The day after Jongdae’s party, Yixing was chilling on Baekhyun’s couch, sipping on some hot green tea and watching TV. It was almost noon, and he was waiting for Baekhyun to wake up. His friend was probably knocked out by all the alcohol he drank the previous night. On the ride back home, Yixing drove since he was the most sober and Baekhyun fell asleep in the car. He had the  GPS so he did not have to wake him up to ask the directions.

15 minutes later he started to hear noises and Baekhyun opened his room’s door while yawning.
 

“Hello Sleeping Beauty!” Yixing said mockingly.

“Heeeeyyyy.” Baekhyun answered lazily, trying his best to open his eyes fully.

“Slept well? No hangover?”

“No, I’m good. Just got a little headache but nothing bad.” He smiled and walked to the couch to sit next to his friend. “Sorry for oversleeping. We should have been hanging out or at least be enjoying our free time.”

“Don’t worry Baek, it’s okay. We can hang out after eating.” Yixing said while patting affectuously his friend knee.

Baekhyun leaned his head on his best friend’s shoulder.

“I’ve missed you so much Yix.” He threw himself on his not-so-surprised friend who welcomed him with a hug. Baekhyun had always done a lot of skinship.

“Aww, look at you. You’re still drunk?” Yixing joked.

Baekhyun whined. “We didn’t have a lot of time to talk yesterday because of the party and all. But I’m so happy to have you here!”

“I’m happy to see you too my little Baekie. And I’m happy to see that you’re back on the tracks.” The older said with a sly grin.

Baekhyun lett off his friend’s embrace and gave him a confused look.

“Back on the tracks?”

“Yeah, you and the tall guy yesterday.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah yeah yeah. I knew you were looking at him for a reason! You really knew him?”

“Hmm, actually, that was the guy I told you about on the phone. The cute customer…”

“Seriously? And he remembered you too?”

“He did.” Baekhyun refrained from smiling. “But I told him I didn’t remember him. I didn’t want him to know that I noticed him.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know… We didn’t know each other, I guess it was a way of keeping the upper hand.”

“Baekhyun…”

“No, Yix, please. I know what you’re about to say and...just no.”

“Baekie, you can’t keep acting like this. Look at how much you seemed happy yesterday. Smiling and everything. I’m pretty sure you had a good time!”

“I did.”

“See? So, let it go. Be yourself, don’t reflect too much. Give it a try and see what will happen.” Yixing was now petting his best friend’s head.

Baekhyun remained silent for a minute and sighed.

“I’m scared.”

“I know you are, your last break-up was complicated. But you can’t keep hiding yourself like this. I’m not telling you to jump blindly into a relationship with this guy. But if you feel like it, try and see. He seems to be a good guy.”

Baekhyun laughed. “You talked to him for like 5 seconds.”

“Yeah but I’ve got a special power for this.”

“Yeah, as if…”

Suddenly, Baekhyun’s stomach growled loudly. The two men burst out laughing.

“Ah, let me feed you my little one.” Yixing said while getting up.

“But you’re my guest.” Baek replied but his bff did not pay attention.
 

When Chanyeol came back to his apartment last night, he found his roommate dozing off on the corridor’s floor. The scene was really funny, and would usually have led to the tall man taking pictures and videos of his friend to make fun of him later. But Chanyeol was not really happy at that moment. So he woke Sehun up, opened the door and went directly in his room. He did not check on the other guy who ran and locked himself in the toilets.

Now it was the beginning of the afternoon, Chanyeol was cooking lunch for two while listening to music, not worrying about waking Sehun up .

The latter suddenly appeared in the living room, holding his head, still wearing the same clothes as the previous night.

“Don’t you have any pity on a poor young man having a hangover?” Sehun complained.

“I don’t give a .” Chanyeol answered dryly facing the stove and not bothering looking back at his interlocutor.

“Pff, c’mon Yeol. Sorry about that last night. But I really had no choice, I was too drunk to go anywhere else!”

“Like I care? I guess you were already drunk when you left ‘cause you actually forgot your keys on the table.”

