2017 Top Ten Gay Romance

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I was a slightly suspicious of the diner to where Chase had brought us. The outside was rundown, derelict even, but I gamely followed him out of the car and let him lead me inside. The glass door boasted a scrawled name, Michelle’s, and stepping over the threshold transported me to a different place.

Not an overly large space, everything was done in dark teal, muted lime, and dark wood with chrome accents. It was warm and homey, the smells emanating from the kitchen made my mouth water, and I felt instantly at ease. Chase noticed the way I was staring, trying to take it all in, and he grinned.

A woman with long, dark hair and a radiant smile peeked out from around the door, and Chase lifted his hand in a wave. Her grin grew impossibly wider, her eyes crinkling at the sides, and she waved back.

“You know the drill, Chase. I’ll be over in a minute.”

“Thanks, Michelle,” he called back.

Before I could even begin to figure out what that was about, Chase put a hand on the small of my back and steered me toward a table tucked in the corner. Only two other tables were occupied, with neither group of patrons paying us any attention.

“Weeknights are my favorite times to come here,” Chase explained as he pulled out my chair for me. I was strangely touched by the gesture, and skimmed my fingers along his arm before I sat. He squeezed my shoulder, then walked around the table to take his own seat. “Weekends, this place is packed from open to close with a line waiting to be seated. But late evening during the week? All but empty. I love it.”

“It’s a great place,” I agreed, once again looking around.

Michelle strolled to the table with a menu and two small glasses of water. She set them down, then gave her attention to Chase. “Going to introduce me to your friend?”

Chase grinned—God, did I love his smile or what?—and nodded. “Michelle, this is Eli. He lives in my building. Or really, I live in his. Anyway, Eli, meet Michelle. As you may have guessed, she owns the place.”

I took the hand she offered, and noted the warm, firm shake suited her perfectly. I also didn’t fail to notice the assessing once-over she gave me. But I wasn’t concerned about it, and took the menu she handed me with a “thank you.” She did not give one to Chase. I lifted my brow at him.

“I know what he wants since he’s here on a Tuesday,” Michelle said, answering my unspoken question. “I’ll give you a few minutes to look over the menu, though. In the meantime, what can I get you to drink?”

I decided to stick with water, but Chase ordered an iced tea. When Michelle walked away, I immediately lifted my gaze from the menu and fixed my attention on Chase. He was staring back, and I couldn’t quite decipher his expression. Wonder and awe and a little bit of lust maybe? All good things to see on a date. I was sure my expression looked much the same. I wanted to take his hand, which was ridiculous, because I never moved that fast. I was especially cautious these days, having had several men try to use me over the past couple of years. With Chase, things seemed different, though, and I had no idea why.

I cleared my throat and dropped my gaze to the menu, though I didn’t really see it. “What’s good on Tuesdays?”

Chase’s chuckle was warm and deep. “Meatloaf.”

Startled, I jerked up my gaze. But Chase, of course, just grinned. “Really?”

“Mmm. With mashed potatoes and gravy.” He moaned a little, then sighed wistfully. “So good. There’s, like, mozzarella cheese or something in the meatloaf, and I have no idea what she does to it, but it’s so good.”

The blissful look on his face made me hot. I could imagine a different situation that would put the same expression on his face, and I had to shift position to make a little more room between my thighs. Seriously, what was wrong with me tonight? I did not behave like this.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Michelle wending her way back to our table, Chase’s tea in hand, so I hastily returned my attention to the menu. It didn’t take me long to decide. As good as Chase had made the meatloaf sound, I wasn’t big on red meat, and the open-faced turkey sandwich on Texas toast with a side of fries sounded the most appealing.

Michelle assured us it wouldn’t be long before our food was ready. Chase thanked her and I echoed it. I turned my attention back to my date, and lifted my glass to my lips without taking my eyes off him. He leaned back in his seat, stretched out his legs, and slid his foot between mine. I pressed my ankle against his so he would know I was aware of what he was doing. Chase just smiled.

“So, can I ask about the money?” he began conversationally. “I mean, tell me to shut up if it’s none of my business. But inheriting that kind of cash? There’s gotta be a story there.”

Normally, I would have shut down at the question. Either done exactly as he suggested and told him it was none of his business, or given the same vague answer I’d repeated to the press for years. I didn’t talk about my personal life with strangers. And I certainly never spoke about Josef Adler.

But as I stared at Chase, the sincerity poured off him. I didn’t know him, yet I found myself wanting to share. To let him in and let him see. My gut told me I could trust him and it wasn’t usually wrong. I sucked in a deep breath and made the decision to take the risk.

