Call Me Back Again

CHAPTER 3

John completely forgot his lines, right then and there. He'd made eye contact with the people seated at the table when he handed them their menus. The girl, he vaguely noted, was rather pretty with light brown hair and very blue, almost sapphire eyes. John noticed a big, unusually coloured rose in her hair. It was a deep, sunny yellow with red and orange accents.

He found himself smiling kindly at the girl who had to be as fond of flowers as he was, or she wouldn't have used something so elegant to complete her outfit which was otherwise not particularly original or impressive. Just a simple summer dress, paired with a pair of high-heeled espadrilles and a thin cardigan, all in kind of matching shades of yellow and green. Without that stunning flower in her hair, she would've looked very plain indeed, save perhaps for the heart-shaped face and the remarkable eyes. All of that had happened in the span of a second or two, after which John turned to hand the other menu to the girl's date: the bloke with the heavenly arse.

The moment John laid eyes on the man's face, the words got stuck in his throat. Looking up at him with a pleasant, if not somewhat detached smile on his face was the most beautiful person on earth. A nine, easily. He still could have ended up being a ten; John would have to see more to make up his mind about that. He didn't know where to look first since every feature drew him in like a moth to a flame. Big, golden brown eyes which seemed to flash green were framed by the longest lashes and the most elegant eyebrows John ever saw on a bloke.

There were freckles scattered around those eyes, as well as vague lines underneath them, which indicated this was someone who laughed a lot. A smallish, mostly straight nose bearing the slightest hint of sunburn showed the way down to a pair of lips just begging to be kissed. And those cute hamster cheeks... There was something boyish and youthful about them. John just about managed to tear away his gaze before the gawking would get too obvious, only to land on the lad's forearms which were bare since he'd taken off his jacket. John's mind screamed 'ermagherd, look at all the body hair!' in a rather girlish kind of internal squeal. Just when he thought the man couldn't get any more perfect...

At long last, he found his voice, mostly by forcing himself to look at the girl who left him utterly cold. Praying the pause hadn't lasted too long, he finished, "...night."

Paul, meanwhile, was starting to worry about the waiter's abrupt interruption, which lasted a good few seconds before he seemed able to complete the word 'tonight'. He hadn't paid the man - Giovanni, apparently, which seemed like entirely the wrong name for him - much mind until he handed Paul a menu, at which time he'd reminded himself it would be rude not to look up and acknowledge the person who'd be bringing their food. After all, there were enough stories about the things angry waiting staff had done to the dishes they presented to customers who pissed them off and Paul didn't much fancy any of that. Also, it wasn't in his nature to ignore people, so he'd smiled politely and made eye contact.

What he hadn't expected, was to feel how his heart missed a few beats upon meeting the waiter's face. The citrusy, somewhat nasal voice had managed to send a very pleasant shiver up Paul's spine, and as it turned out, the man's face went very well with his mesmerising voice indeed. A pair of clever, almond shaped eyes in a gorgeous, warm shade of brown seemed to pierce Paul's soul, and he couldn't help but notice Giovanni's hair had almost exactly the same colour as his eyes: auburn, with the red tones beautifully enhanced by the evening sun.

Everything just seemed to match: the strong, aquiline nose went perfectly with the masculine curve of the man's mouth, and his jawline made Paul want to jump up and see if his own profile would fit into that curve the way he sensed it would. But no - he shouldn't think like that. He was on a date, for crying out loud. So, rather than continue to drink in that stunningly handsome face, he forced himself to focus and gently touched the lad's arm whilst he inquired, "Are you alright?"