“Oh!Right.Well, I have peanut butter, spam, ramen noodles—with stuff to doctor it so they’re actually pretty good.And I also have leftover lasagna.Homemade.”He’d been at a friend’s house for a potluck dinner the other night and she’d insisted on sending him home with most of the leftovers.Something about him being the only one living alone and there not being enough of anything for two or more.He’d had home cooking for dinner the last three nights and just the lasagna was left.There’d be enough for two though, he’d bet.Especially if he put a couple pieces of bread in the toaster oven with butter and garlic on them.
“Homemade lasagna?”Charma’s eyes went wide.“I haven’t had a homemade meal in a while…”
“Does that mean you’re staying?”
“I shall indeed accept your generous offer and stay for lunch.”
He laughed, pleased that Charma wasn’t going to disappear back out of his life just yet.He really liked the guy, and they were both gay, both around the same age… not to mention they had the best meet-cute he could imagine.He shook himself and told himself to stop daydreaming.Just because he was single and looking didn’t mean that Charma was.Well, he was pretty sure the guy was single or he would have said something.
“I’m going to put it in the microwave to warm up,” he told Charma, cutting his own thoughts off at the knees; he definitely could ramble, even if it was just in his own mind.“The lasagna, I mean.Do you like garlic bread?I thought I’d make a couple pieces to go with it.And I have Cokes or water to drink.”
“Garlic bread is good and maybe Coke?I don’t want to take your last one.”
“It’s okay, I have a few in the fridge.”He appreciated that Charma got it, though.There were not always Cokes in the fridge, especially if it had been a while since payday.
He went into the little kitchenette and grabbed the lasagna out of the fridge.It was easy enough to split it into two sections and then throw the bowls into the microwave for a couple minutes.Then he grabbed a couple Cokes—score!He still had two more left in the fridge after they had these for lunch, not just one like he’d thought—and poured them into a couple glasses.
“Can I help?”Charma asked from right behind him, making him jump.Charma’s hand came to rest on his shoulder.“Careful you don’t spill.”
“Sorry, I didn’t realize you’d followed me.”
“I wanted to see if I could help with anything.I mean, you are feeding me, after all.The least I can do is…” Charma waved his hands around randomly.“Oh, I don’t know.Something?Maybe?”Then he laughed.“Okay, maybe I just wanted to keep hanging out with you and that meant joining you in your postage-stamp-sized kitchen.”
“The bigger the kitchen, the bigger the rent,” Darcy pointed out.He was lucky this was an actual room; he’d seen a lot of ‘kitchenettes’ where they meant a corner of the main room had a little fridge, camp stove and a foot of counter space with one narrow cupboard over it.
Charma looked around and smiled.“It’s nice and cheery.”
It was bright yellow, which had made him raise an eyebrow when he’d first seen it, but the color had grown on him, and itwascheerful.
The microwave dinged and he hurriedly slathered two slices of bread with margarine and sprinkled some powdered garlic on them, then tossed them into the toaster oven, which he turned onto 350 to warm up the bread.Then he checked the lasagna, carefully putting his finger into the middle of one.Not only did he not burn himself, but the center was still cold.So he put them on for a couple more minutes.
“I’ll have the one I’ve pawed at,” he promised.
That had Charma laughing again, the sound half giggle, half bright tinkling, and it made Darcy smile.He could get used to that sound.
Grabbing the two glasses of Coke, Charma asked, “Where are we eating?”
“On the couch, so you can put those on the coffee table.I don’t have any sort of dining room table.”He’d thought about it when he’d first moved in but then decided it would make the space feel too crowded, and as he never had anyone over for a meal—well, almost never it seemed—he figured he didn’t need one.
He was sad to see Charma go, which was silly because it was only into the next room and he was going to be there himself as soon as the bread and pasta had warmed up.If he wasn’t careful, he was going to be very sad when Charma actually left and that was going to happen sooner than later so he just needed to get himself in check.He wasn’t that lonely, right?He didn’t really have an answer to that question.
The microwave dinged again, making him jump—he really needed to get out of his own head—and he opened it up, grabbing a tea towel to take the steaming bowls out and set them on the counter.Then he checked on the bread.The margarine was melted but he bet if he put it on broil the top of it would get a little crunchy, which would be nice.So that’s what he did, and he was right, less than a minute had them nicely browned.He used the same tea towel to take out the tray and set a slice of bread on top of each bowl.Then he grabbed forks and stuck them in the bowls, too.A quick feel test proved that he wouldn’t burn his fingers if he carried the bowls into the living room, so he did, setting them down onto the coffee table next to the Cokes.
“Ta-da!Homemade lunch!”He hadn’t made it himself, but someone had, so it was still true.
Charma came over from where he’d been looking down at the street again and sat with him on the couch.
“Were you looking for something?”
“Huh?”
Darcy jerked his head toward the window.“You keep looking out the window.”
“Ah.No, I was just looking.Something to do.I didn’t want to startle you again so I figured I should stay out of your enormous kitchen.”There was a teasing glint in Charma’s eyes.
He stuck his tongue out at Charma, which sort of backfired because Charma stared at it, and suddenly he was imagining all the places he could put his tongue.The moment stretched, him with his tongue sticking out, Charma staring.And it stretched some more, his prick, which had finally started behaving taking interest once again.
Unless it was his imagination, he and Charma started leaning slightly toward each other.A horn sounded outside, loud and grating, and he yanked his tongue back into his mouth as he jumped a little.Darcy cleared his throat and grabbed the remote, turning on the TV for something to do.Oh, right, they were supposed to be having lunch.Eating was something to do.It sure was.It wasn’t what he wanted to be doing, but it was probably what he should be doing because he’d invited Charma to eat, and not to eat Charma.Maybe they could investigate that later.He didn’t have anywhere to be this afternoon.And his bedroom was pretty much clean.He thought he’d even made his bed this morning.He couldn’t quite remember even though he’d just been in there to get Charma some clothes.
