Promises 2 (18 page)

“Is Johnnie Walker, okay, sir?” The waiter asked, scribbling in his notepad.

“Perfect.”

“I’ll have the same. And I’d like the stuffed mushrooms to start as well.” Quick ordered and Cayson nodded his head in agreement, he loved stuffed mushrooms.

“Would you like me to leave the curtain open?” James asked, not the slightest bit offended by their closeness. This was a world Cayson never knew existed. Acceptance. Tolerance.

Quick sweetly caressed Cayson’s jaw, looking into his eyes when he answered the waiter. “Closed please.”

“I’ll be back with your drinks in just a moment.”

As soon as the waiter left, Quick was on him again. He hadn’t made out with a man in quite some time, and it made him feel sexy and desirable. Joe wasn’t a fan of kissing. He’d do it, but it was obvious he felt like it was a chore. With Quick, it was as if he used his mouth to say what he couldn’t verbalize, and Cayson was okay with that. Very okay. 

When they came up for air, Cayson had one hand tangled in the long strands hanging down Quick’s broad back, his other pressed firmly against his chest. When Cayson bit Quick on his jaw, he was rewarded with a sensual growl, which had a tantalizing effect on his balls. Pausing their kiss, Cayson had no other choice but to confess. He simply couldn’t hold it in anymore. “I want you, Roman.”

“You can have anything you want.” Quick kept his arm behind Cayson, but his other hand was beneath the table, slowly sliding up Cayson’s inner thigh towards his aching nuts.

“Fuck. I’m trying to do this right.” Cayson grimaced. He wasn’t supposed to be inviting Quick to his home. Not right now. He was worth the wait. If Quick really wanted him… he’d wait.

“Tell me what you’re thinking? It looks serious.”

“Well. I was thinking that—”

“Your drinks, sirs. And your appetizer,” their waiter announced, removing their items from a tray balanced on his shoulder. When he had placed their drinks in front of them, he asked if they wanted to hear the specials.

“Sure,” Quick replied for both of them.

After they’d heard the specials, the trio started playing a tune that was soulful and mellow and Cayson found himself swaying to the relaxing sounds. He watched as patrons went up to the tiny stage and dropped bills into the big bowl, which served as the band’s tip jar.

“How’s the pasta sound to you, sweetheart?” Quick asked, still surveying the menu.

Cayson turned back to Quick, reeling inside at the terms of endearment he’d used right in front of the server. This was such a unique experience; Cayson had to keep telling himself to lighten up. He was turning into a mushy, lovesick mess. Sweetheart and babe? Really? He used to hate when he heard people refer to their spouses or partners like that. Now he realized he didn’t hate it, he was simply being a hater. A jealous hater.

Quick didn’t appear worried about being out in public with him. This was what he’d been waiting for.
Just relax and enjoy it.
“Pasta?” He loved linguine. Throw in some fresh seafood and he’d love it even more. “Yeah. Good choice.” Handing the menus back to the waiter, he confirmed their order before closing the thick, red curtain back.

Quick turned his body back towards him as if giving Cayson his full attention. “Talk to me.”

Cayson smiled at Quick’s bluntness. “What do you wanna talk about?”

“You.”

Cayson bit his bottom lip, wondering how much he should really disclose on a second date. 

“Unless you want me all over you, I suggest you let that bottom lip go and stop teasing me.” Quick looked so serious that Cayson was nervous with excitement. Just the thought of what Quick could do to him had him clenching his ass right there in the booth.

“Okay, then.” Cayson let his lip slide from between his teeth. “Let’s talk.”

Quick reached out and popped another mushroom in his mouth, chewing loudly and talking with his mouth half-full. “You start.”

Cayson laughed. His Quick was certainly rough around the edges, but he didn’t mind. They weren’t eating at the Savoy in Vegas, so Cayson put down his fork and started using his hands, too. 

“There really isn’t much to me, Rome. I’m rather boring, to be honest.”

“I’m not bored. Matter of fact, it’s been nothing but fireworks from you since we met. So knock off the ‘boring’ crap,” Quick told him, using air quotes.

Cayson

Cayson let Quick place another decadent mushroom on his tongue. The way he watched him chew made Cayson squirm, made him feel like he was next on Quick’s menu to devour. Those sexy green bedroom eyes would be his undoing.

“Exactly what kind of doctor are you?” Quick asked, jump-starting the conversation.

“I’m a surgical nephrologist.”

“Kidney doctor.”

“Exactly. Any and everything regarding the kidney.”

“What made you choose that field?”

Cayson thought about it for a moment. “Well my mom passed a while back. A bad car accident. No siblings. So it was just my dad and me after that. My father did his best, but he was struggling with heartache. He adored my mom; she was everything… everything to both of us. I tried to be there for him, but I was never able to fill that hole created inside him when she died, because I had my own holes. She was the glue that held us together. She planned the vacations, the dinners, the outings. When she left, unfortunately, all that fun stuff we used to do as a family left with her. So, my father and I didn’t talk or discuss our days. I went to school, he went to work, and then we came home and coexisted. Did that for years, until I went out of state for graduate school.

“Instead of letting all that depression consume me, I threw myself into school, and then medicine. I did nothing but academics and studying. Having to be the best at everything was my excuse for not socializing at all. That made for a lot of quiet, lonely nights. I’d become quite used to it, honestly. While I was in med school, my father was diagnosed with RCC, and I became obsessed with knowing everything there was to know about the kidney and its cancers. I was going to cure him myself if I had to. I knew he was all I had left. At that time, I wasn’t able to accept the possibility of being completely alone.”

Cayson released a sad sigh when Quick began to massage his neck. It was just what he needed to finish the story he’d kept to himself for so long. He wanted to be honest with Quick, but most of all he wanted to be honest with himself.

