Chapter 4
"So how's your food?" Bailey's voice asked.
He looked up from his chicken entree, frowning slightly. "It's fine," he replied shortly.
"You know, this IS a date," the lawyer pointed out with a faint grin. "We should be having a conversation. Getting to know each other."
Jeremiah gave him a cool look. "Why should I do that?"
Bailey cocked his head to the side. "If you don't actually try, I won't count this as a date. Then I'll badger you to actually go on one with me," his brown eyes gleamed with a wicked light.
The librarian's brows lowered, and he gave Bailey a black look. "That's hardly fair."
"All's fair in love and war," Bailey said cheerfully. "So what do you want to talk about?"
"My life is not particularly exciting," Jeremiah said coolly.
"That's fine. I don't mind. Tell me everything. Come on," Bailey made grabbing motions with his hands.
Jeremiah sighed. "I go to work every day, and when the day is done, I walk home. On the weekends, when the weather is fine, I garden. Otherwise, I clean my house or bake. In the evenings, I have a glass of wine and read a book. That’s about it."
Bailey looked interested. "You bake? What kind of things do you bake?"
Taken aback by his interest, Jeremiah shrugged slightly. "Anything that I find a recipe for that looks interesting. This last weekend, I made several kinds of muffins."
"What do you do with the ones you don't eat?" Bailey asked curiously.
"Actually, I take what I don't consume myself to the elder care home for the patients," Jeremiah told him.
Bailey stared at him. "You...you bake for old people?" he repeated. "My God, that’s so sweet, Jeremiah!"
His brows shot up. "I hardly think so..." he began.
"No, it is! I'm impressed. That is so super sexy."
The librarian frowned at him. "How is that sexy?" he demanded incredulously.
Bailey shrugged. "It just is," he replied, his eyes twinkling. "I am so turned on right now."
Jeremiah felt a weird sensation in the pit of his stomach. He scowled to cover his reaction. "You are foolish."
Bailey's grin widened. "I agree with that," he said. "Does it help that I'm a fool for you?"
Jeremiah rolled his eyes. Bailey snickered and took a bite of his own food, tender cuts of beef in sauce. "Mm," he remarked happily. "I just love good food."
He paused, looking speculatively at Jeremiah across the table. "Can you cook, too?" he asked hopefully.
"I cook for myself all the time," the librarian replied austerely.
"Oh, goodie! I suck at cooking. I can't wait for you to make me dinner."
Jeremiah frowned awfully. "What makes you think for one moment that I would make dinner for you?" he demanded.
"Oh, I think I can talk you into it," Bailey replied merrily. "I'll just charm you into doing it."
"You are not that charming, Mr. Sheffield," Jeremiah said coldly.
"Yes, yes I am," the lawyer said, his smile widening. "You cannot resist me, Jeremiah. You'll see."
Dinner was finally over. Jeremiah set down his fork on his dessert plate, and gave Bailey a cool stare across the table. "You can take me home now," he said.
The lawyer shook his head. "Uh uh. This date isn't over yet. I get the full evening. How about we go see a movie or something?"
Jeremiah considered in his head how much it would cost him to call a cab to drive him home, but finally decided that it would be prohibitive. "I don't watch many movies," he said dubiously. "The quality of movies today is very low."
"The point of going to see a movie on a date isn't to watch the movie. It's to make out and grope each other in the darkened theater," Bailey replied with an evil smirk.
"If you attempt to grope me in the theater, Mr. Sheffield. you will be very sorry," Jeremiah said caustically.
Bailey pretended to pout. "Well, you can't blame a guy for trying, now can you?"
Jeremiah was bored. The movie that they'd picked to go to was terrible. Bailey seemed to be enjoying it, though. What a shock. The lawyer was sitting next to him in the theater, eating popcorn out of a bucket, his eyes glued to the screen. This was so bad that Jeremiahs almost WISHED that Bailey would attempt to grope him, just to break up the monotony. He shifted in his seat, wondering if he could get away with going to the restroom and not coming back.
Bailey leaned over and spoke to him without taking his eyes from the screen. "You hate this, don't you?" he asked.
"Yes," he replied quietly.
"Thought so. Do you want to go?"
