Learning-to-Feel by N.R. Walker Page B

stairs, grabbing my keys and Bentley's leash.
    We walked two blocks to one of my favorite places in all of Boston. "Ah Nathan, we miss you," the short, smiling Japanese woman greeted me.
    "Hello, Mrs. Lin," I greeted her in return. "I told you I was moving away."
    "You not staying?" She asked, and I laughed and told her no. "But my sales are down," she scolded me. "My best customer move away, and I go broke."
    "Can you deliver three hours away?" I asked her.
    She scowled at me, then smiled. "What could I get for you, Nathan? Your usual?"
    "Two, please," I said.
    "Oh," she said suspiciously. "Lunch for two?"
    I looked quickly back at Trent, who was standing outside with Bentley. "Um…yeah."
    "Mmm," Mrs. Lin hummed. "He’s a cute boy."
    I coughed and felt my cheeks flush. She handed me my lunch order, I paid and she was still smiling when I walked out the door.
    We ate our sushi, Californian rolls and drank our green tea in the park. "God, I’ve missed this," I told him, indicating to our lunch.
    "Do you ever eat anything that isn’t healthy?" he asked.
    "I’m a doctor," I reminded him. "Do you want to know what eating fast-food will do to your body?"
    He stuck his fingers in his ears. "No, I like not knowing. Please don’t ruin it for me. I love burgers."
    I laughed at him and spared him the lecture on translipid fats and refined sugars. He grinned at me, and we finished our lunch and took Bentley home.
    "Should I change into anything in particular?" he asked, still not knowing where we were going.
    "Jeans are fine," I told him, and when he came back down stairs, he was wearing dark denim jeans and a blue button down shirt that matched the color of his eyes. His blond curls were somehow brushed back off his face, and he lifted one corner of his mouth into that smirk he had.
    "Pick your jaw up, Nathan," he told me.
    "You look… um…"
    "I look what? C'mon say it," he taunted me.
    "You look fucking hot."
    He laughed then and said, "You're not too difficult to look at either."
    I walked straight up to him and stood before him. My shoes were touching his, and I had to kiss him. I needed to kiss him and touch him, feel him. My hand touched his face, my thumb skimmed his jaw and I pressed my lips to his.
    I told myself to kiss him without feeling, but then his lips moved against mine as he kissed me back. I held his face and pushed my mouth onto his, opening my lips and caressing his tongue with mine. His hands held my hips, and I couldn’t help but moan when he pulled me against him.
    I felt this kiss building in desire, and as much as I wanted it, I wanted to show him his surprise more.
    I broke the kiss, and leaning my forehead against his, I took a second to breathe. I licked my lips, but couldn’t help kissing him again, chastely. He smiled against my lips, and I told him, "If we didn’t leave now, we won't be going anywhere."
    He chuckled and took some deep breaths. We fixed Bentley some dinner and water, a blanket on the floor, one more bathroom break, and we finally left.
    It wasn’t far to the city from my place, so we jumped in a cab. I gave the directions to, "Huntingford Avenue," and Trent looked at me in wonder. I grinned at him. "We're going to see MoFA," I told him.
    "MoFA? Who's that?"
    I laughed. "Not a who, but a what."
    "Oh enough with the cryptic shit," he moaned. "I'll just wait to see for myself."
    "Don’t like surprises much, hey?" I teased him, and he pouted. He was so fucking cute when he tried to pout, and before long his pout became a smirk.
    We arrived at our destination and had to walk just a few yards. Trent still had no idea where I was taking him, but when we round the corner and he saw the Museum of Fine Arts, he stopped walking, apparently so he could smile.
    "You brought me here?" he asked, still grinning, with his eyes wide.
    I nodded. "There’s a new exhibit on contemporary abstract, and I thought you might like to see it. I haven't been here in a few years, but considering you're an