Eventually, a small stream of customers did manage to make it in for their post-lunch caffeine boost. I quickly tucked away my phone and chatted with them as I made their drinks, trying not to get stuck on thoughts of Walter.
Half of me was still fairly certain that I was getting in way over my head. Walter was clearly an experienced man, who had expectations and desires that I wasn’t sure I could offer him.
It wasn’t that I didn’t—feel something about all of that. It was just that I didn’t know how good I could be for him. I had never considered this before, never would have thought myself capable of feeling the way I did—at the zoo of all places!
Not to mention that Walter was keeping secrets. I knew so little about the man, other than he was clearly wealthy and worked somehow in finance, or with finances, or because of finances—I didn’t know. Weren’t rich-people jobs different from us regular Joes anyway?
I didn’t know if he had a family or friends or anything. All I knew was that when I was around him, there was this incessant pulling sensation inside of me.
Despite all of that, the other half of me was nearly insatiable with curiosity over my reactions to Walter, and what secrets he would share if we got past the three dates.
God help me, I wanted to see where this all lead.
So when Walter texted me Dinner tonight? I barely thought about it for a moment before writing back: yes.
Walter texted back just as quickly, telling me that he would send a car at seven and that I should wear something that The Club had given me. I worried a little that the place we would be going would be too fancy for me, even in the expensive clothes I had been gifted. I would stick out like a sore thumb.
The worries gnawed at me for the rest of the day. I knew that I didn’t have the look of prestige or fancy upbringing that Walter must be used to. As much as I had chosen the zoo for our first date to see if it would get under Walter’s skin, see him stripped off his trappings of wealth, I realized that a part of me also just wanted to feel like myself, Arlo, a working-class guy. I couldn’t help but worry that I wouldn’t be able to feel that way tonight.
A third message came through when I was closing for the day, reminding me about the car service and warning me that Walter’s coworker and his boyfriend would also be joining us.
A little flash of disappointment curled around me at that. It wasn’t that I necessarily expected Walter to be as—inappropriate—as he had been at the zoo, but it was a little disappointing to have it be pulled off the table entirely.
Although, if being barely sequestered in an alcove at the zoo didn’t stop Walter from indulging in exhibitionism, then what was to say that a dinner table with a colleague was too far?
I rushed home as fast as I could, excitement curling hotly in my stomach. It wasn’t just a butterfly or two flapping around—there was a whole exhibition, a family of butterflies pressing against the walls and fluttering anxiously as I tore into the box of clothes gifted to me by The Club.
I dressed in a dark suit. It was more casual than the one I had worn for the mingling event that I met Walter at, but still leagues fancier than anything I personally owned.
It was a dark charcoal gray, the lines of it smooth. It fit my body perfect, the pants tightly snug around my waist but not uncomfortable. There was a white dress shirt with very thin, light gray vertical lines on it. I slipped that on over an undershirt, before putting on the jacket.
I stared at the various ties that were strewn about on my couch, contemplating which one matched. After a few minutes of awkwardly attempting to hold them up to myself in the mirror, I said a quick fuck it and decided to forgo the tie completely.
Thankfully, I had a pair of nice black dress socks clean, and the shoes that been provided for the event looked good enough with this suit. I also carefully slipped on that insane watch, the one worth more than any car I’d ever even sat in, and took a quick look in the mirror.
Outside of brushing my teeth and splashing some water on my face, there wasn’t much I could do. My brown hair was a complete wreck, standing up at all ends from the constant tugging I had been subjecting it to all day. Nothing short of a shower—which I didn’t have time for—could tame the beast.
I tried anyway, trying to style the strands with a bit of hair cream that my mom had sent to me. I hadn’t really used it before and, after putting a tiny amount in, was too afraid to add more—already the texture was becoming unfamiliar and borderline greasy.
I quickly formed the shape to be slightly less Christopher Lloyd ala Back To The Future.
When it was as good as it was going to get, I groaned and left the bathroom.
My horrifying watch said it was 6:56. I grabbed my wallet and keys, gave myself one final glance over, and slipped out of my apartment before the nerves could swallow me whole.
A long, sleek black town car was idling by the curb. I looked around but when the passenger side window rolled down, I knew that the car was waiting for me.
I ducked my head down, waving awkwardly at the driver. “Um, hi?”
“Mr. Stone?” The driver quirked an eyebrow at me.
I could feel my face heating. “Yep,” I mumbled, before going and letting myself into the back seat.
The restaurant was one that I had passed several times during my time in the city, but never had stepped foot inside of.
I knew it wasn’t the nicest place in the whole city, but it was certainly up there.
I smiled politely, pretending it wasn’t an awkward twitch of my face, when an employee opened the door for me.
I wanted to tell him that I wasn’t worth the hassle, but it seemed a bit inappropriate.
Walter stood at the front of the hostess stand, one elbow on the wooden platform as he grinned at the poor woman who stood flabbergasted by his clear beauty. I felt bad for her. He was honestly a sight to behold.
His head tilted, eyes scanning the room, and when they found me, his grin turned even brighter, a brilliant beaming aimed straight for me. He murmured something too softly for me to hear to the hostess and then came straight to me.
“Arlo,” he said, his mouth wrapping around my name in a way that had me already weak-kneed. Two seconds with the guy and I was out of my mind. It was absolutely crazy.
“Walter,” I said, trying to hide my excitement.
“Come,” he placed his hand on the small of my back. Though he wasn’t much larger than me, I felt dwarfed by his side, his whole body protectively blocking me from the view of the other patrons as he led me to our table.
There were already two men present at the table. One was tall, thin, with brown hair. The other had blond hair and a cleft chin.
“Arlo,” Walter pulled a chair out for me. I rolled my eyes but slid into it, anyway. “This is my good friend, and the lawyer to my company, Christopher Tamsin.”
The name sounded familiar to me. The brown-haired man smiled politely and leaned over to shake my hand.
“This is my boyfriend,” Christopher said.
The other man interrupted immediately. “Better half. I’m Steve.”
I shook both their hands. “Steve, Christopher. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Tamsin,” Walter said, gracefully sitting in his own chair. He winked at his friend. “He hates his first name.”
I looked between them. “Oh, sorry.”
“No,” Tamsin waved a hand. “It’s no bother.”