"But aren't you enjoying the movie?" Jeremiah said doubtfully.
"Yeah, but I don't want you to be unhappy. I'll come and see it again by myself later."
Jeremiah didn't know what to say to this consideration for him. Reading his silence accurately, Bailey rose lithely to his feet. "Let's hit the road. I'll have you home by nine-thirty," he said with an impish smile.
They left the theater together. Outside, Bailey stretched a little. "Those seats are always so uncomfortable," he said. "So, let's get on the road."
Jeremiah followed him to the car, and they got in. Bailey started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. He said little during the drive home, but it was a surprisingly comfortable silence. When they pulled into the outskirts of Downsville, he asked Jeremiah to direct him to his house. He did so, and Bailey pulled up outside of it. He turned to the librarian. "Listen, I really enjoyed going out with you," he said softly. "And I’d love to do it again, but since you've made it clear that you won't go out with me again...well, I guess this is a goodbye," and he leaned over the seat and kissed Jeremiah full on the mouth.
The librarian was so taken aback that he sat still and let Bailey kiss him. It started out soft, but soon took a more aggressive turn. A tongue slipped into his mouth. Normally he might not have liked that, but this time it felt right. He began to kiss back, a little rustily since it had been some time since he'd kissed anyone. He heard Bailey moan, and that small sound made heat flare up in him. His hands lifted to cradle the lawyer's face, holding him still. Bailey tamely sat still and let Jeremiah take command of the kiss.
Finally, he came back to himself and pulled away. Bailey's eyes were shiny in the light of the street lamp. "Wow, Jeremiah, you're a good kisser," he husked.
The librarian said nothing, wondering what the hell had just gotten into him. Bailey smiled at him. "That’s the perfect ending to a first date, Jeremiah," he said.
"Only date," Jeremiah reminded him primly.
"Yes, an only date," the lawyer agreed, though the gleam in his eyes belied his words. "Anyway, I had a great time tonight, Jeremiah. Thanks for going out with me, even if only once."
he hesitated. Then: "I didn't find it all that repugnant, either," he admitted reluctantly.
Bailey laughed. "That’s a compliment, coming from you," he teased. "Goodnight, Jeremiah. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon at the library."
"Yes," he agreed, and got out of the car. He stood on the sidewalk and watched Bailey drive away with a wave, his face inscrutable. Then he walked into his house, not looking back.
Jeremiah didn't sleep that well that night, he wasn't sure why. It put him in an even worse mood than normal at work, and a frown was tattooed on his face. People avoided him until they had to have their books checked out, and even then they grabbed their books and ran for their lives when he was done.
Part of the problem was that his body ached. Jeremiah had tamped down his sexuality so much that he seldom even masturbated anymore, but that kiss last night had awakened his body with a vengeance. It was starting to make demands of him, which annoyed and frustrated him. And it made him angry at Bailey, because he thoroughly blamed that impudent lawyer for his condition. What was he supposed to do now? He'd made it clear to Bailey that he wouldn't go out with him, so...
As though his thoughts had conjured the man, Bailey came bouncing into the library. "Afternoon, Jeremiah!" he crowed, approaching the front desk.
"How are you today?"
He scowled horribly. "I'm fine," he spat.
The lawyer's eyebrows shot up. "If you're fine, why do you seem so mad?" he asked innocently.
Jeremiah felt his hands curling into fists on the countertop. "I'm not mad," he said through his teeth.
Bailey cocked his head to the side. "Oh, really? Cause it seems like you are. But I must be mistaken," he added, his eyes laughing. "After all, what reason would you have to be mad? You don't have to go out with me again, and you got a good meal out of the deal. Anyway, Mr. Sunshine and Roses, I'll let you get back to work. I'm gonna go get the Children's Corner ready," he lifted a hand carelessly and strode away.
Jeremiah stood still and quivered with suppressed rage. He wanted nothing more than to follow Bailey to the Children's Corner, and there beat the living daylights out of that cocky lawyer. Or maybe kiss him again, so hard and savagely that he'd end up in a puddle on the floor...
A/N: Reviews for our grumpy librarian and cocky lawyer? Don't you want to see how Bailey's going to win Jeremiah over?
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