Regular Customer (Denbert)

Preparations

Sam eyed Denis cautiously as he manoeuvred his way around the kitchen, wiping benches and getting ready to clock off. Albert had left not long ago and Denis had been lost in thought ever since, leaving Sam extremely curious, but despite Sam's insistent probing Denis wasn't letting up. Sam decided he'd had enough, placing his hand on top of Denis' to prevent him from picking up yet another dirty cup. Denis huffed out a breath and whipped around to look at Sam, finally. "Denis come on, tell me what happened," Sam asked, exasperated. Denis rolled his eyes, "it's nothing, really."

"Mate." Sam looked at Denis incredulously. Denis groaned, he hated how persistent this guy was. "He asked me on a double date."

Sam cringed, "that's going to be torture for you."

"It's not about me Sam, I messed up and now his boyfriends accused him of cheating."

"He practically did cheat, with the way he's been looking at you." Sam scoffed. "See this is why I didn't want to tell you," Denis stated matter-of-factly. "I'm just saying!" Sam raised his hands, trying to diffuse Denis' growing annoyance. Then there was silence between them. "Who are you going to go with anyway?" Sam gave him a curious look. Denis looked back at him sheepishly, "you're not doing anything tomorrow night are you?"

"Oh my god Denis, absolutely not." Sam exclaimed, sending a pointed look in his direction. "Please Sam? Who else am I supposed to ask?" Denis whined. "You sound like a child," Sam added, rolling his eyes. Then his face lit up, an idea evidently coming to him. "What if you went with Gabby?"

"Gabby? As if she'd agree to that." Denis groaned. "Oh come on, you two dated, if anyone was to pull you in line if you made things awkward on a date it would be her."

"Sam, I'm not trying to impress him!" Denis proclaimed. "Denis, I don't think you should go through with this. He's put you through enough already." Sam sighed. Denis just shook his head, "it's not his fault I like him, I'm not going to ruin his relationship just because of some silly crush."

"But it's not just a silly crush is it Denis?"

Denis slowly looked towards Sam, greeted with a knowing, almost pitiful look on his face. Denis then swiftly looked back at ground, knowing whole heartedly Sam was right, but he didn't want to admit it. Didn't want to admit how deep his feelings really went, which seemed oh so obvious to everyone but himself. Realistically, Denis knew it better than anyone, he knew how much his heart fluttered at every look, glance and touch they shared. He also knew how much his heart lurched at the thought of Albert with anyone but himself, and he thought he was greedy for thinking so.

Just the thought of his unreciprocated feelings made him sick, but it seemed so silly. Denis hadn't known the man for more than 6 months, and this man in question was in a relationship for Christ's sake. So to call his feelings love seemed far fetched, preposterous even, yet so obvious and so fitting. There was no other way to describe it really, and Denis hadn't realised that up until now which was completely inconvenient. A big part part of him really wished he hadn't, because this date was becoming less and less appealing by the second.

Denis swallowed, unsure of how to respond to this sudden revelation. "Look, Denis, as a friend, I only want to look out for you," Sam tried. "I know." Denis mumbled, not bothering to lift his gaze from the floor. Sam took a deep breath in through his nostrils, "maybe, this date will give you some closure."

"Closure?" Denis lifted his gaze to look at Sam. "You know, seeing him with his boyfriend, maybe it'll chill your feelings out a bit." Sam spoke slowly, trying to find the right words. Denis laughed at this, "you're really bad with this sentimental stuff huh?"

"This is why you need to ask Gabby!" Sam insisted, although laughing along with Denis. "Alright, I will." Denis accepted, hanging his apron up and heading for the door, ensuring he didn't forget his bag. "Maybe she'll help you sort out your horrendous fashion sense!" Sam bellowed from across the café, earning numerous curious glances from nearby patrons, causing Denis' face to heat up at the sudden attention. "Thanks, Sam." Denis forced out through gritted teeth. "It's only banter!" Sam's laugh faded out as Denis pushed his way through the doors, greeted by the musky afternoon air.

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Denis unlocked the heavy door of his apartment, pulling off his scarf that slinked loosely around his neck. Pausing by the entrance mirror, he decided maybe Sam was right about his whole fashion sense. He hadn't been on a date in over a year, so he was definitely rusty on the whole 'looking presentable' part. A high pitched ding pierced the silence of his apartment, making him jump. Digging around in his pocket, he retrieved his phone and stared at his most recent notification; "Arby's diner Macrol Street, 7:00pm tomorrow, thanks heaps I owe you :)"

A smile slowly formed itself on Denis' face as he saved Alberts number as a contact. With his phone still in hand, he decided he'd call Gabby. Tapping on Gabby's name he held the phone up to his ear, on the third ring she picked up. She answered with a gleeful tone, asking Denis how he was to which Denis responded eagerly to. Denis let out a content sigh and just listened to Gabby ramble on, happy to hear his old friend's voice after what felt like forever. Gabby travelled around Canada heaps for her job, so it was very difficult to organise a meet up. She really was his best friends, they knew each other better than anyone which was no surprise as they had previously lived with each other.

"Denis, it's always amazing to catch up with you, but what's the real reason you called?" Gabby finally questioned. Denis felt nervous all of a sudden, he knew she wouldn't be elated by the whole idea. Especially judging by Sam's reaction, who wasn't anywhere near as protective as she could be sometimes. The silence between them lingered and he could just picture the look of concern plastered on Gabby's face, so he just blurted it out. Explained everything from the start. Then Denis took a deep breath after talking for so long and awaited Gabby's response, nervously. She hadn't said a word the whole time he had been speaking.

Then he could hear shuffling on the other end of the phone. "Alright, when do you want me to come over?" Denis let out a sigh of relief and a radiant smile replaced his previously nervous expression. "I was thinking around lunch time? Would leave us some time to hang out as well."

"I'll be there."