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It had been two hours and Patton’s last, itty bitty piece of hope dwindled by the second.
He twisted the straw wrapping paper around his finger, then ripped it into pieces for no reason other than sheer boredom. Taking a sip of the third cup of water he’d ordered, ice half melted, Patton sighed. Maybe he was being a little bit dramatic — no harm done if they didn’t come, after all.
Still, a part of him really wanted to believe that if he just waited a few more minutes, they’d walk through the diner door, and all his optimism would pay off. Could he blame himself for that? He just wanted a nice afternoon, darn it! People buzzed around the eatery, gathering around the cute teal and pink booths, fiddling with the jukebox, and all-around enjoying the retro diner experience, all the while Patton waited alone at his table like a sad sack, holding three glasses of water, and wanting nothing more than to hide every time a server shot him a pitying look.
Just five more minutes, he told himself, leaning onto his elbows, then I’ll go.
Though just as the thought crossed his mind, his cell phone pinged and Patton reached over to grab it. He went to unlock it but the notification that popped up on the screen was enough to make him lie his head down on the table with a groan.
oh goodness im so sorry something came up
maybe another day?
He wanted to be mad, to find it in him to be unreasonable and maybe text back something snarky — but without his feeble optimism, the two hours of idleness finally set in and Patton just wished he was home.
Just as he built the will to finally leave, a sliver of movement caught his eye and he lifted his head to see it.
A server sauntered toward his table looking like a picture-perfect 50s waiter, his hair — just as red as the apron he wore — styled into beautiful curls beneath a little white cap. His bright green eyes held such unshakeable confidence that Patton began to feel a little worried that maybe he should've ordered something to go with the water.
But instead of chastising him, the waiter plopped himself down at his booth like it was the most natural thing in the world — Patton straightened up, feeling weirdly flustered with his presence.
The man hummed, picking up a glass and swirling what remained of the ice around. “Are you still waiting for your date, dear?” he asked with a sympathetic smile, just shy of blunt.
Patton blinked, just now realizing how the scene looked to an outsider. “Oh, no! No, no,” he chuckled nervously. “I’m not on a date, you see, I’m waiting for a friend! They're finally in town so we had an outing planned and everything!- but uh, they couldn't make it.”
“Oh,” said the man with a put-upon sigh. He rested his chin on one hand with an exaggerated pout. “I was hoping to valiantly save a cute guy from a ruined date, but I guess that won't work.”
“I- Um,” Patton stammered, feeling his cheeks warm - even more as he saw a hint of a smirk in the waiter’s expression. He was hoping to turn the day around at home with a tub of ice cream, but he guessed a nice date would also do the trick! “I mean- I wouldn't mind the company?”
The waiter broke out into a full-blown grin, throwing his hands at the table as he stood up. “Brilliant,” he exclaimed. “Just wait here a moment.”
He strutted to the counter and Patton felt distinctly thrown for a loop. Surprisingly, the first thing that came to mind was that his brother would be fretting non-stop if he knew Patton agreed to a date with a practical stranger. The second thing was that he didn't even catch the man's name, which did lend more credibility to hypothetical Virgil's worry — but unfortunately for his brother, he was nothing short of impulsive and it was becoming very hard to care about that when the stranger in question threw a little wave and a charming smile his way when he noticed Patton looking at him.
Soon enough, the man moved from the counter after talking with the cashier, quickly making his way back to the booth.
“I hope you don't mind I ordered something — I know the menu like the back of my hand, though, so I assure you it’s good,” he said with a wink.
“Oh, you didn’t have to do that!” Patton smiled, then faltered — it was a bit late to get going with introductions but going through the whole evening without knowing the guy’s name would be a bit of a disaster scenario so maybe he should get it over with? “Um, I’m- Patton?”
The man blinked. “Oh!” he said. “My name’s Roman, incredibly rude of me to not say it earlier, I apologize.” He extended Patton his hand with an awkward smile.
“It’s alright, don’t worry about it,” Patton said as he shook Roman’s hand. “So…” He settled his hand on the table, drumming up his fingers against it. “Will I get to know what you ordered?”
“In due time, though I won’t spoil the surprise — I hope you have a sweet tooth, though.”
Patton chuckled. “Well, you do work here, so I guess I can trust you.” He paused. “Wait, I’m not taking you away from your shift, am I?”
Roman shook his head. “Oh not at all, my shift has just ended.” He then turned around and waved to the cashier, who gave them a firm nod before going back to ringing up a customer. “See?”
“Huh,” Patton said. “Well, I’m glad! I’d hate to disrupt your work.”
“No need to worry about that, if anything I’d say you made my evening a little brighter, I didn’t have anything planned for after work,” Roman responded with a reassuring smile as he untied his apron and set the white cap on the table. “Speaking of plans, you seemed pretty determined to meet up with your friend today, do they not come around often?”
Patton grimaced. “Not really, they go to college out of state, and when they do visit it’s our hometown, I was excited to meet them.” He sighed. “Plus my course hours have been crazy, I’ll take any chance to rest.”
“I feel you, add work into the mix and I feel like I haven’t rested in days.” groaned Roman. “What do you major in?”
“Biology, third year,” he answered. “I’m in the pre-vet program!”
“Ooh, impressive!” Roman whistled. “Cute and smart, you’re a double-threat.”
Patton giggled, avoiding Roman’s eyes. “You’re a charmer,” he said. “What about you?”
“I go to art school,” Roman shrugged. “Theater program.”
