A Changed Life Ch. 02

By the time it got to nearly 7 I had already changed three times. The first outfit wasn't casual enough. The second was a bit too tight for my liking. It fitted me like a glove and looked great, but I really didn't want to give Mark too much encouragement. The one I had finally settled on was some looser jeans and a tightish top, not showing my body off too much but I looked good in it. The top was blue and matched my eyes really well, or so I had been told by the very camp bloke in the shop, who was probably flirting with me so might just have been bullshitting.

When the doorbell rang I nearly tripped up trying to get to the door quickly, but calmed myself and gave it a moment before I answered. I didn't want to look too keen. Mark out of his suit was something of a revelation. He looked even better in jeans and a jumper. And he hadn't gone for something a bit looser. My eyes, as we walked towards the car, were certainly not looking where we were going. I did at least manage to stop looking at his ass before he turned around, but it was tough. So was not showing I was affected by his display. He knew what he was wearing, it was the equivalent of a woman wearing a low cut top to get guys to look at her cleavage. I was not going to be tempted, but I'd probably be thinking about it later on when I got home.

We headed to the cinema straight away because there was a pizza place next door. It was easy to pick a film, we both liked action flicks although I suspect we also both liked the muscled men that were usually the heroes in them. Having got tickets for a later showing we went for dinner. Pizza was my favourite junk food, especially with lots of cheese on top so I made sure we had extra. I suspect he let me choose everything to make a good impression, but certainly tucked in when it came. And for the first time I got to chat with him properly. I discovered he'd always wanted to own a restaurant, just as I had always wanted to cook. We talked about where we had worked before, and we'd been at the same place although he had left before I had started. We talked school and friends, and how we had discovered we were gay. And not once did he make an improper comment or a dirty joke, and he completely ignored the flirting from our waiter, which amused me initially but started to annoy me after a while. I found myself wanting to tell him to leave my boyfriend alone, but I bit my tongue.

When he left us alone for a bit I asked the question on my mind, although I probably should have chosen my words with a bit more care.

"Is that how you pick up guys at the restaurant?"

He looked annoyed. I mentally kicked myself for disturbing the ease that had developed between us. "No. When I used to do that, I'd wait for a sign from them first. And I never flirted with someone who was obviously on a date."

His emphasis was not lost on me. "Sorry. I didn't think before I spoke."

"It's okay. I can understand you still not believing me."

"I do want to."

His smile made my worry worth it. I was going to have to make sure I started thinking before I spoke, because I kept letting things slip that I hadn't intended to.

I insisted on paying for dinner, because he had bought the cinema tickets. His objection that I was spending more I brushed off. "You can buy the popcorn." He seemed happy with that.

He went to the toilets before we left and our waiter came back. This time I couldn't resist having a word with him. I checked to make sure Mark was still out of sight and earshot first though, and spoke fairly quietly so the other customers couldn't hear either.

"I would normally leave a tip, but since you've been after my man all meal I don't think you've earned one." I glared at him and he scurried away, rushing past Mark as he returned from the bathroom.

He looked slightly amused. "If I didn't know better I'd think you just warned him off."

"Um, it's nearly time for the film, we'd better go." How I didn't go red when he said that I had no idea. Maybe self preservation was still somewhere in me. I was fairly sure he'd know from me rapidly changing the subject that he was right. Thank god the next two hours we would be sat in darkness not talking, it was going to take a good long breather before I stopped acting like an idiot around him. At least as we walked across and sat waiting for the film to start there were no more revealing conversations.

The film was great fun. Lacking seriously in plot, but who needs that when you've got car chases, explosions, and gun fights? Plus men in tight t-shirts saving the day. I even managed not to jump out of my seat the once or twice I reached for the popcorn and Mark's hand was already there. And I considered taking it and holding it, but somehow it didn't seem quite right. I did wonder whether the waiter at the pizza place hadn't realised we were on a date because there was no contact between us. Still, I wasn't going to take a step I was unsure about based on my speculations about what someone else thought. The guy might just be a tart.

