"So…" Paul said as he held the car door open for Will. "You know this town better than I do, where do you like to eat? I thought about making reservations in that fancy restaurant in town but it didn't really feel right. We can go there though if you want of course, I am sure they could find us a table." He rambled on suddenly feeling self conscious.
"I would rather we didn't." Will said. "The food is good but it's too fancy for me. I am more of a Tee shirt and jeans kind of guy."
"I could see that about you. So where ever you want is fine with me." Paul said closing the door and walking around the car.
"I know just the place." Will said. "It's just outside of town, if that isn't too far."
"Will." Paul said, looking over at him as he pulled out of the parking lot. "New York isn't too far, if that's where you want to go."
Will smiled and quickly gave him directions to the restaurant.
Paul followed the directions, and soon they were parked in the small parking lot of a restaurant that looked like it was once a house.
"So what are they going to feed me in here?" Paul asked as he opened the door for Will.
"Just the best barbeque that you have ever eaten." Will said.
"Ahh." Paul said. "Okay let's see what they got. You know I have travelled all over the world, I have had barbeque in a lot of places."
"This will be the best." Will said confidently.
They went in. The dining area was small, and the little square tables, covered in red checkered table cloths were positioned so close together that they were almost touching each other. Will led Paul over to the corner table and they sat down.
It was a couple minutes before a waitress appeared and offered them menus. "What can I get you to drink?" She asked.
Paul ordered a beer, while Will asked for water with lemon.
"So what's good here?" Paul asked, looking at the menu.
Will looked up at him over the menu. "Everything…. Duh…" he teased.
Paul laughed… "I guess I walked into that."
"You did." Will confirmed.
Paul looked at all the choices and finally settled on the rib platter, while Will couldn't decide and ended up getting the sampler platter.
"So how was your week?" Paul asked when they had ordered, and gotten their food.
"Honestly…." Will said, "It was the best week, and the worst week that I have had in a long time."
"Why the best and the worst?" Paul asked.
"Weeellll" Will said drawing the word out. "You were the best part and I really don't want to talk about the worst part if that's okay."
"Whatever makes you happy." Paul said.
"Thanks." Will said.
"So tell me something about you that I don't know." Paul said.
"Ummm Okay…" Will said, thinking about all the things that he had already told Paul about himself. "I'm not a big fan of broccoli….. in fact I really hate it."
Paul giggled… "Really Will… thanks for that tip, I will remember to never take you to a restaurant that strictly serves broccoli."
Will blushed a deep crimson color. "Sorry." He said, "I have no idea what else to tell you, since you already know the big parts."
"Tell me about your parents." Paul said, guiding the conversation.
"Oh GOD…" Will groaned, "They are a train wreck."
"They can't be that bad." Paul said.
"Oh you don't know the half of it." Will said. "My mom and dad split up when I was little. They played tug of war with me most of my childhood… until my dad went to live in Hong Kong for a while. My mom is …. Well she is a force all of her own, AND she is married to EJ Dimera."
"Is your dad back in the states now?" Paul asked.
Will nodded. "Yeah. He lives here in Salem now, he works with my Grandma Kate, that's his mom, at Countess Wilhelmina cosmetics."
"Do you have any siblings?" Paul asked, wanting to keep Will talking.
"I had four, but my baby sister passed away. So I have three now. Allie is my sister and Johnnie and Sidney are my half brother and sister." Will answered.
"How old are they?" Paul asked.
"Sidney is 6 years old, and Allie and Johnnie are 8 years old. Will said around a mouth full of food.
"Allie and Johnnie are both eight?" Paul asked.
"Yeah, they are twins." Will said.
"But I thought you said that Allie was your only full blood sibling?" Paul asked confused.
Will nodded. "I did…. They have different fathers."
Paul opened his mouth to ask another question but Will held his hand up….. "Don't ask please." He said. "I'm sorry, I forgot for a minute that you aren't from here."
Paul shook his head…. "You have led an interesting life Will Horton." He said.
"Can't argue that." Will said.
"What about Arianna's mother. I remember that you said you two were able to maintain a friendship after you broke up. Are you still friends." Paul said, moving on to another topic.
