I Have Been Chosen

Oliver 22

Saturday 14th February

After leaving Cody's restaurant, Oliver did some shopping, buying some new glassware and crockery, which he had been meaning to replace all the ones that he had gotten rid of, namely the ones that had been bought as part of a set with Arden. Then, Oliver headed home to have a shower and do his usual Saturday routine of catching up with all the household chores and tidying, then relaxing into playing some puzzle and mystery games on a game console whilst voice chatting with Kara, who was raving about her latest trashy TV show, as well as the true crime documentary they had been binge watching together.

When it drew closer to the evening, Oliver gussied himself up. Originally, he had an outfit already planned out and freshly ironed, a navy blue patterned shirt that was smart-casual for the event, and he was not going to pair it with a tie. However, Oliver couldn't help but think back to last night and how Cody had undone his tie. So he opted for another shirt that would match well with a tie.

And now, Oliver couldn't stop thinking about Cody cooking. He supposed that a lot of people found it attractive if someone cooked for them, but that wasn't what Oliver was so focused on. It wasn't even seeing how impressively Cody could multi-task and cook multiple orders at a time since Oliver knew that Cody could multi-task anyway as he sang and played fast and complicated guitar riffs with ease. No, it was how strictly Cody followed all of the cooking procedures. Oliver himself wasn't versed in this area, but he knew the basics. He wondered why he never dated a chef before. He had been with other partners who had to follow strict rules, including a student lawyer, but he couldn't exactly watch them work, not like how Cody's restaurant is set up with customers able to watch the chefs cook, with nothing to hide. In the eyes of Oliver, nothing was more attractive than someone who was upright and principled.

When he was dressed, Oliver left his apartment and took the bus to the steakhouse. Though Oliver and Cody lived only minutes away from each other, and Oliver could have gotten a lift with Cody, they wanted to get their own way there, as suggested by Cody. Apparently, arriving separately would make it seem more like a date, meeting at the restaurant instead.

Oliver arrived at the restaurant; his nose was greeted with the smell of steak and wine. He told the host his name and was guided to his reserved table and offered a drink as he waited for the other member of his party. Oliver opted for water for the moment and waited, having arrived early as he did everything in his life. Around him, the tables were filled with other couples celebrating Valentine's Day, some having spent their lives together, others only just begun.

Oliver read the drinks menu, though he already knew what he was going to order; it was a mint cocktail, a couple, a few, maybe throughout the course of the evening, depending on how much or if Cody decided he was going to drink.

And so he waited.

He watched as other tables got their food, having a nosy and trying to guess what they were so he could decide on what to order, and then catching someone else ordering the mint cocktail. It seemed that they had changed it since he was last here, but so long as it had mint in it, Oliver didn't particularly care for the change. He was just glad they had it in stock.

And he waited some more.

The waitress came by again; enough time had passed that she felt it necessary to ask if Oliver wanted to order a drink or at least check up on everything. Oliver thanked her; he was fine with water for now.

He continued to wait.

Oliver checked the time. Cody was half an hour late. So, Oliver texted him, wondering if he somehow got the time wrong or if it got busy at work, and so he was running late. Another possibility was that Cody had accidentally fallen asleep when he had gotten home because of how little sleep he got last night due to Oliver's efforts, and Oliver wouldn't blame him for it.