Thursday, January 30th

“Huh?” Alex was awake again, eyeing the check, then following Eden’s gaze. “Who’s that? Do you know him?”

“No.” What a nightmare.

“Well, we don’t know him...” Her drunken eyes lit up. “Oh, maybe he’s interested in you?”

“No.” Worse than a nightmare.

Alex huffed, her face flushed from alcohol and frustration. “No my ass! People don’t just randomly pay for other people’s food!”

“Babe, watch your volume.” Justin chuckled, not bothered by the collection of stares now pointed in their direction. “Maybe he just overheard our conversation and was being nice.” He leaned over the table to get Eden’s attention. “Whatever the reason, you should go thank him.”

Eden swallowed hard at the thought of speaking to the man. “Why me? He paid for all of us.”

“Yeah, but he’s looking at you.” Eden glared at the observation but Justin only chuckled again. “Do what you want, man. I’m taking her home before she causes problems.”

He pulled a muttering Alex from the booth, helping her slip her arms through her coat sleeves, then letting her cling as they exited the restaurant. Any other time, Eden would have watched and thought it was sweet, but his focus was back on the mysterious man, still smiling from his table.

Swallowing again, this time to push his nerves back into his stomach, he stood and walked over with a fake confidence. There was a second man sitting across the table and he looked him over. He was nothing special, and definitely larger than the one from earlier.

Meeting those brown eyes again, he cleared his throat. “I... just wanted to say thank you.”

“Oh,” the man replied, his smile a little wider. “He speaks.”

Eden ignored the teasing comment. “If you’ll be here a bit longer, I can bring you some money to pay you back.”

“Then you live close by?”

What? Are you a creeper?

“Close enough.”

The man rested his elbow on the table and tilted his head. “I don’t need my money back, but I would be happy to wait for you.”

WHAT?

The stranger across from him continued to eat, not paying any attention to their conversation and seemingly not bothered by his companion’s blatant flirting. Eden wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t want to owe this man any money, or have any lingering connection to him, but he also didn’t want to continue this conversation.

“Oh?” He heard the familiar deep voice a few booths down, then closer as its owner approached. “What are you doing here?”

Dean! Fuck yes! Thank you universe for finally doing something right.

“Dean, you’re a lifesaver,” he said sweetly, backing up against his chest to show they were close. “We came out to eat but didn’t have any money, and this person was nice enough to pay our bill. I want to pay him back, but making him wait seems rude.”

He widened his eyes, hoping his meaning was obvious enough to get through Dean’s thick skull.

“Oh, yeah, cool,” Dean cheerfully agreed as he pulled out his wallet. “How much was it?”

Eden showed him the bill and he handed over some cash, which the man eyed but didn’t take. Still smiling, Dean set it on the table instead, then rested his arm around Eden’s shoulders.

“I’m just paying for all your meals today,” he continued with a chuckle. “Did you have a good breakfast?”

“Uh, yeah.” This was too awkward and Eden needed it to end. “Hey, Dean, we probably shouldn’t just hover like this.” He looked back into the brown eyes, never moving from his face. “Thanks again.” Then he pushed Dean toward the door, ignoring his confused complaints.

Outside, he slipped free from the grasp and let out a long sigh.

“What was that about?” Dean asked, scratching the back of his neck and looking like a lost puppy. “Did you know that guy?”

“No.” Not exactly.

“Oh. Okay.” Sweet and easy, as always. “You never called me.”

Eden took a breath and flashed him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, it’s been a long day.” He pointed down the road. “I should get home. Alex was pretty drunk earlier.”

“Oh. Yeah. Okay.” Dean showed a twinge of disappointment and Eden wondered if he thought running into each other meant they would be sleeping together. “Call me.”

“Yup.” With a raise of the hand, Eden quickly turned and headed down the street toward home.

Well, at least it was all settled in the end. He was free from the awkward back-and-forth with that man and had no reason left to speak to him. It was clear that he had shitty luck and they would be running into each other in the future, but that didn’t mean they had to interact.

His heart fluttered in his chest as the image of those coffee-brown eyes and that alluring smile flashed into his mind. He really was good-looking.

I wonder who that other guy at the table was...

Eden went in circles as he walked home, sometimes convinced getting involved with a person like that would only be a hassle, sometimes mentally drooling over his gorgeous face, and sometimes too mesmerized by that look in his eyes to think anything at all.

When he finally made it up the stairs and to the door, he had settled on not getting involved. He was sure nothing good would come of it. He would just stick with living his boring life, continuing his boring fuckbuddy relationship with Dean, and keeping himself out of trouble for the next three-and-a-half years.

With a resigned sigh and one last memory of the beautiful man, he entered the apartment to find Alex passed out on the couch and Justin sipping tea as he watched television. He smiled at the sight, quietly shutting the door behind him. This was right. Normal, peaceful, and uncomplicated.