Frank couldn’t help but notice Gerard’s freakishly small teeth. They were small enough to make him wonder if his baby teeth were still intact. His eyes kept on flickering towards them as though studying them for long enough would bring him the answer. He didn’t care about being rude; he didn’t know the guy well enough to actually care about his opinion. He did seem like a nice guy; he was into comics and music and to his chagrin they were getting along nicely. Even as his attention was on the man sitting across from him, from his peripheral vision he could tell Jamia was watching them with a smirk that told him this wouldn’t be the last time they would meet. It made him wish that Lindsey was dating an asshole that he genuinely couldn’t stand to be around. If it had gone badly he would be free from any future ‘double dates’. Not that this night was a total drag, but he preferred to spend his time doing anything else but sitting in a small, too bright diner with two people he didn’t know.

‘Do you play in any bands?’ Gerard asked while dipping his fries in ketchup with slow graceful movements. He stuffed them into his mouth without caring that Frank was looking at him as he ate. He didn’t seem like a guy who suffered from a lack of self confidence or self consciousness. It was a trait Frank admired. Confident people were less likely to bullshit or waste your time. They didn’t need to try too hard to gain your attention, they assumed they had it and whatever they had to say was automatically of interest to you even if it wasn’t. Gerard was that kind of guy, and far from it being annoying it only served to endear him to Frank. He didn’t seem to hold back either which Frank found refreshing.

‘I’ve played in a few but right now I’m in a band called Pency Prep. I do vocals and guitar’

‘I use to play in band myself until I got kicked out.’

Frank furrowed his brow, begrudgingly curious.

‘Why were you kicked out?’ Frank questioned as he took a sip of his soda.

‘I couldn’t play Sweet Home Alabama on the guitar.’ Gerard replied without shame.

Frank snorted. This was a bad move which made his nostrils sting as his soda came out his nose. He grabbed a napkin quickly, but Gerard had already seen the horrific sight. Before he could stop himself Gerard let out a girly giggle that made the two girls stare at him, interrupting the conversation they had found so utterly engrossing that they had ignored the two men for half an hour.

‘Oh shut up’ Frank muttered, which resulted in Gerard laughing even louder. Frank’s normally cool composure started to slip when he noticed people were starting to peek in their direction to see what the fuss was about. It didn’t help when Lindsey started giggling, in turn making Jamia laugh. Frank’s pale skin turned a shade of pink as his eyes narrowed at Gerard. His eyes were shinning with amusement at Frank’s unfortunate incident, emphasising the honey coloured flecks in his hazel eyes. Frank noticed with an uncomfortable flip of his stomach that they were quite beautiful eyes for a guy.

‘Sorry dude’ Gerard apologised, his tone making it clear that he wasn’t sorry at all. His smile was too wide and his eyes widened with insincerity. He obviously took pleasure in Frank’s discomfort, much to everybody’s delight except Frank’s.

‘At least I can play a simple song on the guitar’ Frank snapped childishly, shutting Gerard up with flushed cheeks.

‘Touché’ he murmured, his eyes narrowing with annoyance.

Jamia was watching him with a worried glance, her teeth pulling at her plump bottom lip with anxiety. Frank knew he could use this opportunity to make sure he would never have to meet this guy again. He could turn into an asshole, act like a big child and stay quiet with contempt that would infect the rest of the table. A quick glance at Jamia’s and Lindsey’s saddened faces was enough to scratch that idea out completely. It meant a lot to them for the two men to get along, perhaps even become friends and he didn’t have the heart to go out of his way to be a dick for no reason other than his displeasure at being inconvenienced. Jamia didn’t ask for much from him, other than his time and affection. It wasn’t as though the guy was a jerk, in fact most of the night he was doing his best to get along with Frank. It wasn’t such a hard task considering their very similar tastes in hobbies but it could have been a lot worse.

‘I could give you some lessons if you want’ Frank offered before his brain had fully engaged with his mouth to filter his thoughts. The minute they left his mouth he wanted to groan at his stupidity, but chances were they guy wouldn’t take him up on it.

‘Thanks man’ Gerard’s smile was sincere, but it was Jamia’s happy face that got Frank’s attention.

Frank snatched his veggie burger of the white plate and took a bite, shrugging his shoulders instead of giving a verbal response. Gerard grabbed more of his fries and ate them silently, letting the conversation lull while they ate. Gerard snuck a glance at the two women who were picking at their food while talking, not bothered about the food turning cold while they talked as though they hadn’t seen each other in years. Gerard looked up to see Frank was staring at the same thing, and once their eyes met Gerard rolled his eyes and smirked, earning a smirk from Frank as they both thought the same thing.

‘How long do you think we’ll be forced to sit here for?’ Frank eventually broke the strangely comfortable silence between them.

‘At least another half hour, if we’re lucky’ Gerard answered with a sigh.

‘Shit dude, I’m gonna miss the new episode of Soprano’s’ Frank muttered angrily.

‘Don’t remind me. Trust them to pick a night when there’s actually something decent on.’

‘You’d swear they did it on purpose.’

‘Nah man, they just don’t give a shit about good TV.’

Frank sniggered, earning a glance from Jamia. He gave her his shy smile, the one he knew she loved. It made her cheeks turn a light shade of pink, something that had never changed in all the years we had dated. She turned her attention back to Lindsey acting as though she was unflustered. Frank was certain if he held her hand her palms would be sweaty. He enjoyed the effect he had on her, especially when it came so effortlessly to him. She was easy to please, easy to live with and definitely easy on the eyes. He knew he was a lucky guy to have her.

*************************************************************************

‘I told you it wouldn’t be so bad’ Lindsey gloated with glee as she walked hand in hand with Gerard back to their apartment. The night had fallen and the street they walked down was lit with the yellow light from the streetlamps and the moonlight. The night sky was clear from any clouds so that the moon and the stars were out to shine in all their glory. It was an oddly romantic sight as they languidly made their way home, both of them full after eating too much food followed by a beer in the bar across the street. Gerard had to begrudgingly admit that the evening didn’t turn out to be the hellish nightmare he had envisioned. Frank was an interesting guy who had similar tastes to him. Lindsey had been right in her assumption that they would get along.

‘Okay, you were right. Are you happy now?’ he muttered childishly with a smile on his face.

‘Yup.’

There was a moment of silence before Lindsey spoke again.

‘So, are you gonna take him up on his offer? I think it’d be great for you to get a few lessons, it might improve your guitar skills a little’ she spoke carelessly.

‘What’s wrong with my guitar playing?’

She smiled indulgently at him, hiding her desire to laugh at his insulted expression.

‘You admitted yourself in the past you wished you could play a bit better…a few lessons couldn’t hurt. Anyway, you two seemed to get along great tonight, it wouldn’t be so bad to hang out with him, would it? Jamia’s worried he isn’t being social enough since he moved into the city, he could probably do with a friend. So could you.’

Gerard held in a sigh, hating that she was intertwining good logic with manipulation to get what she wanted. He loved Lindsey and how she always got her way but sometimes it got a little frustrating, especially when she was right.

‘Maybe. I’ll see, okay?’ he conceded.

‘Cool. I’ll get his number off Jamia for you.’

‘Just great’ he mumbled.

Notes

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