The Courtship of Julian St. Albans (16 page)

“Your final course,” interrupted the
waiter, bringing them a single plate with two different kinds of sashimi; their
dish of soy sauce had remained when the dishes from the previous course
vanished. “Will you be wanting dessert?”

More to annoy the man than out of any real
hunger, Alex said, “We might, if you could bring a menu once this course
is done, that would be lovely.”

“Of course, sir,” said the waiter
dryly, and Alex had to wonder what it was about him that seemed to ping the
man’s radar.

“Perhaps he thinks you’re a terrible
tipper?” said Julian, and Alex was gratified that it wasn’t just him that
felt the waiter was being rude.

“Maybe he’s got a bet on one of your other
suitors to win?” said Alex with a chuckle. “Like the society page
horse races.”

Julian groaned. “Don’t even suggest
that!” he protested, but Alex could tell he found it a little funny, when
it wasn’t mortifying.

“Sorry,” said Alex, picking up a
piece of fish and dipping one edge in the soy sauce before tasting it. The
pink-fleshed yellowfin tuna practically melted on his tongue, cool and sweet
and subtle as the crab but in an entirely different way. The sashimi was made
of the highest quality fish possible, and Alex nearly moaned in delight at the
difference between this and the pedestrian sushi he was used to. “Oh, my,
I’d almost have done the whole Courtship for this.”

Julian laughed and took a piece of the same
side, his expression showing the very same bliss. “Mmm, I might have to
marry you for your excellent taste in food,” said Julian, and Alex blushed
and sipped his wine, realising that they’d each had about half the bottle and
were on to drinks next. He’d tucked a pair of bottles of sobering up potion into
his coat, so as long as he remembered to retrieve them, they should be all
right.

“Don’t promise anything foolish while
you’re on fine wine and even better seafood,” teased Alex, trying the fish
on the other side, this one something white-fleshed he didn’t recognise. It,
too, was exquisitely tender, with a subtle fishy flavour that reminded him a
bit of good mackerel, but refined to near perfection. “Though if we can
come here more often, I might take you up on it.”

“Tease,” said Julian, taking up his
own bit of white fish and showing every ounce of his enjoyment. Alex wondered
idly how he’d be to make love to, then shoved that thought away and replaced it
with his second, and sadly last, bite of the white fish.

“Well,” said Alex, when he’d washed
down the morsel with a bit of wine, “I am Courting you.”

“So you are,” said Julian, taking his
own morsel of tuna, leaving one piece of each on the plate.

Alex picked up the tuna and gave it his full
attention, wondering if there was anything in the evening that could possibly
top it. He remembered Julian’s sweet, unexpected kiss, and tried to pretend it
hadn’t been better, but he’d always been terrible at self-delusion. At least on
the really obvious things.

There were more insidious
delusions at play here, he supposed.

“I’m not sure I want dessert here, do you
suppose they’ve got sweets where we’re going next?” asked Julian, once
he’d finished off his fish and they’d traded plates for a single menu.

“I’ve no idea,” admitted Alex,
“but look, doesn’t this sound interesting?” He pointed to an
intriguing dish that seemed to be a sort of tiramisu, only made with matcha
green tea and sour plum jelly.

Julian oohed, and that got him to read over all
the selections. They ended up with the one Alex had suggested and a white
chocolate cake with apricot jelly and jasmine tea ice cream, and when they
arrived there was steaming matcha and jasmine tea to go with them. They traded
bites and sips and talked mostly about the food, and in the end Alex was glad
they’d bothered, because Julian was smiling when they left and still talking
about the food.

“I probably ought to tell Henry that
dinner was a success,” said Alex, who’d overtipped just to annoy the
waiter, and even tipped the coat check girl, “but I’d rather make him wait
and wonder.”

“You’re wicked,”
said Julian, amused.

Alex handed him into the waiting car, which had
appeared as soon as it was needed, a different sort of magic that Alex had
grown used to doing without. “Only as wicked as you want me to be,”
he said, sliding in next to Julian.