Examining what Mark had said to me, I realised I had more respect for him. Okay, so he had used work to pick up men, but only those that were interested, and no-one who was already attached. I guess I had this picture in my mind of him taking home just anyone. I felt kind of special, starting to believe that he hadn't done dating or ever pursued someone. There must be something different in what he felt about me, and now I had to work out what I was going to do about it.

I knew that my attitude to this whole situation was coloured by my experiences to date, and Mark wasn't like those guys. The first man I had sex with hadn't had to work hard for it, I'd been young and naïve, and probably also a little drunk, and wanted to know what sex was like. Brief and painful, as it turned out. He'd pretty much just stripped me, whacked on a condom and a bit of lube and taken me hard until he came. Thankfully he wasn't well endowed and although I was sore after he didn't tear me. That put me off sex for quite a while.

After that was a guy I met through mutual friends, and we had hung about a few times as part of a group before one night when we ended up being the only ones left after others had gone home. I was already drunk, and when he started coming on to me I encouraged it. At least he took the time to make the sex good for both of us, and he was the first guy to suck me off. That was a great feeling. And when he took me he worked me well first and it actually turned out to be quite pleasurable. I went back a few times after for more, but he only wanted a fuckbuddy and made it pretty clear that he wasn't into relationships or fidelity. I eventually told him that wasn't what I wanted, and we agreed to call it a day. Not that he didn't try it on a few times after, but I managed to resist. I could quite easily have gone back, but I would have been the one that got hurt because he would never offer me anything more, and even if he had we probably wouldn't have worked out. It really was just about the sex rather than anything more meaningful for either of us.

Finally, there was the one who had hurt me. He told me he wanted a relationship, he was happy to take me on dates, so long as he got sex afterwards, and it lasted all of six weeks until he showed his real personality and wanted threesomes and an open relationship so he could basically have his cake and eat it. I wasn't going to stick around in that situation but I left it upset and put my walls up to protect me. I needed to find someone who could be just with me and loved me, nothing less.

I was seriously starting to wonder whether Mark could give me what I wanted. I kept giving him sidelong glances as the film progressed, each time taking a good look at him, trying to work out what I felt. Once he caught me looking and just smiled at me before he went back to watching the film. My thinking was that it was too soon for me to let my guard down with him. The notes and flowers and this date all pointed in the right direction, but I wasn't going to be able to believe him just yet. It was going to take a bit of time and I hoped desperately that he would prove he could wait. One major hurdle for him was going to be the end of this date. He could ruin everything that had happened so far if he was expecting anything from me.

I couldn't deny my attraction to him though. I shuddered when we touched even though it was by accident, and I felt the warmth when he smiled at me. If he could only prove to me that he really cared and wasn't just out for what he could get then maybe I would be able to let him past my defences, and it could be really great. I kept trying not to imagine what it would be like to have him hold me and kiss me and make love to me, but the idea kept coming into my head unbidden, and if I did let myself think about it when I was playing with myself, well, I came hard and fast thinking about Mark.

I'm sure I missed some of the film while I was analysing everything that had happened so far and what I saw of the future. I was scared that he was going to undo my ease with him. Ironic given that I had said so many stupid things this evening. It was almost worth me saying the things I had done without thinking, because his pleasure at them had made me happy too.

We both seemed nervous when we left the cinema, managing to talk a little about enjoying the film, but suddenly finding it difficult to come up with a conversation. Maybe he was wondering how to end this date as much as I was wondering what would happen next. We got to his car and he drove back to my house with us largely in silence, although he did eventually think of something to say.

"You do know it's a staff night out after shift on Friday, don't you? We all head out to a club for a couple of hours to let our hair down. No major session for obvious reasons, but it's always a laugh."

"Yep, Chef was telling me."

"So you'll be there?" he sounded almost desperate as he said it.

"Of course. Can't resist the chance to see Chef going on the pull!"

He laughed. "It's quite likely. Just so long as it isn't Tess I don't mind."

