Calilily

(8)

May 30th, Tuesday, 2023, 1.PM

"Good morning." Spencer sends in a message to Dante. He had literally just woken up to excessive honking from a street beside his parked car. Meanwhile Dante has gone and properly started his day a few hours ago. He had showered and had a cup of coffee to sit with at his breakfast bar. Dante was scribbling down some errands on a notepad when Spencer had texted him. Of course the message made him laugh. "Good morning? I assume you just woke up?"
"You'd be right then." Spencer replies with one hand while the other brushes his teeth just outside of his car. "Do you have any fun plans for today?" Dante asks, now completely distracted from his chore.
"I'll probably try to work. How about you?"
"It's my last day off till Friday. So probably going to do some chores." Dante had decided to work an extra day, Wednesday, this week so that he could afford to take Friday off for their date. After all a lot of his money was made at the end of the week. Though some sacrifices could be made for the convenience and fun of a Friday.
"Chores sound so fun."  That was clearly sarcasm.
"Having food to eat is fun, actually." Dante sent, feeling almost childish again with how much joy he had from texting Spencer regularly. "Last night was fun." Dante added.
"I'm glad it was." Spencer replies, but sees that Dante is sending another.
"And what you did was very sweet."
"What did I do?" Spencer asked, acting clueless.
"You know."
"I think so." Spencer smiled, giving a sigh as he lifted his head to look around the harsh reality of life around him. He wished he could spend all day just chatting. "I should probably start working before it's considerably not lunchtime anymore."
"That might be a good idea."
"I'll talk to you later?"
"Definitely." Dante replies, but Spencer doesn't. Spencer didn't often message anyone at length so this was slightly new to him. Though after a short while of not being able to get Spencer off his mind Dante adds, "Have something nice to eat before work too."
 Spencer was about to be driving but noticed another text from Dante. His thoughtfulness was nice but Spencer definitely wasn't thinking about eating. Maybe Dante's reminder would convince him to try. "I will." 
 Dante replies to the message with a heart.
 Suddenly the two are back to their lives. Spencer was spending his day driving around for work and Dante running errands.

    By evening Dante is still thinking about Spencer. However, Spencer was working quite literally all day. Maybe it was just Dante's day off that left him with so much time to waste today. He wanted to try and go to bed at a reasonable time tonight. So, he messaged first, "I hope working is going well."
"For a Tuesday it is." Spencer replies after a short while. Obviously not having a ton of time for texting between driving to and from.
"What exactly do you do for work?" Dante asks, wanting to talk to Spencer while lying in bed and waiting to be tired enough to sleep.
"I deliver food, sometimes groceries. But this isn't the only job I work."
"I guess I've never thought about it. Not owning a car and all, I don't think it's the job for me."
"Well a car definitely helps." Spencer adds, "I plan on working at a concert this Saturday. Unfortunately being a part of the cleanup crew."
"That sounds like fun though." Dante replied optimistically.
"That's what everyone says. Until it's some chick singing sad songs and you still have to clean up vomit." Said Spencer, bearing the brutally honest truth.
"Well, that's not as fun."
"No, it's not all that bad. Sometimes the music is worth it, but it pays well. Especially for it being a one-time gig." After all Spencer was thankful for any opportunity to work.
"Must be nice having all these options."
"Keeps me on my feet." Spencer replies, but has to go to continue working.
"That's good. Hopefully you're not too hungry working around all that food."
 For a short while Dante waits for a reply or even a message read. After fifteen minutes he starts to feel pretty tired. He sets his phone down and tries to get some rest. Just a few minutes pass and one notification later and he's rolled over, glued to his phone again.
"Sorry, still working."
"That's okay. I'm probably going to go to sleep now."
"So soon?" Spencer replied, as he was sad to see Dante have to go before he was done with work.
"It's 10. I think that's a reasonable time."
"I guess so. I'll be up a while." Spencer replies, but adds, "And I won't be hungry. I promise."
"If you say so."
"I do."
 Only a few minutes pass and Dante can't resist, "So what are you going to do tomorrow morning?"
"Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?"
"Probably."
"You're being too nice."
"So?"
"It's cute" Spencer replies, but Dante doesn't in protest of his compliments. Spencer adds, "You should sleep. I'll message you in the morning."
"I doubt you'll be up when I am."
"We'll see. But you're stalling, I can tell." Spencer adds again, "Goodnight Dante."
"Mm, fine, goodnight."
 And Spencer reacts to his message with a heart. Just like Dante did to him earlier. Suddenly Dante can hardly sleep, but Spencer's busy with work. While his thoughts of Dante were fond and loving there was one thing he was still thinking more about after working tonight. That was, unfortunately, getting high. So while Dante was asleep Spencer finished his work around twelve an ended up back in his car and in a parking lot. Being alone was the reality he always came back to. Rather than sinking deeper into thought or trying to rationalize, it was just easier to give in. At least it made falling asleep easy.

May 31st, Wednesday, 2023, 11.AM

"Good morning." Spencer messages Dante first. However, Dante has long since been awake and is actually out having brunch with his sister when he messages.
"Good morning for you?" Dante replies.
"Did I sleep in too much?"
"I woke up at 8. Is 11 early for you?"
"Yeah. 8 is even worse."
"It's alright, you tried at least." Dante adds, "It's still a good morning text."
"Doing anything fun before work?"

     Suddenly Dante is pulled away from his phone when Dorothy speaks, "What has you so occupied over there? Mr. 'I'm an internet personnel'." She teases. "Actually Dodie, it's not Instagram." Dante says as he takes a sip of his tea. "This time.. So what is it then?" She replies sarcastically, but then in interest. "Wouldn't you like to know." Dante matches her sarcasm before becoming distracted with his phone again. She says, "I would actually, that's why I'm asking." 
"It's not that important." Dante mutters while actively texting Spencer. "Just some brunch."
"Uhuh. You're smiling. So you must be guilty." Dorothy teases again, trying to lean over the table to peek at Dante's phone. Of course he puts it down into his lap in protest. "I'm smiling because.."
"Because it's a boy, isn't it?"
"What, no. Boys. Psh. I'm smiling 'cause it was something funny." Dante says not so convincingly.
"Sure, sure. So. Are you going to finish that?" Dorothy questions, pointing to Dante's croissant on his plate. Though Dante is already back to texting in his lap.

"Brunch. Is it any good?" Spencer asks genuinely.
"It is actually. Their food is great."
"My standards are low when it comes to food."
"How come?"
"I think Waffle House is superior."
"Your taste buds need some redirection."
"That's rude." Spencer chuckled at least, "You'll have to take me somewhere brunchy one day."
"Will do. You need some real food once in a while."
"Egg sandwiches are real food."
"That's foul." Dante replies, chuckling to himself.

"It's definitely a boy." Dorothy remarks to Dante's smiling and giggling while texting. Which Dante scoffs and quickly messages Spencer, "I'll talk to you later." and sent it with a heart. 
"It's definitely not." Dante protests again.
"He has to be approved by me, y'know that right?"
"Since when did that become the rule?" Dante set his phone down on the metal table they were eating at. He was keen to hear Dorothy's reasonings. "Mom and Dad would be so on you if it is a boy.." Dorothy says while chowing down on Dante's leftovers. "You know how the last one went." She adds in the midst of chewing. His phone dings and the screen lights up with 'Spencer' and a message of a heart emoji. Dorothy raises a brow and smiles while Dante hurries to stuff his phone in his pocket. 
"You're a horrible liar."
"And you.. Didn't see anything." Dante says as he pulls out his wallet to pay for their brunch.