“I like you a bit wicked,” said
Julian, his voice lower now, intimate and flirty.

Alex pulled him close and kissed him softly,
unable to resist the invitation in his posture and tone. “But not too
wicked,” he said, shifting to tuck Julian in next to him in a surprisingly
comfortable cuddle. “I haven’t earned it yet.”

Julian laughed. “You haven’t, but you’re
trying,” he said, pulling Alex’s head down for one more lingering kiss
before he gave in and cuddled up. “I like this, you’re skinny but you’re
warm.”

“Thin men put out more heat, we’ve no
padding to keep it in,” said Alex thoughtlessly, distracted by the soft
scent of Julian’s hair, a mix of the man and his styling products that Alex
found quite appealing.

“I suppose you’ve taken a sampling?”
asked Julian tartly, tensing up. He didn’t pull away, but the threat was there,
and clearly dependent on Alex’s answer.

Alex shrugged and wondered which would be
worse, the truth or a flirty deflection. “I’ve been with my share of men,
yes,” he said carefully, “But I was under the impression that a
master-husband was supposed to, well, have mastery of these things, for his
consort’s sake if nothing else.”

Julian sighed and, though he didn’t relax
precisely, he settled more firmly in Alex’s embrace. “I suppose it’s silly
to expect you’ve been with just one person,” said Julian. “I know the
reputations of many of my other suitors, I guess I just didn’t think of what
yours might be.”

“Well, that’s one advantage to having
dropped out of society years ago,” said Alex, kissing Julian’s hair
gently, “I don’t have much of a reputation.”

Julian chuckled. “Well, you do, but it’s
all from people who knew you as a boy and have no idea what you’re capable of
as a man.”

Alex, too, chuckled at that and said wryly,
“Well, they’ll find out, won’t they?”

The car began to slow, and this time they were
in a different sort of neighbourhood, this one more like the area he’d bought
the paintings. While they parked, Alex paused to fish the sobering potions out
of the overcoat along with everything else he’d slipped in there, finding
places on his jacket that didn’t leave too much of a bulge. A tasteful neon
sign on an old brick building read simply, “The Gin Joint,” and the
doorman looked amused about the ceremony involved with the driver opening their
door as though they couldn’t do it themselves.

This time, at least, Alex was prepared.
“Stop number two on the Benedict Whirlwind Tour,” teased Alex,
getting out and offering Julian a hand out before palming the card with its
bribe still attached.

“From the look of you, you can only be
Henry’s big brother,” said the doorman, relieving Alex of at least that
burden.

“I am, thank you,” he said, offering
his hand for a shake. “I’m afraid my brother failed to give me your name,
though, or much information at all, really.”

The doorman laughed. “That’s Henry,”
he said. “They call me the Judge.” He shook Alex’s hand with a strong
but not crushing grip, and Alex appreciated that he felt no need to prove his
strength when it was so very obvious he could wipe the floor with them both.
The Judge was a burly man in a retro suit that was well-tailored enough to make
him look good despite the unusual fit, handsome in a way that probably got him
the sort of girl — or boy, though Alex would bet he was straight — who
enjoyed a bit of danger.

“We’ll stay on the side of the law,”
said Julian, artlessly charming in his way.

“Good,” said the Judge, opening the
door and gesturing for them to enter.

The interior matched the outside, though rather
than the updated retro Alex was expecting, the furnishings were well-cared-for
originals. The whole place had a wonderful aura of being loved by its staff and
owners, and Alex could see why Henry wanted it kept a bit of a secret.

“Sit anywhere you like,” said the bartender,
gesturing toward the half-full interior.

“Thank you,” said Alex, leading
Julian over to a cosy little round booth that would seat two with plenty of
room, and four only if they were very good friends. He hung Julian’s overcoat
and scarf on the waiting hook next to the booth and they settled in to enjoy
the ambience. “I can see why Henry wants to keep this place from becoming
trendy,” he said idly.

