potato and green beans, thank you.” Carter handed over his menu. “I’ll probably need another beer by then too and a small glass of water.”

After Mathias left, Carter and Eddie resumed their conversation. It was a pleasant meal and the underlying sexual tension kept Carter’s cock half-hard the whole time.

“What’s your dream vacation?” Eddie asked him at one point.

Carter didn’t have to think about it. “It’d take months to do it right, but I want to hike the Appalachian Trail.” He chuckled and peeled part of