"Yes." Will answered simply.
"Then why are you raising Arianna alone? Did she marry that creep you told me about the other day?" Paul asked.
"That would be a no." Will said. Not sure if he wanted to elaborate on that or not.
"Am I making you uncomfortable?" Paul asked.
"No." Will said. "It's just that Gabi is in jail."
"Jail?" Paul asked.
"Well prison really." Will said. "It's a long story, that I will tell you sometime."
Paul took the hint and let the subject drop.
They continued through the meal, Paul peppering him with questions about his childhood and college life, and Will answering the best he could. It had been a long time since someone had shown so much interest in him.
The waitress came back to clear the plates away and offered them dessert, which they both refused. They walked out into the night and Paul turned to Will, "So have you thought about what movie you want to see?" he asked.
"Not really." Will said. "I don't even know what's playing."
"Me either." Paul admitted. "We can just choose when we get there."
Will nodded his agreement. They drove over to the Cineplex.
When they walked up to the box office, they looked at the posters advertising the movies that were playing.
"Soooo… Action…. Drama…..Comedy… Horror…. Chick flick…Cartoon….. what is your pleasure?" Paul asked, looking over at Will.
"Really they all look great, but comedy works for me." Will said.
"Okay." Paul said stepping up and buying two tickets for the comedy movie.
Once he had the tickets, they walked into the lobby of the theater and were hit by the overwhelming smell of freshly popped popcorn.
"Popcorn?" Paul asked, though he could not imagine where they would put it.
Will scrunched his nose up…. "No… I'm full, he said, but I will take some candy."
Paul smiled at him. "Something tells me you have a sweet tooth." He teased, as he pulled Will up to the counter.
Will looked through the glass into the candy counter, and contemplated his choices…
Paul smiled at the clerk behind the counter as he waited for Will to choose, she looked at him, "Are you Paul Narita?" She asked timidly.
"Yes I am he said." He said. "And you are?"
"I thought so…." She said. "I'm Amanda. My boyfriend is a huge fan, he has drug me to a million of your games. He will just die when he finds out you were here." She gushed.
"What's your boyfriend's name?" Paul asked as he looked down at the counter and picked up the pen used for signing credit card slips and one of the sleeves that they put the small orders of pop corn in.
"Michael." She said watching him carefully.
Paul quickly scrawled a message on the paper and signed his name. "Be sure to tell him that I said Thanks for the support." He said handing it to her.
"Wow! Thank you." She said.
Will watched the exchange, not sure how he was supposed to act now that Paul had been recognized. He didn't want to make him uncomfortable or put him in an awkward position.
Paul looked over at him, "Did you decide what you want babe?" he asked.
Will glanced up and saw the shock register on the clerks' face, before she composed herself and smiled brightly at him.
"Umm can I get the candy coated almonds?" Will asked. She nodded and opened the counter, pulling out a box and handing them to Will.
"Thanks." Will mumbled, taking them from her.
"Anything else?" she asked. Will shook his head no and Paul declined the offer. He pulled his wallet from his pocket but she waved it away. "No, I got the candy… thank you so much for the autograph. Mike is going to go ballistic."
"You're very welcome." Paul said dropping the money into the tip jar in front of her register.
They took their tickets and walked to the auditorium. It was practically deserted still. Paul looked at Will, ever the gentleman. "Where do you like to sit?" he asked.
"At the top." Will said.
"Okay." Paul said taking his hand and leading the way.
They got to the top of the stadium seating and Paul led Will to the center seats. They sat down and Will opened his candy offering Paul one before he popped one into his own mouth.
"That was a nice thing you did for the cashier out there." Will said.
"I always like to do what I can for the fans." Paul said. "They take time out of their lives to support my dream."
"That's true I guess." Will said.
"Besides it probably won't happen for much longer, I guess I may as well enjoy it while I can." Paul said, wistfully.
"People are going to recognize you and ask for your autograph for years to come." Will said.
"Maybe…. Maybe not…." Paul said, "It doesn't seem to matter much to me anymore."