“Me, too,” said
Julian with a delighted little smile. “It’s lovely.”

A waitress came up and gave them the once-over,
chuckling. “You boys out on a date, then?” she asked.

“He’s done me that favour,” said Alex
with a chuckle. “What do you recommend? We’ve got a bit of time to kill
before our next stop.”

“Arnold makes a brilliant martini,”
she said. “Gin or vodka, though I like the gin ones best.”

“That sounds good to me, vodka,
though,” said Julian. “Gin doesn’t agree with me.”

“I’ll try the gin for balance, then,”
said Alex. “And perhaps something small to nibble on?”

She grinned. “I’ll bring over a bowl of
snacks, luv, on the house.” Her heels clicked as she went over to the bar,
grinning and gossiping happily with the bartender while he made up their
martinis, one with olives and one with a twist of lemon.

She returned with a bowl of nuts and pretzels,
their martinis, and two glasses of water. “Got to pace yourself,” she
said with a nod and a wink to Julian. “Don’t let him take advantage,
dear.”

They all laughed at that, and it was pleasantly
homey, whether just her personality or a special treatment thanks to his
brother’s good standing as a regular, Alex wasn’t sure. “These look
great,” said Alex, taking a careful sip of his. He’d gotten the olives and
the gin both, and the taste was bright and crisp with just a hint of salt, as
though the bartender had made the martini ever so slightly dirty.

Somehow, Alex found that
really appropriate.

“Mmm, perfect,” said Julian.
“I’ve always really liked martinis, though I can only have a couple,
especially after all that wine.”

Alex grinned. “I’ve got sobering potion for
both of us, so you won’t be too giddy for the next part,” he said, glad
he’d remembered to bring them in.

Julian looked quite pleasantly surprised.
“You take good care of me,” he said, echoing his earlier sentiment.

“I do what I can,” said Alex.
“Now, aside from climbing trees and winning men’s hearts, what do you like
to do for fun?” he asked.

They sipped drinks and ate snacks and chatted
for the next hour and a half about Julian’s secret love of mass market mystery
novels, Alex’s collection of spell components he knows he’ll never use, Julian
and Emmy’s regular afternoons at the horse races and Alex’s tendency to spend
the down time between cases lounging around the house in his silk pyjamas.

“I bet you look all elegantly
decadent,” said Julian impishly. “Assuming the pyjamas are long
enough on you.”

Alex laughed. “I assure you my wrists and
ankles are properly covered,” he said. He paused to finish off the last of
his martini and check his watch. “About time to go, did you want to sober
up before or after we try to stand?”

“Oh, before,” said
Julian with a giggle. “I need to use the loo as well.”

“Before it is,”
said Alex, pulling out the two little phials. “Cheers.”

They clinked phials and downed their doses, and
Alex felt the fuzzy warmth recede until he was once again clear-headed.
“You go on, I’ll pay and then take a turn,” said Alex, gesturing for
the waitress.

“Not going to angle for
a peek?” teased Julian, scooting out of the booth.

“I’ll wait until I’m
invited to get a proper look,” said Alex with a wink.

The waitress brought the check without being
asked, and Alex gave Victor’s credit card over gladly, though the drinks were
perfectly reasonably priced even for Alex’s pedestrian tastes. He ate the last
olive out of his glass to wash away the taste of the potion, then waited for
Julian to emerge before heading off himself. Once they were signed, sorted and
Julian was bundled back up against the cold, they headed out to find the car
just pulling up.

“Oooh, he’s good,”
said Julian, impressed.

“Victor’s got high standards,” said
Alex, “I’m just borrowing car and driver both for the evening.”

“Going to tell me where we’re off
to?” asked Julian, as they got themselves settled back into the car.

“Nope,” said Alex. “It’s fun to
surprise you, even if they’re not really my surprises.”

“They’re yours enough,” said Julian,
cuddling up into Alex’s arms without prompting.

Alex grinned the whole way
to the next stop.

~ ~ ~

“The Starlight
Tower?” said Julian, surprised.