ONE: Vanilla on My Hands

12: When Special Occasions Call

"Well this is nice," Ryan smiled contently, sipping on his usual white wine spritzer, looking around the restaurant before he looked at Frank, "I mean, it's not Tuesday night 'nice'... But it's nice."

"See? We can have a nice time out without it having to be a certain day of the week." Frank told him, thankful that Ryan hadn't made too much of a fuss about dinner out on a different day of the week. It was only Friday. It wasn't like it was completely random and obscure for it to happen on a Friday night. Frank hadn't even told Ryan why they were out tonight and he just continued to smile smugly at Ryan. Ryan examined Frank closely and he knew that Ryan was trying to guess the surprise. Perhaps, Ryan thought it was something to do with the recent success of his latest article and if that were the case, Ryan was almost right.

"I still prefer date night," Ryan commented casually and Frank merely rolled his eyes. He had gone the extra mile to ensure that Ryan had a semblance of comfort while they were out on a not-so-Tuesday night. He had phoned ahead and made sure to reserve their usual table at their usual time at the usual restaurant. Frank had even ordered Ryan's usual drink for him along with his usual meal. Frank was all smiles as he ordered the first thing on the menu that had no meat in it, knowing it would ease Ryan's mood that Frank wasn't taking forever to decide. He had even worn the usual shirt he donned on Tuesday nights.

Frank had insisted that they go out, he wasn't about to announce his huge news over some measly Friday night take-out. Luckily, Ryan hadn't ruined it. As much as he wanted to blurt it out and tell Ryan everything, he wanted the timing to be right, "Well, with what happened today, it couldn't wait until next Tuesday, dude."

"So, what happened at work today?" Ryan questioned as Frank messed around with his cutlery and straightened it around a couple of times. Frank kept trying to reel in the smile on his face and tone it down, but it was starting to be a little obvious and Ryan was probably already suspicious.

"I wouldn't even say that it happened 'at work' per se," Frank started, "It was on my lunch break."

"Are you going to preface this for ten minutes," Ryan asked Frank pointedly, "Or are you actually planning on telling me what happened?"

Frank wanted to so badly tell Ryan what had happened and why he was so excited but there was still one small part of him that was reminding him that he was dating Ryan. And not only that but he was also working for Ryan's family. He still loved the job he currently had but knew that he didn't want to just brush the opportunity aside because of loyalty like Way had offered. At the same time, he had no idea how anyone would take it. Frank didn't want his excitement and sheer curiosity about accepting the job to be squashed because he was in too deep with Ryan's family.

"Depends on how you'll react to it," Frank said quickly as he sipped on his own drink.

"Well, that depends on what happened to you and if it was good or bad," Ryan commented simply, running a finger over the rim of his drink slowly.

"Oh, it was good," Frank reassured him, "Really good. Why would I insist on dinner if it were bad?"

"Cushion the blow perhaps." Ryan shrugged, "Although taking me out of my comfort zone on a random day of the week is hardly cushioning."

"It's a good thing." Frank nodded and took another sip of his drink when Ryan let out a small sigh of impatience.

"Then just tell me," Ryan pleaded, his voice nearly whiny, "Please, I can't wait any longer."

Frank opened his mouth to tell Ryan what had happened when the waiter appeared at their table with food in hand. He set the plates down in front of them and Ryan smiled politely at the man who had handed him his usual steak. Frank thanked the waiter when he looked at his food with the hope that it was going to be good. Frank had considered getting his eggplant steaks again because he had enjoyed them, but they were rather oily so he went with the vegetable pizza instead. At least he was mixing it up, unlike Ryan who was having his steak and vegetables. Ryan was going through his ritual of pushing his food apart on the plate with his knife.