Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76523 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76523 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Salad could be fun but it wasn’t always filling.
“What looks good to you?” Smiling at both of them, I tried not to laugh as they seemed to panic. “I’ve heard they have good burgers here and the chicken strips look great.”
That didn’t seem to help.
“Oh, I…that sounds good.” Gareth looked down at the seemingly never-ending menu and frowned. “Brady says dipping things is fun.”
Cashel sighed and shot Gareth a glare. “I’m starting to realize why your last dates tanked.”
Gareth huffed and frowned. “At least I—”
Chuckling would’ve encouraged the bad behavior, so I cleared my throat to cut off the drama and did my best to look like a stern grown-up. “Would Brady’s mother have you write a letter for that?”
That had them both hunching over and sighing.
“I’d rather go in the corner like Brady.” Gareth seemed utterly serious as he said it, earning a nod from Cashel that was so cute I wanted to laugh.
“I’ll remember that option, but for now, I think communication is a good idea.” They were the cutest subs I’d ever seen. “Let’s start with Cashel since I think that will be easiest to tackle.”
He nearly pouted but eventually nodded and leaned against the tall table where we’d been sat. “I won’t poke at him.”
Not exactly what I was going to say.
“I’m glad, but I actually wanted you to know that I don’t mind hearing about Brady.” I really didn’t. Maybe if it’d been new and overwhelming that would be different, but I already knew about him. “I think with the spanking still on his mind and probably other questions about submission, in general, Brady just keeps popping up in his head.”
Cashel’s gaze was still cloudy and I had a feeling I knew why. “Yes, I want to get to know both of you more. That’s the reason for our date, but there’s no timeline on that or a rigid plan. I’m not going to get frustrated and walk away just because Gareth is thinking about Brady.”
It wasn’t like we were making love and he was still chattering about the cheerful little.
“He’d already said I could talk about Brady?” Gareth seemed confused, but it was so cute I wanted to wrap him up in my arms and give him a hug. “We already decided that he was the type to tell us what he was thinking. Why would he lie?”
Cashel’s brows pulled together. “I don’t know but dates do that all the time. They say one thing but you’re supposed to understand they mean another. I just didn’t want to…”
Fuck up the date?
I was glad he wanted it to go well but worried about how anxious he was.
“I will tell you exactly what I mean.” Shifting my gaze between the two guys, I aimed for serious and relaxed, so neither of them would question what I said. “Right now, I am saying that I’m enjoying our date and I like hearing what’s on Gareth’s mind. I will make sure you know if any of that changes.”
Eventually, it might get frustrating if I never learned about Gareth, but for the time being, it was fine and I liked the peek into his head.
“Now, Gareth.” Focusing my attention on him earned me a sigh from the slightly dramatic sub. “Are you having a hard time figuring out what to pick for dinner?”
His nod seemed to have a cascading effect because Cashel started to do it too without much thought.
“Alright, we can handle this.” Not a problem.
Turning to Cashel, I nodded toward Gareth’s menu. “What do you think Gareth should have for dinner?”
He didn’t even have to think about it. “He wanted a burger earlier but we didn’t have the right stuff to make it for lunch and the schedule said we were supposed to be eating spaghetti.”
So schedules were important?
Got it.
“I think that sounds good. Bacon, barbecue, or traditional?” It only took seconds for Cashel to explain what condiments should go on Gareth’s traditional burger and it felt like they were both relieved to have gotten over that hurdle.
“Gareth, what should Cashel get for dinner?” Yep, it was definitely the right way to go because he didn’t even have to look down at the menu to answer.
“He wanted a salad too but his last date said salads were for, well, something rude that Brady’s mom would wash my mouth out with soap for saying, so I’m not going to say it, but he’d like the steak salad too and onion rings.” Once the flood of words stopped, he seemed to deflate like stress had been the only thing holding him upright. “Dating is a lot easier when I don’t have to think about me and Cash can do it.”
He seemed slightly confused by that as he turned to Cashel. “Why didn’t we think of this earlier?”
Adorable.
And so focused on making sure Brady was happy they’d forgotten to worry about themselves…or maybe it was just easier than trying to work out what they wanted out of a relationship?