The lights dimmed, and the previews started… effectively cutting off any further conversation about it.
Paul watched Will more than he watched the movie, but he did manage to catch a few of the funniest parts.
The movie was about half over when Will sensed Paul watching him. He turned his head and his eyes met Paul's "What?" he asked.
"Nothing." Paul whispered.
"You sure?" Will asked.
Paul nodded, "Just looking at how handsome my date is." He said.
Paul could see the blush creep up Will's face, even in the dime light of the theater.
He hadn't meant to embarrass Will, but he was looking extra good tonight. He had worn dark washed denim jeans that weren't quite painted on, but they also didn't leave much to the imagination either, and a light cornflower blue polo that nearly matched his eyes perfectly.
Will looked away as a ripple of laughter filled the room. And Paul saw the corners of his mouth lift up in a smile. He reached over and took Will's hand in his and pulled it into his lap. He just held it there running his fingers over Will's skin.
Paul forgot to pay attention to the screen, and before he knew it the lights come on and the credits were rolling up the screen.
Will looked over at him. "That was great." He said.
"Mmmhmmm" Paul agreed absently.
They got up and walked out of the auditorium hand in hand. Will dropped the candy box in the trash can as he passed by.
They went back to the car and Paul drove them back to Will's apartment building. When he parked he turned in his seat to look at Will.
"Thanks for going out with me again Will. I really enjoy spending time with you." He said.
"I enjoy spending time with you too." Will said.
"When can I see you again?" Paul asked.
Will pretended to think about it….. then give him a devilish look. "In the morning silly." He said.
For one brief moment Paul's pulse raced and his blood heated in his veins until he realized that Will was talking about the charity weekend.
"Oh right." He said. It was his turn to be embarrassed. "I forgot."
"We are going to be spending the weekend together basically." Will said.
"Sounds like an awesome weekend to me." Paul said. "Come on, I will walk you to your door."
He got out and went around the car, opening Will's door for him. He linked their hands together as they walked into the building.
"Do you want me to pick you up in the morning?" Paul asked.
"Do you mind?" Will asked.
"Nope." Paul said.
"That would be great then." Will said, pleased that Paul wanted to spend so much time with him.
They stopped in front of Will's door, and he was suddenly nervous. Part of him wanted to invite Paul in, but the other part of him wasn't sure he was ready for that.
He looked at Paul, "Thanks again for tonight." He said. "Tomorrow I will bring the article for you to read."
"Uh-Uh, we will talk about that tomorrow." Paul said, putting his hands on Will's waist "Right now, all I want to concentrate on is kissing you goodnight if that's okay."
"Totally fine." Will whispered as Paul pulled him forward. His hands slid around Will's waist, connecting their bodies. His hands dropped down low on Will's hips. His fingers itched to slide under Will's shirt and explore his chest and back.
"Good." Paul whispered just before their lips met.
Paul's tongue glided over Will's lips, parting them and slipping inside, exploring every nook and cranny of Will's mouth, sliding over his teeth, tangling with his tongue.
Will kissed him back, giving as much as he was receiving. Moving in close and fitting their bodies even closer together. His hands going to Paul's hair, tugging his mouth closer.
Paul could not bite back the groan at the contact of Will's lower body to his. He wanted nothing more than to scoop Will up and take him back to the hotel with him, the only thing holding him back was he didn't want Will to think that was all he was interested in.
With great discipline Paul separated their bodies and untangled their arms. "Good night Will." He whispered, hurrying off down the hall before he changed his mind.
Will watched him go and then opened the door and went into his apartment. This time Abigail was awake and waiting for him on the couch.
"Where's Paul?" She asked.
"He is gone." He answered looking dazed.
"WOW!" Abby said, "Guess he is a bigger gentlemen than you wanted him to be huh." She teased.
"Shut up!" Will laughed. "I didn't invite him in. It was only our second date."
"That's right!" Abby said, "Better wait till at least the third…. That way you don't seem desperate." She laughed, ducking behind a couch cushion as Will lobbed a stuffed animal from Ari's basket at her.
"You are evil, Abigail Deveraux" he said.