"Hi, my name's Isaac, I'll be your server tonight, can I start you off with anything to drink?"
If Isaac had a dollar for every time he'd said those exact words that exact way, well, he wouldn't have to have this job. He was decent at it - a decent waiter, and this was a fairly nice restaurant, meaning tips were decent as well, especially seeing as it was the only truly decent restaurant in a small, college town that wasn't wildly overpriced.
The spiel he now gave was to two guys, a blonde, good looking, with green eyes, and another, with tan skin, and dark hair, Hawaiian, maybe, if Isaac had to guess. By their ages? Likely from the college. By their body language? On a date.
"Um, yes," the blonde spoke up. "We'll have a bottle of Pinot Noir, and two glasses."
"Alright." Isaac nodded. "Anything else?"
"No, that's all," the blonde stated, before the other guy - the Handsome Hawaiian, Isaac called him in his head - had the chance to say anything else, though his mouth was open.
Isaac returned quickly with the bottle and the glasses, pouring it for the blonde, and moving to pour for the Handsome Hawaiian, but a hand stopped him.
"None for me, thanks," the Handsome Hawaiian said.
"What do you mean, none for you?" the blonde asked.
"Red wine brings me out in a rash," the Handsome Hawaiian stated.
"Oh, I didn't know." The blonde shifted awkwardly.
"You didn't give me the chance to tell you."
"Right."
"Um," Isaac interjected. "I can bring you something else."
"I'll have a gin martini," the Handsome Hawaiian stated.
"Alright." Isaac walked away quickly, glad to have an excuse to be away from what seemed like...a fairly awkward first date.
Isaac wasn't sure what happened, but they ate, and left without ordering dessert, and the blonde picked up the check...and left a 4% tip for Isaac.
He sighed, pocketing the check, and heading back. If he were on a date with a Handsome Hawaiian guy like that - one who seemed perfectly nice, by the way, he wouldn't be such a tool.
It was two weeks before Isaac saw the Handsome Hawaiian again, and once again, he appeared to be on a date, this time with a brunette.
A short brunette.
"And so I said 'Fuck you, mum, I'm on scholarship, I can do whatever the fuck I want, I don't need you!' and I grabbed my bag, and I left," the brunette explained, looking all too pleased with himself.
"Mmm." The Handsome Hawaiian nodded, taking a sip of his water.
"Hi, my name's Isaac, I'll be your server tonight, can I start you off with anything to drink?"
"Gin martini, please," the Handsome Hawaiian stated.
"I'll have an Old Fashioned - Don Draper is one of my role models. You know, that was an era to be mourned, the era of ad men, and whatnot…" Isaac walked away to get the drinks, the brunette going on and on and on about...such trite bullshit.
Everytime he was at the table, to bring things, to take their orders, the brunette was talking. The Handsome Hawaiian didn't have a chance to get a word in edgewise, but he made eye contact with Isaac, gesturing for another drink, several times.
They went dutch. The Handsome Hawaiian left a good tip, and Isaac learned, from running his card, that his name was Danny.
The brunette forgot to tip entirely, too wrapped up in a story about a vacation he'd taken in middle school that had "changed his life."
A little over a week later, Danny was back, this time with a blonde, but a different one from last time.
"Hi, my name's Isaac, I'll be your server tonight, can I start you off with anything to drink?"
"I'm fine with water," the blonde stated. "I have to work early, it would be irresponsible to drink."
"I guess I'll just stick water too." Danny smiled up at Isaac.
"Alright, well I'll come back by in a few minutes to check on-"
"We'd like to order now," the blonde stated. "Like I said, I work early. I'll have the chicken cacciatore, and babe?"
Isaac turned to look at Danny, who raised an eyebrow at being called babe.
"I didn't get a chance to look over the menu," Danny admitted, before turning to Isaac. "What would you recommend?"
"Oh, um." Isaac shrugged. "The special tonight is a pan seared salmon with a raspberry sauce served over polenta, with a side of sauteed string beans...it's amazing."
"Oh, that does sound good." Danny nodded. "I'll have that."
"Alright, I'll put those orders in."
"There's a sizeable tip in there for you if you can make it snappy," the blonde stated. "I work early."
"I'll see what I can do," Isaac stated, trying to ignore how hurt Danny looked as he walked away.
And Isaac understood it. The guy was rushing their date. Who the fuck did that?
At least he tipped well, as he'd promised.
Needless to say, the next time Isaac saw Danny, the blonde was gone. This time, he was with a redhead, and the restaurant was slammed. Two servers had called in sick, with no one to cover, and Isaac was run ragged from the dinner rush already.
