“Hi, I’m Marmee and I’ll be taking care of you tonight,” the server said with a practiced smile, their motions efficient and smooth. “Nice to see you again, Raum, and with company.”
“Hi Marmee,” Raum replied easily. “This is Ezra, my date.”
“Um, hi.” Ezra said awkwardly, but Marmee made no mention of his tiny wave or how he fidgeted with the silverware. He wondered in passing if he had the energy and spoons to mask and frankly, he did not, so awkward Ezra was there for the evening. Not that he really knew how to behave on a date, so masking would be fruitless. He was adrift and decided to focus on Raum and not care about how he came across to strangers, and that decision calmed him considerably.
“Hi, Ezra,” Marmee said with that same smile. “Do you know what you want to drink?”
“Do you drink alcohol? I forgot to ask,” Raum said, addressing Ezra.
“The short answer is no. Soda or water is fine.” Ezra replied, directing the last to Marmee. “I’ll take a ginger ale if you have it.”
“Same for me, thanks,” Raum tagged on, and Marmee took down their drink orders and left them alone to contemplate the menus.
Ezra waited for Raum to comment about the not drinking thing, but he didn’t, head bent to the menu and his frame relaxed.
“You’re not going to ask?” Ezra said, pretending to read the menu, but he was really watching Raum out of the corner of his eye.
“About the alcohol thing? Nope.” Raum caught him looking, a slow smile overtaking his handsome face. “I figured you’d explain if you wanted me to know.”
He faced Raum directly and decided to lay out all his cards, metaphorically speaking at least. “I’m on some meds that make drinking problematic. So I tend to avoid it most of the time.”
He waited. Raum merely looked at him patiently, eyes warm. No judgment so far. He decided to share a bit more. “An antidepressant, and one for anxiety, and I have ADHD and I take meds for that, and well…”
“And well?”
“I’m autistic.”
Ezra held his breath, waiting to see what Raum would do. A heartbeat passed, Ezra clutching the menu in his fingers until the crinkle of the laminate made him relax his grip.
“Okay,” Raum said. “Thank you for telling me. That takes a lot of trust and I’m honored you shared with me.” He tipped his head to the menu, a tiny smile lifting his lips. “I really like the five-cheese lasagna they’ve got; I get it almost every time I’m here. What were you thinking about getting?”
Ezra breathed, relaxing, and a bit dazed. He’d never met anyone who took those revelations that well—not that he hadever told a prospective hookup about his neurospicy brain. The last boyfriend disappeared when he was a teenager and making moves at eighteen to get himself treated and medicated for depression and ADHD, the ex too preoccupied with appearances and under the misguided belief that Ezra was merely being difficult for the attention. Plus Ezra was leaving the fold of his very rich family, and the ex wasn’t a fan of poverty.
Raum took the revelation in stride and didn’t ignore it, either—merely acknowledged his words and went about making sure Ezra was comfortable.
“Thanks,” Ezra murmured, and Raum gently leaned into him from shoulders to hips, making Ezra smile. He coughed a bit, then eyed the menu, actually looking at it for the first time. “The braised ribs look delicious.”
Ezra
Dinner was laid backand relaxed, especially as time went on and Ezra figured out how to let go and just exist in the moment. They talked about lots of things, mostly their shared love of history and the classes they took in college. The food was fantastic and Ezra asked for a couple of meatballs without sauce to go. Luckily their server didn’t question him and gave him the small bag with the to-go cup inside along with the check. The server brought the POS terminal to the table, putting it down in front of them, and Ezra was faster with his card, tapping the card reader with his credit card.
Raum gave him a mock glare, but spoiled it by smiling, his brown and gold eyes twinkling in amusement. “I was the one to ask you out. I don’t mind paying.”
“I got to it first,” Ezra replied, grinning. “You can pay next time.”
“I’m very happy to hear there’s going to be a next time.”
“Our first time is still going, too, so we don’t need to end it now.” Ezra went for blunt and was rewarded by the heating of that intense gaze.
Marmee stood patiently as the terminal went through the payment steps, and Ezra made sure to hit the highest button for a tip, making their server smile wide. Ezra was thankful that he didn’t need to use his tip calculator on his phone to sort out the tip. Marmee bid them a good night and left them alone to sort themselves out. Most restaurants in the US weren’t using POS terminal systems yet, and he was so glad he was in Canada where paying the bill was so easy.
Raum waited patiently for Ezra to put away his wallet and grab his kitty-bag.
The hour wasn’t that late thanks to the early dinner, and the sun had just set when they slipped out of the restaurant and walked together down the sidewalk, neither of them in a hurry for Raum to summon another ride. Ezra was people-watching when large fingers gently gripped his hand and twined their fingers together. He blushed fiercely, unable to stop his grin, thrilled to be holding hands with Raum as they walked down the street.
He held Raum’s hand and enjoyed it for a solid minute before a voice called out to them from a side alley as they passed.
“Raum.”
