7- Not So First Date

By the time the shift was over, the sun was up. Rayan was grimy, and sweaty, and tired. He was storing his safety gear in his locker when Michael literally swung his way into the room.

"Hey Rayan, come to the salon with me, dude! I need my expert color-picker!"

"I can't, I've got just enough time to get cleaned up before I have to be at Dean's for the opening shift."

"Fuddy-duddy. You should get your hair cut for tonight."

Jack came in then, not saying a word, as usual. He began putting his gear away.

Rayan sighed in exasperation. "I don't want to cut my hair. Besides, if I suddenly show up with short hair it'll look like I'm trying too hard."

"If I was dating a doctor, I would do everything in my power to lock that down."

Jack loudly finished putting away his things, slammed his locker door, and stalked out.

"Oh, Jack! See you next week!" Rayan called after him. There was no reply.

"Why do you try, man. It's not like he wants to talk to us. We're beneath him you know." Michael closed his own locker, much more gently. "Omegas are the bottom of the totem pole."

"We're on the same team, like it or not. I'm just trying to be nice. He might come around."

"And I might turn into an alpha."

The mood soured. "I've gotta go," Rayan said, closing his locker. "I don't want to be late, and I need a shower."

"Okay, man."

"Wait a sec," Rayan brightened up a little, "how about I go with you tomorrow for your color? I don't have to work until later in the day."

Michael pouted slightly. "I'll be super upset if you flake because your new boyfriend kept you up all night." He ducked at Rayan's mock punch.

"I'll be there. Get an early appointment. We need to save your followers from having to see your roots."

"Do I get to set an appointment for you too? My treat!"

"Don't push it, Mick."

"Fiiiiine..."

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One aggravating shift later, he was finally home. Rayan had all of four hours until his date. He had been up since before midnight. Normally, he would just go home and crash, comatose. Tuesday was the only afternoon he ever had free. Sometimes, managing to have a fixed schedule really bit him in the ass. He trudged his way home. He had to get some sleep before tonight. Sooo tired...

He fell into bed and gripped his pillow tight. His stomach complained about being hungry, but he was too tired to care. There were no less than three alarms set on his phone so he wouldn't oversleep. At least Scott picked another restaurant that was nearby. Not that Scott knew where Rayan lived, but Rayan considered it lucky anyway. It meant more sleep. He double checked that the alarms were set.

Three hours, fifteen minutes until the date. One hour to dress up and get there. Two hours, fifteen minutes of sleep. He triple checked his alarms. Two hours, ten minutes of sleep.

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The alarms started going off. A bell chime, angry buzzing, and a nuclear meltdown warning sounded off, one after the other. Rayan lay face up in his bed, listening to the cacophony and wondering if he really, truly, REALLY wanted to go on this date. His dream was just getting to the good part, too.

He sat up with a groan and set to work on the puzzle locks to turn the alarms off. He was going on this date. He agreed to this date. He was not going to be an ass and stand this guy up. He oozed out of bed and stretched, yawning. He could always go back to sleep afterwards.

He changed into his good pair of jeans and the white button-up from his busboy gig, rolling up the sleeves to hide the stains. If he had time, he might have gotten a new shirt, but neither time nor money were on his side. Besides, he already wore his one nice shirt when he had the blood work done. He couldn't very well wear the same shirt he was asked out in on their first date. Well, second date. First official date. Besides, it passed the mirror check. He brushed his hair out and tied it in a loose ponytail. He was tired. He looked tired. He gave his face a quick wash in cold water and headed out.

The restaurant was a twenty-minute walk away. It helped Rayan wake up a little, but not much. Scott was already there, standing outside the place, waiting on him.

"Hey, Rayan! Glad you could make it!" Scott waved and moved in for a hug.

Rayan froze up before returning the gesture awkwardly. At least it was a short hug. "Did... ah... Were you waiting long?"

"Not too long. Ready to eat?"

Rayan's stomach answered for him, reminding him that he'd had nothing to eat since before his grocery clerk shift. "Ye-yes," he said. He blushed and his hand went to the hem of his collar.

Scott chuckled. "Let's not keep your stomach waiting then. Shall we?"

Scott offered up his arm, which Rayan tentatively accepted, and led him into the restaurant. The place Scott picked this time was a Chinese buffet. The assault of sweet and savory smells prompted more commentary from Rayan's belly. It had been so long since Rayan had been to a buffet of any kind. This was definitely worth getting out of bed for.

In short order they had their food and were sitting across from each other at a table. Scott had just a few different things on his plate, while Rayan had a little bit of everything.

"Wow, you know how to use chopsticks?" Rayan watched Scott as he daintily started in on some stir fried vegetables.

"I do. I learned as a kid. Can you use them?"

"No, not really." Rayan skewered a piece of chicken with his fork. "We didn't go out to eat much when I was younger."

"Let me get you a pair, I'll teach you!" Scott stood and made his way back to the buffet.

"No, wait- that's-" Rayan's protests went unheard as Scott walked away. "Your food's going to get cold..." He skewered another piece of chicken. Seems he would be learning how to use chopsticks tonight.

Scott returned shortly with a fresh pair of chopsticks, clad in their red paper sleeve. "Okay, so you hold them like this," he demonstrated, "and then move your fingers like so. It's easy."

Rayan did his best to mimic him. The utensil felt unnatural in his hand. He tried to pick up a bit of food, and succeeded in somehow throwing it off his plate. He was sure Scott was laughing at him somehow. He frowned and tried again, this time he managed to drop the food before it got to his mouth. At least it landed back on his plate. Embarrassing. He set the chopsticks on the table with a resounding clack and went back to using his fork. He purposely didn't look at his date. He didn't want to be made fun of. Scott was probably going to laugh at him.

"Not bad for a first try. Don't give up yet!"

"I didn't eat lunch. I'm hungry. A fork is faster. I'll try again later."

"You skipped lunch? Why would you do that?"

"I was tired." Rayan still avoided looking at him. He had to change the subject. "So... What do you do for fun? Besides showing off your utensil skills."

"Fun huh? Let's see... Movies, video games-"

"Wait, YOU play video games?" Rayan's head snapped up in disbelief

Scott laughed a little. "What, do I not seem the type?"

"It's just... It's hard to picture a doctor playing a video game."

"My sister and I hold tournaments every Sunday. It helps to keep my skills sharp. Do you play any games?"

"Not since I was a kid. I had a friend who had a Sony something-or-other. They let me play sometimes, but I wasn't very good. So, what kind of games does a doctor play, anyway?"

"Racing, puzzles, shooters," Scott ticked them off on his fingers, "Anything really. I'm not too picky. I'll show you how to play sometime. You'll probably get roped in to playing anyway once you meet my family. My sister's really big on video games."

"That might be nice."

Rayan listened as Scott talked about some of the different games he and his sister played growing up as they ate. It was nice to get the attention of his utensil ability, and just focus on stuffing his face. The two finished off their first plates. Rayan went for seconds. Scott went for dessert.