Serving Mr. Right

Serving Mr. Right

Tone looked around the place as he waited for his appetizer.
Decadence
was a lot smaller than he'd expected. Of course the size of the restaurant accounted in part for the months-long wait for a reservation. He'd gotten lucky, having been given a reservation by one of his clients. It had been for two, but he wasn't with anyone right now, so he'd come on his own.

He had to admit, the menu looked amazing. There was a blue corn enchilada with queso fresco snow, prawns and glass noodles, and a polenta dish with osso bucco. He'd gone for the prawns, which came with a scallop appetizer and air chocolate mousse for dessert. He had to admit his mouth was already watering.

The place had only four tables, one that sat four, three that sat two, and they only did two seatings an evening. Tiny, but the decor was pure luxury, the wine list was breathtaking, and the service so far had been beyond impeccable.

His scallops arrived and he had to try very hard not to drool. They were served with a crisp, apple flavored white wine. Seasoned perfectly on top of a lovely tart salad, the scallops literally melted in his mouth. The chef was pure genius.

The prawns, when they arrived at the perfect interval after he'd been served his appetizer, were spicy and fresh, the basil sharp and herbaceous.

The best food of the evening, though, was the mousse. Oh, God. It really was like flavored air.

Tone hadn't had food this amazing in a long, long time.

He heard a smattering of applause as the chef came out, wearing a bright red jacket, greeting each table warmly. He was the last table to be touched, and he heard a soft gasp. "Tony? Tony, oh my God! Welcome to Decadence! I didn't know you were going to be here."

He looked up into Finn McCready's big blue eyes, the wide smile. His mouth dropped open. Finn was the last person he'd expected to see. Not that Finn hadn't been a great chef--because he had been--but because he'd never expected to see Finn again after their rather...volatile break-up.

Finn's smile faltered. "Or maybe I have you mistaken with someone else. My apologies. Was your food to your liking?"

He managed not to roll his eyes at Finn. "You know full well it's me. Sit down, Finn, and let me stroke your ego."

"I was offering you the out. You looked so shocked."

"I was shocked. I should have known it was you from the food, though--you always were a genius in the kitchen."

Finn shrugged and grinned. "I've got a good thing going here."

"I'll say--I've seen the prices. And you're booked solid until you die." Only a slight exaggeration, he was sure. He grinned back, though, letting Finn know he wasn't bitching. The food had been the best he'd had. Ever.

"It's the perfect place--a good size, warm, nice kitchen. I'm happy with it." Finn held out a hand. "It was great to see you, Tony. You look amazing."

He offered his hand to Finn and nearly fell off his chair at the fucking electricity that sparked between them. Looked like they still had chemistry in fucking spades. That had never been their problem.

He didn't let go of Finn's hand. "And you're looking better than ever." Happiness had softened the angles of Finn's face a little. He'd always been handsome, but there used to be a harshness to Finn that gave him a hard edge. Tone liked this version of the man a whole lot better.

"Thank you." He got another one of those smiles, genuine and warm. "I don't suppose you'd like to meet for coffee or something? I have to close out and help with the kitchen, but I'm free in an hour or so."

It might have been a bad idea, Tone couldn't say, but he also couldn't say no. He didn't want to say no. "That sounds good. Is there someplace around here open late?"

"Miguel's. Great coffee and I can have some supper."

"I'll find it. An hour, you said?"

"An hour, yeah. And you can't miss it--it's three doors down. Big pink neon gorilla in the window."

"You're not joking, are you?" He knew Finn wasn't. He wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that Finn had actually bought it for the place.

"Not a bit. I'll see you there."

Chuckling, Tone nodded. "I'll be there."

He finished his dessert, managing not to lick the bowl clean, though it had been a close thing, and paid his bill before heading down the street. The late-night dive was right there where Finn had said it would be, complete with an enormous neon pink gorilla in the window, and filled with blue-collar people, laughter and the smell of good coffee.

It amused the hell out of him that Finn cooked the food he did, charging an arm and a leg for it, then came here for his own supper.

The place was laid back and cheery. He found a booth in the back and ordered a cup of coffee. The crowd was mostly male, and, from the conversations he overheard, mostly kitchen staff. The coffee and booze were flowing, and when Finn came in, a cheer went up. Finn was handed a beer before he was all the way into the place.

Finn always had been popular with their crowd, back when they'd been together, but the man had never had time to enjoy it, to do more than nod and rush off to whatever it was he had to do next. It was fascinating to see Finn matured and happy, laughing. It was even better to see those eyes searching for him.

Tone raised his cup to the man when Finn's gaze found him, and offered a warm smile as Finn immediately started for him. Finn was stopped a half dozen times on the way, slapped on the back, chatted with, teased.

"You're quite the popular figure," he murmured as Finn finally arrived at his table in the back. As far away from the pink gorilla as possible.

Finn chuckled. "I come in five nights a week. It's my home away from restaurant."

"You don't have a meal with the staff at the end of the night?" It had always been a part of the ritual, back in the day.

