I always hated when Kathrine was out of town. Especially when I had a bad day at work. I couldn't wait until our restaurant got ready. I couldn't deal with managers constantly managing something they shouldn't be managing and god I couldn't understand how we got to three stars with that idiot handling the dining hall. God why did Kath and I ever have to end up working in different places, we worked together like magic. It still surprised me how many couples out there couldn't work together. Although it surprised me even more how many people are together who weren't supposed to be together.
Oh yes I love that woman. There's no one like her in this world. I swear it's like she makes love to me on the soul level. I have no other ways to describe it but that sex is our bodies connecting on the highest level, like we'd be spellbound to each other. I would have never thought to find a person like that. It'd been six years since I dropped my life and ran after her, cursing that I didn't do it the second I'd met her.
All that being said, we did love our fair share of lovers. Oh, how much she loved to find peoples sweet spots, weaknesses and turn-ons just to play with them mercilessly and make them scream louder than they ever thought they could and I had to admit I enjoyed the show.
And I? I just liked to please people, make them happy, feel good, give them a night to think back to. Not to mention gay sex turned Kath on more than anything else in this world.
Yes, I'm bi and so is she.
Kathrine always teased me on my taste for sweet and troubled men, but I just... It was my thing, my guilty pleasure. The shy, the inexperienced, the hurt ones, the broken hearted ones... There was only one thing I loved more than making their lives better even for just one night and that was Kathrine. I never thought that there'd be a day I'd meet anyone who understood me like she did.
But yes, I hated when she was out of town. I sometimes hated that I didn't just drop my work and go with her. It wasn't like money was anywhere close to a question to us, but we both valued our plain humble lives living amongst the commons too much. I'd always been a chef and the kitchen was my home, no tv screens, no cookbooks, just the kitchen. I only hoped my troubled wrist would serve me long enough to not have to quit before I retired.
I sat down in the bar as I did every night as I finished. I just loved to see the last buzz of the restaurant as I wrapped up the last of my paperwork. I always had a negroni as I finished my day just to mark the bittersweetness of another day coming to an end, but with Kathrine away I decided to head to a bar a few blocks away to hopefully find something, ahem someone, to get my mind off of the emptiness of our bed.
The Wolfies was one of my favourite places on earth and I almost never saw any of my acquaintances there, sparing me the 'are you cheating on your wife' looks and talks. Tonight wasn't any different, no coworkers, no Kathrines coworkers, no one who could cause any unnecessary gossip in the restaurant industry where everyone knew everyone and juicy gossip spread worse than bushfire in the dry season.
Although there was one familiar face there. David. The bartender from a hotel bar nearby, where Kathrine and I often looked for playmates. David was a cutie to say the least. Shaggy light hazelnut hair that almost matched his sweet almond shaped golden brown eyes. He had quite the slender frame, rather of a fifteen year old boys than of a man close to twenty. What might he be, ten-eleven years younger than me? He had the most stunning wide smile on his narrow face that he used far too less and I was quite certain that he was as gay as one man could be.
He sat at the bar alone and twirled a cocktail around with little enthusiasm over his drink or his life by the looks of it and I saw no reason to try and make him smile.
"David." I greeted him sitting down next to him.
He looked quite startled by my move and eyed me up and down with a puzzled face. "It seems that you have an advantage over me when it comes to names," he finally said with a confused note in his tone.
"Of course, my apologies, John." I said offering my hand to him.
"Well, John, what brings you here on a Wednesday night?" he said, trying to study me without me noticing, seemingly wondering over what I might be wanting from him.
"Just an after work drink as usual, am I right to guess you're on similar plans?" I casually shrugged as I pretended that he wasn't checking me out.
"I am, but it seems you have another advantage over me as I don't know what you do, but you obviously know what I do." he said shyly glancing at me in the eye and it was obvious to me that he desperately tried to sound more courageous than he was feeling.
"Well, I don't see a reason why we couldn't merge our plans then. And to answer your question then I'm the chef at The Element." I said and raised two fingers up to Nate, the owner of Wolfies, who knew all my drink preferences too well and also my sheer lack of really caring what he put in front of me as long as it was good.
"The Element?" he said with his eyes widened in surprise.
"The one, have you ever been there?"
"No, haven't had the chance."
"Well, I'd be happy to have you at the chefs table if you ever want to come. Get a chance to say thank you for all the nice drinks you've served me over time." I almost murmured to him, gently brushing my fingers over his arm.
"I'll keep that in mind." he said with his face clearly giving away that he had trouble understanding my intentions and luckily Nate was just in time with serving us our drinks.
David looked at the two lowballs with manhattans questioningly and I stood up saying "I have a habit of ordering the drinks before asking my company if they'd care to have a drink with me." as I grabbed my glass and gestured towards the tables.
He eyed me up and down looking even more confused than he had before, but after a short moment of thought he got up to follow me.
I led him to a couch with a small coffee table in front that left him no other choice to sit right beside me. I made casual small talk with him, the usual hospitality topics and dropped a compliment in there for him every now and then. He had no idea how to take them. It was like he wouldn't believe I'd be going for him. No, he had no idea how obnoxiously cute he looked in the most masculine way a man could look cute in.
I explained that Nate's a friend who loves treating me to different drinks to get my opinion as he brought over another round on me, that David looked at even more questioningly than he had the round before.
Really Kath and I had a tab with Nate that he billed us monthly and to which I might have or might not have blown him for a discount that we didn't need, but pretended to need just so he'd have a reason to drop his pants - straight men. And who was a little angered when he found out that I have more than plenty of money when we gave him a business loan when the banks weren't too accommodating. Whoops. But now he's over it and is back to wingmanning me like a good old friend of a bartender would.
David accepted the drink somewhat reluctantly and gave me another questioning look - like he'd be wondering why I chose the most intimate setting in the bar and had a second free drink on his hands, but shrugged it off as if he'd be convincing himself that this is just a friendly after work drink.
It's so sweet when such sweethearts didn't realise what gems they were. Well, quite sad at the same time as so many people take advantage of that, but I had every intention of treating him as sweet as he deserved tonight. My subtle compliments turned into pure flirting during our second drink and he seemed even more insecure about himself than he had at any point before.
