The Coffee Shop Pt. 04

My mind finally at ease, for the next few hours anyway, I went off to take a quick shower, shave again, and change into a nice suit. I decided to wear a dark olive green two piece double breasted suit. A pale green (almost white) dress shirt, with a maroon tie completed the outfit. My belt was plain black leather with a gold buckle (no, not a cowboy buckle), and the black leather matched that of my freshly polished black leather shoes. It was a simple outfit, and I thought I looked very good in it. I was ready by six o'clock, so I decided to do some reading while I waited for Andy to arrive. I left my suit jacket hanging on the back of one of the dinning room chairs so that the jacket would not get wrinkled while I sat down on the sofa and read a book.

At six thirty-five the doorbell on my apartment door rang. I looked through the peep hole and confirmed that it was Andy standing on the other side of the door. I joyously opened the door and invited him inside. Andy walked into the apartment, hung up his overcoat in the closet, and with a slight smile on his face said to me, "Sorry, I forgot my key. Did you miss me?"

I closed the door behind Andy, and locked it. I turned around to face him. Andy turned to face me. Wordlessly I walked over to him and draped my arms up and around that bull-like neck of his. I pressed my lips firmly against his in a warm, inviting and sexy kiss. After a few heartbeats, I broke away from the kiss and gently pressed my forehead up against his as I looked directly into his sexy warm brown doe-like eyes.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," Andy said with a mellow and gentle laugh. (To this day, I still did not understand how a man could have a sexy laugh, but Andy unquestionably did.) I merely nodded my head in silent agreement. After a couple of minutes (or what it hours?) of gazing into his eyes, I tenderly backed away from him as I unwrapped my arms from around his neck. "Let me get a good look at you, stud," I teased him.

"Why?" He asked, as he played along. "You've seen me before, and many times I might add."

"I always like to stop and admire a work of art," I replied. "And you are that, you know."

Only a hint of a blush crept across Andy's face at the sound of my compliments on his appearance. All this time and he still felt a little uncomfortable when complimented by another man, even if it was me. Andy was good looking, as I have described before, but dressed as he was now, he looked even better. (Don't ask me to explain how that was possible. I don't know how. All I know is that he looked even better than he did in uniform!) He stood there in front of me, arms hanging neatly and loosely by his sides as he waited for me to check him out. He was wearing a dark brown two piece single breasted suit. The jacket had two buttons, with only the top button done up. The suit had to have been tailored since it accented and emphasized his powerful and muscular body, without causing undue attention to any one area in particular. The shoulders of the jacket were wide without being tight. The jacket flowed smoothly from those brawny and broad shoulders of Andy's, on down to his slim waist, after which the jacket gently flared out to cover Andy's hips to just an inch or so below the crotch of his pants. With only the top button of the suit jacket done up, I could clearly see some of the front of Andy's suit pants. My eyes slid down to take inventory. (Like you expected me NOT to? ) His fly was closed, of course, but the view was very pleasing nonetheless. I could see that he was wearing a brown leather belt with what appeared to be a gold buckle. The belt was several shades lighter than the suit, and added a nice touch of contrast to the suit. The belt also matched the colour of Andy's plain brown silk tie. I could see the bottom part of the tie just obscuring the upper part of the belt buckle. The suit pants appeared to be just a little bit more close fitting than is the normal, but it was difficult to tell due to the dark brown colour of the material. I moved my gaze down lower, past the end of the suit jacket and noticed that the creases in the fronts of the pant legs were sharp and crisp, all the way down to the cuffed bottoms. The dark brown dress shoes that lay beneath the cuffed bottoms of the pant legs had a mirror shine on them to rival the shine I'd seen on Andy's uniform shoes and dress uniform boots.

