New Players In The Pattern

[Aiden Finnegan]

Aiden’s eyebrows climbed almost to his hairline at Sage’s comment. He felt himself blush. It took an effort to bring his brows back down where they belonged. He was left speechless for half of a second. Aiden laughed, though not uneasily, “Yeah, not on the first date. I’m getting a little too old for that… Besides, in my experience, screwing the first time you meet someone tends to end poorly. Maybe tomorrow though.” He chuckled again at that last bit.

                Rolling down the partition window, Aiden called up to the driver, “Cooper, my friend and I here are going to head into the restaurant for a quick bite. Would you mind taking Lasher around the block a few times while we dine?” The driver nodded at that. Aiden called back, “Thanks, Cooper. You want anything?” The driver shook his head and urged Aiden on.

                A moment of shock passed through Aiden as he got out of the car and stood next to Sage. The man was taller than him, not by much, but Aiden still noticed. He ran his eyes up and down the man, finally getting a real look at him. Sage looked lean, much like Aiden, but Aiden had more muscle. He wouldn’t know for sure without ‘getting into Sage’s pants,’ but he had a good eye for the human body. Sage looked younger than Aiden too, but then again, Aiden looked incredible for his age. Most wouldn’t guess that Aiden was pushing 34.

                “Yeah, I guess I wasn’t really thinking about that suggestion… BBQ in the backseat… How tasteless, right? I was just thinking about the views of the city, didn’t even contemplate the possibility of getting messy in the back… With BBQ sauce. Stuff gets everywhere,” Aiden said to Sage with a chuckle.

                Aiden guided Sage into The Red Pitt, briefly touching the back of his arm while doing so. Aiden really had no intention of bedding the other man tonight, or tomorrow. He might really need Nox’s help and he couldn’t mess that opportunity up. If Aiden screwed Sage’s brains out tonight, that was all good and well, but then it really could just be a one night stand; and those things tended to go sour. Better to at least learn a little bit more about Sage before Aiden decided to romp around in his bedsheets.

                That wasn’t to say Aiden was against making out on the first date.

                Or copping a feel.

                But Aiden was getting ahead of himself again. The only thing he knew about Sage was the fact that he was a scary-good hacker and also that he was a fellow American. Was Sage even his real name? It had to be, otherwise, why would he have tried identifying himself as the ‘wicked-whatever’? Aiden was positive he wouldn’t have learned Sage’s name until meeting him in person. It was a great shock that the man had finally caved.

                Walking over to the counter, Aiden instructed the staff to hold on to the food he had ordered, the pair would take it home with them. Aiden was just going to have them plate it, but it was a lot and Aiden had been thinking of currying favor with Nox and the other roommates, so he would stick to that plan. They would bring it home for them and order something else here. Money wasn’t the issue.

                A waitress quickly seated them near the back, well away from any other patrons. It was a roundtable for two, a red tablecloth was draped over it. Aiden thought it looked like a giant handkerchief. The theme of the restaurant was more dramatic than he remembered. The owner tried decorating in an over the top American theme. Texas specifically. A large cartoon Uncle Sam was eating a pig whole on the back wall. Neon lights were everywhere, all in the shapes of cacti and cowboys. Haybales lined the back corner and empty whiskey bottles sat at every table, Christmas lights stuffed into the bottles giving a soft contrast to the garish lighted signs around the room. The waitress left them their menus and walked off without much of a word.

                “Yes, we would like some drinks,” Aiden said sarcastically to the Waitress’ back. She didn’t hear him or pretended not to. He pulled out Sage’s seat for him, acting the perfect gentleman, before walking back to the other side and seating himself. He didn’t bother picking up the menu, having just poured over it an hour ago. Gesturing to the one before Sage, Aiden said, “Anything and everything you want. It’s on me, obviously. I’d recommend the ‘big, fat piggy basket.’ It’s basically a sampler platter of half the menu. The best half, in my humble opinion. Do you drink? They’ve got a few good local brews served here. Damn good stuff.” Aiden was smiling very widely at Sage. His left leg was bouncing in place. That meant he was nervous. He stopped the bouncing, worried it might lead to a few fireballs manifesting in the restaurant.

                “So, uh…” Aiden mumbled, the nervousness not really retreating. He hadn’t done this in a while. It didn’t help that Sage had been deflective earlier in the day. Aiden wasn’t really sure what to ask him. He didn’t want to be rebuffed again, but Sage did agree to come out with him. And he did make a rather forward statement earlier. Although Sage said ‘not on the first date,’ that expression of his said otherwise. No, Sage would be more open. Aiden was sure of it. “Where you from? What do you do when you’re not hacking your way into my home? Why are you in Russia? Sorry if that’s too many questions at once. I’m just curious. The only thing we talked about earlier was your friend, Nox, and… well… you know,” Aiden said with a wink. He was in fact referring to Channeling and everything he had watched in those videos, but he didn't want anyone else to hear; they were pretty far from the other patrons all things considered. Aiden didn't even realize that the added wink put a completely different spin on his last statement.