Farzan snorted. But what David said… did make sense. Sort of.
Could he really do it? Be friends and fool around and not catch feelings?
“And besides. Once I pass my test, I’ll be moving away.”
That brought Farzan up short.
“Wait. Really?”
“Yeah.” David sat up straighter. “Once I’ve got my master somm, I’ll have my pick of places all over. New York, LA, San Francisco. Chicago, too, though I don’t know I’d want to go back.”
“Nowhere in Kansas City?”
David shook his head. “Aspire’s great, don’t get me wrong, and Jeri is a ride-or-die for me, but it’s no French Laundry. It’s no Alinea. And it’s never going to be.”
“And that’s what you want?”
“Yeah.” David looked upward, a wistful smile curling his lips. Farzan could’ve sworn he saw little stars dancing in David’s eyes as he imagined it. “No matter how well Aspire does, it’s never going to pay what I can get at a place with multiple Michelin stars.”
“And you want that?”
David bit his very full bottom lip. “I was on track to buy both my parents houses before I changed careers. I still want to do that for them.”
Farzan could understand that. He and his siblings had never reallytalked about it, but it was kind of understood that, even though he was the oldest, he’d never be the one who could take care of their parents. Maheen and Navid were.
“That’s cool,” Farzan said. “When’s your test, anyway?”
“Two weeks before Christmas.”
Three months. A little less, even.
Farzan chewed his lip.
Three months to figure out how to run Shiraz Bistro his way. Three months to get David ready for his test.
Three months of possibly excellent sex.
Somehow, putting a time limit on it made it better. Even if Farzan did catch feelings, it wasn’t like he’d go head over heels in only three months. Yeah, he’d be bummed when David moved away, but it wasn’t going to rip his heart out.
He’d survived worse.
And like David said, theyweregood together.
He imagined a tiny Arya, hanging over his shoulder, whispering in his ear. “When good dick is on special, order as much as you can.”
On his other shoulder, tiny Ramin warned him: “Guard your heart.”
But Farzan could guard it for three months.
He studied David, who was still smiling at him. A small, soft smile that made Farzan feel like he could breathe again.
“All right,” he said. “Let’s be friends.”
“Friends,” David said, extending his hand. “With benefits?”
“With benefits,” Farzan agreed.
“So. Same time next week?” As David asked, he tickled Farzan’s palm with his middle finger. “I’ve got some gray sweatpants too, you know.”