“You do theater?” Patton asked, enthusiastic. Though thinking about it, it wasn’t very surprising — Roman had a sort of captivating presence, like he could charm anyone with his charisma, undoubtedly he’d do well on a stage. He continued. “That’s awesome! Do you wanna be an actor?”
“Indeed, soon enough I’ll be dazzling the crowds on the big stage!” Roman glanced toward his uniform and chuckled. “Maybe not so soon, but I will.”
Patton rested his chin in his hand with a grin. “Well, you already do a darn good job of dazzling the customers, so I’d say you’re halfway there.”
Roman laughed and took a dramatic bow. “I live to please.”
Before Patton could continue the conversation, a server came by their booth — he hadn’t even noticed them heading that way! They began setting their order at the table.
“Oooh, bagels!” Patton said as they slid a plate with four bagels — all with seemingly different flavors — plus jelly cookies towards the middle of the table.
Roman grinned. “Can’t go wrong with that.”
The server chuckled, sliding a milkshake towards Patton. “Have fun with your date, Ro.”
Roman winked in response. “I will, thanks, Becca.”
Patton glanced at the milkshake in front of him — strawberry from the look of it, topped with whipped cream and a cherry, all in a frankly very tall glass.
“That’s a big milkshake, huh,” he tittered. “Not sure if I can, um, drink all of that.”
“No need to fret,” said Roman. He then unwrapped a straw and swiftly slotted it next to Patton’s. “We could always share.”
“You’re really going for that 50s theme, aren’t you?”
“Theming is important!”
Patton laughed, picking up a bagel with cream and blueberry frosting. “It’s cute,” he said, before taking a bite off of it — just the right amount of sweetness with a perfect chewy texture. “Oh my goodness, this is sooo good!”
“Right?” responded Roman. “The bagels here are incredible, I don’t get them anywhere else and it’s not even because of loyalty to the employer or anything.”
Patton leaned in to take a sip of the milkshake next, only to find that Roman had done the same and they were mere inches apart.
He giggled, backing away. “I don’t think you thought the logistics of that very well.”
“I don’t know,” Roman spun the straw around with a smirk. “I think I thought that through just fine.”
Patton didn’t respond, instead opting to take a biscuit as an excuse to look away.
He ended up eating a few of them, and he had to ask Roman what jelly brand they used sometime because wow! He also soon finished his blueberry bagel, which was honestly illegally good all the way through. Picking up another bagel from the plate, he struck up a conversation again.
“So, is the program putting up any new plays soon?”
Roman’s eyes brightened. “Ooh, yes actually! We’re doing The Sound of Music.”
“Ooh, I know that one, raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…” Patton sang.
“Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens,” continued Roman, his voice soft and perfectly pitched.
“Aw, your voice is so lovely! You’re a perfect fit for musicals.”
“Ah, thank you!” answered Roman - he averted his eyes, clicking his fingers against the table, and Patton realized he might have actually flustered the other, soon confirmed by the faint blush that tinted Roman’s cheeks.
Patton smiled but didn’t comment on it. “You know, I’d love to watch it, I can tell you’re very talented.” He paused. “Oop, can’t just invite myself to things like that.” Laughing, he rubbed the back of his neck.
“You like musicals, Patton?”
“Sure do!” he chirped. “My favorite is Cats, the performance is so wonderful!”
“I’d say that fits, huh Mr. future vet?”
Patton grinned. “Maybe so.”
“Well, I could never refuse a request from a fan,” said Roman with a smirk. “The play’s in a month, perhaps we could make a day out of it?”
“Deal!” He clapped his hands together. “You could also let me take you out on a date before then, hm?”
“I’ll have to consider that offer, though I warn you, good sir, I have quite high standards.”
Patton snorted. “I’m sure.”
The subject of theater came up again after that, Roman told him about all the preparations they’d done so far, plus the audition process – which sounded way too stressful for Patton, but Roman seemed ecstatic while speaking of it. The exchange ended up heading many ways, their roommates, their programs’ budget, and eventually Roman asked Patton about his aspiration to be a vet. He barely got the chance to stop himself before he went on a delighted rant about it. Roman listened intently, engaging with enthusiastic questions – as if what Patton said was the most interesting thing he’d ever heard – and darn it if that didn’t make him feel giddy. Eventually, the conversation hit its natural lull, and Patton looked to their table, surprised to find it was left with nothing but empty plates — he barely noticed they finished their order while talking. The activity in the diner had died down too, and a glance out the window told him it was rapidly getting dark.
He sighed. “I think I might have to leave already.”
Roman pouted. “So soon?”
“Aw, don’t look so sad,” Patton said, pulling out his cell phone and opening the contact book. He handed it to Roman. “Can I get your number? I’d love to talk with you again.” He smiled.
“And to arrange that date, huh?” Roman took it, typing in his information.
“Wow, you already considered the offer?”
Roman laughed. “Here.”
He handed the phone back and Patton glanced at the contact name.
“Your surname is Prince?”
“Indeed.”
“Aw, that fits!” Patton said as he picked up his things. “Because you’re so charming!”
“Some things are just meant to be.” Roman winked. “Goodbye Patton, see you soon.”
Patton waved as he left the booth, not being able to stop a huge grin from breaking through. “You better!”
He swiftly made his way out of the diner, passing through the brightly colored cyan and pink door — the sky outside was already a good shade of grey, so he’d have to walk faster if he wanted to get home before it was completely dark.
Despite that, he couldn’t find it in him to worry about that at all — not with buzzing excitement under his skin and pretty green eyes in his mind.
What a day, huh?