A Little Bite of Magic (Little Magic) by M.J. O'Shea

or anything else, but Julia didn’t seem to get the picture.
    In the past week and a half, he’d tried to tell her three different times that it wasn’t going to happen, that they weren’t going out socially, and that he was in an actual relationship, not just some dumb boy-on-the-side situation. Situation. That was the word she kept using for it. “We’ll work out this situation,” she’d said. It made him want to scream. He didn’t want to confess to Frankie that he’d been in a relationship when they’d first met, but he thought he should at least tell him that Julia existed. She just refused to go away no matter how many times he evaded her or outright told her he was with his boyfriend.
    “Doesn’t look like no one. You seem pissed.”
    Addison opened his mouth to explain the whole thing, then froze. He realized that he couldn’t. Damn . “I’m just hungry. I didn’t eat much at Fuego.”
    “Addison…”
    “Sometimes I hate that you can read me so well.” He needed to tell Frankie about Julia. The last secret he’d kept from his boyfriend hadn’t broken them apart, but he was worried another one would.
    “Yeah.” Frankie ruffled his hair. “Hey, do you want to go to that wine bar again tonight? Meet Dom and his new boy toy?”
    Addison was relieved but a bit let down that Frankie wasn’t going to push it any further. It would’ve been easier if Frankie had wheedled it out of him.
    “Yeah, let’s go. What’s the new guy’s name? I’d hate to call him Kenny.”
    In the month or so that he’d been with Frankie, Dom’d had a few different guys, and he and Frankie usually managed to meet them. It was weird to be back in the same boat of meeting another couple for a date. Addison waited to feel trapped, thought that he might start to feel like a sweater couple again, but it hadn’t happened. It was actually nice to be in public with Frankie, holding hands and showing people he was in love. Every day he learned more and more what it was like to be a real couple—not one that was just for show. He’d already introduced Frankie to some of his friends from work. They’d never even known Julia existed, so that wasn’t much of an issue. It felt good.
    Frankie hesitated. “Shit. I forgot. I’ll introduce myself first.”
    “’Kay.” Addison tilted his head up for a kiss. “Hey, one of the customers out there looked pretty stressed when I walked in. Can you do anything for that?”
    Frankie snorted. “I’m not Xanax, you know.”
    “I know, but…” He wiggled his fingers like he’d seen Dom doing.
    “Yeah, yeah. What table is she at?”
    “The one underneath the blue flowered thingy.”
    “That’s table eight.”
    Right when Frankie said that, Owen came rushing in. He usually looked at least mildly worried, but now he’d progressed to full-on panic.
    “What’s the matter?” Frankie didn’t look too concerned.
    “Bethany just called. She’s not coming in. Like ever. Her boyfriend is moving to LA to start a band, and she’s going with him.”
    Frankie's mouth dropped open, and he froze where he was standing. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. It’s not crowded yet, but in an hour or so— Shit.”
    Addison took off his suit jacket. “Hey, I’ll do it. If we can number the tables with tape or something, I’ll be fine. Owen will have to help me with the pricing.”
    “Have you waited tables before?”
    Addison grinned. “Not exactly, but I can figure it out, right?” He couldn’t believe how quickly he’d jumped into trying something new.
    Frankie thought for about two seconds before he pointed to a rack in the corner. “Grab an apron.”
    The next few hours were chaotic, but the best time Addison had had in years. He bustled around to the tables, taking orders, grabbing plates, telling Frankie when he thought one of the customers needed an extra pick-me-up. That was his favorite part. He liked the idea of helping people without them even knowing about it. It felt good