I quickly swung my gaze back up Andy's pants and past the buttoned front of his suit jacket. Slowly, and with a delighted smile painted on my lips, I let my gaze wander up towards that handsome face which I knew waited for me at the top of this mountain of a man. The plain brown silk tie, spotless and completely free of any wrinkles, continued up the front of Andy's outfit. It was a wonderful contrast to the light cream coloured dress shirt that Andy wore beneath the suit jacket. There was a small and tasteful gold tie pin about halfway up the tie, which helped to keep the tie lying flat on Andy's chest. I sighed silently to myself with quiescent pleasure as I thought of something else I'd like to have lying flat on Andy's chest. (Naughty, naughty. I wasn't thinking about my cock, I was thinking about my hands lying flat on Andy's chest. My, you ARE a bit of a slut puppy aren't you?) The dress shirt from what I could see appeared to be smooth and wrinkle free, and lay snugly across Andy's chest. It wasn't tight exactly, just not as loose as I've come to expect from the standard dress shirt bought at a men's clothing store. Snuggled in below the bottom of the closed shirt collar was the expected knot in the tie. The knot was exactly centered and expertly tied. Not too tight, nor too small. I flicked my gaze briefly at the sleeves of the suit jacket, and could see just a hint of shirt cuff peeking out beyond the end of the sleeves. This confirmed that Andy was wearing a long sleeved dress shirt.

At long last I let my gaze drift up beyond the collar of Andy's dress shirt to the magnificent wonder that was his face. I smiled at him and nodded my head as I said to him, "You'll do, Constable. Oh, you'll MORE than do. That's a great outfit. I think the brown of the suit matches your eyes."

"Flattery will get you everywhere," Andy replied with a warm chuckle. "I see you're ready to go. Shall we?"

"Oh by all means let us do," I quipped at him. "I've been looking forward to this all day."

"Me too," Andy agreed, as he turned around to take his overcoat out of the closet to put it on. His back to was to me as I walked past him heading to the dinning room to get my own suit jacket. Consequently, I obtained a wonderful opportunity to check out Andy's outfit from the rear as I walked past him. (Now you know why I hung my suit jacket on a chair in the dinning room instead of in the front hall closet.) It was as wonderful as the front had been. Smooth, close fitting and the suit jacket did not have any vents, so it hugged his butt nicely, without being tight. The crease on the back of the pant legs was as sharp and crisp as the front one had been. Already the evening was starting out well!

I plucked my suit jacket from the back of the dinning room chair and quickly slipped it on, as I walked back to the front hall closet. I had the jacket buttoned up by the time I arrived at the front hall closet. Andy held out my overcoat to me, and helped me into it. Moments later, with the apartment door securely locked, we were in the elevator heading down to the parking garage. We climbed into Andy's car, and buckled up our seat belts. Andy wasted no time starting his car. The trip down to The Cottage, a local restaurant, was quiet and uneventful. We made small talk about everything from how things were going at work, to the latest headlines in the newspaper. As we pulled into the parking lot of The Cottage, I changed the subject.

"I managed to arrange to take tomorrow off work," I said to Andy as I sat next to him in the car.

"That's wonderful," Andy replied as he finished parking the car. "I have tomorrow off work too, so we don't need to worry about having to get to bed early for work tomorrow." Andy flashed me one of his killer smiles, and winked at me.

"So are you saying that you'd like to head back to my place after dinner?" I asked him quietly, sitting there beside him in the car with my hands resting in my lap. I was somewhat certain that is what Andy was alluring to, but I wanted to be sure.

"Very much," Andy responded quietly as he placed his right hand over my left hand while looking me square in the eyes. I swallowed in silence, unable for the moment, to speak. When Andy looked at me like that, with the open caring and love plain on his face it was a bit overpowering. I smiled back at him and nodded my head in quiet agreement.

"Let's go, then," Andy said. "Dinner awaits."

"Right you are," I concurred, as I open the car door and climbed out into the chilly evening air. I walked quickly to the front door of the restaurant, eager to get out of the cold wind. Andy was close by my side.

Once we had hung up our overcoats, we were escorted to our table by a good looking young man, who turned out to be our waiter for the evening. He was wearing a pair of plain black dress pants, a tuxedo style white dress shirt with a black bow tie. Completing his outfit was a black belt and a pair of polished black shoes. A simple yet elegant uniform. The waiter looked very sharp in his outfit, but I did not pay much attention to him. (Gee, can you guess why?) Andy was sitting across the table from me, and I had eyes only for him. I hid it very well though. Unspoken between us was the agreement that in public situations we would not show the true depth of our feelings for each other. This was part of the price we paid for staying in the closet. We would have to put on the appearance of being good buddies or friends, but nothing more. We were both experienced in playing this role, so there weren't going to be any problems.