"Hi, my name's Isaac, I'll be your server tonight, can I start you off with anything to drink?" He asked the redhead - Danny had excused himself from the table moments earlier to go to the bathroom, but Isaac wasn't sure when he'd get the chance to come by. "I am so sorry for the wait, we're slammed."
"Oh, it's okay. How about a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon?"
"Oh." Isaac shook his head. "The guy you're with, he's been in here before, he's allergic to red wine, actually."
"Oh, fuck." The redhead laughed nervously. "What does he like? Do you know?"
"Try a gin martini," Isaac offered.
"Alright, two of those then."
"Coming right up." Isaac got the drinks as quickly as he could, though not as fast as he would have liked, and by the time he brought them, Danny was back.
"Gin martini?" Danny tilted his head to the side. "How did you know?"
"I just...had a hunch." The redhead shrugged.
Isaac rolled his eyes, walking away.
Where the fuck did Danny find these guys?
There were two more after the redhead - one clearly racist, and the other...a control freak who didn't seem to care at all what Danny had to say, or think.
After almost six months of this, Isaac couldn't help but sigh when he saw Danny walk in yet again, with yet another guy, this one another brunette, this one with the cheekbones of a god.
"Hi, I'm-"
"Isaac, right?" Danny cut him off.
"Um, yeah." Isaac couldn't hide the smile. "And I'll be your server tonight, can I, uh, start you off with anything to drink?"
"I'll have the most expensive glass of scotch you've got," Cheekbones stated. "And what about you? Big ol' glass of Merlot for you, Danny boy?"
Danny chuckled, shaking his head.
"Kidding, kidding," Cheekbones amended. "Gin Martini, right?"
"Definitely." Danny nodded.
Isaac walked away, feeling an odd tightness in his chest.
Cheekbones didn't seem to be like the others. He seemed to know Danny, they seemed comfortable with each other. Cheekbones had already made Danny laugh, and the completely irrational jealousy that grew in the pit of Isaac's stomach wasn't canceled out by the fact that Danny knew his name.
"Here you go." He set the drinks down in front of them. "Can I explain our specials?"
"Of course you can," Cheekbones stated. "Lay 'em on us."
"Alright, well we have pear arugula salad with pecan crusted chicken, and candied walnuts, and that comes with a raspberry vinaigrette. Our soup tonight is a carrot prosecco puree, it's...very good. And then we have a filet mignon with a chanterelle red wine sauce, served over garlic mashed potatoes, with a side of grilled asparagus, but...with the red wine thing…"
Isaac couldn't help but notice the glance Cheekbones shot Danny.
"Oh, if it's cooked, I'm fine," Danny said with a smile. "And that actually sounds amazing, can I have that, with a cup of the soup?"
"Definitely." Isaac wrote it down, turning to Cheekbones.
"Make that two," Cheekbones stated. "And I'll have another scotch when you've got the chance, and what do you say, Danny boy, another martini?"
"Definitely." Danny smiled, gathering both menus and handing them over.
"Right away." Isaac nodded, trying to keep his smile from being too tight-lipped as he left to put their order in.
This was the first of Danny's dates to make it to dessert, and Isaac couldn't quell the feeling of jealousy when he brought the dessert menus to the table.
"Oh god, this all looks so good." Danny laughed, his cheeks glowing from the four, or was it five, martinis he'd had already. "God, I don't know, Jackson?"
"Whatever you want, Danny boy," Cheekbones - Jackson - replied.
"Oh god, I can't choose." He turned to Isaac, biting his lip. "Surprise us."
"Oh, no." Isaac shook his head. "I don't think you wanna do that."
"Why not?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'll choose all wrong."
"No you won't." Danny shook his head.
"Are you sure?" Isaac shifted nervously. Sure, it was just dessert, but it felt like a big deal to him.
"Positive."
"Okay." Isaac agonized over the choice, before finally putting in an order for a chocolate cake with a raspberry sauce. Danny had liked the raspberry sauce on the salmon, and who didn't like a dense chocolate cake with a raspberry sauce?
Crazy people, that's who.
Then again, Isaac wasn't sure he had the biggest claim to sanity right now. He was jealous of a guy he didn't know for being on a successful date with another guy that, at the end of the day, he didn't really know.
"This is a chocolate torte, with whipped cream and a raspberry sauce," Isaac said, setting the dessert on the table with two forks. "If it's not what you wanted, I can take it back, bring something else…"
Danny, however, acted quickly, with the fork already halfway to his lips. He took the first bite, letting out a moan that Isaac could only describe as sinful.
"No, this is perfect." Danny smiled at him. "Oh, fuck that's good."
"You're drunk." Jackson laughed, shaking his head at his friend.
"You're the one who kept ordering another round," Danny quipped.
"True, true." Jackson shrugged. "I'm also the one paying, so no complaining."
