Adonis and Cal found a café to lounge in. It was small and homely; hearts dangled on strings taped to the ceiling. There were glass displays filled with picture-perfect desserts. Cal blushed. Perhaps walking into the first café they found wasn't the best idea. They sat at a small table near the back. Adonis bowed his head, gazing out the window at the people walking down the sidewalk. His fingers moved across the table as if they were playing an imaginary piano. Cal had invited him out, totally disregarding his client, a pretty sixteen old girl who had a thing for him. He sighed inwardly. He threw away a nice time with her for a complete stranger.
Adonis glanced at him as if checking that he was still there, then back out the window. A girl wearing a black outfit and a green apron came to take their order. Cal said, "Coffee. Black."
He felt something tapping his knuckles. It was Adonis' fingers. The boy continued to stare out the window, but he had placed a piece of paper on the table. Cal admired the pretty, cursive writing for a moment. Most guys didn't care about how their words looked on the page. But this guy's letter curved and flowed beautifully one into the next. Cal said, "And for her, the hot chocolate with whipped cream and colored sprinkles, a double chocolate donut, chocolate loaf, slice of chocolate cake with the cherry on it, and a strawberry-hang on, who's eating all this?" Cal asked.
Adonis still staring out the window pointed to himself.
The girl blinked, also not believing the sheer number of things that one girl wanted to stuff into her fat mouth. Cal said, "You don't need hot chocolate and a strawberry milkshake. If you're drinking something hot, there's no need for something cold."
Adonis wrote something on another piece of paper he produced from the dress' pocket. 'My heart hurts.'
Cal sighed. This kid was a pain in the ass. He told the waitress, "Bring everything."
"Plus the strawberry milkshake?"
Cal nodded.
The girl laughed and said, "Okay, I'll be right back."
Cal told Adonis, "You'll die of diabetes."
"Then I'll die a happy man."
"So, you want to talk about it? The date that almost ended up in you getting raped? Honestly, you shouldn't go out with people that are physically stronger than you. And if you are going to do that again, bring a tazer or something."
"Noted. So, what's your story? Why are you here? You've got a messenger bag on your shoulder, so I'm guessing... reporter?"
"No, I'm a tutor."
"Ah. You like it?"
"I like teaching people, yes."
"Ah." Adonis watched the girl place a mug of black coffee on the table then head for the kitchen. He was silent, his face anxious till she returned with his hot chocolate and plates of sweet treats. He ate cutely, eating the sprinkled whipped cream off the top with a spoon. He paused then slid the strawberry milkshake over to Cal. He said, "You're right. Cold and hot will hurt my stomach."
"Told you so."
Adonis rolled his eyes, then asked, "You live around here?"
Cal laughed. "No. The houses around here are huge and expensive; I don't have that kind of money."
"You live with your family somewhere else?"
"Langley, I have a pod in Langley."
"You live in a pod?"
Adonis squinted, clearly confused, and Cal knew he had never heard of such a thing, so he explained, "Yeah, I have a place to sleep. It's a human-sized capsule; think of it as a giant pill with a glass cover and proper ventilation; A/C and filtered air; or heat when its cold out. There are draws on the side that I can put my clothes into. There are fifty guys, four showers, and two toilets on my floor. There are great guys though, a little rowdy at times, but nice."
Adonis frowned. He slid the plate with the slice of chocolate cake, a small cherry balanced on top, to Cal. "Sorry."
"For?"
"I'm just sorry."
They ate quietly for a moment. Adonis was self- conscious; sometimes he covered his mouth as he ate in a dainty way that reminded Cal of a woman. It annoyed Cal because he felt that if the guy didn't change, he would be taken advantage of. It also annoyed Cal that he was worried about a kid he had just met.
Adonis said, "I have a business proposition."
"Alright."
"You can work for me and my mom. A lot of our servants are old or women, so they can't lift heavy things. And they are not good at fixing appliances or plumbing, yard work, the list goes on. Yeah, they're pretty bad at physical labour, so if you had any skills in those areas, we will hire you. We can pay you five thousand a month. We will give you a room, toiletries, food, and a few weekends off a month." He scratched his cheek. "If you wanted that sort of thing, we could give it to you. Anything else, we can negotiate later, yeah?" His blue eyes held Cal captive for a moment.
"Okay, I will do it." The boy's pitch had won Cal over.
Adonis smiled. "You won't regret it."
Adonis' job offer paid Cal at least twice the amount he made in a month from tutoring plus free meals and lodging. It was a good deal. Too good. Cal said, "You hardly know me. Why would you offer me something like that?"
The boy smiled. "I could the same about you, but you helped me when no one else did. I owe you."
"But nothing as grand as this. You can just buy me a meal."
"My heart tells me you are a good person."
"My heart tells me the same about you." Cal had very few friends despite living in Langley for four years. He was either working, studying, excercising or practicing martial arts. That left little time for people. This little meal he shared with Adonis was the first time he had eaten with someone outside of work. He sipped the strawberry milk through the straw and nearly gagged. It was far too sweet. He returned it to Adonis, but he tried the cake and found it delicious.
"Do you want the job?" Adonis asked.
"I'll give it a test run."
***