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Title: My Mistake Chapter 2
Fandom: Romani Detective original fiction
Pairing: Andrej Zeklos/James Rosewood/Zayne Reyes
Rating: PG-13 although this is about to head into NC-17+ territory soon.
Word Count: 2,483
Summary: Zayne and James have dinner.
Author’s Note: Inspired by another prompt I found in my email:  "Are you even listening?" "Yes, it just takes a while to process so much stupid all at once."  Again, this just screamed James and Zayne.  At least one more chapter, god only knows what after that.

Continued from here.

“So,” Reyes said, opening the door to James’ sedan.  “What the hell is hibachi anyway?”

Sliding into the driver’s seat, James waited until Zayne had buckled himself in before answering.  “Kind of like dinner theater, but without actors.”

“Then how is it theater,” Zayne asked genuinely confused.

Reyes scrunched his nose up and made a face, causing a rumble low in James’ belly.  God, the man was gorgeous.  It was a shame he insisted on being such a child most of the time.  “The chefs are performers in a sense.  They prepare your food on this flat top grill and over an open flame.  It can be quite impressive and dramatic.”

“Like when Tom Cruise gets all fancy with the bottle tossing in Cocktail?”

“Yeah,” James laughed, loving the reference.  “Exactly like that but with food.”

“As long as there’s food,” Zayne said while James pulled out of the drive. “I’ll give this dumbass idea a shot.”

xx

He’d initially picked this place after he and Andy had watched a show on the Food Network showcasing a hibachi restaurant inside a local gas station.  The place was somewhere in western Washington state and had fascinated them both.  Not wanting to drive to Seattle for a dinner show, James enlisted the help of his partner, Jake Hansen, to find the perfect restaurant.  James had been excited to see Andy’s reaction to the theatrics and had been looking forward to discussing it all on the ride home after.  A conversation that wasn’t going to happen now, because he was stuck here with the damn cowboy.

Reyes and his fucking mouth, always getting them both into trouble.

Andy had been pissed, too.  So much so that James had been speechless, unable to defend himself or the idiot starting the fight.  He glanced at the green-eyed lothario sitting beside him and sighed.  Maybe they had pushed Andy a bit too far this time.

"Are you even listening?"  Zayne pressed the toe of his boot against James’ shin, tapping lightly.

"Yes,” James said, pulling himself out of his thoughts.  “It just takes a while to process so much stupid all at once."  Remembering his promise to Andy, he reached under the table, squeezing the top of Reyes’ boot in an effort to soften the blow of his words.  “I got lost in my head for a minute.  What were you saying?”

Scowling, Zayne stared at him like he was about to snipe back. Instead, Reyes relaxed and pointed at the fancy sheet of laminated paper on the table. “There’s too much shit on this menu.  How do you decide what you want to eat?”

James shrugged.  “Start with what you like best,” he suggested.  “For me, that would be the scallops or the sea bass.  For you, I’d go with the New York strip steak options.”

Zayne looked down at the menu again and sighed. “I guess that makes sense.  I like seafood, but unless Zek’s cooking it, I’m always wary of trying it.”

Which, in a weird Reyes sort of way, made perfect sense.  When he’s relying on Andy to feed him, he ate what he was served, even if it was some odd sort of shellfish he’d never heard of prior.  But when he was out on his own, able to make a choice, Zayne defaulted to the things he knew he liked.  James couldn’t fault Reyes for that, he did the same thing, even if his comfort foods weren’t the same as the cowboy’s.  “So what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” he whined, winking at the redhead. “Help me?”

In the end, James convinced Zayne to step outside his comfort zone – even more than he already was – and try a steak and shrimp combo.  He figured that if Zayne hated the shrimp, he’d steal it so it didn’t go to waste.  Andrej had insisted that he and Zayne start acting as if they were dating and since James ate off Andy’s plate practically every meal, he figured Reyes’ food was fair game as well.  Hell, he’d find out soon enough.  What’s the worst that could happen?  The cowboy stabbing him with a fork?