     Both Dante and Spencer end up working all evening. Messaging was next to impossible throughout the rest of the day. As soon as Dante was done at two he messaged Spencer. "I'm done with work now. Just walking home. Hope your day went well." Dante then carries on putting away or packing his things for the journey home.
"It was better than yesterday. How was yours?" Spencer replies after a few minutes as he was currently in his car smoking. Not so surprisingly he was in yet another random parking lot for tonight.
"It was great for a Wednesday."
"You'll have to tell me about it." Spencer replied.
"I will when I'm home. Talk to you then." Dante didn't want to multitask walking and texting. He decided to listen to music for the rest of his walk home. The moment he made it through the front door he messaged as promised, "Made it home safely. I'll talk to you soon."
"Alright, I'll be here."
 This time after work was sacred. It was time to unwind, have a small bite to eat and clean up. Once Dante was in his pajamas he sat down on his couch with a small glass of white wine and a show to watch. He finally decided to message Spencer, "Still awake?"
"Always am." Said Spencer.
"Are you busy?"
"Not at all. Do you want to call?"
 Dante thought about the offer. Despite his attire he really wanted to see Spencer just as much as hear Spencer. So, he decided to Facetime him. It took Spencer a few moments to answer, but he did eventually. "I hardly do these, you know that?" Spencer said as he propped his phone up beside his steering wheel and quite carefully so. Dante could see Spencer from a light pole shining down into his car. It made him feel a certain way to see Spencer again, even after only a couple of days. "Well you should do them more often." Dante replied, simply holding his phone as he lounged on his couch.
"Don't you look comfy." Spencer says with a smile, carrying on with his cigarette smoking and leaning back into his seat. He was wishing his car was as half as cozy as Dante's couch. "Yeah, hopefully you don't mind my pajamas. Felt like being fancy tonight." Dante holds up his wine glass and takes a sip just for show.
"I wish I was there."
"I'm sure you do." Dante teased, though found that Spencer was often staring in admiration more so than adding to the conversation. It flustered him slightly, but he continued, "So, um, work."
"Yeah, work. You were supposed to tell me about your night." Spencer says as he flicks his bud outside of his peaked window. "It was great honestly. I got to work with some friends I don't always see. I had regulars who were happy to see me there on a day I normally take off. I actually made more money than I usually do. Just- a little, is all." Dante rambled, but it wasn't his intention to brag. He was still recovering from his last relationship where talking about work usually led to jealousy and arguments. That wasn't the case at all with Spencer. "That's awesome. I hope it makes up for the extra day off. And it's nice you can work with your friends. Must be fun."
"I'm not worried about the day off. But, thank you.. It is nice. I love my job."
"I wish I could say the same."
"I'm sure one day you'll find something special. For now it's good you have some reliable jobs. Ones that are there when you need them." Dante carries on but it seems like Spencer doesn't want to elaborate. So Dante adds, "How come you're still wide awake this late? I'm getting tired already."
"I'm not the greatest about sleeping. Maybe it's the car, sometimes it's the lots, but, yeah." Spencer shrugs, not wanting to talk about himself, "You can go lay down if you'd like to."
"I'll take you with me." Dante replies, turning off his show which he got halfway through and quickly finished his glass. Then he carried the phone with him to the sink where he rinsed his glass and finally to the bathroom where he propped Spencer up on the sink. "Don't look, I'm brushing my teeth."
"Well now that you said not to I'm going to."
"Rude." Dante replies with his toothbrush already in his mouth. Spencer just enjoyed Dante's company. He didn't mind the small chores or being moved around. As eventually Dante was in bed anyway. That room was a sight for sore eyes, and Spencer added again, "Your bed is so comfy too."
"I know, I know, you're guilting me Spencer." Dante teases, holding Spencer up while he sat in bed. "I'm not trying to." Spencer replied genuinely, though knew now that his time with Dante was coming to an end. He'd want to sleep soon, if not now. "I'm excited for our date." Spencer adds to avoid the inevitable. At least it was also the truth. He was looking forward to it.
"I'm glad you are. Hopefully I can make it nice and special for you."
"Dante, my standards are very low."
"But they should be very high."
"I don't even remember the last time someone took me on a date."
"See, that's even more reason for me to make it super cheesy and romantic."
"So is that what you like? Cheesy and romantic?"
"Don't switch it around on me." Dante was quick to protest.
"Hopefully you think our first date was-" Soon Spencer was being interrupted, "Hey. Quit being hung up on it Spence. That date was.. everything. Don't be sad, and don't compare. Okay?"
"Alright. I'll try."
"I mean it. I wouldn't have wanted it to go any other way." Said Dante quite sincerely. Spencer would probably need some time to believe that himself. He just wanted to be good enough for Dante. As Dante felt like royalty in comparison to himself.  "I miss seeing you already. It hasn't even been that long." Spencer says to break the silence.
"Awe, you miss me?"
"It's hard not to. I'm sure everyone misses having you around."
"If it means anything, I've thought so much about you too. It's hard not to."
"That's.. shocking." Spencer says with a scoff.
"What? No, it's not supposed to be."
"Most're relieved when I'm gone."
"That's probably not as true as you think." Dante replied, but noticed Spencer's eye roll and shrug. "Don't be bratty. You're too cute to be bratty." Dante said just to pick on Spencer but also to hopefully lighten his mood. "Cute? I think you're mistaking that with a different word." Spencer says as he touches his stubbly face. Obviously he was being overly deprecating of himself. "It looks good on you, but you look good shaven too. I think you look good all the time, so, maybe I'm wrong." Dante said suggestively.
"I think that maybe you're just really tired and trying to flirt with me."
"What? I'm not flirting, I'm complimenting." Dante at this point was lying down completely in bed. He laid on his side and held the phone up to still watch and listen to Spencer.

"I think you should try to sleep. I've been keeping you awake too often."
"I did wake up early, that's all.."
"You won't miss anything cool, trust me. It's just me doing a whole bunch of nothing." Spencer says as he watches Dante's eyes begin to close, "Dante? Are you-"
"I'm resting."
"You're resting your eyes?"
"Yep."
"That's called normal, plain sleeping Dante."
"Shh."
"Should I go?"
"No. Just stay a few minutes." Dante's words were becoming mumbles.
"A few minutes for?"
"I don't know. Tell me a story."
"A story? C'mon, I don't know any stories."
"Just try." Dante whispered, he was barely keeping his phone up at this rate. Spencer only watched for a few moments as Dante tried to fight the sleep. The little bit of wine probably wasn't helping his case.
"Well. There was a story about two wolf brothers that I used to know." Spencer said after some time to think. Suddenly the phone fell and some rustling could be heard. Spencer picked up his own phone to see, but it was darkness. Meanwhile, Dante had dropped his phone on the bed and hugged it close to his face to listen to Spencer. Even though Spencer wasn't sure where Dante's phone even was he decided to carry on with his story, as requested.
"So, here were two wolf brothers.." And Spencer trailed off and on. Regardless of whether Dante was asleep or not, it was nice even knowing Dante was on the other side. Spencer didn't feel so alone for once. For Dante he listened to about the first two sentences before already drifting to sleep. It wasn't the story he cared about- it was an excuse to hear Spencer's voice a little longer. Though the faint sound of Dante's snoring let Spencer know he was truly asleep. His story ended and he enjoyed the thoughtful company for a few minutes longer.
"Goodnight Dante." Spencer said quietly into the phone, but he didn't get a reply. He snickered and ended the call. His smile settled and he gave a sigh as he leaned back the seat of his car. He held his phone close and kept happy thoughts as he tried to get some rest as well. Spencer wished he could've been there with him. Thinking about Dante helped him feel less inclined to get high tonight. It was some change, maybe good change, but it would lead to restless sleep.

June 1st, Thursday, 2023, 7:30. PM

     Dante sent the good morning text today but it was never replied to or even read. Dante assumed Spencer was especially busy with work today. He tried not to get hung up over it and figured he would hear from Spencer at some point during the day. As the sun began to set Dante watched the sky from his balcony table while eating his dinner.
 Meanwhile, skipping his usual dosing last night was a terrible idea. Spencer didn't sleep till just a few hours shy of the sun rising. By noon Spencer was awake with hardly any sleep and a horrible hankering. It seemed like Spencer still couldn't make it a full day without getting high before having some symptoms. At the moment it was mostly a headache with the intense heat of LA not helping at all. This led to hours of Spencer self-medicating and getting scarily high. He wouldn't regain consciousness until seven that evening. Spencer spent a while dry heaving outside of his car before guzzling down water. After finally coming to his senses he realized he had knocked himself out in his car, in the heat, for hours. He took off his sweat drenched shirt and changed it out for something not much better. Spencer was in dire need of a shower. Though right now his only interest was getting in the car and blasting the air. Spencer sat in his car for half an hour enjoying the cool air before remembering- Dante. Surely there was a message he hadn't seen. Sure enough there was, but it was sent hours and hours ago. Spencer felt awful in every way possible. He tried to have clear thoughts in his clouded mind when it came to replying.
"Dante, I'm so sorry."
 Dante didn't hurry to his phone upon a notification. He was simply enjoying the evening weather and his meal. When he finally checked his phone and saw that it was Spencer he was happily shocked but replied with some concern, "Why are you so sorry?"
"I didn't mean to ignore you today."
"It's alright. Are you busy?"
"I have been." Spencer lied, but for a good cause in his mind.
"I'm sorry then. I hope everything has settled down now."
"It has. I'm just going to relax for the rest of the day."
"That's good news. You deserve a break, you've been working really hard lately."
 Of course that made Spencer feel pretty guilty, "I'll talk to you shortly?"
"Alright. Thanks for checking in."
"Thank you for being patient, honestly."
"I'll be as patient as you need." Dante replied with a heart.

     Spencer began to drive to the closest truck stop. While Spencer did have money left for the rest of the week, he had a bad habit of never spending it. Ultimately he was saving money for the credit card bill. Though most of the time it meant picking between substances and necessities. Almost every time the substances would win. Hence why he budgeted ten dollars for this excursion. Spencer didn't have many clean clothes left and wanted to save his only decent outfit for tomorrow. So he took the least dirty clothes and his bag to the showers. Which would cost him that ten dollars to get into. Spencer pondered on shaving his facial hair and decided the clean shave made him look less dead and dirty. Though the truck stop showers in the LA area weren't all that pretty. So he chose to leave as soon as possible. Afterwards he rummaged through his car for spare change and managed to use what little cash he had to get himself the cheapest sandwich he could at a fast food establishment. The rest of his night would be spent trying to find a parking lot safe enough to sleep in that was still close enough to the city.

     Dante's night turned out to be a lot more different than Spencer's. Sure, he ate and showered too, but he valued his time to himself. Doing dishes, cleaning, listening to music, reading a book, it was all distractions to stop thinking about if and when Spencer would talk to him again tonight. As well as trying to enjoy his own company and the peace of his empty home. He was really hopeful that their date tomorrow would carry on regardless of whatever happened today. Dante was starting to get dressed for bed when Spencer surprisingly called him.

