Raj stared at the crumpled napkin. If he folded and unfolded it one more time, the number would be lost to him forever. It had been nearly a month since Raj had met Dr. Lincoln Hart, and in that time, the man had barely left his head once. Raj's relationship with Emily had disintegrated, so he was single once again. Not that Raj wanted to go on a date with Dr. Hart. Maybe they could just meet for drinks to talk about work. Yes. That's what he would say when he called.
"Dr. Hart? This is Rajesh Koothrappali," Raj said formally when Lincoln answered the phone.
"Oh, Raj. I thought I would never hear from you," Lincoln said brightly.
Raj wasn't sure how to feel about the unadulterated pleasure that Lincoln's tone expressed. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe he should have never called. Then he thought of Lincoln's deep eyes and perfect teeth, and he thought about how much he had thought about those things. One drink would be okay.
"Yes. Well, I was wondering if you would like to have a drink with me on Friday. We could discuss work," Raj suggested.
"That sounds great. I know just the place," Lincoln said.
"No gay bars!" Raj shouted into his phone.
"No gay bars. Okay. I wasn't planning on it anyway, but that's okay," Lincoln said in a calming tone. He didn't know why he enjoyed Raj so much. He had been over the idea of dating a guy in the closet for a long time. It could be exhausting to have to hide a part of who he was. Still, there was something about Raj that he couldn't shake. The disappointment when he first didn't call lingered for days.
"I know a great place that's kind of quiet, so we can talk," Lincoln told Raj. They made plans to meet on Friday at eight.
When Friday rolled around, Raj was so nervous he was sweating through his shirt and his sweater vest. He wanted to talk to his friends about all of this, but he had no idea how to. He couldn't explain that he was nervous meeting with someone else in his field for drinks, and it wasn't a date. It was not a date. No. Just a friendly meeting. Still, he was tempted to cancel. He was debating it internally when Howard broke his thoughts.
"You look like you are about to puke," Howard said.
"I'm a little under the weather," Raj admitted. It was almost the truth.
"Please leave the table," Sheldon said as he pulled a bottle of hand sanitizer from his bag and liberally covered his hands with it. Then he put a napkin over his mouth and nose.
"I think I'm going to just go home early," Raj said. He stood and threw his uneaten food in the trash and left the cafeteria. Part of him was kicking himself for not just coming clean about it. They were his friends. He was almost sure they would just roll with it. Unless they didn't. It was that small piece of uncertainty that drilled away at his thoughts and left him unable to tell his friends. Plus this was probably going to just be drinks with a friend. Maybe there was no reason to start sharing with his friends just yet.
Raj went home and labored over what to wear. Eventually, he put together an outfit that looked a lot like what he would wear on a date. He had a nice maroon button down shirt and a silk and wool vest over it with a tie. He had to admit that he looked rather handsome. Now, so long as he could manage to not sweat through it before he met Lincoln.
Lincoln had suggested a little tea shop that also served an array of cocktails. Raj got there fifteen minutes early, but waited in his car until he saw Lincoln go in. Lincoln looked breathtaking even from Raj's hiding spot in his car. Lincoln was wearing nice fitting slacks and a blue shirt that made his lightly tanned skin glow. Raj waited another ten minutes to get up the courage to join him.
"Hi," Lincoln said when Raj walked in. He walked over and shook his hand.
"Hi," Raj said nervously. He looked up through his lashes and gave Lincoln a coy smile. Lincoln was just as handsome as Raj remembered.
"I know I don't know you that well, but are you always so nervous? I won't bite. I promise," Lincoln said.
"Yeah. I am. Well, not this nervous. You make me nervous," Raj said. Then he covered his mouth. He wasn't supposed to say that. He hoped his blush wouldn't show. Normally it wouldn't, but his face was burning like it might catch something on fire.
"A good nervous I hope," Lincoln tried. Raj nodded, but didn't risk opening his mouth on this subject again.
The pair ordered some drinks—Raj stuck to tea—and started talking about work. It was an easy and safe subject to start with, and Raj was struck by how brilliant Lincoln was in real life. As much as knew Lincoln's reputation, it was good, but Lincoln was quick and funny.
Raj was still nervous as he spoke to Lincoln, but it changed from being worried what people might think to butterflies in his stomach. He liked Lincoln, but at least without the alcohol of their last meeting, he could focus on more than kissing. As the topics changed to hobbies and other interests, Raj found that he had a lot in common with Lincoln.
Lincoln's mother was Chinese and his father was British, so they shared stories about parents who didn't always get American culture—though Lincoln was born and raised in the States. They both had strong groups of friends. They both had animals that they adored, though Raj tried to be forgiving that Lincoln was a cat person.
"You have a band?" Lincoln asked with a laugh.
"I do. Don't laugh. We rock," Raj said with a rock and roll hand gesture.
"I'd love to see you play," Lincoln admitted.
"We don't have any shows coming up, but I can show you a video," Raj offered. He pulled up a video on his phone to show Lincoln. By the time the video ended, Lincoln was laughing so hard that he couldn't breathe. Somehow instead of feeling hurt, Raj was laughing too. Raj got the impression that Lincoln couldn't really be mean even if he tried. This was the best not date he had been on in a really long time.
"I should get going. It's almost eleven," Lincoln said. "I would love to do this again sometime," he added.
"That would be great," Raj said, and he meant it. Separating was always the most awkward part. Should they shake hands again? Should they hug? They stood and walked to Raj's car.
"Great. I'll call you early next week when I have a better idea of my schedule," Lincoln said. Then he leaned down and kissed Raj on the cheek. Raj blushed at the action, but after he looked around to make sure no one witnessed it, he was pleased.
"Bye," Raj said. He was blissful, and he smiled all the way home. He hadn't liked someone this much in... well, ever.