“What’s RCC?” Quick asked, his voice back to the sweet, melodic baritone Cayson loved.

“Renal cell carcinoma, kidney cancer. By the time I could convince the stubborn old fool to fight it… it was too late.”

“When did he die?”

“Six months ago,” Cayson said softly, taking a long drink of his whisky. “I think he wanted to die, though. He was tired of fighting, I suppose, and lonely. I was gone, but even when I was there, I was a recluse.” Cayson leaned in further when Quick placed a soft kiss on the side of his head, whispering how sorry he was for his loss. A part of this conversation seemed so silly and outdated, but another part felt cathartic. He’d not told this to anyone. Never had a chance to release those emotions. His father had been cremated and his ashes spread over the park where he’d married Cayson’s mother. He coughed a fake laugh because it was better than letting the tears form. “It was a rough time. So, just like when my mom passed, I threw myself into medicine. Taking crazy hours to keep my mind off of personal things… off of being alone.”

“You’re not alone now, Cays. Can you handle that?” Quick was looking at him like he’d just asked the most important question of his life. He made sure Cayson was looking up at him before he spoke again. “Are you ready to be happy?”

He sat quietly, fully absorbing Quick’s question while the soft sounds of the violin sang to his lonely soul. He wasn’t lonely by choice. He had simply gotten used to it. Dating or having a normal social life for a medical student were practically unheard of, anyway. There was simply no time. A fast one-off here and there was the most that could be afforded. If you wanted to be the best, that is. Cayson wasn’t the type to skate by, either. He graduated top of his class and went on to study with the best Nephrology department in the country at the University Hospital of Columbus and Cornell. Sowing wild oats didn’t make him the successful doctor he was today. But it did make him the most desolate.

It didn’t make much sense, that of all his life, it was at his age now that Cayson was craving a physical and emotional connection with someone. Hiding and sneaking around with Dr. Joe only made Cayson continue to feel like that young man who used to hide his problems and insecurities away in a medical journal. That guy was gone. There was Dr. Chauncey, the professional, who had everything he needed. Prestige, intelligence, and patients who adored him. All he’d worked so hard to achieve. But that left Cayson the man. A part of him which had been ignored and pushed to the back for far too long. Quick would be just for Cayson.

“Yes, Roman. I think I am ready.”

~~~~~~~~

Quick listened intently while Cayson got increasingly comfortable and opened up to him. Vaughan told him not to bombard the conversation with a bunch of talk about himself. Quick’s job was fun and full of excitement, but that didn’t mean he should only tell his stories. The more Quick listened to Cayson over their entrees of seafood pasta, the more fascinating his doctor became. The things he knew and could do with his hands was awe-inspiring. All Quick could do was fight really well. What could he possibly have to offer the brilliant man beside him?

Don’t sell yourself short, Dad. You can give Dr. Chauncey something no one else has, that no one cared enough to give him.

What’s that, Son? Please, do tell, because I’m at a loss here.

Romance, Pops. The doctor needs romance and you can give him more of that than he can handle.

But how?

Just do exactly what I say.

God help me.

Quick let his son’s words fade to the background. Their dinner was over and Quick had something planned for Cayson that he hoped didn’t embarrass the shit out of both of them. He’d told Vaughan it was a little over the top for a private guy like him, but Cayson had dealt with privacy for long enough. He needed a bold lover. Quick could understand that, so he’d listened to what his son had to say. That was why he made sure to keep close contact with Cayson, so he didn’t think Quick was embarrassed by him. He used nauseatingly sweet endearments, even when others were around; showing this great guy that there was nothing he wouldn’t do to make him feel cherished and special.

Quick had given the small band a ballad to play for him and his date. Quick didn’t know what the song was, but he trusted his son. This song had lyrics, so when Quick had spoken with the trio’s manager yesterday, he confirmed that their piano player knew the song and could sing it better than the original artist could.

Quick’s heart beat wildly in his chest when the waiter came to clear the last of their shared dessert. The waiter gave Quick a discreet nod, when the keyboard player pulled the microphone closer to his mouth and began to speak in a Simply Red raspy tenor. “This song is for a couple celebrating a very special night.”

He didn’t say anything else, didn’t blurt out their names or anything equally mortifying. Instead, Quick stood and held out his thick palm, saying a two-second prayer that Cayson wouldn’t refuse, and humiliate him in front of the entire restaurant. But the gleam of surprise he saw in Cayson’s gorgeous eyes immediately put him at ease.

“Dance with me?” Quick asked assertively as the man began to sing the song Vaughan had picked and deemed as their song. 

I don't even know how to love you

Just the way you want me to

But I'm ready to learn

(Listen to Quick and Cayson's song here:
https://goo.gl/AmHsuH
)

When they reached the small area of smooth wood that was allocated as the dance floor, there were two other couples already there, and it made it a little less awkward that they weren’t the center of attention. They may have had company, but this song was specifically picked for them by Vaughan for a reason.

Quick wrapped one arm around Cayson’s waist. With the other, he held Cayson’s hand and tucked it close over his aching heart. Cayson laid his head on Quick’s chest, his arm wrapped around Quick’s neck, stroking the long, silky hairs there. He so badly wanted this man to be his. He leaned lower and ducked his head, putting his mouth just above Cayson’s ear while they slowly inched side to side. He wasn’t the best dancer, but he could manage that. The song was slow, and the lyrics were almost spoken instead of sung. Like a promise or confession set to music instead of a love song.

“Vaughan picked this song for us,” Quick admitted. He was glad he did when Cayson looked up and placed a gentle kiss on his chin.

“I see why.” Cayson laughed and laid his head back where it fit perfectly.

So did Quick. The words were beautiful… and very fitting for both of them.