2. CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2

Grinning when one of his customers moaned happily after tasting one of the samples he had out, Dorsey Bryant was on top of the world. He'd read an article online about Cedar Falls's uniqueness and he'd been intrigued. At the time, he'd lived in Chicago, Illinois, and desperately wanted out.

It had been too damned expensive to even think about one day owning his own fudge shop. Hell, he'd had to work two jobs just to put a roof over his head and had three roommates. Add in the fact that he hadn't lived in the best part of town and it wasn't uncommon to hear gunshots from time to time, had Dorsey searching for a nice small town to live in.

It was how he'd come across the article. It discussed how welcoming the town was to the LGBTQ+ community and how it was growing at a steady pace. Ryder Kendrick's name and number had been given as someone to contact if interested in moving to the area.

He hadn't hesitated to pick up the phone and make that call. Thirty minutes later, he was practically bouncing in his seat. He didn't have a lot of savings, but it would be enough to make his dreams come true. Yeah, he'd have to take out a loan, but thankfully, the town had funds available for him to use.

Putting in his notice to his landlord and roommates, he'd made plans to move in thirty days. Fortunately, the space Ryder offered him came with an apartment above it, so he wouldn't have to find somewhere to live. All he'd had to do was pack up his things and drive to Cedar Falls.

Arriving had been an experience he never imagined. Sure, Ryder had told him about the town's many quirks, but hearing about it and seeing it for himself was… well, surreal.

The first thing he'd noticed were the various names of different stores. One of the tamest was Sweet Buns, but combined with the others, like Nice ‘N Rosy, Bound For Your Pleasure, and the Pearl Necklace, it was obvious it was meant to be a double entendre. Most of the shops were the same, and this changed Dorsey's plan for his fudge shop's name.

It took him three days, with a little help from some of the locals to come up with the concept, but once he had, it'd been exciting to dive right in. The best part was his fudge and other confections were a huge hit.

The bell over the door rang out just as he handed a customer a box filled with his fudge. He looked up and grinned at the sight. Jesse Grant strode in wearing one of his infamous outfits. Bright orange platform flip-flops—which still amused Dorsey that the somewhat klutzy man would wear—jean short shorts, topped by an equally bright orange crop top. His lips and eyelids were also orange, which somehow perfectly matched the top.

But it was his signature saying on the shirt that had Dorsey laughing. In bright pink letters, it read, Free Contradiction. $1.

The man was one of a kind. Sarcastic as fuck, but he'd been the one to make friends with Dorsey and invite him into his group of friends, some of which had come in with Jesse.

"Good afternoon, Jesse, Danton, Gabriel, Flynn, and Vail. How is everyone today?" he called out.

Jesse pointed his thumb over his shoulder to the group. "Danton's hungry–again."

"Hey," Danton scowled at his friend. "You know my metabolism is higher than normal, and you were the one to eat that last chicken wing at The Collared Pup."

Jesse rolled his eyes. "Hurry up and get what you want. We still need to get to Sweet Buns for a macchiato before heading out to check on the progress of the Community Center's new tennis courts."

The bell above the door rang out again. Sparing the newcomers a glance while putting together a box for Danton, Dorsey said, "Welcome to Tasty Balls. There are samples on the table there." Except when his gaze met the bright blue ones of a blond-haired beauty next to Dion, he suddenly couldn't look away.

His ability to think fled as he looked the man up and down. Thankfully, Dion instantly brought the gorgeous man over to Jesse, distracting the town's gossip and the blue-eyed angel from noticing.

"Uhm, Dorsey," Danton said while snapping his fingers in front of him. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" He shook his head to clear it. "I mean, yes, sorry. I was distracted. What can I get for you?"

Even as he filled the order of two dozen fudge balls, Dorsey kept sneaking peaks at the gorgeous man, who was frowning as he spoke with Jesse. He couldn't hear their discussion, but his eyes could tell he was upset. Not that he needed to hear what they were saying, but he was tempted to go over there and try and soothe him somehow.

Dorsey wasn't about to, but he had to admit he really wanted to. Everything about the beauty was perfect. His blonde hair was almost white, it was so light. He had a light layer of scruff on his face that had Dorsey shivering at the thought of feeling it on his inner thighs and balls. He hadn't seen him smile yet, but something about him spoke to Dorsey on a visceral level.

He was definitely shorter than Dorsey, but he tended to gravitate to men smaller than himself. He had the lithe build of a runner instead of Dorsey's more muscular frame. And damn if those slacks didn't fit him just right to show off a taut ass. His mouth watered to explore every inch with his tongue and lips.

He would worship…

"Dorsey," Danton said sharply with another finger snap. He looked over at his friend questioningly. Danton pointed to the box, which was so full that it nearly fell apart. "Can I get my fudge, please?"

"Right," he jolted back into action. Grabbing a fresh box, he quickly put it together and loaded it with as many balls as would reasonably fit. It was far more than the twelve he'd ordered, but Dorsey felt bad for making him wait. "Here, the extra are on me."

