Teaser Tuesday #6: The Bricklayer's Arms

On his first evening in the village, Eric goes to one of the local pubs for a meal cooked by Megan's mother, Jean. Tom is out at rugby practice, but calls into the pub with some of his team mates. Eric cannot keep his eyes of the young stud but gets caught in the act again. He fears this may only serve to create a tension between them.

He was halfway through his meal when the door burst open to admit three very boisterous young men in rugby shirts and tracksuit bottoms. Eric looked up quickly from his plate to spot a red-cheeked and grinning Tom among the three, and felt a pang of desire like he hadn’t experienced since the car accident.Tom went over to kiss Megan, then went to join his friends at the bar. Eric began to eat more slowly, not wanting to rush through his best excuse for lingering in the pub. He drank in Tom with his eyes, admiring the shape of the young gardener’s lean body through his rugby shirt.He was so fixated on admiring him that he completely failed to notice when Tom returned the attention. He glanced up and found himself looking straight into Tom’s eyes. All the light-hearted joviality was gone from them; he looked downright perturbed.Amateur mistake, he thought, looking away quickly. First he had been caught staring in the kitchen, and now this. He was coming on too strong. Of course, he knew on some level that it was stupid to pursue Tom in the first place, but he had the instincts of a hunter. Even if he told himself it was useless, some part of him would continue to pursue Tom until he was sure the chase would be fruitless.“Hello there,” he said, giving Tom a wave. Tom nodded at him, but didn’t say anything in reply.Definitely coming on too strong, then.