"Tess?" I asked, not knowing the name.

"She's my best friend. Chef's always had a thing for her, but she's resisted his charms so far. I invited her because she wants to meet you."

"Really?" I asked. It meant that he had been talking about me, I guessed. I couldn't help wondering what he would have said to her. "I hope you've told her nice things."

He looked across at me then. "Of course I have. She wants to meet you because she's never heard me talk about anyone special."

He left it at that, not going any further into why I was special or exactly what he had said, but it was enough for me for the moment. It was a further reassurance. I was still scared when we pulled up outside my house though. I was still worried he was going to blow everything, especially when he started to speak.

"Here you are. Thank you so much for this evening, it's been wonderful to spend some time with you."

I was looking at him as he spoke, and froze to the spot when he leaned towards me. He could have easily kissed me full on, but he didn't. It was one chaste kiss on the cheek before he withdrew and smiled at me. I couldn't stop myself from smiling back. He'd done perfectly.

"Thank you too. I've really enjoyed myself. I'll see you tomorrow." I said as I got out of the car. We just kept smiling at each other until he pulled away, and I watched him drive around the corner before I put my hand to my cheek. It still tingled after that kiss, and I was hard just from that. How long could I keep him away from me? Sooner or later I was going to have to give him more and take a chance that he wasn't going to break my heart.

* * * * * * *

Mark

The slow and steady routine was strangely rewarding. Not that I wasn't a little frustrated, but those flowers were sure as hell working. Every time I saw Charlie now there was a bright smile from him and that made everything worthwhile. I really did just want to make him happy. When I'd had the bright idea of notes and dozens of flowers it struck me as perfect right away. The flower shop was happy to help and pleased that someone was doing some good old fashioned wooing, although how old fashioned sending flowers to another man was was probably debatable.

Still, it had felt a couple of times over the evening of our date that it was two steps forward and one step back. We were getting on great until he asked about me picking up men at the restaurant, and how he used the present tense annoyed me. But then after that he had clearly had words with the waiter who had tried to flirt with me. Like I would have been interested, I already had the most beautiful and wonderful man in the world with me. And when he said that he wanted to believe me, that was great news. Once or twice he had let things slip that could only be encouragement, although I got the impression each time that he hadn't really intended to say them out loud. If he was letting himself relax with me it could only be a good thing. And I kept trying to tell him, in little ways, how much I thought of him. He seemed really interested in what I had told Tess. Maybe he'd talk to her on our night out and that would help the situation.

I could only be proud of myself too, when I managed not to kiss him when I dropped him off. I knew for a fact I wouldn't be going in, and I wasn't going to ruin everything by asking. But seeing his lips right there, and knowing I could so easily kiss them, it had been hard to make the kiss a friendly one and not a passionate one. But I could tell he was frozen to the spot when I moved in and I stuck with my intention not to scare him and take it very very slowly. One touch on the cheek might not be the greatest of first kisses, but given that he'd blown me out completely three weeks ago, it was a big step in our relationship. And I'd make him believe that I wanted to be with him somehow. He was going to get a reminder with his flowers this week. His message was "Thank you for starting to believe in me". My original plan was to stick with six words each week, but I couldn't make what I wanted to say quite fit. I didn't think he'd mind.

I only spent a couple of hours in the restaurant on Tuesday and Wednesday and I was frustrated. After having Charlie all to myself for a few hours on Monday it was hard not to be able to speak to him properly and he was too busy for me to drag him off for a few moments to have a private conversation. Also, I didn't want any of the staff, particularly Chef, knowing about what was happening. Once it was a done deal, then maybe, but in the meantime I couldn't subject Charlie to the teasing that would be inevitable, and I didn't think Chef would help my case at all. Mind you, if he heard about the flowers he'd probably take the piss out of me rather than Charlie.