“It goes all the way back to high school.” I took a sip of water and let my mind wander back to that time for a moment before refocusing on Chase. “I needed volunteer hours for this program I was in. The Food Bank was full up, and the thought of working with snot-nosed, bratty children made me want to punch something. So I ended up volunteering for the Adopt-a-Grandparent program.”

“That’s where you spend time with old people who don’t have family?”

Chase’s tone held no judgment or censure; it was just an honest and earnest inquiry. I nodded. “Not many of us were willing to do it, though. But it sounded great to me. Spend a few hours a week talking to someone who has lived so much history? I was on board. And the moment I met my adopted ‘grandfather,’ we hit it off. Josef Adler was full of stories, and he loved to talk. I loved to listen. Pretty soon, I was spending more than the required amount of time with him. And after the program was over, I kept going back. Throughout the rest of high school. All through college. After a time, he stopped being ‘Mr. Adler’ and started being ‘Grandpa Joe.’”

I stopped talking when Michelle brought our food. It looked amazing and smelled even better. Chase let out a little moan, and I couldn’t help but laugh. I carefully cut off a bit of my sandwich, then lifted it to my mouth. Flavors exploded on my tongue, the turkey, gravy, and garlic of the bread all mixing together for one fantastic taste. I might have given a little moan myself.

After a couple of minutes and more than a few bites, Chase nudged my foot with his, and when I looked up, he smiled gently. “You were telling me about Mr. Adler.”

I nodded and finished chewing, then picked up a fry and swirled it in the gravy. “He passed away seven years ago. He was ninety-four. And it broke my heart. Because for thirteen years, I saw him several times a week. But it was only after he died that I learned he was rich.

“I mean, I could tell his nursing home was high-class. It was more like assisted living. Mr. Adler had some pretty serious damage to his legs, and he couldn’t get around on his own, or do some things for himself. But he lived modestly. I had no idea that when he said he’d owned a successful investment firm, he meant incredibly successful. And that when he decided to sell it and retire, the transaction netted him almost a half a billion dollars.”

Chase choked on his food. I was halfway out of my chair and reaching for him before he waved me down. He coughed some more, then took several careful sips of tea. A few deep breaths later, and he wiped his watering eyes with his napkin.

“Holy s**t, that’s a lot of money. And you didn’t know?”

I shook my head. “He made a lot of donations. But he’d invested it wisely, obviously. He was living off the interest with occasional splurges. But that was Josef. He was so down to earth, and not ostentatious in the least. I think if he’d had a family, it might have been different. He would have spoiled them. But he was on his own.”

“And he left his fortune to you?” Chase hadn’t resumed eating. He stared at me in rapt attention. It made me uncomfortable, and I couldn’t work out if it was because having his attention focused so intently on me turned me on, or if his interest was too much.

“A good chunk of it, yes.” I deliberately took a bite of food and Chase followed suit. As soon as he did, surprise brightened his features as if he’d forgotten it was tasty, and he dug in with gusto and motioned for me to continue.

“He left a great deal to his favorite charities. But the rest came to me. Of course, then he suddenly had family pouring out of the woodwork. Distant relatives claiming they deserved a portion. The estate was tied up in probate for more than five years. But eventually the judge determined the will was valid.”

I shook my head, remembering the drawn-out legal battle that had taken up the better part of my life for five years. I was fortunate to have found an outstanding attorney who knew the law inside out and backward, and was tenacious to boot. It wasn’t so much that I wanted the money for myself as that I wanted to honor Josef’s wishes. He knew of my struggles with myself and with the world at large. And I knew that Josef trusted me to do good things with the money, to help create safe places.

“So, anyway,” I said after I finished my sandwich and pushed the few remaining fries to the side. “That’s what happened. I have a lot of money. Some of it is invested so I will always have an income. Most is going to buying and renovating buildings that can be used to protect people, so they can find their happiness. I quit my job as a marketing exec and now focus solely on the shelters and building projects. And I’m doing my best to live by Josef’s example.”

Chase stared, then smiled, then took my hand. His skin was warm and dry, and when his finger skated over the inside of my palm, I shivered.

“Thank you.” His voice was low and filled with emotion. “Thank you for sharing that with me. And thank you for everything you’re doing. Do you have any idea how amazing you are?”

I averted my gaze. “I’m just doing what’s right.”

Chase squeezed my hand. “Yeah, I know. But, dude, people don’t do what you’ve done. They don’t. And that’s awesome. Don’t downplay it, okay?”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. I looked up at him through my lashes. Chase smiled back. That smile was going to be my undoing.