He handed Danton the box, still open because he knew his friend would eat at least one immediately. Danton's high metabolism often made him lightheaded as his body needed the calories. Sure enough, Danton bit one in half, practically swallowing it down without chewing before stuffing the second half in his mouth.

Then he put his credit card in the machine. Once he handed over the receipt, Dorsey tried to listen to the conversation between the unknown man and Jesse. If only the others had shut the hell up, he'd have had a shot.

Oh well. He could only hope he lived in Cedar Falls and that Dorsey would have an opportunity to meet him at some point. Turning to the next customer who had just walked in, he greeted her and told her about the samples.

Every day, he made fudge and other various confections, like cake pops, caramel and chocolate treats, and peanut brittle. There were others, but he liked to switch things up, so one never knew what would be available. The only things he consistently made were the classics: chocolate fudge, plain or with walnuts, white chocolate, again plain or with nuts, and peanut butter. Otherwise, each day, he experimented with his recipes.

It was often exhausting as he stayed up late testing different flavors in his home kitchen on a smaller scale, then got up for work by seven so he could open by eleven. It took more time to shape the fudge into balls instead of spreading it out in a pan, but after Jesse and the others helped him come up with the name Tasty Balls, it seemed the right direction. So far, it had been very worthwhile.

"Come by my office tomorrow at ten," he heard Jesse say. "I'll find a way to help that will be a more permanent solution."

Then he turned to Danton, who stood there with a nearly empty box. "What? Did you just inhale the balls?"

"Ohh, wait until I tell Kyle you were licking another man's balls," Flynn said excitedly causing Danton's face to go red with panic.

"Don't you dare say that to him!" Danton really should know better than to say something to his friends. They loved nothing more than to play jokes on each other.

Flynn waggled his brows. "We are going to the casino tonight. Isn't Kyle working?"

Danton's face stayed red, but tears were now pouring down his face. "Don't you dare, Flynn Rankin or I'll tell Jax what you did and won't even feel bad when he flogs you and you can't sit for a week."

Wait…What? That hadn't been the first time he'd overheard someone alluding to BDSM, but that was a direct reference. Were his friends into the lifestyle?

He hadn't missed how the pretty man's eyes dilated with interest, either. That was mostly because his gaze had been glued to him. Damn, but he really wanted to know who he was.

Danton turned and practically ran out of the store sobbing. "Great," Vail said shaking his head. "You want to kick his puppy while you're at it?"

"Shit," Flynn exclaimed. "I was just teasing. I never would do that to Danton. You assholes, maybe, but not him."

Jesse rolled his eyes with his usual dramatic flair. "Well, you better go apologize before Jax finds out what you did, or you definitely won't be sitting anytime soon." Then Jesse threw up his hands in defeat. "What am I talking about? You probably will tell him just to get spanked, flogged, or whipped."

Flynn shook his head. "No, that wouldn't be my punishment, believe you me. Jax is much more sadistic when punishing me."

Sighing, Flynn started for the door, but then stopped and turned to Dorsey. "Want to get me a full box of whatever he ordered before?"

He quickly filled a box and handed it to Flynn. Once he'd paid, Flynn headed in search of Danton to hopefully make amends.

"Come on, Gabriel and Vail. Let's get me that macchiato and head to the Community Center." Jesse opened the door but called over his shoulder to Dorsey. "We'll see you at the casino at seven."

Once they were gone, his gaze went to Dion and the beauty. "Can I get either of you anything?" He prayed he'd find out the man's name.

Dion shook his head. "Actually, I have a meeting I need to get to." He patted the man's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Jesse will find a way to help Nettles."

Dorsey felt his eyes widen at the mention of Mr. Nettles. The kind older gentleman often came in for samples. He'd eye the display with hunger but never bought anything. It hadn't taken Dorsey long to figure out the guy couldn't afford to buy his fudge, so he'd pretend anytime Mr. Nettles came that someone had ordered a box but changed their mind and since he couldn't put the fudge back, he wondered if the man wanted it.

"I hope so," his angel said. Then he went to the display and admitted, "Mr. Nettles gave me a box of your fudge, and I have to say it was the best I'd ever had, and I generally don't eat anything sweet."

He held out his hand over the display case. "Dorsey Bryant."

And then he heard it, the name he'd craved to know. "Mercury Welch. Nice to meet you."

When their hands touched, Dorsey swore sparks arced between them, shooting up his arm, then down his body right to his dick. Damn if his hole didn't flutter at the thought of being fucked by Mercury.

"Did I hear you're going to the casino tonight?" Mercury asked.

"I…I mean…what?" Oh damn, his smile made Dorsey's knees weak.

"Adorable," Mercury said softly. "Unfortunately, I have work to do, but I'll see you tonight."

The hand that had been holding his rose up and a finger traced Dorsey's jawline. "So adorable, my sweet."

Then he left without another word, leaving Dorsey staring after him in wonder.

Had that just happened? Did he have a date? As much as he would have loved to follow Mercury and ask, several customers came in, forcing him to get back to work. He'd worry about it later. Right now, he had a business to run.