24 Years (MxM)

Chapter 12

I finish serving the only couple in here and wait for them to leave so I can gather the dishes. It's about lunch time and I'm kinda hungry. Tori's in back cooking today. I'll figure I'll just have whatever he's having for lunch.

I think about last night. Damn. It took me a lot longer to fall asleep than I anticipated. I kept dozing off then waking up to check my phone just to find that there were no texts. James just dropped the conversation altogether.

Maybe James really meant it that he could be my gay friend. And that's all he meant, nothing more. I bow as the couple gets up and I wish them a good day and ask that they return soon, then I go back to the kitchen to get a tray to carry the dirty dishes and a rag to clean up.

When I push the curtain aside to walk back out into the dining area, I see James sitting at a booth. I quickly close the curtain and stand there. He came! And he's alone! I'm so happy for some reason.

"What the fuck are you up to?" Tori asked.

I turned. "He's here!"

"Who's here?" Tori looked confused.

"James!" I whisper excitedly.

"Who?"

"Oh god, never mind. I'll go take care of our customer," I hand Tori the tray and turn to walk out to the dining area.

"You're crazy," I hear Tori say to my back as I walk out to greet James.

"You came," I say to James with a big smile that I couldn't contain. He's looking rather hot today.

"Yes," he replies with a simple smile.

At least he smiled back. Maybe he's just not a talker. Or maybe I talk too much. "You said 'maybe,' so I figured that was a no."

"Well, I like this place," he says with a grin. "Great food."

What? I feel a bit disappointed by his response and I let him know it. "And here I thought you came to see me."

"We both know that's why I'm here," he said. I can feel my face flush and my heart glow. It's the second time he's said something so nice to me.

Well, he's probably hungry, so I sit down opposite of him with my pad and pen in hand. "What do you want for lunch?" Maybe I'm being too familiar with him since he's a customer, but he did say he came to see me.

"How about the beef teriyaki?"

I jot that down then ask, "A drink?"

"Green tea is fine."

I look at him for a few moments. He's so mysterious. I just can't read him. He breaks eye contact and looks down at his hands. I see the red heart stamp that we both share from last night.

I get up and say, "I'll put in the order. It will be a few minutes." I then smile and head back to the kitchen.

"Wow, you're excited about a daddy now?" Tori asks as I enter the kitchen.

"Oh, shut up."

He chuckles as I give him the ticket. "Hey, make two of this order. I'll have one for my lunch."

"Whatever you say, daddy chaser."

"What!"

"I mean, boss." Tori quickly corrects himself with a shit-eating grin.

"Pfft. He said he just wanted to be friends."

"Yeah, right. Dude, you were practically as giddy as a schoolgirl when he showed up," Tori says, still grinning.

"No, I wasn't. I was just happy that he came in today and didn't flake out on me."

"Uh huh," Tori replies.

"Shut it. Just cook our lunch!"

"Meow!" Tori mimics a cat scratching the air with its claws. I roll my eyes. He laughs and starts cooking.

I make the green tea then peek out the curtain to look at James. He appears to be playing on his phone.

"Hey, lover boy. Stop being a peeping Tom and grab this food," Tori says behind me. I hadn't realized how long I was staring.

I turn to give him a glare. "Knock it off."

He simply chuckles as he watches me put both plates and the tea on the serving tray. Of course, wouldn't be Tori if he didn't have one more snide comment to say as I leave the kitchen. "Have a nice lunch with your daddy," he says in singsong. I swear one of these days I'm gonna punch him.