"Alright, alright." Danny rolled his eyes, but the smile didn't leave his lips.
"Can I get you anything else?"
"No, I think that'll do it," Jackson stated. "The check, when you have the chance, but no rush."
"Of course." Isaac walked away.
"So...dimples was totally flirting with you just now," Erica said, nudging Isaac as he printed off their ticket at the register.
"He was not," Isaac muttered. "He's all about his date, are you kidding?"
Erica snorted, then began to full on laugh.
"What?" Isaac asked. "What's so funny?"
"Maybe those guys are bros or something, but there's no way they're on a date right now. The other one? That's Jackson Whittemore, he's in my Economics class, and he could not be more in love with his girlfriend. I hear him talking about her with the guy next to him...pretty much all the time."
"Oh." Isaac blushed.
"Yeah," Erica stated. "And don't look up, but they're totally looking over here. He's looking at you, baby boy."
"He's not." Isaac shook his head.
"Well you and I both know that guy's not looking at me. He's been on too many dates with guys in here to have any interest in women."
"He's drunk, they both are."
"Alright, suit yourself, ignore it, but don't come complaining to me when you're desperately single townie life becomes too much for you to bear."
"I never have before," Isaac muttered.
He took the bill to the table, vaguely relieved, for some reason, to find that Danny was up from the table, and it was just Jackson.
"Here you go, no rush," Isaac stated, setting the check on the table.
"Hey, wait up a sec," Jackson said.
"Yeah?" Isaac asked. "Can I get you something else?"
"You knew about the red wine thing," Jackson tilted his head to the side.
"He's been in here a couple of times…"
"A lot of times," Jackson stated. "He's been in here a lot of times."
"A few I guess." Isaac shrugged.
"On bad dates," Jackson continued. "God, so many bad dates. I don't know what it is about my boy, Danny, but he does NOT know how to pick 'em."
"Yeah." Isaac blushed. "I...I've sort of noticed that."
"You have, huh?" Jackson raised an eyebrow.
"Just, you know, in passing. It's not my place, I'm sorry."
"No, no, I think it might be your place," Jackson stated, pulling out his wallet. He slipped his card into the leather check case and pulled out an old receipt, writing something on it. "Here." He held it out to Isaac.
"What's this?" he asked.
"It's Danny's number."
"Oh." Isaac's eyes widened. "But why…"
"Call him," Jackson urged. "Take him out, and if I'm wrong, I'll cover all of the expenses, okay?"
"Wrong about what?"
"You'll see." Jackson shot him a wink. "Just call him."
"Okay." Isaac nodded.
He ran the card, and returned it without a word, letting Danny and Jackson go on their way, though he would be lying to himself if he said he didn't watch them walk out.
For the rest of his shift, and the drive home after, the phone number felt like it was burning a hole in his pocket. He unlocked the door to his small, sparsely furnished apartment, and flopped down on the mattress he had resting on the floor.
He couldn't call Danny.
He didn't have a couch, didn't have a bed, didn't have the money to take him somewhere like the very restaurant he worked at.
He hauled himself off of the mattress after several minutes of thinking, and finally went to the kitchen, pouring himself a drink - shitty vodka and orange juice, nothing more than a little liquid courage.
Isaac checked the clock. It wasn't late, not too late, at least. He bit his lip and pulled out his phone, dialing the number from the paper and hitting 'call' before he had a chance to second guess himself.
One ring.
Two rings.
"This is Danny?" the answer sounded confused.
"Um, yeah, hi, Danny, I'm Isaac...I don't know if you remember me...god, this seems wildly inappropriate, but I was your waiter tonight, and your friend gave me this number, told me to call you…"
"Oh, hey, whoa, slow down." Isaac could hear Danny laughing on the other end, and oh god, this was a terrible fucking idea. "Of course I remember you."
"Oh, that's...you do?"
"Of course," Danny said again. "You've been my waiter like...9 times this year."
"Yeah, but we get a lot of repeat business, that's…" he trailed off.
"You kind of leave an impression," Danny stated.
"I do?"
"Yeah, come on." Danny snorted. "Guys like you always leave an impression."
"Guys like me?" Isaac frowned, sitting down on his mattress. What the hell did that mean?
"Yeah." Danny nodded. "You know, the shy ones, who have no idea how beautiful they are."
"What?" Isaac gulped.
"Jackson didn't give you my number to be a prick, though he has been known to do that," Danny admitted. "He gave it to you because he's known me since we were 5 years old, and he can tell when I'm interested in a guy." Danny paused. "And he can also tell when I'm too pussy to give my number myself."
"Oh." Isaac shifted, a smile crossing over his lips. "You're...interested?" he asked. "In...in me?"