I still got my smiles, and that was all I really needed for the timebeing. Charlie didn't know it but Friday was to be another step forward for us, or at least I hoped so. I wasn't planning on making any major moves on him, but some very low scale flirting perhaps, and if the situation was right I might even get him on the dancefloor. Mainly though I hoped he would be speaking to Tess. I wasn't going to tell her what to say, if anything, but I was keen for them to get talking. She could give a different spin to things and maybe also get some information for me to work with.

Thursday and Friday shifts were really busy. We deliberately hadn't taken any late bookings for Friday though, hoping to get the tables clear and out on the town sooner than otherwise would be possible. It was one of the things I had insisted on when I took over the place, regular socials and that we arranged work to fit it. I guess it was quite popular with the staff as well because there were very rarely any who missed it, and most brought other friends and family along so we ended up a pretty large group as we headed to the pubs and clubs in town. I was eager to get out of work, knowing it would be an opportunity to speak to Charlie, even if not about anything special.

Tess turned up about half an hour before we were due to finish, and sat at one of the tables having a coffee to start off. I noted that the kitchen staff were mostly finished except for the cleaning, and I particularly noticed when Chef took a break and headed to talk to her. I was still serving puddings and coffees to the remaining customers, but I kept an eye on the situation. I didn't like the fact she was talking and laughing with him, it made me nervous. Whilst I did appreciate she could handle herself, Chef was a real ladies man and did have a remarkable ability to charm women, and I really didn't like him using it on her. He saw me looking across at him at one point and just grinned as I gave him a warning look.

I suddenly had a cold shiver down my spine when I realised that I hadn't told Tess that the Charlie situation was not known about at work. Hopefully she'd have the sense not to talk about it here, but I needed to make sure. Thankfully Chef had to go back to check the kitchen and I got to sit down with her while the other waiting staff finished off the final tables.

"Hi honey." I said, giving her a hug and kiss in welcome. "Sorry not to come over before, but I had to finish off those tables."

"It's fine. Anyway, I had Dan to keep me company." She smiled at me when my face darkened. "I saw the look you gave him too. You really don't need to worry about me. More importantly though, where is the young man you've got your eye on?"

I lowered my voice before I replied. "I will introduce you, he's still working right now. I forgot to say though, no-one here knows about it, certainly not Operation Romance, so please don't let anything slip. You can say what you like to Charlie, and if he talks to you I'd like you to tell him the truth about whatever he asks, but no-one else, okay? You haven't said anything to Chef have you?"

She smiled. "Of course not. And I figured you weren't telling everyone at work. Dan didn't even think to talk about you, he's too busy trying to make sure I know how wonderful he is. I've been looking forward to meeting Charlie, and I will talk to him if I can."

"I think he'd like to meet you too. I said I'd spoken to you about him and he seemed interested, but I don't think he wanted to ask me too much about what was said."

"In case you've told me all sorts of odd things?" she smiled.

"No, because I told him you knew that I thought he was special."

I had to leave her then, heading back to make sure everything on the tables was sorted out and we were ready to go. The kitchen staff were all finished too and almost everyone was waiting already having changed clothes and with their coats on. "Looks like we're all good to go. I'll catch you up, head to the first pub and I'll join you in a few minutes." There were lots of happy smiles at the instruction to leave, I knew everyone was looking forward to the night.

The bustle of people leaving was behind me as I headed into the locker room to change my clothes ready for the night out. I had noticed that Charlie was not waiting with the others, and it had occurred to me that he would be in the locker room. It hadn't crossed my mind that he would be getting changed. Shows how much I thought of him now, I wasn't even anticipating a chance to see him half naked. He had his back to the door, and it was a big shock to discover him pulling up his jeans, a glimpse of his tight underwear making me catch my breath. He didn't have a top on either, and the urge I had to walk over there and turn him around so I could see the rest of him was very strong.

He did up his trousers before he turned round, obviously unaware of my presence until he had half turned, at which point he went bright red and grabbed for his top quickly. I tried hard to calm my expression and looked down at the floor so he couldn't see the lust in my eyes. I also needed to think fast here, because it wasn't the best idea in the world to be caught looking at him. I decided my first step should be to act normally, no matter how difficult that was going to be.