"Hey, what's up?" Dante answered, holding the phone against his shoulder as he rummaged through his closet for some pajamas to wear. "I figured I'd call you since it's getting late." Spencer said, simply sitting in his car and finally resting.
"Yeah, I'm getting dressed right now for bed."
"Oh? Should I have done one of those Facetime calls instead?"
 Dante rolled his eyes and carried on getting dressed, ignoring the sly comment, "Are you going to go to sleep soon?"
"I guess I could always try."
"It was nice getting to talk to you before bed the other night."
"It was. You fell asleep pretty easily."
"I was exhausted. Sorry if I kept you up at all."
"You definitely didn't." Spencer replied quite reassuringly. It was his own self that ruined his sleep schedule. Not an extra half an hour spent talking Dante to sleep.
"So, I've been thinking about our plans and all.." Dante said before finally getting to sit in bed after changing. "And I think that we could go out in the bay area tomorrow, late afternoon?"
"Sure. I could drive us there? Or at least drive us as close as I can."
"Probably a good idea. It's that or a cab. I definitely couldn't walk that far, comfortably."
"Can I ask what we'd be doing out by the water? Are we swimming at all?" Spencer asked, as he definitely wasn't interested in swimming in the ocean. Though he'd make exceptions for Dante. "No no, we're not going to swim. Definitely not by the bay. There's too many people for that."
"I was hoping you'd say that."
"But I probably shouldn't tell you much more. Let's keep it a surprise."
"Should I dress nice?"
"Just dress like yourself. I promise, it'll be fun."
"I'm excited to see you again.. When should I come pick you up?"
"Maybe 6? Should be plenty of time. And I'm excited to see you too. I really, really am." Said Dante happily as he laid down in bed. Spencer noticed the rustling sounds and added, "I should let you get some sleep."
"You should let yourself get some sleep too, Spence."
"I try. I mean, I will, eventually." 
"I'll talk to you tomorrow morning?"
"Tomorrow morning as in when I wake up in the afternoon?"
"Yeah, that's close enough." 
"Alright. Goodnight then, Dante."
"Goodnight."
...
"Should I hang up first?" Spencer asked.
"You're stalling." 
"Alright, alright. Goodnight for real then."
"M'kay."
"Okay."
"..Spencer."
 With some laughter Spencer finally did hang up for Dante. The little banters throughout the day brought so much joy for them both. Although Spencer was fighting plenty of battles mentally and physically, this connection he had with Dante was still very genuine. This was improving his quality of life in ways that he didn't notice- yet. It was a refreshing connection that they both needed in their lives.

June 2nd, Friday, 2023, 1.PM

"Good morning." Spencer messaged Dante first. The LA heat finally kept him from sleeping in any longer. "Close enough." Dante replied shortly after, having gone outside for a walk to the nearest gas station and back. "How's your day going so far?"
"Honestly, it just started."
"I'm not surprised.. What're you going to do till later?"
"I might work for a little bit."
"Hopefully you make some good money."
"Yeah, enough for a tank of gas would be nice. But what're you going to do?"
"Probably some makeup after I'm done walking."
"Sorry you have to walk everywhere. I couldn't imagine. It's too hot." 
"The heat doesn't bother me much. Plus it's good exercise."
"You're beyond in shape."
"Is that a compliment?" Dante replied, now having arrived to his destination.
"I would say so. You could probably carry me."
"I'd carry you any time."
"Are you flirting with me?"
"I don't know, were you flirting with me first or?"
"Maybe."
"I'll talk to you later?" Dante replied, he needed to grab a few things and found Spencer awfully distracting.
"I'll message you when I'm on my way."
"I'll see you then." Dante replied with a heart, and Spencer's message reciprocated.

     Dante spent a few hours that afternoon doing his makeup and dressing up for social media. Soon he was taking off all the layers in minutes and watching hours of work wipe away or hang back up on a shelf. That was the fun of it all. This form of art was his self expression. He did it for art, for himself, not solely for the internet. Even after all that hard work he enjoyed a lighter face of makeup that would hopefully last him throughout the rest of the day. Finally he put on his chosen outfit for the date: a yellow shirt with a branded pocket, dark green shorts, a brown bucket hat and some colorful socks to go with his plain white shoes. He also wore some more casual jewelry. His nails were painted blue but it was beginning to chip away. After getting dressed he took some pictures of himself in his hallway mirror. Then he spent a while on the couch uploading pictures to social media and replying to his friends; all while waiting on Spencer.

     Spencer did in fact work for a few hours. He managed to make some decent, leftover lunch money. He gave himself plenty of time to get ready for his date. Spencer went over to his trusty Taco Bell bathroom where he knew they'd let him in. He brushed his hair and teeth before quickly getting dressed: surprise, the same old boots paired with torn blue jeans and a new shirt he bought at their recent festival. This tee was a light blue color with lots of writing and print. Surely seeing Spencer in anything but a grungy, old, black band tee would be surprising to Dante. Shortly after getting dressed Spencer started to head towards Dante's. Luckily he was smart enough to manage his limited time wisely today. He even managed to show up early.

"I'm here now." Spencer sent to Dante who read and liked his message. So Spencer parked right by the front doors and got out of his car to meet Dante. I think both of their faces were full of shock to see one another. Dante's was perhaps a little more than Spencer's. Dante could hardly believe his eyes. "You're wearing.. colors." Dante said in surprise. "I know. Even my jeans are bluer than usual." Spencer looked down at himself and back to Dante quite hopefully. "And they're torn. Very fashionable of you." Dante pointed out and gave Spencer a proper looking over. Spencer added, "You look really nice by the way." while Dante circled around him. "I'm glad you think so. Sorry, I'm just." Dante shook his head to realign himself and stuck to Spencer's side instead. "Just?" Spencer asked, not sure if Dante was surprised he tried to look nice, maybe surprised he was clean, or, "Just happy to see you, is all."
"Me too. Your makeup looks nice.. Hopefully it's not too hot out for it." Spencer trailed off, he wasn't used to all this praise. Though Dante took his hand and started to lead him towards the car before they stood around aimlessly admiring each other much longer. "Thank you. I'm glad you like it. Not everyone is so nice about it."
"Hm. How come?" Spencer asked as he wasn't phased by makeup on anyone at all.
"All that matters is that you are." Dante replied kindly. Though the reality was that dating could be difficult when so much of it was based on literal face value. Realistically, Spencer loved others for who they were, not how they looked. Finally, an unconditional connection.

     Spencer and Dante were off to the bay but it would take some time. While it should have taken thirty minutes it was closer to an hour. The traffic was to be expected. At least it gave them lots of time to chat.
"You shaved too. I just noticed." Dante said as he watched Spencer drive. Which Spencer reached up to his own face to stroke what once was, "Yeah, I guess I look better cleaned up than stubbly."
"Do you think you could ever grow a beard?" Spencer scoffed at that one for sure. "No way. I'd look twenty years older if I did."
"Well I thought you looked pretty sexy stubbly." Dante muttered to himself with a shrug, now playing with his own hair under his hat. Of course that made Spencer glance over at Dante a few times. "You think so?"
"I didn't say anything."
"You definitely did."
"Anyways." Dante interjected quickly, "I can't grow a beard. I get some hair just around my mouth, it's really annoying. Plus shaving is easier for work."
"I think it'd be cute. I could imagine."
"Cute? Me with a beard? No thanks. I'd look like my Dad. No offense Dad."
"Does that mean that you'd look too old? Or that your dad has a nice or bad beard?"
"My Dad thinks that he has excellent facial hair but luckily my Mom convinces him to shave it down.. And he is old, unfortunately. Had me twenty-four long years ago. Seems old to me." Dante said with a laugh and shrug. He knew his dad definitely would disagree if he were here right now.
"So does that mean you're twenty-four?"
"Yes I am.. I guess we never really told each other that stuff before."
"I'm-" Spencer hardly managed to spit it out before Dante was quick to interrupt, "Let me guess! It's kinda tough. Maybe twenty-seven? You seem older than me."
"Well that's rude." Spencer said with a laugh, but added, "You were close. I'm twenty-five."
"Let me guess your birthday then."
"Lots of guessing games."
"You're probably a Scorpio." Dante pondered to himself.
"A what?"
"Like, a November baby? Astrology signs. You don't know them?"
"Maybe a few, but no I am not a November baby."
"What's your sign then?"
"I think an Aries?"
"Okay, that makes lots of sense. You're the baby of the signs."
"How am I baby-like?"
"You're just very.. free spirited."
"Is this a bad thing?"
"No it's not. I however, am a Virgo."
"I'm very lost. I hope you know that."
"Okay, my birthday is September twentieth."
"And mine is April second."
"A day after April first? How funny."
"My mom actually went into labor on April Fools. She had me a week early. Surprise."
"You were a very eager Aries."
 The both get a few little laughs out of their bantering. Dante enjoys getting to know more about Spencer and continues asking him questions.