"I mean, I don't know you, so I guess I don't know for sure, but...I'm interested in being interested in you," he said. "If that makes any sense at all."
"Not much," Isaac admitted. "But I think I know what you mean."
"Good, good - so, you called me?"
"I did."
"And you did that because…"
"I wanted to ask you out."
"Okay." Danny agreed. "When?"
"Maybe...Sunday? I know it's a terrible day for dates, but I work Fridays and Saturdays…"
"No, Sunday is great. When and where?"
"We could do dinner? Um, hold on." Isaac grabbed his computer, checking his bank statement to make sure he had enough money to buy them both dinner somewhere halfway decent. "Yeah, dinner's good."
"Alright, why don't you come over around 7," Danny stated. "I'll cook."
"What?" That caught him off guard.
"I'm sick of going out," Danny stated. "All of these bad dates, and guys trying to feed me red wine...I'll cook. Anything you don't eat?"
"I'm allergic to strawberries," Isaac bit his lip.
"Noted. Nothing with strawberries."
"Can I bring anything? Wine? A bottle of gin?"
"Gin...would be great, actually."
"Alright."
"It's a date. I'll text you my address."
"Alright, awesome, I...cool, thanks."
"No problem, and Isaac?"
"Yeah."
"I'm looking forwards to it."
"I...yeah." Isaac blushed. "Me too."
"I'll see you Sunday."
"See you then."
Isaac hung up and fell back onto his mattress, grinning from ear to ear.
He had a date with the Handsome Hawaiian.
"So, do you go to the college?" Danny asked once they had sat down in his apartment to eat, martinis poured, lovely looking lasagna with a salad and garlic bread on the table.
"No, no." Isaac shook his head. "I…I just work at the restaurant."
"Cool, cool." Danny nodded.
"And you? You go to the college, right? What are you studying?"
"Computer science, I'm graduating in May."
"Oh, wow." Isaac smiled.
"Yeah, I mean I'm sticking around, I've been offered a job at a startup tech company when I'm done, so I'm gonna take that, see if I can't get in on the ground floor of something that could be big."
"That's really cool." Isaac took a sip of his drink. "And you love Martini's…what else about you?"
"I'm from Beacon Hills, which is this small town in Northern California, my dad is full Hawaiian, my mom's half, which is where I get...my face and my name, and you know, my love for pineapple."
Isaac couldn't help but laugh.
It was surprisingly easy to talk to Danny. He was gorgeous, so gorgeous, but he was also so disarming that Isaac didn't feel any of the pressures he had in the restaurant.
Dinner turned into sitting on the couch, having another drink, and talking.
Another drink turned into coffee, and still more talking.
"Do you want another cup?" Danny asked, standing up.
"No, I'm good," Isaac said. "It's late, I should…" he bit his lip. "I should get going." He stood as well, moving to grab his jacket, but Danny moved in front of him.
"Stay," he said softly.
"What?" Isaac gulped.
Danny reached out, putting his hand on Isaac's cheek, caressing his smooth skin gently for a moment before leaning in, placing a soft, tender kiss to Isaac's lips.
"Stay," he whispered as he pulled away. "Not for sex, or anything like that, we can just talk, and sleep, but...stay." He ran his hand down Isaac's arm until he reached his hand, where he took it, lacing their fingers together. "Please."
"Yeah." Isaac nodded, smiling, eyes cast down at the ground. "I'd like that."
"Good." Danny gently led him towards the bedroom. "I can lend you some pajamas, anything you need is here, I've got a spare toothbrush, you can change in the bathroom…" Danny let go of his hand, rummaging around the room for everything, handing it over.
"Thanks."
Isaac changed, brushed his teeth, and folded his own clothes neatly. By the time he got into the room, Danny was already in bed, shirt gone, glasses on his face.
"You...wear glasses," Isaac said stupidly.
"Usually contacts," Danny shrugged. "But not at night."
"They look good," Isaac admitted, setting his clothes down on the ground next to his shoes.
"Thanks." Danny sat up a little more, patting the bed beside him. "Come here."
Isaac climbed over to the bed, and under the covers. Danny shut off the light and lay down, rolling onto his side, pulling Isaac with him, playing big spoon instinctively. Isaac curled into Danny's body effortlessly, feeling nervous, but happy, and most of all, comfortable.
"Goodnight, Isaac," Danny whispered, dropping a soft kiss to Isaac's shoulder.
"Night." Isaac closed his eyes.
"Thank you for staying," Danny mumbled.
"Mhmmm." Isaac smiled, falling asleep in Danny's arms.
And he stayed. Isaac stayed the night, he stayed the morning, and somewhere in the months, years that followed, he decided to stay forever, and Danny welcomed him with the same open arms he held him with that first night.