Seri sat rigidly at his desk early Monday morning and anxiously listened for the sound of Richard’s footsteps as he came to deliver Seri’s morning cup of coffee. He had spent the weekend entertaining endless nightmare scenarios of how Richard might act given their Friday night… date. Would he expect Seri to treat him differently? Would he laugh? Even worse, would he say the whole thing had just been a joke? Seri loathed confusion, but he didn’t want to dismiss the evening as just a fling. He had enjoyed himself for the first time in, well, a long time.
Brisk footsteps and a light tap on the door announced Richard’s presence. Seri hurriedly began typing, trying to look as though he hadn’t just spent the last twenty minutes nervously watching the clock. I might not want to forget that evening, but damned if I’m going to be the first to acknowledge it.
“Good morning sir! You’re looking well. I’ve brought you your coffee and the latest environmental impact reports for the lot over at Pond Street. And don’t forget your 11:30 call has been pushed to 11:45.”
“Ah, right. Thank you, Richard.” Did I just completely imagine-
As Richard set the steaming mug down in front of Seri, he squeezed Seri’s shoulder with his free hand. “I do hope you had as much fun the other evening as I did, sir.”
Seri felt a blush bloom across his cheeks. How old am I, blushing like this?
“Richard, I… I did. I enjoyed it quite a lot.” Seri couldn’t quite bring himself to meet Richard’s gaze.
“Then I’m counting the minutes until our next date. How about 2pm this Saturday?”
“Uh, sure, yeah. Yeah, that would be nice.” Smooth, real smooth.
“Would you like your lunch at the usual time today sir?”
“Yes please, Richard. Thank you.”
As Richard gently pulled the office door shut again, Seri slumped slightly in his chair. See, there was nothing to worry about. You didn’t imagine it, and Richard had a good time too. You already have a second date! He sat straighter at the thought. Humming slightly under his breath, Seri breathed a sigh of relief and got started on the day’s work.
--
For the duration of that week, Richard acted as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Seri, who could never refuse a challenge, made sure to eat his lunches during well, lunch time, and even made time in the afternoons to stretch his legs and stroll around the office to check up on his team’s progress personally. Although Seri was pleased with the extra productivity he gained from eating regular meals and adding stretch breaks to his routine, he couldn’t ignore the happy butterflies he felt in his stomach when Richard gave him a sunny smile from across the office as he watched him stroll. Seri couldn’t help but imagine what reward Richard might have planned for meeting his challenge.
--
At first, a second date with Richard had seemed like a pleasant change to his normal routine, but by Saturday morning Seri could feel doubt creeping in around the edges of his rose-colored daydreams. What if we have nothing to talk about? What if he thinks I’m boring? What if he doesn’t show up? As he paced his living room, contemplating changing his shirt for the third time, Seri finally decided to leave for the park early.
If he was being honest with himself, he was a little concerned he’d lose his courage if he gave himself any more time to worry. Seri took a deep breath as he entered the park and looked around for a likely bench with a clear view of the entrance so he could see Richard coming. If he comes…
“Seri! Over here!”
Seri felt an immediate pleasant tingle in his stomach as he walked over to join Richard, who was happily waving. “Richard, I thought you weren’t going to be here until 2.”
“Ah, yes, but then I got so excited for our second date that I just couldn’t help but come early!”
Richard was dressed more casually than usual in a light blue button-up shirt and khakis, and his hair was unbound and blowing faintly in the breeze. Richard took Seri’s hand and squeezed it briefly. “Come on, I’ll show you to our private picnic spot!” And with that, Seri once again found himself trying to keep up with Richard’s eager stride.
“Here it is! The perfect spot!”
Richard gestured with the vigor of a game show host announcing the grand prize. And it was a nice location – soft grass covered a slight hill topped by a tree with wide, drooping branches that provided ample shade. Hedges surrounded the tree on either side, mostly blocking the patch of grass from the view of the other park-goers who were out enjoying the afternoon sun. Richard spread a blanket at the base of the tree and began placing out containers of food. Seri’s stomach growled at the smell.
“Please, sit! Sit! I hope you’re in the mood for some stir fry. I brought tofu!” Richard winked.
“If it tastes anything like it smells, then I think you made a great choice.”
Richard had finished unpacking the food, and looked up to smile at Seri. “I’m very glad you joined me today,” Richard said as he extended a hand to Seri.
Seri allowed himself to be guided down to sit next to Richard on the blanket. “Me too.”
--
Seri was glad for the shade of the tree as the afternoon wore on and the breeze stilled. Although most of the other park goers had fled the afternoon heat, he spent the afternoon wrapped up in Richard’s storytelling. By the time they had completely finished their meal, Seri had laughed so hard that tears rolled down his cheeks on two separate occasions. Was I really worried that we’d have nothing to talk about? Seri shook his head and decided to just let the pleasant afternoon and even more pleasant company occupy all of his thoughts.
When Seri finally gathered up the empty food containers and brought them to a nearby trash can, he returned to find Richard sitting with his back against the tree and holding one last container.
“A nice meal like that wouldn’t be complete without dessert!” Richard said as he opened the container with a flourish to reveal fresh strawberries. “Why don’t you come a little closer so we can enjoy them together?”
Seri sat down beside Richard. “These look gre- wah!” Seri yelped as Richard scooped him up and pulled him into his lap so Seri’s back leaned against Richard’s chest.
“Richard, hold on, what if people see…”
“Then they’ll be jealous that I’ve got you all to myself, won’t they?” Richard murmured into Seri’s ear. Seri shivered and tried to squirm away. Richard grabbed Seri around the middle and nibbled at his earlobe. “Now, now, don’t forget who’s giving the orders.”
Seri laughed and struggled weakly “C’mon Richard, stop that, it tickles when you do that!”
“And that,” Richard said in between nibbles, “is exactly why I’m doing it.” With a final kiss at Seri’s neck, Richard reached to the side and grabbed the strawberries. “Let’s eat. Open up please!” Richard gently placed a strawberry in Seri’s mouth, and let his fingers trail briefly over Seri’s lips before taking a second strawberry for himself. Seri thought he’d never eaten a sweeter dessert.
“You know Seri, I’d be remiss if I didn’t make sure you remember the rules. You remember that one magic word, that you can use any time, if you ever want me to stop something, don’t you?”
Seri leaned his head back to rest at Richard’s shoulder and closed his eyes. “Uh huh. Strawberry.”
Richard jerked around to make eye contact with Seri. “No! Wait, don’t tell me you really did forget! The word is-”
A little shocked at his bravery, Seri reached up to touch Richard’s cheek. “I know what the word is. I just don’t want to say it. Or think about it. What I want,” Seri moved his finger to Richard’s lips, “is another strawberry. That is, if it’s okay with you, master.” Seri relished the look on Richard’s face as shock was replaced with desire.
“Well, since you asked so nicely, I’ll allow it.”
Richard placed another strawberry in his mouth and leaned down to offer it to Seri while his other hand found its way under Seri’s shirt and began to lazily trail upwards.
Comments (1)
See all