When Friday came, Avi was nervous and excited. Over the past few days, he and Scott had texted a lot and talked on the phone a few times but ever since he had texted that he was on his way to his therapy session Avi hadn't heard anything of Scott. Of course, he had texted him before he went to bed and after getting up, but he didn't get a reply.
He didn't like it, but he decided to just wait it out. He didn't know what Scott had experienced during his therapy session and knowing that Mitch was with him was enough. So he went to the store to get everything he still needed for dinner and once he was back home, he started to work on dinner. Afterwards, he cleaned his house once more, wanting everything to be perfect, even though he wasn't sure whether Scott would actually come.
It was half an hour later and Avi was cleaning the bathroom when he finally got a message from Scott:
"Hi, Avi. Sorry that I didn't reply to your messages. It was a rough day and night, but I'm better now and looking forward to our date. I can't wait to see you again. Xx Scott."
"Don't be sorry, Scotty. It's fine to take the time you need for yourself. I'm looking forward as well. It's been too long. Take care! Xx Avi."
Avi was glad that Scott had finally texted and he was even more eager to get everything done in time for Scott's arrival.
Twenty minutes before Scott would arrive, Avi was dressed up and in the kitchen, wearing an apron so he wouldn't ruin his outfit. He set up everything he needed for dinner and then he waited impatiently for the clock to turn 6. Finally, he heard the sound of a car stopping in his driveway and he had to refrain from running outside. Instead, he waited for Scott to ring the doorbell and only then he made his way to the front door and opened it.
"Scott," he said happily.
The blonde chuckled. "Yes. Did you expect someone else?"
Avi rolled his eyes playfully. "No. I'm just happy to see you" he returned. "Come in."
Scott entered the house and then pulled a bunch of flowers from behind his back. "For you," he said. "Thank you for the invitation."
Avi beamed when he saw the colourful bouquet of dahlias. "These are beautiful, Scott. Thank you so much" he said as he took them, then he pulled the blonde into a tight embrace, careful to not harm the flowers. "So good to have you here." He leaned up to kiss Scott softly.
"It's so good to be here" Scott returned and kissed Avi once more before they broke the embrace and Avi took another look at the flowers, admiring their colour and beauty. "I'll get a vase real quick and then I'll finish our dinner. Get comfortable in the living room or join me in the kitchen, whatever you feel like."
Scott immediately decided to join Avi in the kitchen. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with the bearded man and watched him as he put the flowers into the water and then proceeded to cook. "This looks delicious" he commented when he saw Avi stirring in a pan after putting pasta into the boiling water.
"Mmhm... tagliatelle with salmon, spinach and gorgonzola" Avi explained. "It's simple, yet delicious."
"You call that simple?" Scott chuckled. "I call Mac and Cheese simple."
"I love a good Mac and Cheese" Avi commented while he assembled the sauce and checked the pasta.
"Oh mine is very good" Scott returned. "Mama taught me how to make it. And if you eat it with a salad on the side it's almost healthy."
"I love food that is almost healthy. I usually have a salad on the side or some grilled veggies just so I can justify eating way too much fried chicken" Avi replied while he stirred once again through the sauce. He then turned around. "I'm sorry I forgot: do you want to drink something? I have white wine to go with the pasta, water, or course..."
Scott smiled at him. "Water is fine for now, wine for dinner is as well," he said. "But I can just get it myself, you're busy cooking after all."
"No, you're my guest," Avi said and grabbed a glass from the cupboard and a bottle of water from the fridge. He quickly filled the glass and handed it over to Scott. "Here. I'm just waiting for the pasta to be done and then we can eat."
"Are you stressed, Avi?" Scott asked carefully after drinking from his water.
"No, I mean... a little bit?" Avi returned and leaned against the counter. "Making pasta is simple, so I decided on it but now I realise that I have to work on it while you're here, so I am making you wait..."
Scott put down his glass and approached the bearded man. "Hey, Avi," he said softly. "It's fine. I don't mind standing in the kitchen watching you cook while we make light talk. I don't need the perfect date, just being here with you is enough. And you put so much thought into the food and wine, you're looking so damn gorgeous with the sleeves of your shirt rolled up and the apron around your waist. Honestly, if it was me cooking I would have prepared a casserole because what you're doing right now, cooking on the spot would stress me out." While he was talking he took Avi's hands and squeezed them softly, then kissed his temple softly when Avi looked down to hide the blush on his face.
"I tend to forget how amazing you are, Scott," he said. "And I don't know why I am stressed, I just want this date to be good..."
"It already is wonderful, Avi. We're both here, both excited about spending time together" Scott said.
"And you're handsome as ever" Avi added, finally smiling again. "You got some tan in Texas."
Scott nodded. "I did. Funny that after two weeks in Greece it takes me another week in Texas to get the vacation tan" he said and shrugged his shoulders. "But I've spent a lot of time in the pool so maybe this is why."
"Mmmh" Avi hummed. "Probably. But it looks so good on you" he said and put his arms around Scott's neck, pulling him down carefully.
Scott gladly did that and connected his lips to Avi's once more. He had missed being close to the bearded man, had missed feeling Avi's soft beard tickle and slightly scratch his skin as they kissed.
They both lost track of time and were completely lost in kissing one another slowly until, all of a sudden, Avi jerked up.
"The pasta" he exclaimed.
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