"So are you originally from California or did you move here?"
"That.. Is quite a long story." Spencer replied, glancing over to Dante who was immediately intrigued and wanted to hear it. "Well tell me then!" Dante exclaimed.
"I left home once I graduated high school. I was nineteen, barely. I'm from Indiana though-"
"Indiana? What? That's very specific and not at all what I was expecting." Spencer looked over to Dante's surprised reaction with some confusion but Dante added, "Sorry, continue." Dante was very interested in hearing this 'long story' of Spencer's.
"Well, when I left I just drove around."
"Okay~ And?" Dante asked, wanting the details.
"I went to Michigan for a little while, uh, Illinois, then Kentucky and Ohio. Then I just said screw it and went all the way over to Maine."
"Maine! Was it beautiful?"
"It was very beautiful. Probably had some of my favorite beaches and parks."
"That's amazing Spencer." Dante said, practically leaning over the whole center console just to be closer to Spencer and his storytelling. "I did all that through the summer and it started getting closer to fall by the time I was in Maine. So I drove all the way down the east coast. I ended up in Florida by the winter-ish."
"What a trip! I would love to do something like that."
"I'd love to do it again.. But it's very hard and expensive. It's not all that glamorous."
"What did you think about New York? Did you get to see the city?"
"Oh yeah, I lived in New York for a short while. I made lots of money there."
"For real! What did you do?"
"I uh.. Well, I.." Spencer trailed off, getting a bit flustered at the question. Of course that only made Dante want to know more. "C'mon, it can't be that bad."
"I.. Was a server. At a strip club."
"You what!" Dante practically flailed in his seat and quickly added, "Spencer. You're just living whole different lives out here. You have to tell me-"
"It wasn't all that. I wasn't even old enough to serve alcohol. I literally just waited tables for snobby dudes that would always hit on me. I was only nineteen."
"So. Listen, you worked at a gay strip club, in New York City, at nineteen years old, as a server?"
"Mhm, yeah, that sounds about right."
"I would have never expected that from you." Dante sat back in his seat, completely baffled.
"Okay, you need to share now." Spencer replied, he was trying not to recall that part of his past for too much longer. Although it was a rather exciting time in his life..
"Well I was asking because I was born and raised in New York."
"You're pretty far from home then." Spencer said. He was surprised that Dante moved so far from New York. Leaving Indiana was easy, but if he had to pick between two huge cities without limitations he'd struggle. Dante answered, "My parents still live there. It is hard sometimes. Especially plane rides once or twice a year. Though I like LA a lot more than New York."
"Fair enough. I think the west coast is alright."
"Just alright? You live here yourself."
"I stayed here for the people." Spencer said with a shrug. Not many states stood out to him. Especially not the big cities. If it weren't for his love of music and friends he would easily settle away in the woods forever.
"My sister moved to LA with me years ago. She did some kind of special program in high school and found some early opportunities. She could have gone anywhere she wanted but.. she knew I wanted to move to LA. So she picked a school here. That way our parents were a little more lenient, y'know?"
"Must be nice being so smart and all. I was lucky to even get a high school diploma."
"Same. I could have gone to school. I wanted to be myself instead, I guess." Dante shrugged it off as he couldn't imagine his life with an 'ordinary' job anyway.
"I don't think my mom was surprised when I said I was leaving. It was my choice anyway. Plus she moved to Idaho a long time ago. I guess Indiana wasn't great for her either."
"Was it really that bad?"
"It was a small town. Every year things got worse." Spencer always felt this little pit in his stomach even driving through Indiana. Passing signs that were once 'his exit' was scary and the thought of even driving into town was horrifying. He was glad to keep that in the past.
"So what did you do after Florida?"
 Spencer thought about his answer for a short while. It was a longer story. One that he'd rather not share at the moment. "I spent a long time driving. Up and down, all over, till I made it here."
"Well that's quite the summary."
"I'm sure one day I can tell you more stories. But for now- we are here." Then Dante looked at the bustling stopped traffic around them, "We're here?"
"Yeah.. Probably need to try and park somewhere and walk the rest of the way."
 So they spent another short while finding somewhere to cram Spencer's Jeep at. They were probably a ten minute walk away from the beach by the end of it.

"You lead the way?" Asked Spencer as they were now out on the streets. He was mostly waiting for Dante to finish adjusting his wardrobe. "Yes I will. It is my date after all." Dante offered his hand to Spencer's. Who happily held it in return. The two began to walk down the sidewalk together. They were able to tune out all the hustle and bustle around them. Though the occasional singing and dancing was fun to see. "Pretty exciting Friday out here. They're awfully pushy today." Spencer said to all the stands trying to sell merchandise and food. "Oh well. Isn't that every day?" Dante shrugged it off as they carried on. Spencer glanced down at their held hands and noticed Dante's somewhat painted nails. "Your nails look nice."
"Thanks. It's chipping away though."
"Still looks nice. I used to paint my nails a lot when I was younger."
"Really? Maybe I can paint yours someday."
"I wouldn't be against it."
"I put press-on nails off and on for work so my polish never really lasts. I couldn't wear acrylics.   Not every day." Dante rambled but Spencer listened and watched. Spencer was so head over heels. He just adored hearing about Dante's interests and looked at Dante like he was a star. "Sorry, too much?" Dante stopped himself when he noticed Spencer's silent staring. "Huh? No, not at all, I like it." Spencer said quite romantically. Dante glanced away at Spencer's sincere words. He took a few moments to enjoy their walk and think on what to say. He managed to look back down at Spencer despite being so flattered. "Well, the blue shirt brings out your blue eyes."
"You think so? They're hardly blue to me." Spencer always wished he had the dark brown hair and striking blue eyes of his mother's. His were a bit duller and his hair was lighter, too. "You know what's even more blue?" Dante said as they had finally walked to the end of the street and to the coastline's view. Spencer's eyes finally pulled away from Dante to look out at the water. For living in LA it had been a while since he had seen the ocean on foot. Then even longer since he had walked on the beach. Of course, the beach was packed full of people, but it was worthwhile for a scenic walk.
"I figured we could get some ice cream? Or milkshakes? Which do you prefer?" Dante asked Spencer while they were still near the street with all the sellers and stalls. "I like both, but ice cream sounds nice."
 Spencer felt so taken aback that anyone would ever go through such lengths for him. A date on the beach with ice cream? This felt like something you only read in silly little love stories-
"Let's get ice cream then." Dante then led Spencer down the aisles of vendors. Plenty were tempting but there were dozens of choices for ice cream or anything related and refreshing. "What do you think? Soft serve? I like that one, with the scoops and all the flavors."
"You don't think it'll be too expensive?"
"It's ice cream by the ocean. It doesn't matter anyway. It's a date." Dante wasn't going to take no for an answer now. Of course, Spencer would feel bad seeing Dante 'waste' his money on him. "But I'd-" 
"It's my treat. Remember?" Dante said to interrupt Spencer's short protest.
"Alright, the scoops then."
"I was hoping you'd say that." Dante replied. The more options the better!

     Dante and Spencer waited for their turns and carefully picked out their flavors. Dante got a scoop of orange cream and another of red raspberry, all with plenty of sprinkles. Spencer got one scoop of chocolate and another of vanilla. I guess his taste was a bit bland, but solid. Afterwards they walked on the beach together and enjoyed their ice cream by the evening sun.
"Hopefully you don't get too much sand in your shoes." Spencer says along their journey.
"I'll live if I do. Hopefully we don't get harassed by the seagulls."
"That'd be nice, probably best to stay up here." Spencer said as they were currently walking the farthest from the water and thus the farthest from the people.
"Probably, but it's still the view I wanted to have with you."
"I knew you wanted to take me to the bay, but I guess I didn't imagine you'd want to go to the ocean." Spencer admitted but not negatively, just an observation. "I mean, it's only bars, restaurants and money grabs, or businesses that are closing now, all by the bay here." Dante shortly after went on with his real purpose for taking Spencer to the beach for their date, "Plus I feel like people take for granted the view we have literally right here. All the time, the ocean isn't going anywhere. We should enjoy it."
"I haven't thought about it like that in a while. When I think of the ocean, I think of traffic and expensive things."
"It doesn't cost money to look at the ocean." Said Dante, trying to reel in the positivity.
"For now." Spencer said with a little laugh. "Let's hope it stays free. LA is expensive enough as is." Dante adds to Spencer's joke. They both settle down on a free bench facing the water after walking around for a while and after finishing their ice cream. Most people were starting to pack up and leave the beach since it was cooling off and getting darker. Though lots of others were staying to watch the sunset too. They were lucky to have snagged a seat. Spencer put his arm around Dante with a happy sigh and said, "I'm glad you brought me out here today. You're right about the water and all. Definitely take the view for granted."
"That's why I wanted to enjoy it with you. Even just for an hour. I know the sunset doesn't last long." 
"We don't have to plan dates to watch the sunset. I'd do it as much as possible with you if I could." Spencer said, looking at Dante sweetly. "I think we should try then." Dante replied, looking down at Spencer. He snuggled closer to him as he enjoyed his embrace, then added, "You deserve a dozen dates to the beach." Dante leaned his head against Spencer's. Spencer found it difficult to take those words lightly. He hardly felt like he deserved anything at all. Let alone a date or Dante's presence as a whole. He tried his best to ignore his own doubtful and harmful thoughts of himself by holding Dante's hand instead. Enjoying these few moments watching the sunset with Dante gave him a purpose, and happy thoughts. The sun started to leave a stunning glow and pink skies before them.

