"Are you sure you don't want to go some place else?"
Dan and Phil were sitting across from each in the diner with red leather booth seats. Dan had waited a few short minutes for Phil to arrive and explained to a waitress that he was waiting.
"Yes," Dan said determinedly.
A women in a 60s style dress and apron waitress outfit stopped at their table for their order and they asked for two milk shakes; berry for Dan and vanilla for Phil.
"So, you're buying right?" Dan asked and laughed when Phil looked at him exasperatedly. He said, "I'm kidding. I'll buy them today."
Dan tapped out the beat to a song he'd heard recently, while Phil's hands were still as they rested on the table-top. Dan's eyes scanned the tattoos that colored Phil's forearms and appreciated the creativity.
"They're really cool," he said distractedly.
"Huh?" Phil looked down and then said, "Oh," in understanding.
"So you designed them yourself, right?"
"Yeah," Phil said. "I design pretty much all of the tattoos that are on the walls in the shop."
"Do you draw other stuff?"
"Yeah, sometimes. Mostly just similar style doodles to these," Phil referred to the tattoos on his arms, "or more artsy fartsy stuff like the lion and stuff."
"Oh, yeah? Do you-, can I see them sometime?"
"Sure. Yeah. I'd love to show them to you." Phil said and Dan smiled.
Their waitress brought their milkshakes around. When she asked if they'd want anything else, they told her no and she left the bill for them.
They ate their milkshakes mostly in a companionable silence, aside from Phil giggling when, much to his disappoint, Dan's dripped onto the table top.
"Shut up," he pouted.
"So you know what sounds good on a day like this?" Phil asked after they had paid and left the diner. They didn't really have a destination, so they lingered idly by Phil's truck.
"What?" Dan asked.
"Book store browsing," Phil replied with a smile.
"That does sound good," Dan said thoughtfully. "How about I drive this time?"
"Sure. Let's go."
Hopeful Books was decorated as if you were walking into your own home and the smell of books filled their noises. There were a wide variety of genres and two larger sections for new and used books. The shelves were made of stained pine to look much darker and there were inspirational messages along the walls. Aside from books, there were mugs and other small, useful things such as bookmarks and book lights.
And, behind the counter to the left of the entrance where a register was set up, was a curly haired blonde woman with a kind smile.
She greeted them enthusiastically when they first entered and Dan waved uncertainly.
They scanned the shelves and found a cozy sitting area in a corner of the shop as well.
The shop was so full of character and cozy ambience; Dan could've spent hours here.
On the way out, when they stopped to look at a spinning rack of bookmarks, the woman at the register asked, "Did you guys need help finding anything?'
"No, just browsing," Phil answered.
"We'll be back though," Dan added. He said, "What made you come up with Hopeful Books?"
"Oh," she smiled proudly. "My name is Carrie Hope Fletcher."
"Oh, that's cool!" Phil said with a grin. "Well, I'm Phil. This is Dan."
"Hi," Dan waved awkwardly.
"Well, its good to meet you guys," she said.
"Erm, same," Dan replied and Carrie laughed.
"We'll catch you later then," Phil said to her with a smile.
Afterwards, when Dan drove Phil back to where his truck was parked, Phil said, "she was so nice!"
"Yeah," Dan agreed. "Definitely have to go back sometime. What a collection of books!"
"I know!" Phil exclaimed excitedly.
Later in the week, on a Thursday, Dan found Carrie at Howell's arrangements in the early afternoon.
"Hey," he smiled.
She was looking over a colorful bouquet of flowers and looked up in surprise.
"So, it's Dan Howell then?"
"Yup," he replied. "Did you need anything?"
"Just something to put in a vase I have in the book store," she explained and turned back to the bouquet she was previously looking at. "I think this one," she said, and pulled it off the rack it was sitting in.
"Hey, this is sort of personal, but…," Carrie said, before she was leaving. "Are you and Phil…?"
"Oh," Dan said in surprise.
"I mean, you don't have to say anything," she added quickly. "You guys just looked like you had chemistry so I was wondering. That's all."
"Erm, yeah," Dan answered. "Phil is my- my boyfriend, I guess."
"You guess?" She teased.
"Er, well, I'm not totally used to saying that yet, honestly," he let out an awkward laugh.
"Oh, aw. Well, anyways, I'd better get back. I'll see you later, though!" She smiled brightly before leaving.
"You know what?" Phil said, one afternoon when Dan was at his house for the weekend. "I need to water the flowers."
"That might be a good idea," Dan replied with a hint of a smirk.
"I watered them yesterday too. I'm not being neglectful," he bantered playfully and stood. He gently threw a pillow in Dan's direction where he sat in Phil's recliner, hitting squarely in the face and knocking his book out of his hands.
"No, but you're definitely being abusive," he joked as he threw the pillow back towards Phil and missed.
"Come out front with me?" Phil asked.
"Sure," Dan said and put his book aside as he got up from the recliner.
Out front the air was breezy and cool, but the standing in the sun was warm and relaxing. Phil went and unwound the hose from where it hung near the water spout and with a sprinkle setting on the handle of the hose, began to soak the ground around the flowers until it was dark and moist.
"Our babies," Phil said proudly, dramatically putting a hand over his heart.
"And just when I thought you couldn't be any cheesier," Dan gave him a gentle push with the side of his own arm.
"You love it," Phil joked.
"Yeah, I kind of do," Dan laughed. Phil slipped an arm around Dan's waist and leaned into him for a moment.
"Anyway," Phil said after a moment. "Are you getting hungry yet?"
