“I’ll be right back.” The waiter walked away, but now the table behind him had fallen silent.
Blowing out a breath to steel his nerves, Sherman chanced a glance behind him and saw the table had cleared out. Everyone was gone except Hottie.
Sherman quickly turned back around when he noticed that Hottie had switched seats and was staring right back at Sherman with those gorgeous brown eyes of his.
How embarrassing.
“Here you go.” The waiter set his coffee on the table, along with a paper application. He even gave Sherman a pen to fill it out. “Let me know whenever you’re ready to order.”
“Thanks.” Sherman offered the guy a smile. “What’s your name?”
“Felix Summers.” He stuck out his hand, and Sherman shook it.
“I’m Sherman Gaines, in case you wanted to know.” Now Sherman felt awkward, as if he was forcing introductions.
“Well, I have other tables to tend to, Sherman. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks.” Sherman felt Hottie’s eyes on his back like a laser beam. He started to turn around again, but his phone rang.
Sherman groaned when he saw it was his ex-boyfriend calling him. God, why couldn’t George fall off the face of the earth? Sherman had treated him like a king, and George had treated Sherman like crap, even going so far as to cheat on him more than once.
He silenced the ringing and went to work filling out the application, but the entire time he felt Hottie watching him.
Felix returned and asked if Sherman wanted anything to eat. Sherman didn’t want to take up a booth for a simple cup of coffee, so he ordered a tuna sandwich.
“Mind if I join you?”
Sherman snapped his head up and gaped at Hottie, who was now sitting across from him. “Um…I don’t…you could…uh, sure.”
“I’m Dalton.” He reached across the table, extending his beefy hand. Sherman shook it, and instant goose bumps surfaced all over.
“I’m Sherman.”
Why on earth would Dalton want to sit with him? He wasn’t the usual type of guy Sherman attracted. George was heavier than Sherman, with curly hair that reached his shoulders, and had a love for anime and all things Star Wars.
A true nerd.
Before George, there had been Cornell. A wannabe bad-boy, but not a hot one. He was tall and lanky with a nasally voice, but he’d treated Sherman like a prince when they’d first hooked up. In Sherman’s opinion, looks faded, but personality lasted a lifetime. He would have still been dating the guy, but Cornell had a penchant for trouble and tried to pull Sherman down that dark path with him.
Sherman had still talked to Cornell after they’d broken up, but last he’d heard, Cornell was doing hard time for trying to rob a bank. Sherman had dodged a bullet by dumping the guy.
And now Dalton sat across from him. What flaw did he possess? There had to be one because Sherman only attracted men with deep-seated issues for some reason.
“So, you work at the fire department?” Sherman was never any good around nice-looking guys, and his brain kept taking a dump. He had no clue what to talk about.
“I’m the chief.” Dalton smiled. “I see you’re trying to get a job here. I could put in a good word for you.”
Sherman eyed him warily. “Why would you do that? You don’t even know me.”
Sherman tried to see the good in everyone. He honestly did, but after being kidnapped and nearly blown up, and then finding out shifters existed, he’d become a lot more cautious.
“You’re new to town, and I just wanted to help you,” Dalton said. “I wanted to make you feel welcome and feel a part of Fever’s Edge.”
“So you’re the goodwill ambassador of this town?” Sherman pursed his lips but stopped himself from telling Dalton he didn’t need any help. If he was going to stay, he needed a job, and if this guy could help out, why not? It would be one less headache he had to deal with.
“You could call me that.” Dalton folded his arms on the table, making his muscles flex.
For a moment Sherman forgot what they were talking about. His gaze zeroed in on Dalton’s bulging biceps, broad chest, and killer smile.
“Here you go.” Felix set Sherman’s plate down in front of him. Not only was there a tuna sandwich but a boatload of fries. Sherman had already eaten breakfast, but it smelled good, and who was he to let food go to waste? “Do you need anything else?”
“A soda, please.” Sherman bit into one of the fries and groaned. Salty and delicious. “Coke if you have it.”
“Coming right up.” Felix walked away.
“I should have ordered that.” Dalton nodded toward Sherman’s plate. “It smells amazing.”
So did Dalton. Dark spices and earthy. “We could share this.”
He hadn’t the first clue why Dalton was sitting with him, but just like the food, who was Sherman to let a good-looking man go to waste? “I normally don’t like sharing my food, but since you’re going to put in a good word for me, you can have some of my fries.”
Dalton chuckled. “Thank you for being so generous. How can I repay you?”
“Repay me?” Sherman frowned. “I’m repaying you.”
Dalton stole another fry. “You know how to bribe someone. Let me go talk to Kennedy. I’ll be right back.” He got up, and Sherman had to crane his neck back. “Don’t eat my portion of the fries.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Sherman tore his gaze away from the handsome man and went back to filling out his application. By the time Dalton returned, the only thing left on the plate was about a dozen golden fries.
Thankfully Dalton had a small plate of them with him. “The job is yours.”
Sherman gaped at him. “Are you serious?”
“I wouldn’t joke about something like that.” Dalton set the plate down and pushed half the fries onto Sherman’s plate. “You start at six tomorrow morning.” He tapped the application. “But you have to finish filling this out so Kennedy can have it on file.”
Sherman wasn’t sure what Dalton’s flaw was, but he was grateful for the help. “In that case, dinner is on me.”
Crap. There he went again, trying to impress the man of his interest. He needed to pump the brakes. Dalton was just a nice guy who’d taken pity on him. “I mean…I didn’t mean to assume you were available or that you even wanted to—”
“It’s a date.” Dalton stood. “I have to get back to work, but I’ll see you at Cresting Moon around seven. Oh, and let me get your phone number just in case something comes up.”
Sherman guessed that being a fireman, the hours were unpredictable. They exchanged phone numbers and Sherman felt as if he’d hit the lottery.
The guy walked out before Sherman could say another word. Talk about confidence. Sherman wasn’t sure what he’d just gotten himself into, but he smiled as he finished off the rest of the fries.
* * * *
Sherman’s head was in the clouds by the time he left the diner. He had a date with a hot fireman. Talk about every gay man’s naughty dream.
Even though he didn’t plan on returning to Maple Grove, and he’d yet to tell his cousin of his plans, Sherman couldn’t stop himself from calling Payton.