"We should take a picture together."
"We can try." Spencer replied and sat himself up. Dante put his arm around Spencer, then reached into his pocket for his phone. He held it up and took a few cute pictures with Spencer. Of course he was posing for the picture while Spencer barely smiled.
"Don't be shy. I won't post them or anything. It's just for us. Some memories." Dante said as he looked over the few photos he had taken. "I don't know how to take good pictures." Spencer said, feeling quite shy to have Dante wanting pictures of them at all. Plus he felt self-conscious seeing himself in pictures. "Let's just try it one more time." Dante suggested, he wanted to see somewhat of a smile from Spencer. This time around Spencer tried to smile. Although it was mostly a happy squint and half a grin. While Dante took multiple photos Spencer's smile faded, his eyes drifted up towards him, and soon he decided to kiss Dante's cheek instead. That made a surprise for at least a couple of Dante's pictures. Dante cooed over Spencer's affection and was distracted from pictures entirely. "Hey now, that was a cheap shot but probably really cute."
"Just trying to help." Spencer said with a smile and shrug.
"See, smile like that next time."
"Like what?"
"You were just smiling." Dante pointed to Spencer who quickly tried to hide his expression.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Of course now Spencer was trying to cover back up under his hardened exterior. However, Dante wasn't going to fall for it. Even though Spencer was trying to look away Dante was quick to get Spencer's attention. All it took was taking his chin and redirecting him. Spencer's surprise was short lived. Soon he was distracted by Dante's kiss. It lasted seconds longer than Dante anticipated, but I don't think either would complain. Dante parted their kiss and watched Spencer's reaction of being simply quite stunned. Dante exhaled happily and brushed away Spencer's hair before setting his hand on Spencer's lap. Then it was back to snuggling and watching the sunset. However, Spencer would need some time to recover from being finessed so easily into such a cute and tender kiss from Dante.

"The sky is so pink tonight." Says Dante, though Spencer doesn't answer. "Almost as pink as you are." Dante flirted to Spencer staring out at the ocean quite blankly. Shortly after Spencer finally spoke up, "Huh?" Of course, he wasn't listening.
"Nothing~"
"Sorry, I was just. Thinking."
"Your pictures look cute." Dante showed Spencer the few good photos he managed to get. Spencer smiled enough in the pictures and was smiling plentifully now. "They look nice. I mean, you look nice. Me, not so much, but, you do."
"You look nice too. Handsome even." Dante said before putting his phone away. I think they both saw completely different pictures. Dante saw someone so intriguing, funny and lovable. While Spencer saw Dante as beautiful, delightful and kind, and then himself looking dull, gray and scarred. Though one day they'd look back fondly on these photos, surely.

 Thank you @ jamisonrivv on Instagram! Beautiful commission piece made by him in honor of this moment of the chapter. (All rights reserved to Jamison please!)

"Did you want to get anything for dinner?" Dante asked seeing as it was practically dark out now. There wasn't much left to watch by the beach but birds. "If you're hungry then I would. As long as that was the plan."
"Dinner was a part of the date too. Just, ice cream was the main focus."
"So was I your reason to justify getting ice cream today?"
"Maybe." Dante replied just as jokingly to Spencer's comment. "There's a Mexican restaurant down the street. That's where I planned on taking us. If that's alright with you."
"I'll eat anything. I'm not that picky." Although Spencer was pretty bland when it came to his eating habits he'd find something worth trying no matter where he was taken. "Mexican it is then. I'm so excited, and so hungry." Dante said, happy that Spencer agreed on the same place as him.
 The two wasted no time walking down the street together to the restaurant. Unfortunately for us we won't get to hear about the dinner date. Some things are better left private! No, actually, they were only getting to know more about each other, that's all. Though the drive back home would be worthwhile. Especially after Dante had a couple of fancy drinks.

"Are you sure you don't mind driving?" Dante asked as he buckled in. He was feeling super tired after all that walking, eating, and topping it off with fruity drinks. Not to mention Dante's obvious bad habit of getting drowsy during car rides.
"I'll be alright. I only had two sips of your drinks."
"That seems like two too many."
"So what, you want to drive?" Spencer asked sarcastically and of course Dante shook his head no. Not that Spencer would have let him anyway. "I don't remember the last time I drove a car. Probably not a good idea."
"You don't think the two giant drinks you had would make it a worse idea?"
"I feel pretty good."
"I'm sure you do." Spencer said with a chuckle, starting up his car and beginning the short trek back to Dante's. Luckily the traffic wasn't half as bad as it was earlier. "Was it a good date?" Dante asked, slumped into his seat but still enjoying his time spent with Spencer to the fullest.
"It was great. It's been a long time since I've been taken out on a date."
"I don't see how. You're so handsome and fun to be around." Dante could've gone on and on.
"I'm glad you think so."
"I know so. I don't see how anyone could not like you. You've been so nice to me." Dante was a bit tipsy but was sober enough to make some cohesive thoughts. "I'm not as great as you think I am." Spencer replied almost somberly but carried on with his driving. As much as he loved this date with Dante it still reminded him that he was living an unfulfilled life of a miserable addict. He wished he could be better for Dante. Dante was going to protest, "How come?"
"I'm just not."
"You don't do anything bad, do you?"
"Define bad."
"Like, hurting people or-"
"Okay, no, I don't hurt people. I don't try to at least."
"Why say it like that?"
"I don't know.. I don't think my friends are all that happy with me."
"So you think you hurt them by being yourself?"
"I don't know what I think."
"I think you do." Dante said, looking over to Spencer who made some brief eye contact but ultimately continued driving in the silence. Until Dante disturbed it again, "When's the last time you went on a real date?"
"It's hard to know what a date is anymore these days."
"Okay, when's the last time you went out on a 'date' with someone that liked you and you liked them back?"
"Well, a few days ago I went on a date with this really cute guy."
"Oh.." Dante glanced out the window, nearly feeling sad. "That's you, Dante." Spencer specified.
"Oh, okay. Well wait then. I'm talking past that."
"It's been years."
"See, that's crazy. If I met you years ago you would have been well secured by now." Dante said with a grin, crossing his arms happily just imagining it.
"What does that mean?"
"Means that you wouldn't have had all those other lame dates till you met me."
"Sure. Does that mean we're going on another date?" Spencer asked hopefully.
"I mean, I would hope so. You keep kissing me and making my stomach hurt."
"That's probably just the ice cream and tacos, not me." Spencer said jokingly till looking over to Dante who was sat so happily smiling and watching him drive with admiration. Spencer reached over to hold Dante's thigh and added quite less jokingly this time, "I'll take you somewhere nice next time. I'll make it cheesy and romantic, how about that?" As that was very far out of Spencer's comfort zone but he'd be willing to try something new for Dante's sake. Dante would like to see Spencer dolled up for a 'cheesy and romantic' date.
"I'd like that. Love it even. We should do that sometime."
"Sometime soon?"
"Definitely." Dante replied, setting his hand over Spencer's on his lap.
 Then the rest of the car ride was Dante trying to stay awake while Spencer drove in thoughtful silence.

"You'll be alright going up by yourself?" Spencer asked as he stood next to Dante by the front doors of his apartment complex. He was a bit concerned about Dante considering the big drinks he had were surely settling in by now. "I'll be fine. You know I'm not drunk, right?" Dante said more as a reminder. He drank pretty often, sometimes even for work. Plus he was a big guy and it'd take a lot to get him that drunk. "Uhuh.. I guess it makes me feel better seeing you make it home safely."
"I've been making it from the elevator to my door now for a few years." Dante said jokingly but could tell that Spencer was being genuine, "Really, I'll be alright. I hope you will be too."
"I'll be fine."
"Are you sure? You have somewhere to sleep tonight?"
"I'll be alright Dante. I've been doing it for years too." Spencer answered honestly. He was holding onto Dante's hand, reluctant to have to say goodbye and make an end to such a wonderful day. Though Dante says, "I'm sure we'll talk before bed anyways, right?"
"I'll message you once I park somewhere for sure."
"You really mean what you said about that date?"
"Yeah, of course." Spencer needed to iron out the finer details, but it was his intention to go through with the idea someday soon. "I hope you get some sleep. Especially since you're working tomorrow."
"I'll be just fine. I don't work till way later anyways." Dante tried to entertain Spencer's stalling for both their sakes. Though Spencer finally gave in and decided it was time to part ways. Although Spencer tried to let go of Dante's hand, Dante quickly held onto Spencer's pinky. "Well.. Don't leave yet." Dante said suddenly to keep Spencer's attention. "Oh. Okay." Spencer said, perhaps a bit hopeful for a new suggestion. "I mean, you.." Dante trailed off, not sure how to rightfully say what he wanted to say. "I'm walking away like an asshole, aren't I?" Asked Spencer. He remembered making that comment about himself and regretting not telling Dante goodbye nights ago. Dante wasn't going to confirm that, he only shrugged in response, but he did appreciate the acknowledgement and change in Spencer. "I'm still getting used to being around. I guess I'm used to being shooed away and rushed to leave." Spencer tried to explain, but Dante only listened with such love and intent, so Spencer continued, "Maybe I forget to, uh, savor the moments- I forget to say the right things. I definitely forget to do the right things. And I'm sorry if-" Spencer couldn't continue even if he wanted to. Dante wasn't going to hear Spencer apologizing over such small things that could easily change with the right amount of love and time. Rather, he interrupted Spencer with a kiss, again.