We had only started reviewing the menu, when the waiter returned to ask if we wanted anything from the bar. We both declined, as usual. The waiter left us to read the menus and decide what we wished to order for our meals. We chatted and talked, while trying to decide what to order. I chose the filet mignon. (When in doubt, stick with what you know.) Andy chose the same, except he had the larger size. It seemed that only moments, not minutes had passed when the waiter returned to check and see if we were ready to order. I had the rice as a side dish, while Andy ordered the baked potato, and asked for a second baked potato on the side. We both decided on the French onion soup to start with. We made sure to get separate checks, as well.

"One more thing," I said to the waiter as he finished writing down my order. "I would like to order a bottle of the house wine, and two glasses."

"Very good, sir," the waiter replied, seeming not at all surprised at my change of mind. If he was surprised, he was experienced enough not to let it show on his face. The waiter quickly and quietly walked off with our orders.

"What's with ordering the wine?" Andy quietly asked me when the waiter had left with our orders. "You don't normally drink."

"I think this is a special occasion, and that we should celebrate it," I answered quietly. "At the very least we should toast four successful months of friendship." You could clearly hear the italic emphasis I placed on the word friendship. Andy knew what I meant. He grinned a small knowing grin (that was as sexy as hell, by the way), and nodded his held slightly in wordless agreement.

"Only one glass, though," he cautioned me good-naturedly. "I'm the designated driver tonight, remember?"

"Yes, I know," I answered him, with a smile of my own. "Only enough wine for the toast I am going to make."

"Which is?" He prompted me.

"Something you will have to wait for," I answered. "All in good time."

Andy quietly and easily dropped the subject, since he knew that he could not wheedle anything more out of me, at least not here. If we had not been in a public place, he would have tried that famous sexy 'killer smile' of his, or his 'sad puppy dog eyes' look, to try to persuade me to say more. Sometimes that worked, and sometimes it didn't, but we both had fun when Andy tried that approach on me.

The wine bottle arrived a few minutes later, and I ignored it, as I waited for it to chill. The first course, the French onion soup arrived in about twenty minutes. It might sound like a long time to wait for your meal, but at The Cottage, the wait is well worth it. We filled in the time with conversation. Mostly we discussed the movies that were currently playing and which ones we might want to go and see. The arrival of the soup cut the conversation short. We both savored the soup slowly. It was rather hot, after all. While we waited for it to cool enough for us to eat it, I carefully tapped the side of my wine glass to grab Andy's attention. He looked up at me, and grinned. I smiled back at him as I carefully lifted the well chilled wine bottle from the ice filled champagne bucket that it had been resting in. Carefully I opened the wine bottle and proceeded to fill the our two wine glasses. I held up my glass to Andy. Slowly he raised his and waited for me to speak.

"To good friends, good times, and all the best life has to offer," I said to him. It was a simple and mild toast, compared with what I wanted to say.

"To good friends," Andy replied as our glasses clinked together.

"To you," I silently mouthed at Andy.

"To both of us," Andy silently mouthed back. It was the best that we could do, and fell far short of what either of us wanted to say, but it would do. It had to.

We each sipped our wine, and then returned our attention to the soup. A few moments later Andy looked up at me and smiled at me as he exclaimed, "This is great!"

"I'm glad you like it," I said in between spoonfuls of the delicious steaming broth. "Just wait until the main course."

Andy raised and then lowered his eyebrows in anticipation as his spoon dived back into the bowl in front of him. The conversation remained suspended as we each returned our attention to the food in front of us. All too quickly, it seemed we finished the soup and awaited the arrival of the main course. We were not disappointed. The filet mignon was heavenly, and the rice and vegetables were delectable. The meal wasn't better than sex, but it definitely ranked up there in the top ten most enjoyable experiences of the past year. (Even now, when I think about that meal my mouth waters. Sigh.) As we dined, we talked about all sorts of things, from when did we have some vacation time planned, to where did we most want to go for a vacation. We debated several sites, among them the Grand Canyon and Hawaii. Of course we never even hinted that we might be considering going together. It was part of the illusion. We were in a public place, and had to keep up the appearance of being good friends, and only that. (I couldn't help but feel a twang of regret and frustration about that, but I pushed those feelings aside. I was with Andy this evening, and that was all that was really important.)

