No matter how many times been told himself that this wasn’t a date—it was just two guys going out to eat like he would with any of his other friends—it still didn’t seem to stop Ben’s palms from sweating as he waited outside the busy restaurant. Probably because when he went out with his other friends for a bite after work, he wouldn’t take them back to a hotel afterwards and fuck them senselessNot that fucking was on the table. Yet.
He and Cal had done plenty of other stuff which probably counted in a divorce court. But Cal had always insisted that ‘that’ didn’t have to be the end game and reassured Ben that some guys never wanted to do it, ever, and they had plenty of time to work up to it if it was something Ben wanted to try. Not that it hadn’t been on Ben’s mind almost constantly since the first time he saw Cal naked—and oh my god, he really need to stop thinking about that when he was stood out on the street. And definitely before the man in question arrived.Ben had managed to mostly pull himself together by the time Cal showed up. He wasn’t late but looked as if he had been hurrying the same. And the way Cal ran his eyes up Ben’s body as he said hello left Ben feeling a little breathless and second-guessing whether his impression that this wasn’t a date had been wrong all along.

“You look nice,” Ben said, then winced at how awkward he sounded .

But Cal beamed and made an abortive step closer before remembering where they were asking about before settling into a contented smile. “You don’t look so bad yourself. Shall we?”

Ben nodded and followed Cal’s open gesture to the front of the restaurant. The place was pretty full for a Tuesday, the crowd giving an extra cosy feeling to the space, which was already homely with its bright yellow walls, and leafy plants in every available corner. There was music playing and sounds of laughter, although both were eclipsed by the wonderful smell of food and spices that filled the place.

When Ben had suggested that they meet up, Cal had picked the place simply from Ben answering “sure” when Cal had asked him if he liked spicy, so he figured that Cal had eaten there before. When they stepped inside the glowing warm room, it seemed that he’d probably been there more regularly than just Taco Tuesdays. As Cal stripped off his jacket a couple of the servers waved over at him, and one of the barmen abandoned his order to slip out and rush over to take Cal in a friendly embrace.

“Well, you’re a sight for sore eyes.” The big man said before letting him go. He didn’t even wait for an introduction before he stuck his hand out to Ben, saying, “Enrique.”

“Ben” he replied with some slight trepidation that Enrique was going to drag him into a bear hug and crack a rib. The guy looked big enough to do it too. 

“How’s that brother of yours? Still getting into trouble?”

Cal laughed. “He’s good. Going through an Asian phase right now.”

Enrique frowned at the way Cal rolled his eyes and looked stern. “Hey, nothing wrong with that. Although it’s your dad’s specialty so…” they both made a face that had Ben wondering what the hell was going on but the private conversation was over in a second and Enrique slapped Cal on the shoulder and smiled wide. “Just you two tonight? I’ve got a quiet table near to back in Maria’s section, so she’ll take care of you.”

“Thanks,” Cal said, slapping him back. “See you later, yes?”

“Absolutely. Oh, and try the chiles en nogada. Leo is in the kitchen tonight.”

Enrique walked away, signaling to one of the girls who took his place, smiling a welcome and chatting to Cal as they got settled at their table. When she finally left to fetch their drinks, Ben leaned over the table and said, “I’d ask you if you come here often but…”

Cal grinned. “Enrique’s a family friend, so yeah, I might have been here once or twice.”

Ben nodded, not quite sure how to keep the conversation going and thinking he’d blown it when he blurted out, “So, you have a brother?”

Cal looked like he was caught in the headlights for a second, before nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, he, um…he worked here for a while.”

It was awkward. Mostly as they never talked about anything personal. Stuff they liked or disliked, movies, music, sports but not details about family or friends or details of their work. It might have been weird but it seemed to be a silent agreement that those things were off limits. Plus, Ben didn’t think it was unreasonable of him not to want to discuss his ex-wife and kids moments after getting his rocks off.

“Was that before his Asian phase?”

Ben must have looked as perplexed and pained by that expression as he felt, given the way Cal laughed. “Oh, god, that must have sounded really awful out of context. Reece is chef. Restauranteur really now I guess. He has a couple of places just down the coast and a catering company. He took over from our dad when he retired, although the catering side is all his idea.”

“So I’m guessing the Asian thing is—”

“Food, yeah. Not whatever you might have been thinking.” Cal smirked across the table and Ben could feel the heat in his cheeks.

He cleared his throat. “I, uh, I have a brother too. Younger. He works with me.”

“Construction, right?” Cal sounded almost nervous.

Ben tilted his head. “Yeah. I’m his boss which I guess could be awkward but it seems to work out okay.”

Cal chuckled and shook his head. “I couldn’t work for Reece. We’d kill each other within a week. Hot plates at dawn.”

“No plans to quit teaching and don an apron, then?”

“I’m afraid the culinary gene skipped me entirely. I like good food and I know the theory. Reece says I have natural palete, whatever that means. But I can’t make toast without screwing it up for some reason. It’s safer for everyone for me to stick with academia.”

Ben was saved from blurting out that he would cook for Cal sometime—that he made a mean steak sandwich—by Marie showing up with a beer for him and something fruity and frighteningly alcoholic for Cal. When she pulled the notepad from her apron and held up her pencil expectantly, Ben didn’t even bother picking up the menu, even when Cal frowned at him. 

He just smiled and shrugged. “I trust you. Let’s see that natural palete.”

Cal raised his eyebrows and smirked right back. “All right. Prepare to be dazzled.”