     It felt like they were the only two existing in a still world around them. Meanwhile, some cars drove by and someone walked past with their big, golden dog. Perhaps some faint sirens in the distance, too. Those seconds felt like minutes, or eternity. Afterwards Spencer was left surprised but happily so. Dante was happy with himself. Finally Dante let go of Spencer's hand and spoke, "Go get some sleep, m'kay? Goodnight Spencer."
"Goodnight." Spencer hardly mustered in return.

     Dante waved goodbye through the glass doors once entering the building while Spencer stood and watched him leave. Once he was officially alone again he managed to walk back to his car without falling apart into pieces or blowing away in the wind. Spencer felt crushed under mountains of Dante's unconditional love. Accepting love into his life was a task he thought he'd never be honored enough to face again. Falling in love was a lot harder than Spencer could have imagined. However, for Dante this connection felt so genuinely healing.
 Maybe they were still in those early stages where falling in love is harmless and fun. The moment Dante met Spencer he felt an attraction and bashfulness that he still hasn't been able to overcome. All of the worry and bickering from friends just didn't add up. He found Spencer to be such a genuine and sweet person who deserved nothing but love and support from his friends- or even a partner. Even if he was looking slightly past the acknowledgement or assumption of an addiction. In the last couple of days, I think the two had come to the conclusion that parting ways wasn't an option. Somehow they always ended up thinking about each other again. That alone speaks for itself.

June 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 2023

     Were all days spent with heart-filled messages and phone calls. They talked to each other every morning and every night. They talked about the little things that went on day by day. They talked about their good days, even the bad days. They even spent a few nights having video calls to pass the time. Though as Spencer promised: a fancy and romantic date- and soon.

June 7th, Wednesday, 2023, 5:30.PM

     Dante only knew that Spencer wanted to take him somewhere relatively nice and surely romantic for dinner tonight. Spencer said the attire for the night was dressed and Dante was certain he had some dressy clothes to wear. He decided on a pair of flowy, khaki slacks, a brown belt, a white button-down, and a simple pair of dress shoes. Perhaps his only pair of real dress shoes, honestly. The outfit paired well with a gold watch, earrings and rings to match. Something else that was new was his hair. Which he had braided down for a newer look, and it was easier to manage with the heat. Afterwards he went and stood beside his sliding glass door and watched life outside. Though he noticed LA's usually blue skies were looking dark and cloudy today. So he turned on the weather channel. He wasn't surprised to see after solid weeks of it being a hundred degrees, give or take, that there was some rain coming their way. A slight chance of a thunderstorm too, but it seemed the forecast was saying a couple of hours of heavy rain by night at the worst. He hoped that wouldn't get in the way of their plans.

     Spencer had spent his day running errands for the most part. He went and got himself a shower, thankfully. Afterward he headed to a couple thrift stores to find somewhat of a decent outfit. Dress clothes were something he definitely did not own. Spencer would manage to find a decent pair of dress shoes, a white button-down, a black vest and tie, and figured he would pair that all with the best pair of jeans he had. Meaning the ones that weren't dirty or torn. Back to his trusty Taco Bell bathroom to try the outfit on and, well, surprisingly it didn't look all that bad. Adding a black belt helped the blackened jeans dress up slightly. He couldn't remember the last time he had dressed up at all. It was something he wanted to try for Dante's sake. When he left the establishment to begin driving to Dante's he also noticed the dark and gloomy clouds. Though what he noticed even more was the horrible traffic. So, Spencer messaged Dante when traffic was stopped.

"It's looking pretty dark out here."
"I think it's supposed to rain tonight."
"It hardly rains."
"Well we clearly need it. It's been so hot outside lately."
"Yeah, just makes it humid."
"You're right, but still."
"So the traffic is pretty bad. I should still be there by 6:30."
"Alright, I'll be here."
 Spencer replied to his message with a heart as he had to focus on driving rather than texting. All seemed fine till it began to hardly sprinkle. Of course it was break lights galore the moment the rain began. Spencer didn't plan this date around the rain at all. As it began to go from sprinkles to rain the traffic was officially grounded and Spencer was going to be beyond late.
"Dante." - 6:25.PM
"I assume the rain has the traffic stopped?"
"Yes, unfortunately."
"It'll be alright if we're late?"
"I hope so." Spencer replied, shortly after adding, "I'm sorry for the plans changing. I should've prepared better."
"It's okay. I won't be upset no matter what."
 Spencer prevailed and continued in this horrible traffic. Not that he had any other choice. He was late when he finally made it to Dante's. It was probably near seven-thirty and he had hoped to make it to dinner by eight-thirty. Considering the traffic, that was no longer going to happen on time. Spencer parked his car in one of the few available spots in Dante's parking lot and messaged him, "I'm here now."
"Can you meet me at the door? I'll be down in a couple minutes."
"Sure."

     Spencer looked around his car for an umbrella. Luckily he found it rolled under the passenger seat. Once he got out of the car he opened it up and began the short walk to the entrance. It seemed like the umbrella didn't last long before a bent piece of metal gave up, given all the heavy and hard rain. It collapsed in on one side and got Spencer's hair and arm slightly wet. "That's awesome.." He muttered to himself, carrying on to the front door. Unfortunately there was no cover to hide under. Spencer did his best to shield himself from the rain with what was left of his umbrella. When Dante finally came to the entrance he opened the glass door and motioned for Spencer to come in, "Hurry." He said and clearly Spencer was happy to follow to the indoors.
 This apartment had two glass doors to enter through. This space being a tiled room where mail and packages were brought to. A fitting place to dodge the rain at least. Spencer was more distracted by Dante's handsome looks while Dante was saddened to see Spencer drenched in rain. "You look really nice." Said Spencer. "Well, thank you." Dante replied with some concern in his tone.
"You got your hair done?"
"Right, yeah, my sister braided it down for me the other day."
"You look very.. Uh, well put together? Handsome." Spencer trailed off, he wasn't used to seeing Dante dressed up any other way than in makeup and color. Then Dante pointed out the obvious, "Spencer, you're soaking wet."
"Oh. I am." Spencer looked down at himself and saw that his left side was practically unredeemable. Plus his hair, which he had hardly managed to style, was now wet and even dripping. "It wasn't supposed to rain for a couple more hours. But, obviously.." Dante said with a disappointed sigh, looking outside to the downpour of a storm. He asked, "How far is this restaurant?"
"Well, it's in the city."
"In the city?" Dante asked in some surprise, "Like, in the city?"
"Yeah.."
"Spencer, you don't need to take me anywhere that fancy."
"I wanted to try to."
"Do you think we'll be too late now?" Dante asked, and Spencer reached into his pocket for his phone to check the time. If the time wasn't disappointing enough the map service wasn't any better. As it added nearly half an hour onto the expected traffic time. "We would be an hour late if we left right now." Spencer said, tucking his phone away again. Spencer was trying to be hopeful to disguise his disappointment. Though Dante felt the dinner date wasn't worth all this trouble for Spencer. So while Spencer stood sadly, dripping onto the tiled floor, Dante was trying to think of a new plan. He took Spencer's hands, which at least got Spencer to look away from the floor, and spoke, "I don't need a fancy dinner to have a romantic night with you." Yet Spencer still seemed disappointed and was choosing not to answer.
"I think we could have a fancy and romantic dinner date right now. We're still dressed up."
"I guess so."
"I know so." Said Dante, brushing Spencer's wet hair away from his face and leaning down to kiss his forehead. Spencer appreciated Dante's loving gestures but he was still upset. "Are you sure you aren't disappointed?"
"I'm sure. I think that the date is really about time spent together. Not how or where."
"But you deserve someone who would do those things for you."
"We can have a million fancy dinners to make up for it someday. Right now.. All that matters is that you went out of your way to take me out tonight."
"I still didn't plan it good enough." Spencer said, glancing outside at the rain.
"You're really cute. Even when you're sad."
"What?" Spencer looked up to Dante in surprise after the unexpected compliment. Dante only smiled and decided to give Spencer a hug. Which Spencer hardly wanted the hug to happen at all. "Dante, you're going to get wet-"
"It's fine."

     It took a few moments before Spencer finally gave in to the hug and the change of plans. He knew this dinner date was unraveling since the moment he left to go get Dante. I guess he just didn't want to accept it, even now. Accepting such love and care from Dante was hard on someone as rough and broken as Spencer. Dante spent his time in moment in pure admiration for someone who finally was trying to reciprocate the mutual feelings. Although Spencer could have stood in that hug for ages longer Dante decided to part it. Dampened but not nearly as wet as Spencer was, "Let's go upstairs and dry off, okay?"
"Okay. That would be nice."
 So Spencer abandoned his broken umbrella and carried on to the lobby with Dante's hand in his. Perhaps he was realizing that this was the romantic and fancy date that they actually needed. Who needs overpriced plates and pretentious people to feel the date is justifiable? Definitely not Dante, and Spencer's standards were as low as eating thrown away Dunkin Donuts out of a dumpster with a special someone. After all the sounds of rain from the indoors was quite peaceful and made a nice atmosphere for their date.