Andy managed to wolf down a chocolate desert of some kind. It looked fantastic, but I made due with a cup of coffee and a very small dish of chocolate ice cream. (Damn willpower!) I did not want to stuff myself. I knew that I'd regret it later, if I did. It was while I was enjoying my smooth rich wonderful cup of coffee that the unexpected and unwanted event happened.

"Hello there, Mr. Walton!" Said an all too familiar and unwanted voice, from some where behind me. "What a surprise!"

"Oh God, not her!" Is what I was thinking as I slowly turned around in my chair and composed my face into a polite but not overly warm expression. I had always dreaded bumping into someone I knew, when Andy and I were out on a date. I was concerned that I would not know how to handle it. It was bad enough to be someone from the office, but Wendy Murchason, the office gossip of all people! News of this event would be all over the floor before coffee time on Monday morning.

"Good evening, Miss Murchason," I said warmly. "Yes, this is a surprise. The food hear is excellent. Did you have a an enjoyable meal?"

"Oh, we've just arrived," she answered as she tugged on the arm of her escort. "This is Harold Evers, by the way."

"Hello Mr. Evers," I replied as I looked at the young man standing next to Wendy Murchason. He was of average height with light brown hair, hazel eyes and a slim build. The simple light gray two piece double breasted suit he wore was draped on his body in nondescript fashion. Not snug and not loose. Harold looked to be about the same age as Wendy, say about twenty-seven or there about. They made a nice couple, but I wished they would just walk on to their table and leave Andy and me alone. But I had to be polite, no matter how unpleasant it might be.

"This is Andy Anderson, a friend of mine," I said as I introduced Andy to them. The three of them exchanged simple hellos. The silence that followed was broken by Wendy.

"So is he your date for the evening?" She asked and then giggled like a school girl. "Is there something about you, we should know?"

I was tempted to say yes, if only to wipe that smirk off of her face and to shock her into silence. Fortunately I suppressed that impulse. "No, not at all," I replied with a half hearted chuckle. "Andy asked me here to help him celebrate. I did not have any plans for the evening so I agreed."

"Oh goody," Wendy replied. "You can tell us all about it while we eat. Just let me have the waiter add a couple of chairs to the table and we can get started."

"Uh, Wendy, I don't think we really should," protested Harold. "We had plans tonight, as I'm sure these two gentlemen did."

"Don't be silly, Harold," Wendy chided him. "Plans are made to be broken. Besides, I'm sure Paul and Andy would just love our company."

"Perhaps another time we would," I falsely agreed. (God I hated being polite to pushy people who did not KNOW that they were being pushy.) "However, we are just finishing our deserts and after dinner coffee." I tapped my fingers next to my coffee cup in a subtle attempt to emphasize my point.

"Oh, I see," Wendy replied. "I guess we could just sit and chat until you leave or our meals arrive, then."

"I don't think so" I countered. "You and Harold should go ahead with your original dinner plans. I don't want to spoil your evening, and we will be leaving soon in any event."

"All the more reason for us to chat while we have the time now," Wendy insisted. "After all, you hardly ever attend any of the company functions. We've never had an opportunity to just sit and chat and find out all about each other."

"Wendy," I said and forced a smile on my face. "It's not fair to Harold to force my and Andy's company on him, when it is clear that he wanted to spend a quiet evening enjoying a fine meal with you. Now you two go on, and enjoy yourselves."

"Oh he won't mind," Wendy retorted without so much as a glance in Harold's direction. "Now where is that waiter?" She asked as she looked around the restaurant.

"Well, I'm afraid I DO mind, Wendy," I said letting the warmth drain out of my voice. "I will NOT be a party to spoiling Harold's plans for the evening."

"Oh, don't be silly," she said with a wave of her hand. "Come on tell me all about this celebration of yours."

"Miss Murchason," I said evenly while fighting to keep the annoyance out of my voice. Tact was not working so I would have to be blunt, and still try to be polite. "It is rather rude of you to insist on inviting yourself to sit at our table. I am sure your table is just as nice as ours. I must insist that you continue on to your own table, and start your evening."