Chapter 1
A bell chimed overhead as I opened the door, the faint hint of flowery wood wafting toward me as I stepped inside. The shop was empty. No customers. I didn’t even see an employee. The sign said it was open, yet it seemed vacant. Neatly folded fabric was stored on the walls in an array of colors. The shades became darker as the tiers went higher. A few dress forms stood in the corner, each with a different garment. I wandered further into the tailor shop, gazing about as I wondered where the owner was.
A curtain swished to the side as a man rushed through it. “Hi there,” he boomed, breaking the peaceful near silence of the place. The only other sound was the soft music playing from a speaker by the register.
“Hello,” I said, turning to face him. “I...”
He was tall and tanned and smiling with his eyes. I could see the faint outline of muscle beneath his long-sleeved shirt and narrow waist clad in overalls. He looked more like a farmer than a tailor. Then again, he must have been a tailor. His clothes fit like a glove on him.
He looked me over, his eyes landing on the bag in my hand. He motioned to it and asked, “Got something needing fitting?”
I glanced at him, then the bag. “Uh, right.” I brought it higher and opened it for him to see. “It’s a suit jacket.”
He lifted it from the paper bag. It was brand new. Everything else fit fine, but the cuffs reached my fingertips.
The tailor held it out in front of me and chuckled. “Must’ve been made for someone a bit taller. Come on back, I’ll get you measured.”
He draped the jacket over one arm and held the curtain open with his other one. The next room was smaller than the first with just enough space for more than a sewing machine and more mannequins. He gestured to the podium as he set the jacket onto one of the figures full of pins and grabbed a measuring tape. Despite the sleeves being the only issue, he took it upon himself to measure all of my upper half to make sure the entire thing was properly fitted.
I didn’t feel the need to rush while I unbuttoned my shirt. He set it aside before he stretched the tape measure across my arms. Then just my chest. Then my waist. His hands were calloused but warm. I felt like I couldn’t breathe as he worked. I’d done plenty of fittings in my life, but something about him set me on edge. His hair smelled really good. It looked soft, even if it was messier than I thought would be professional.
“The name’s Haydn, by the way,” he said suddenly. The twang in his voice made my heart beat faster than it already was. His cognac colored eyes met mine, concerned. “You alright?”
“Yeah,” I replied. I cleared my throat. “I’m Gabriel. Gabriel Whitacre.”
“Nice to meet ya.”
Part of me expected a bit of a reaction. At least a follow up question. Usually people responded when they realized who I was.
His hand lingered on me for a moment as he continued his measuring. I sucked in a breath as the cool metal edge of the tape grazed my nipple. He suppressed a laugh. “You sure you’re alright?”
I nodded and urged him to continue working. He gave me a final glance before finishing up. I wish I could lie and say I had no clue why I asked him to measure me for a pair of slacks that I didn’t have with me—nor did they exist—but I’m sure you could infer why that was.
He didn’t have a problem with it. Haydn started with my hips and I tried to keep my mouth shut and my mind quiet. This was the only tailor I knew of in town. It’d be a hassle to find another if I scared him off. It was already such short notice and my usual was almost an hour away from my new address.
Haydn lowered himself to his knees to take my inseam. Just as before, he pulled the tape measure along the length of my leg. It was then I realized how aroused I was when his large hand nudged my crotch.
“Sorry.” He went on as though he’d touched my foot or something. A sound escaped my lips as he spoke. His head snapped up. I blushed, covering my mouth. He smirked. “What is it, Gabriel?” I shook my head and tried to ignore how hot he looked in front of me.
“You know, you should look at people when they speak to you.” His voice was quiet yet commanding; however, I didn’t face him, instead taking interest in the posters on the wall with various comic book characters. His hand rested on my shin like it belonged there. “I know you heard me. I don’t like to repeat myself.”
I looked at him as he rose to his feet. “Good.”
I decided then that whatever was happening was indeed good. The heart-pounding and avoidant gazes as his hand trailed up along my thigh. He looked at me again, just long enough to glean permission for him to unbutton my pants. I nodded and just as quickly, his fingers dipped beneath my waistband to graze against me.
A faint bell sounded from the other side of the curtain. I pushed him off of me and reached for my shirt as the cursed intruder said, “Hey, Hay, I’m picking up Dil’s costume. Is it ready?”
“Just a second, darling!”
Darling?
He pumped a bit of hand sanitizer from a bottle into his hands at his sewing station. How often did he do this? He handed me a clipboard and pen as I came down from the podium, still collecting myself. “It should be ninety for the jacket. Fill that form out for me. It’s just your contact and a little agreement to pick it up on time. I’ll have it done by Monday.”
I filled out the form as instructed while he rolled a mannequin into the main area. On it was a frilly dress. It’s not quite a ball gown but almost fairytale-like with an older style and multiple tiers and ruffles.
“Oh, it’s perfect! I could kiss you!” The woman exclaimed.