     Once they made it up the elevator and to Dante's apartment they both took their wet shoes off by the front door. Dante was quick to say, "I'll go get you a towel." before carrying on to his hallway. Spencer was already loosening his tie and undoing the button to his collar. Wearing form-fitting dress clothes was far from his usual comfy tees. He stayed at Dante's front door mat as not to get the vinyl floors or rugs wet. When Dante came back he tried to dry Spencer's face and hair off himself. Though it only left the two of them laughing at each other. "I'll get it, thank you." Spencer said, taking the towel in his arm before trying to fix his hair.
"I never got to tell you how nice you look."
"It's not that impressive, but thanks."
"It is though. You look very handsome dressed up." Dante was proud of Spencer for going out of his way to dress up for their date. "I got most of it from the thrift store today." Spencer admitted while trying to dry off his sleeves with the towel.
"Really? I would've never guessed."
"I doubt I'll wear it again. Maybe it was a waste." Spencer started undoing his vest before adding with a happy sigh, "Plus this is kind of uncomfortable."
"Well maybe one day you'll need to dress up again. So hold on to it, that's all. But next time you should get some better fitting sizes." Dante says as he offers to take Spencer's vest for him. "I think I might be dry. Enough to sit down?" Spencer asked hopefully. Dante gave him a look and replied, "Enough to sit down on the rug, sure."
"I'll take it."
 Then Dante sat with Spencer in front of the couch, on the floor, but at least on the rug. Dante was thinking of some new ideas for what this date night should turn out to be. However, Spencer was still feeling a bit bummed his plans didn't go the way he wanted them to.
"Should we order some delivery?" Dante asked.
"Sure. Closest thing to a dinner date I think we can get to now."
"Any ideas?"
"Oh, no I'm horrible at picking." Spencer said and practically with a smile on his face. "Of course you are." Dante rolled his eyes, scooting to sit next to Spencer instead of in front of him. Spencer offered his phone for the picking. Might as well, considering he did delivery work they might as well use his own customer account. They scrolled for a short while before deciding on somewhere relatively fancy and new to try. Spencer offered to pay for it, of course, "It was my idea to begin with."
"I'll give you my half now."
"Maybe later?"
"You'll just make the same excuse later."
"So?"
"You're asking lots of questions."
"Am I?"
"We can bicker about it later?"
"Sure." Then Spencer happily placed their order. He gave a small 'oh' before adding, "It says it might take over an hour. Is that alright?"
"Oh well. We were going to have to wait no matter what."
"So.. What are we going to do for an hour?"
"I mean, what idea do you have in mind?" Dante asked curiously. Spencer leaned his back against the bottom of Dante's couch with a shrug, "We can watch TV?"
"We can watch TV all the time though. We should do something fun."
"Fun?" Spencer questioned, knowing quite a few 'fun' things they could do in an hour. Dante tried to roll his eyes to Spencer's flirty tone but it seemed he was just trying to hide his fluster. He tried to think of something quickly before Spencer started coming up with more genius ideas. "How about.. I paint your nails and do your makeup?"
"I thought this was a date."
"It is."
"That sounds more like a sleepover."
"So is that a no?"
 Spencer thought about it for a second but seeing Dante's little spark of joy to the idea made it hard to say no. It's not like he didn't want to either. "You can paint my nails and do my makeup." Spencer said, not reluctantly at all. It was something he'd like to do again for the first time in a long time.
"Wait, really?" Dante asked happily. "Yes really." Was the clear response.
"I'm actually excited-" Dante said in a hurry to get up. He was off to his hallway space where he kept his vanity and products. Spencer simply watched with a grin, glad to see Dante so happy about it too. When Dante came back with a handful of pallets and polishes he ordered Spencer to sit in the middle of the rug. So he did and Dante sat in front of him. Dante took a few minutes to organize his mess before putting a few different colors of polish in front of Spencer.
"These are the colors I think would look best for you." Dante pointed to three polishes. One was a plumy purple, a dark red, and black. Then he added, "I know red is your favorite color, so maybe that one?" Spencer deliberated, then picked up the black nail polish and handed it to Dante. Since Dante was so thrilled he figured he'd add a fun fact. "I never got to tell you that I used to wear makeup in high school." 
"Really? I wouldn't have guessed." Dante said in surprise. Though his attention was soon drawn to Spencer's rough hands. He looked over his nails and asked, "Is it okay if I cut and file them some?"
"Sure. Really giving me the luxury experience." Spencer said with a chuckle, but carried on with their conversation, "But, yeah. I would put eyeliner on sometimes and cover up my acne. Nothing that crazy. I mean, a few times I might have done more for concerts."
"I know you said you painted your nails before. Did you do that a lot in school too?"
"Oh yeah. All the time, even more than my makeup. It was just a part of the look back then."
"So you were one of those cute little bad boys in high school." Dante teased, already working on cleaning up Spencer's nails by now. "If you want to call it that, sure."
"You should show me some pictures one day."
"I think you'd have to dig deep into my mother's Facebook for those."
"You don't have any pictures in your car of yourself growing up?"
"No way. If there even are pictures of me they would be at my mom's too." Said Spencer while watching Dante begin to paint his nails black. Then Dante shared too, "I didn't do my makeup to go to high school honestly. Sometimes, but, y'know. Kids."
"It's never easy trying to be yourself. Especially in high school."
"Definitely. I mean, public school in New York was alright. At least there was a lot of support and people like me." Dante could recall getting picked on a few times for wearing makeup casually to school or dressing in any way but masculine. Though at the end of the day those little moments didn't add up to nearly as much love that he experienced in high school.
"It wasn't like that at all in Indiana." Spencer said somewhat sadly.
"I can only imagine.."
"My experience was rough, but interesting, that's all."
"How come?"
"Well, when you sleep with two different football players they sort of learn that bullying you comes with the possibility of getting blackmailed. Not to mention the basketball dude. That one was.. Crazy." Spencer said while quite casually dropping some old high school lore of his own. Of course that shocked Dante. "What? You were sleeping with boys in high school?"
"I mean.. Yeah?"
"I guess I'm just a baby." Dante chuckled to himself.
"No, you're not a baby. You're just normal. I'm not." Spencer said with a shrug, now checking out his nails since they were finished.
"They aren't all the way dry yet so be careful."
"I will be." Said Spencer. Now it was time to adjust for makeup.

"When did you have your first kiss then?" Dante asked, now curious to know more about Spencer's notorious past. "Interesting question." Spencer said, almost stalling but he ultimately answered honestly, "I was probably twelve."
"That's crazy." Dante was still so surprised but he eased himself, "Sorry. But really, that's crazy."
"How come? When did you have your first kiss?"
"I was seventeen."
"Happens eventually, right?"
 Soon Dante began to ask more questions following a similar path. "So.. When did you?"
"Are you sure you want to ask?"
"I mean, I'm just curious. You don't have to answer." Dante didn't want to be rude asking all these personal questions. However, it was their third date. Maybe it wasn't an awful time to ask about these sorts of things and get more towards some storytelling. Then Dante started to go through his pallets to begin doing Spencer's makeup while Spencer thought about his lengthy past. Eventually he found his answer, "I lost my virginity when I was thirteen. Granted I was almost fourteen."
"That seems awfully young. To me at least."
"It's hard to explain why it seemed so normal back then." Spencer shrugged, as he couldn't change the past. "I wish now that I would've slowed down." Spencer replied honestly despite having his eyes closed. Dante started to pack shadows down on his eyelids with his fluffy, fancy brushes. Since he started the conversation he contributed to it. "I mean, it's not about regretting anything. Just seems like.. Maybe it's rude, but, like no one taught you to not do those things. You know?" Dante tried to elaborate, "My parents would have never even allowed me to be in that position."
"Yeah. The unfortunate thing is that, uh.." Spencer paused with a thoughtful breath before carrying on, "I think my mom didn't have enough energy to care anymore."
"You talk about your mom a lot." Dante said, expecting the answer that followed; "Yeah, I don't know my dad, unfortunately."
"You don't know at all? Like, your mom doesn't know either?"
"She says she doesn't know anymore who it could have been."
"I'm sorry. That's awful."
"It is what it is. Not that 'he' or whoever a father could have been would have stopped me from doing the dumb things I did."
"I mean, holding yourself accountable is good at least."
"So, what about you?"
"Me? Oh- right, me." Dante nearly forgot they were talking about high school love affairs. "I was eighteen. I was still in high school. Just, a school sweetheart kind of thing."
"It's nice that you got to have that though. Don't you think?"
"I wouldn't say I regret anything. So sure." Dante said with a shrug. There were some relationships he regretted though. "Is it even alright to ask these kinds of questions?"
"I don't see why not."  Said Spencer, still being a subject to Dante's artistry. "I appreciate your honesty. I mean, if we're going to, uh." Dante got lost in thought while sifting through shades and brushes. Spencer opened his eyes for a moment to actually talk to Dante, "What are we going to do?"
"What?" Dante said, setting a pallet in his lap and feeling pretty flustered evening thinking these thoughts. "Well it feels hard to say."
"Is it about hooking up? I mean, I hope you don't regret that-" Spencer trailed off but Dante interrupted quickly, "No, not that. I mean that was both of us so. I- I don't regret that." Dante continued, "I mean, if we're going to keep seeing each other. It's already been a few weeks. I feel like.. I don't know, maybe it's just me." Dante was feeling overwhelmed with doubtful thoughts. He felt he couldn't express his true emotions without being too vulnerable to Spencer. Dante was afraid of being abandoned by Spencer later on because of his notorious past and all the tales he's heard from friends.