“Is that our chef,” Reyes whispered, pointing discreetly at a young man in a white chef’s coat and red hat.

“Yes,” James said, shushing his dinner partner.  “Quiet.”

The chef approached the table and introduced himself as Takashi before proceeding to impress the socks off both detectives.  With a flip of the spatula, he had their undivided attention.  Onions were slapped onto the grill and shrimp went tumbling through the air before them.  James had seen videos online, but seeing the chef at work in person was more exciting than he’d thought it could be.  Even Reyes seemed impressed.  His mouth was shut and his eyes were wide.  He was rather adorable when he was like this.

“Holy crap,” Zayne breathed once the chef had handed their food over and left the table.  “That was something else.”

“Yeah it was,” James agreed, spearing a scallop on his fork.  “I’m sorry that Andy missed the show.”

Zayne stopped his hand in mid-reach. “You mean you’re sorry that you had to share this with me instead of him.”

Shit.  Why did Reyes decide to be sensitive at the worst possible moments?  It was so unlike him and yet, completely in character at the same time.  Whatever garnered the most sympathy, he ran with.  “That’s not what I meant at all.  You know he would have enjoyed this, Zayne.”

“Yeah,” Reyes agreed, sounding disgruntled.  “He’d probably spend half the show studying the chef’s technique so he could try it out himself later.”

“Can you picture him flipping shrimp in his kitchen?”  Zayne laughed and shook his head.  “He’d strangle us if we even thought about trying.”

James had to grin at the thought of Zayne trying to replicate Takashi’s skills in Andy’s kitchen.  “Yes, he definitely would.  We should bring him with us next time.”

Zayne nodded and picked up his fork.  For a few moments they ate in companionable silence, each savoring the rich, savory umami of the food.  James stole a look at Reyes and frowned.  He wasn’t eating, just pushing steak around on his plate.  “Are you okay, cowboy?”

Slowly, deliberately, Zayne set his fork down beside his plate.  Without looking up, he asked, “Why don’t you like me?”

“I don’t hate you, Zayne,” James said, reaching out and laying a hand on Reyes’ arm.  Where the hell had this come from?

“I know you don’t hate me,” he muttered.  “But you don’t really like me either.  What did Trish say?  That you tolerate me.”

While that had been true back in the beginning, things had changed since then.  When he and Andy had first started dating, Reyes had done everything in his power to disrupt their dates, make Andy have second thoughts and generally piss James off.  But ever since Zayne had tagged along to his sister’s wedding, he’d acquired a greater appreciation of the cowboy.  He’d discovered deeper layers to the guy that he hadn’t thought existed.

“I don’t tolerate you either,” he said, throwing his hands in the air, fork still gripped between his fingers. “If I was only enduring your presence to make Andy happy, we wouldn’t be here right now. I would have left and gone home because I know Andy would change his mind after a few days.  If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t take all the crap you give me.  Yes, we fight, but it’s not because I don’t like you. It’s because you’re too much like that asshole jock back in high school that always got what he wanted because he was the hot one.  The one who wasn’t ever made to own up to his own bullshit because everyone loved him so damn much.”

Reyes’ face twisted into something unreadable.  “And?”

“And what?”  Stymied, James didn’t know what else to say.  He’d expected Reyes to come for him right there in the restaurant.  Heaven only knew James deserved it after that little outburst.

“And what else is on your mind, narco?  Because that was some deep shit right there.”  A hint of amusement twinkled in Zayne’s eyes.

He couldn’t tell if Zayne was baiting him or not.  “Nothing else.  I just – I’ve dealt with too many assholes who felt like they were owed the world because they were rich, handsome or connected.”

“Or a combination of all three,” Zayne added with a sharp nod.  “I know the type, but I’m not that bad, am I?”