"I thought you'd never ask," Dan replied over-zealously, earning a laugh from Phil.
"Here," Phil said, tossing a spiral tablet in Dan's direction where he was lounging on Phil's bed later that night.
Dan pulled it closer to himself and quickly looked it over. The cover was plain, white cardboard and the paper's felt heavy. Dan asked, "What's this?'
"My sketch book," Phil said as he reclosed the desk drawer he'd pulled the sketch pad out of.
"Oh," Dan said.
"It's nothing special. But you wanted to see my drawings, so there they are," Phil said nonchalantly.
Dan flipped open the front page and found things like doodles similar to tattoos Phil had, different animals, artsy foliage, tribal doodles, and even more obscure things.
Then he happened upon a section full of faces. He had one of a woman and a man, and he realized they looked similar to Phil.
"Is this-?" Dan looked up in question.
"My parents," Phil nodded. "I don't do face tattoos, but I like drawing them."
"They're really good," Dan sat up as he continued to flip through the sketch pad. Then he found a drawing of himself.
Phil had portrayed him with a smile, dimpled and crinkly around the eyes.
"Wow," he mumbled.
"Oh, yeah, I drew you." Phil said sheepishly.
"It's amazing. Oh my god," Dan said in awe, looking over the picture and noticing the attention to detail.
"It's not that good. I didn't get the eyes quite right. I don't get to see them enough," Phil said, tacking on a slight teasing tone at the end.
"Are you saying I don't make a lot of eye contact?" Dan countered as he looked up.
"Maybe," Phil drawled humorously.
"Well, anyways," Dan said. "It's really good."
"Thanks," Phil said.
Over the course of a few weeks Dan and Phil were easily befriended by Carrie and vice versa.
She had such a kind smile and genuine personality that Dan gravitated to it easily. She'd been over to Phil's one day, and they had invited Dan over as well, but as he was arriving, Carrie decided to leave, saying that she'd feel like a third wheel. But she was always positive and her smile was infectious. And as well as Phil, she was a wonderful splash of positivity in Dan's life.
"Phil," Dan said exasperatedly, trying to ignore the tingle that ran down his spine from the way Phil's lips brushed his lips against the skin of his neck. "I'm trying to watch this."
"We've both seen it loads of times," Phil argued in a low voice as he ran a hand up Dan's side from behind him.
"Okay!" Dan laughed. "C'mon, seriously, that tickles!"
Phil laughed and then let his arms settle around Dan's waist. He put his arm over Phil's and then turned over.
"You're right, I've seen this one a lot," he said.
He ran his finger over the colors on Phil's arm. Phil took a deep breath and then shifted to rest his head on Dan's stomach.
"I can hear your stomach making noise," he whispered.
"What's it saying?" Dan whispered back jokingly.
"It says-, it says Phil is the greatest."
Dan laughed, and because of the way Phil had his head on Dan's stomach, he began to bounce and that caused the both of them to laugh even more vigorously.
"Oh my god," Dan cried out, trying to regain control of his diaphragm.
"Shh," Phil said as his movements slowed.
"What's it saying now?"
"It's saying that Phil cooked an amazing dinner," he replied quietly, earning a giggle from the other.
"It likes Phil's food," he said.
"Oh my god," Dan side with a wide grin. "That's amazing, Phil."
"It also says that Dan should give Phil a kiss," Phil said and looked at Dan through a grin and crinkled eyes.
"Erm, I'm not sure we should take advice from an organ designed to convert food into energy," Dan teased.
"I'm willing to take that chance," Phil bantered and he lifted himself up on his hands and knees to move within reach of Dan's lips and gently closed the distance between them.
Their lips moved together softly and Phil carefully brought the rest of his body to rest against Dan's. Dan's heart raced so quickly he was sure Phil should've been able to feel it. He broke the kiss to take a breath and Phil let out a breath as well and returned to laying his head on Dan's chest.
"Your heart is beating very fast," Phil said.
"Yeah," Dan breathed back. "You have that effect."
"Hey, when is your birthday?" Phil asked over the phone one evening.
"Why do you wanna know that?"
"For science," he answered.
"Uh huh," Dan replied.
"I'm curious, that's all," Phil said nonchalantly.
"Right," he drawled in disbelief.
"Well, maybe I want to get you something, okay? But I can't unless I know when it is," Phil explained.
"Well, it is coming up in a bit," Dan said and recited his birthday to Phil.
"Thank you. I just want to be able to do something for you for your birthday," he said.
"Well, thanks," Dan said. "Are you gonna give me any clues?"
"Dan, I just found out when your birthday is," he said in exasperation.
"Okay," Dan sighed. "I guess I can wait."
"Well, I have one idea," Phil said.
"What?"
"Not telling," he teased.
"Damn it, Phil," Dan grumbled and Phil only laughed in return.
"So what are you doing?" Phil asked later that night.
"Just sitting up in bed," Dan replied. He was still in the clothes he had worn all day, but was sitting on his bed with his back resting against the wall.
"Is that all?" Phil asked.
"Yeah," Dan answered quietly. "What about you?"
"Erm, same," Phil laughed and Dan let out a small chuckle.
There was a long pause and Dan said, "It gets really quiet sometimes, you know."
Phil sighed.
"Anyways," Dan said. "Erm, it's kind of late. I should get some sleep. Have a good night?"
"Yeah," Phil said. "I'm kind of sleepy too. I'll talk to you later. 'Night."
"'Night."
Dan hung up the phone and then got up to place it on the charger on his dresser. He changed into his pajamas, and then climbed back into his bed. He managed to drift off easily and slept very soundly.