Change of Plans
I was getting out of the car with my book, ready to sit on a bar stool and drink. I had been trying to decide where to go while watching a delightfully chubby man juggle a bag of Burger King goodies and a large soda. I would use that image later tonight. I decided on the steak house. They looked a little run down on the outside, but the bar was excellent, the food was surprisingly modern, and I have always met interesting people there. I opened my door and turned to pull my jacket from the passenger seat when I heard a bag hit the ground and the sound of liquid spilling from a cup. I turned to see the chubby man bending over to scoop what he could from his ruined dinner. I found myself enjoying watching his body, but the distress he was in seemed unbearable. I told myself I would not get involved under any circumstance...until his pants tore down the middle. I could see his belly spilling out from the top of his waist band as he bent lower to pick up the bag. Through the tear in his pants I could see pink skin; he was not wearing underwear. I grabbed my jacket and walked over to him.
"Here let me help you," I said in a calm voice. He looked up at me, his face red and his hot breath hitting my cheeks with every pant.
"Thank you," he said breathlessly. We picked up the remnants of his dinner and put it back into the broken bag. He took it all from me and said, "Thanks," with a shy tone as he hurried back to his car.
"Wait," I said with more demand than intended. He turned to me with sweaty hair. His pants were dirty from frantically picking up the food and his belly was hanging out underneath his untucked shirt.
"You're not going to go home and eat that, are you?" I asked. He looked down at the ripped back and then back up at me with panic in his eyes.
"Let me get you some dinner that isn't covered in mud." He avoided my eyes and looked toward his car.
"I-I have to get home." he said nervously.
"Come on," I said with my best smile. "This is the best steak house in the area. At least share an appetizer with me; they have the best jalapeno poppers." His face changed and I could FEEL myself going into predator mode. I told myself to stop after dinner.
"I do really like jalapeno poppers," he said with a shy glance at me. I smiled again, taking the broken bag, and throwing it in the trash while holding the door open to the steakhouse.
When the waitress saw me, she started to move toward the bar with one menu. "Table for two tonight Christine," I said smiling at her. She smiled and led me and the chubby man to a booth. We sat on either side of the table and I watched him get situated. I think he remembered his pants were ripped when he sat down and had become self-conscious.
"Can I get you something to drink?" Christine said smiling at me. "Rum and Coke for me," I said sitting back and crossing my legs.
"Uh," the chubby guy said picking up his menu. "Just a mountain dew please." Christine disappeared and the chubby guy settled in finally. "It's what I dropped out there," he said with an embarrassed smile. I nodded and leaned closer to him.
"I'm Jay," I said holding out my hand. "A-Arthur," he said taking it. "Nice to meet you Arthur," I said sitting back again. I ordered some jalapeno poppers once our drinks came and then asked some mundane questions about him. He was an IT guy for a small company and had been headed home to do some work before the incident in the parking lot.
"Well I hope I'm not taking you away from your work," I said innocently as the poppers were set down at the table. He scoffed and shook his head.
"Nah, I can get back to it eventually." He took a steaming popper and bit into it. I got slightly hard at the thought of him not even caring whether it was too hot; he seemed very hungry. I grabbed one and put it on the plate in front of me.
"What do you think?" I asked. His eyes bulged and he nodded his head as he wiped his face with his napkin.
"Really good," he said with his mouth full. Again, I felt my crotch tighten a little. He was hesitant to take another one, so I took a bite of mine and breathed in, authentically enjoying the taste of it. He smiled and took another like a child happily pulling from the cookie jar.
We talked about his job and how he had really wanted to be a graphic designer but had never gone to school for it. I asked a good amount of questions and made him laugh a couple times as he continued to eat the poppers. By the time my drink was finished, he had eaten the seven jalapeno poppers while mine still had just one bite taken out of it. After he swallowed his current bite, I looked at him and ushered to the last one on my plate.
"You want mine?" I said as genuinely as I could. "It's a little too spicy for me, my stomach will be very upset if I have anymore."
"Oh, sure," he said without hesitation. I pushed the plate over to him. He picked up the last of the appetizer and popped it into his mouth. I grabbed my glass and drank the last remnant of watered-down coke.
"I'm thinking of having another drink. You want to just eat dinner here?" He smiled and I asked Christine for another Rum and Coke and a menu.
An hour later, Arthur had eaten a rib-eye with mashed potatoes and mac and cheese with a bowl of soup before his entree. I had ordered some coconut shrimp that I picked at as Arthur talked about moving away from his family and trying to live on his own. He had had big plans before coming here and then...
"I've become the guy that drops burger king on a Tuesday night." I chuckled and swirled my drink.
"Being out on a Tuesday night is the best way to meet people in my opinion," I said clinking my drink into his. He blushed slightly and finished that last bite of mashed potatoes.
"Man, I'm full," he said sighing with happiness.
"What do you think about dessert?" I asked finishing my third drink. He looked at my plate of unfinished coconut shrimp.
"You didn't finish your dinner." I nodded and grimaced.