“Not all the time,” James admitted.  “But too often for my comfort.  Most of the time, I think you’re bullshitting your way through it all.  Other times, I think you really do believe you should get Andy’s attention because you bat your eyes and smile pretty.”

Zayne grinned, eyelashes fluttering.

“Stop that,” James laughed.  “It’s not going to work on me tonight.”

“Ah-hah,” Zayne crowed pointing a finger at the redhead.  “So you admit it does work sometimes.  I knew it.”

“Shut up,” James groaned.

“Naw, not gonna happen, baby.”  Zayne blew a kiss in the redhead’s direction.  “We just had a moment, didn’t we?”

“Don’t ruin it, cowboy.”

xx

Andrej furrowed his brow as he reread the sentence.  Even after fifteen plus years in America, sometimes things still didn’t make any sense to him.  His mentor had believed that reading was the best way to broaden your vocabulary, especially with a foreign language, so he’d always encouraged Andrej to read as much as he could in English.  Unfortunately, the only books he’d been able to get his hands on back then had been cheap Harlequin-esque romances he’d found at thrift stores.  Despite the strictly male-female relationships, the books had truly broadened his vocabulary, adding many words that he’d never, ever use in real life.  Words that he only ever heard come out of his partner’s mouth.

Thank god for the internet and the recent surge of interest in same sex relationships.  These he could at least relate to somewhat, even if he had no interest in a man in a kilt.  A man in a cowboy hat, on the other hand, that he could happily get behind.

“What are you doing in the tub, Zek?”

Lowering his book, Andrej looked up at Zayne and smiled. “Reading and relaxing a bit.  How was dinner?”

“The food was amazing,” he said, tugging at his shirttail.  “You want some company in there?”

Carefully, so that he didn’t get the book or the bookmark wet, Andrej marked his spot and closed the paperback he’d been holding.  “There is not enough room for all three of us in here.”

“Who said three,” Zayne teased, working the last bit of his button-up out of his jeans.  “I was planning on just you and me.”

“Did we not have this conversation once tonight?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Zayne muttered, running a hand through his hair.  “Whatever.  What was that look all about?”

Uncertain of Zayne’s meaning, Andrej thought for a moment before giving up.  “What look?”

“The confused one you had on your face when I walked in here.”

“Oh,” Andrej laughed.  “That.  I do not understand some things I read and was trying to uncover the meaning of this word.  The context did not help.”

“That’s because you’ve never seen a vagina, baby,” Zayne teased, sitting on the edge of the bathtub.

“Maybe not,” Andrej said, frowning, “but I do know what that is.  Tumescent, on the other hand, is out of my understanding.”

“Can’t say I’ve ever heard that word either,” Zayne admitted.

“What word,” James asked, letting himself into the bathroom.  “Hey, you’re in the tub.”

“Brilliant observation, narco,” Zayne said.

“Zayne,” Andrej sighed.  “Be nice.”

“I’m just teasing him,” he said.  “The ginger knows it, too.”

“I’m trying not to let him get under my skin,” James told Andrej.  “What was the word,” he asked, digging his phone out of his pocket.  “I’ll look it up for you.”

Which is what Andrej usually did but, being in the bathtub, he hadn’t wanted to bother with his phone.  “Tumescent.  The context referred to a man’s body part becoming tumescent.”

“He might want to have that looked at,” Zayne chuckled.

“Tumescent,” James read.  “Swelling or slightly tumid.”

“What the hell does tumid mean?”  Zayne glanced at Andrej.  “Do we need to be worried about what you’re reading, baby?”

“Nah,” James said, typing on his phone again.  “It’s the same as always – another smutty romance novel.  Ah, tumid.  Swollen, or affected with swelling, as a part of the body.”

“Oh,” Andrej squeaked, cheeks reddening.  “That makes very much sense.”

“A lot,” James corrected out of habit.  “Boy that must have been one racy paragraph you were reading because your face is burning hot right now.”