"God, no. By then we just want to relax, fuck off, drink a little."

Sitting back, he stretched out his legs comfortably. "Well, I'm glad you're relaxing and fucking off with me tonight."

"I appreciate you taking the chance tonight."

"Well, there's still this chemistry between us," Tone noted. It was fierce. It always had been.

"And bad blood. I wanted to apologize." Finn sat, settled. "I was a brat and a bitch."

"You were. I didn't handle you very well, though, either." He had to be fair. Ten years ago they'd exploded, brutally.

Finn nodded and that was that, the past dealt with. "So tell me everything about you while I eat?"

"Everything?" He chuckled and took a sip of his coffee before shrugging. "What is there to tell? I'm still working as a consultant, helping businesses improve their brands. I work a lot. I work out. I occasionally play at the
Smoking Gun
, but there's never been anyone serious." The words "since you" hung there, unspoken.

"Are you still into weights?"

He raised one arm and flexed, letting Finn see for himself.

"Oh, man. Nice." A burger and onion rings landed in front of Finn. "Thanks, man. As you can see, I'm still on the burger and beer once a day diet."

"The people you serve at your restaurant would be horrified." He was amused, though--it made Finn human.

"It's a kick-ass burger--Kobe, duck bacon, aioli. Totally worth it."

"At this place?" That was a luxury burger.

"God, yes. Rick and Marty run it. I don't know if you remember Marty from when we were together, but we've been friends forever. He always wanted to do upscale food in a dive atmosphere."

Tone sort of remembered Marty, though mostly he tried not to think about that time in his life. Finn had been his one true thing, or so he'd thought, had been everything he ever wanted and nothing he'd ever done for the man had worked out. Nothing. They fought about careers, sex, even fought over what to share for Sunday brunch.

What was he even doing here? Sure the apology was nice and he should just put it all behind him. He finished his coffee. He'd pay for his drink and make his way home.

Finn ate a bite of his burger, then put it down. "I'll get your coffee, man. No worries. Thanks for indulging me. I appreciate it."

"It's good to see you doing so well for yourself, Finny." He meant it, too.

"Thanks." Finn shook his hand. "Have a good one."

He held on after they'd shaken, unable to just let go. "You too."

It was Finn who pulled back, then patted his hand. It was time to go. Time to walk away. Nodding, Tone stood. It was harder this time than he expected, to walk away and just leave. He'd learned his lesson, though.

He moved away and headed for the door, not looking back.

Finn locked the restaurant up and headed down the street to grab his beer and burger. It was his Friday, thank God, and he was looking forward to a couple of days of lying on his couch and watching movies. Sleeping. Jacking off. Normal lazy shit.

He sat at the bar, nodding as Rick greeted him. "How's it going, man?"

"Good. Good, you all right?"

"Glad it's Friday." He winked and they both laughed. It was Saturday for most of the world and Thursday for Rick.

Rick nodded toward the door as the bell went off. "Isn't that your, uh...friend from the other night?"

"Who?" He looked over, surprised as fuck to see Tony. He'd been pleased that the man let him apologize, but there hadn't been anything but discomfort and the need to get away from him.

Tony caught his gaze and nodded, then headed over. "Hey. I thought I should try one of these gourmet burgers."

"They're amazing. Addictive, I have to warn you."

Tony chuckled and pulled up a stool next to his. "I'll risk it."

Finn had to admit, the man was looking good. As cut as ever, age had honed the square jaw, given it character that was echoed by the short hair. Tony had always been stunning, so strong, so firm. He'd hated that, then.

"What can I get you?" Rick asked.

"One of your magical burgers and whatever dark ale you've got on tap."

"Yes, sir."

Finn found himself staring at the bar top, waiting for his beer, so unsure of what to say.

"You have a good day?" Tony asked.

"It's my Friday and service went well, so yeah. I... How are you?"

"Your Friday, you say? That means the restaurant is closed Sunday and Monday."

"Yeah. I found out that I really need some time out of the kitchen, some time to breathe." It had taken burnout for it to really hit him, but it had.

Tony actually smiled at that.

Their beers came at the same time, and Finn took a drink. "Would you like to sit at a table? Together?"

"I would, Finn." Tony's smile was warmer now.

"Rick? We'll be at table ten."

Tony followed him over and pulled his chair out for him.

"Thank you." He sat, sipped his beer. "I have to admit, I'm surprised to see you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. The other day felt a lot like goodbye."

"Yeah, it did, didn't it? Of course, seeing you at all was a surprise."

Finn nodded. "You weren't at the restaurant under your own name."

"No, I was given the reservation by a client."

"Ah. That was a generous gift. Our waiting list is at eleven months right now." And he was damned proud of that, too. He'd worked his ass off, making the restaurant the perfect balance of taste, exclusivity, and joy.

Tony chuckled. "That's amazing. And he couldn't go. Something about his partner cheating on him."

"Oh, that sucks. I'm sorry to hear that." He got it. His last two relationships had ended in infidelity. Apparently gay men weren't supposed to be monogamous.