"I've only been seeing you. If that's what you're asking." Spencer replied, leaning forward some as he put his hands on Dante's knees and added, "I figure you just want to know more about me before you go dating me, right?" Spencer couldn't blame Dante for wanting to ask some personal questions before getting himself too involved. "It'd be nice to know those sorts of things. Your friends have a lot to say about you. That.. Worries me." Dante admitted with a sigh, "And my last relationship really sucked." After some time to reconcile and ponder Spencer finally came up with a response. "Since the end of that festival I haven't talked to anyone in any particular way. I've only kissed you. I've only slept with you. And honestly, I don't plan on seeing anyone else but you." Spencer felt a lot better even getting that off his own chest. That really solidified his already clear and valid feelings for Dante. That made Dante feel a lot better about pursuing Spencer too. "I've only wanted to spend my time with you since we met." Said Dante with a small laugh to disguise feeling shy. "You mean that?" Spencer asked while moving to meet Dante's gaze despite how much he tried to look away. "Yes, of course I do." Dante tried to regain his little bit of confidence left. "I.. I think you just need some eyeliner and some highlights.. and you'd be done." As much as Dante would love to ramble endearing words to Spencer he tried to keep them to himself for now. Spencer only smiled to Dante limiting himself. Words weren't necessary to understand and feel the love they were sharing anyway.
"Am I allowed to see yet?"
"Not till it's done."

     Dante put the finishing touches on Spencer's makeup. He gave him smoky, dark eyes with a bit of blue, iridescent shine. Plus some liner around his water line and corners. He didn't have any makeup for Spencer's face unfortunately. Their complexations were complete opposites. Though he did line his lips slightly. Finally he handed Spencer a mirror for him to look himself.
"Oh- wow. I didn't expect that." Spencer said upon seeing himself. He was moving the little mirror around to catch a few different angles of himself.
"Is that a good thing?"
"I mean, I've never had my makeup done so well before. So yes." This was far from anything Spencer ever did as a teenager. "I tried not to make it too fancy or feminine. Just did it to suit you." Dante replied as he began to pick up his mess of makeup tools sprawled over the rug. Spencer asked, "So you don't want me to do your makeup?"
"I'll let you outshine me for now." That was his polite way of saying no. Probably was for the best as Spencer had next to no skills with a brush. Let alone with Dante's hundreds of dollars worth of makeup. So Dante went and put everything back where it belonged while Spencer checked his phone for an update on the food. It said that their driver was about thirty minutes away given the weather. Which Spencer looked behind him and out the window to watch the heavy rain. Dante was quick to return to the floor. He sat in front of Spencer and admired all of his hard work. "You look nice with makeup on. You have a very pretty facial structure. If I had the right tones to match I bet I could do a really nice, full face of makeup on you." Said Dante, giving his literal professional opinion. "I wouldn't be against being a test dummy for you someday. If you really think I'm all that great of a model."
"I mean, you look like a model right now." Dante said in a slightly flirty tone. Spencer questioned, "How come?" He felt uncomfortably stiff after drying off from the rain and wearing thrift store clothes that didn't quite fit. I suppose he was glad that Dante saw it differently.
"Well, you have your tie undone." Dante pointed out. Spencer looked down at himself, "And?" He liked the way this was going.
"Your shirt is a couple buttons undone." Dante carried on, "Your hair is messy."
"It is?" Spencer of course then tried to brush through it some more. I guess the rain really ruined his barely styled hair. "Your makeup looks-" Dante could've said more but Spencer interrupted, "None of that sounds model like to me."
"Maybe. Maybe not. But I think you look pretty sexy." Dante finally admitted. I mean, it was hard not to feel some certain way seeing Spencer dressed so handsomely and a touch unraveled from the rain. Spencer chuckled to the praise and returned the compliments, "I'd say you look better than me. Way better." Spencer leaned back, putting his weight onto his arms just to enjoy the sight of Dante trying to flirt with him. Spencer was pretty solid. It took quite a few words to break him down. Though Dante was easy to get to.
"I don't dress up like this very often." Dante said as he looked to his ringed hands and patted down his braided hair. It felt a bit strange to go out of his comfort zone, but was glad that Spencer saw it as attractive. "You look professional. Like a businessman." Spencer said with a wink. Seeing Dante dressed so masculinely had him feeling some sort of way. "A sexy, professional businessman."
"What's that about?" Dante immediately questioned Spencer's suggestive words and wink.
"What's what?" Of course, playing innocent, "I don't know. Maybe I like businessmen." Spencer shrugged, waiting to see what Dante would do- if Dante would do anything. I think Dante was getting a better understanding of what Spencer was insinuating here.
"You're wanting to pretend?"
"I mean, it's fun, isn't it?"
"So what? I'm the sexy, professional businessman. And you are?"
"The damp and hot model, obviously."
"How long?" Dante asked as he shifted his weight up and onto his knees. Spencer looked over his shoulder to the clock hung on Dante's wall to answer. "Twenty minutes? Give or take." Then Dante's reply was simply a pleasant 'hmm' before beginning to crawl over Spencer who was sat so compliantly. As if he were wanting this to happen all along. Finally, a kiss.

     Dante enjoyed every second spent ruining Spencer's lipstick that followed shortly after. He found it pretty fun to remove Spencer's poorly done tie and barely buttoned top. Of course the treatment was reciprocated for himself, too. They were beyond little, sweet wandering kisses. Garments were being tossed along the floor and couch. The poor living room rug. I think things progressed a bit faster than the two had initially imagined.
 While it was rather fun, messing around an all, it was unfortunate timing to be in the thick of it by the time the call button began to go off. Spencer was in shambles on the floor. Dante, unfazed and undressed, was the reluctant one sent to answer the call. Of course, food, right. Nearly forgot about that. So Dante granted access for the delivery driver to enter the building. This would give them a literal few minutes to regroup and regain composure.

"We should get dressed." Dante said as he began to pick up their mess of clothes left all over the living room. "You expect me to walk?" Spencer asked quite genuinely while barely sitting up. "You'll be alright." Said Dante with a little laugh. He offered a hand to help Spencer up and onto his feet. "You need something to wear?"
"Yes please." Spencer added shortly after, "Can I use the bathroom now?" 
"Yeah you can. I'm done in there." Dante said over his shoulder as he was already walking back to his bedroom to change. He had minutes before the driver would come knocking considering the trek and elevator time. So he dressed himself in some comfortable clothes: briefs, blue sweatpants and a branded hoodie. For Spencer he set out some underwear, the same 'small' gray sweatpants and a tee for him to try on. Dante was barely able to finish before he already heard knocking at his door. Of course he hurried over as quickly as he could.
"Thanks!" and "Sorry for the wait." but "Absolutely no problem."
 I think they needed the extra time to themselves anyways. Dante began to pull apart their to-go bag and make their plates while Spencer was busy doing whatever he needed. Dante heated up whatever needed it and set out their two meals with some glasses of wine by the time Spencer came stumbling out of the hallway.
"You look adorable." Dante said, scooting out a bar seat for Spencer to sit at.
"Your clothes hardly fit me." Spencer replied, seeing as Dante's clothes were all loose on him. Though something was better than nothing. He was just happy to sit down with such a sight. "The food looks so good."
"It does. It looks worth the wait." 
 The two then tried their food and tried each others food. They went on about how delicious it was and how happy they were to be enjoying this time together.
"Thank you for fixing my poorly planned date." Spencer said in the midst of eating.
"Thank you for giving me yet another amazing date together."
"I think it was pretty good too, honestly."
"See, you finally admit it." Said Dante happily.
"You're lucky you finished fast-"
"Hey!" Dante nudged Spencer who tried to laugh with his mouth closed and chewing. He shook his head in protest of Dante's intrusions. "It's been a while." Dante said defensively. "Uhuh." Spencer mumbled, wiping his mouth off before leaning over to kiss Dante's cheek. Of course that was a sweet surprise for Dante. Who then looked over to Spencer with a smile and met him with a proper but brief kiss.

     The two sat together and finished their dinner and wine. Some time passed by and they played a board game on the floor. Even more time passed and they did the dishes and cleaned the living room. Shortly after they snuggled on the couch and watched TV for a short while. Spencer ended up falling asleep and Dante let him rest. Before it got too late Dante hardly woke him up and began to wipe off Spencer's fading, smearing makeup. Soon they were off to Dante's cushy, satin bed to sleep. That little glass of wine with dinner always wiped Dante out. Plus Spencer slept like a rock the moment his head hit any form of a pillow. The two got to snuggle the rest of the night away. Finally, Dante let Spencer in for a night, and it turned out a lot better than he could have ever imagined. Obviously he couldn't let Spencer in without something eventful happening, too. Neither needed a fancy or romantic date for it to be special and meaningful. They only needed a few good, creative ideas and some time. I think from now on the two would be glued together in the cheesiest most annoying way possible for the friend group. Though for each other.. it was a bond and sense of love they didn't know they were lacking so much in life until meeting each other. As Dante adored Spencer and Spencer adored Dante.

<3