He was beginning to reconsider Zayne’s offer of company in the bathtub.  But there was something he needed to know first.  “Zayne says the food was good, Jay.  How was the rest of your date?”

James wet his lips, stalling for time.  “I won’t lie,” he finally said. “We had a rocky start, but we got through it.”

“And now?”  He tossed his book into the laundry basket so that it wouldn’t get wet when he got out in a minute.  “Are you any closer to being friends?”

The redhead looked at the cowboy and an affectionate smile teased at his lips.  “I think we’re closer than we were.”

“Yeah,” Zayne agreed, trailing his fingers through the bubbles floating on the surface of the bathwater.  “We don’t hate each other any longer.”

“That is a plus,” Andrej agreed.

“It’s more than that,” James clarified, sitting next to Reyes on the tub’s edge.  “But it’s something he and I need to hash out on our own.  For now, we’re good though.”

“Zayne?”

“We’re good,” Zayne agreed.  “We will talk more, eventually.  But for now, what the hell did you put in here to get all these bubbles?  And why didn’t I know you had this shit?”

Laughing, James shoulder bumped Zayne.  “Probably because neither of us would have ever pegged you for a bubble bath type of person, Reyes.”

“And Zek is,” Zayne asked.

“Yeah,” James asked.  “Because he takes pleasure in the simple things, things he probably never had the luxury of growing up.  Like a goddamned bubble bath.”

“Jay is right,” Andrej confirmed.  “It seems silly, but baths were a luxury in themselves.  Bubbles weren’t even in my vocabulary.”

“So,” James said, leaning in and drawing his fingers through the water like Zayne had done.  “Is there room for all of us in there?”

“He told me no when I asked,” Zayne said, ratting Andrej out. “But I say we find out whether he’s wrong or not.  You game, narco?”

“You’d better believe it, cowboy.”

Andrej sighed, praying for the safety of his bathroom floor.

Concludes here.

Date: 2016-12-07 11:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sharpiesgal.livejournal.com
Those two can get along when they work at it. They just got to learn they don't need to compete for Andy's affection. It's not like he would kick them to the curb.

Andy would have enjoyed dinner.

Date: 2016-12-07 11:59 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] asphaltcowgrrl.livejournal.com
Typical boys! Eventually they will figure it out, but until then, they'll make poor Andy nuts. If it ever came to it, have a feeling he'd kick them BOTH out before he kicked one or the other out.

Yeah, so would I. I've heard such amazing things about Benihana... (can you tell it's time to go home and I'm starving?)

Up next... smut. Stay tuned... :D

Date: 2016-12-08 03:07 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sharpiesgal.livejournal.com
Yay smut!!!!

Yeah, I could tell you were ravenous...lol

I was at lunch break when I read it, so we were in the same boat.

Date: 2016-12-08 10:18 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] asphaltcowgrrl.livejournal.com
Hah! Cross your fingers... it's been a few weeks/months since I've attempted anything sexy... let alone with this many body parts. :D

ROFL! Rule of thumb: I am like Zayne - always hungry. (And also a big, giant dork but I think that goes without saying)

Glad to know I had company. :)

Date: 2016-12-08 11:36 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sharpiesgal.livejournal.com
So if Zayne is modeled after you and James is modeled after your hubby, then who is the model for Andy?

Enquiring minds want to know...lol

Date: 2016-12-08 11:50 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] asphaltcowgrrl.livejournal.com
It's more like my husband's personality traits latched onto James' red hair and seeped into his character. Hah. But that's a good question. One I have no answer for.

Maybe Andy is the kind of guy I should have married and instead I wound up with a mouthy, obnoxious, but loving and generous guy instead? Figures though that I get the loudmouth. :D

Date: 2016-12-09 04:49 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sharpiesgal.livejournal.com
Isn't that always the way? Lol.

Date: 2016-12-09 06:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] asphaltcowgrrl.livejournal.com
It is (and I think Andy would agree LOL)!

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