My chest was tight as I signed the dotted line at the bottom of the page and dated it. That must’ve been his girlfriend or something. I probably dodged a bullet. I couldn’t get caught up in something like that. Sure, I was disappointed, but it was probably for the best. I placed the board back on the table, checked myself in the mirror, and stepped through the curtain.
Haydn was behind the counter now, zipping the dress into a garment bag as the woman chattered to him about how elated Dilleta would be. Whoever she was. I cleared my throat, causing them both to look at me.
“Thank you,” I said to him. “I’ll be back Mon—”
“Come back tomorrow,” he blurted, smiling. “I’ll call you when it’s ready.”
I agreed, despite how odd the change was. A three day wait to one? Regardless, I paid my deposit and started toward the door. The sooner I could get my jacket fixed the better I supposed.
“He’s a cutie.” What the fuck did she say?
“Tell me about it,” Haydn gushed, somewhat muffled, followed by a light thud as though he’d melted onto the desk. I paused by a rack of suits, pretending to examine them. “Who am I kidding? He’s probably not paying me any mind.”
I held back a chuckle as I thumbed through a tie display. Hard disagree.
“Well, you’re paying him plenty,” said the woman, who was decidedly not a girlfriend if they were having this conversation. “You might as well try.”
There was a pause, then a little gasp. Cute. “He’s looking at my suits. Look—no, don’t look, he might see you.”
I could feel his eyes on me. He must have thought he was being quiet.
“Just talk to him, Hay. I’m sure he won’t bite.” She chuckled.
I walked toward the dress shirts and thought I saw him roll his eyes at her. I genuinely looked at those. Sri Lankan cotton. Nice. How he was selling it for less than three hundred was beyond me but it was definitely of quality.
“I would have earlier if you came an hour later than you did,” Haydn claimed and god had I wished that was the case.
“Hm?”
He lowered his voice and said something. She gasped.
“Youanimal!” she teased, unable to hide her laughter. “Is that even legal,” she hissed.
He shrugged. “Who knows.” Technically, this was private property, so it was legal. The only real risk was someone taking what happened here outside. Hopefully, his friend didn’t like to talk.
Haydn seemed really fun, not to mention downright sexy. Like, carved from stone sexy. I wouldn’t expect someone built like him to sew. If not for the fact I knew this was his shop, I’d have assumed he was a lumberjack or something. His outfit certainly didn’t help but it looked so good on him. Honestly, he probably cleaned up well. Despite all of that, part of me wanted to see him without the clothes.
The other part of me wondered what my family would think. They knew I was gay, but that wasn’t the problem—Or, more accurately, not a huge problem. They came around eventually—but he wasn’t anyone important. If I turned up to our monthly dinner with a blue collar man on my arm, I’d never hear the end of it; especially after I turned down every single CEO and son of a mogul who attempted to take me out. There had been plenty and I was never really impressed. It’s not like I needed their money.
“Haydn?” I called. His eyes were already locked on me once I turned. “Take your time with the jacket.”
“I will.” He laughed. I loved his laugh. It wasn’t one of those tiny polite ones you gave when you didn’t really find something funny but didn’t want to upset the person. It filled the room. We really weren’t all that equally yolked, but maybe that was alright for a bit of fun. I was far enough from home that no one would know anything as long as we kept it quiet. “I’m not gonna ruin a perfectly good sports coat!”
“I know,” I said, and I believed it. If he made the things on display, I was thouroughly impressed. Suddenly, I was nervous. I had never asked someone out before. There were very few things I couldn’t do, and this was apparently one of them. No, no, I could do it. He’d accept if he knew any better. It wasn’t like he didn’t like me. I just had to ask. I hated asking. Shit, this is hard.
Despite everything in me telling me not to, I ventured toward the counter. The woman grinned and stepped aside, mouthing something to him that I didn’t quite see before departing with her dress. He was right there. All I had to do was ask him to coffee or something, but why was it so hard to get the words out?
“Did you need something else? Questions on the process?”
“No, actually, I... Um.” My voice died in my throat. I cleared it.
I could get lost in his eyes. So round and so warm. How could someone with no renown seem so lovely? Maybe that was part of it. I didn’t think I’d ever met someone who didn’t know who I was before. At least my name. At least my family. I thought by now he’d have at least an inkling, but still nothing. Just those excited eyes that wouldn’t look away.
“Yes?” His lips teased upward as he leaned toward me across the counter. I wished I could close the distance between us and let our lips connect. His head tilted to the side, coy. I wasn’t sure how he simultaneously asked me to chase him while running circles around me. Catch me already.
“Uh, coffee, sometime?” I sputtered.
Haydn giggled. “I can take you to coffee.” A smirk on his face, he asked for my phone. He put his number in and said he’d text me tomorrow morning.
We bid our adieus and I left, feeling a little dizzy. He was going to text me? This was all wrong, honestly. I should have been the one to text him, but he seemed set on the thought. The door shut behind me. He was going to text me.