“Oh really? Cool, I won’t have to go back to the bar to look for them then.” The younger man said casually.

Chanyeol turned to look at Sehun, anger in his eyes.

“Whoa there! I told you I’m sorry Yeol! Why are you so mad? Did I interrupt you in the middle of getting laid or something? Damn.”

Chanyeol did not answer and went back to his cooking. Sehun sat down at the bar separating the kitchen corner from the rest of the living room.

“It smells good, what is it?” Sehun said trying to lighten the mood.

Chanyeol was still quiet, he separated the food equally in two large plates. He gave one of them to his roommate and sit next to him.

“Thank you Yeol!”

“You owe me one.” The older man finally said.

“Alright. I guess something interesting happened last night for you acting so butthurt.”

“Shut up and eat.”

They started eating in silence, but 3 minutes later they were chatting as if nothing happened.
 

It was now the end of the afternoon. Chanyeol was back in his room, laying on his bed, wondering if he should call Baekhyun right now.

He had been thinking the other man since he woke up. Baekhyun was everything he liked and he really hoped it was mutual. They clicked too wel, something had to happen.

After pondering he decided to text his crush, calling would be to “aggressive”.
 

To: Byun Baekhyun
5:22 PM
Hello :) It’s Chanyeol from last night party.
Sorry again for leaving abruptly.

I hope you had a great night and came back home safely.
 

From: Byun Baekhyun
5:24 PM
Hey there :)

No worries. I hope your roommate was okay.

Came back home safely.

And yes I had a really great night, mainly thanks to you ^_^
 

Chanyeol blushed. He was not actually asking about the moment they had together but was asking about after he left the party. But, oh well…
 

To: Byun Baekhyun
5:26 PM
You’re welcome, I had a great time too ;)

I actually thought about you a lot today…

And I was wondering if we could see each other again?

Tonight, tomorrow or whenever you want.
 

After 5 minutes without an answer, Chanyeol wanted to slap himself. You were too direct man, c’mon you just met yesterday, shoud have talked more first. He was looking blankly at his ceiling when his phone vibrated.
 

From: Byun Baekhyun
5:32 PM
I can’t tonight but tomorrow is okay.
I’ll be free around 6PM :)
 

To: Byun Baekhyun
5:33 PM
Deal!

I’ll take you out to dinner.

Will send you the details tomorrow.
 

From: Byun Baekhyun
5:36 PM
Alright, see you later then :)
 

“Yeesssss!” Chanyeol screamed rolling on his bed.

The day after, Chanyeol was waiting in front of La Casa Romana a nice little Italian restaurant. It was 6:45PM, he was 15 minutes early and was stressing out. He was dressed nicely with a dark blue long-sleveed shirt and black pants. He was supposed to wear a jacket but the stress was making him hot so he took it out.

He hoped Baekhyun liked Italian food. Who did not like Italian food anyway? It was a safe choice. Plus, the boy did not express any objection when he sent him the name and adress of the restaurant in the morning. It was gonna be alright.

Waiting for his crush, the tall boy was looking at people in the streets. There were a lot of couples since it was an area full of restaurants. There was also a park not too far with a lot of flowered paths and benches.

It was now 6:59PM and Chanyeol’s heart was beating faster and faster. He did not understand what was happening to him, he already had a lot of dates. But the first ones were always the more stressful he tried to convince himself.

7:01PM...7:08PM...Still no Baekhyun...Oh no... To calm himself, Chanyeol took out his earphones, plugged it in his phone and started listening to random songs.

He was looking at a family hanging out in the streets, a rock ballad song playing in his ears when he felt the touch on someone on his left arm. He jumped and turned his head to see a radiant shorter man smiling at him. He took off his earphones quickly.

“I’m really really sorry for being late!” Baekhyun said with an apologetic face.

“It’s okay, don’t worry!” Chanyeol was so relieved had finally come. A part of him had started to think that maybe he was being stood up.

“I dropped Yixing off at Jongdae’s before coming and there was way more traffic than I expected. I should have texted you though, I’m really sorry. It’s already 7:20PM, I hope you didn’t arrive too early!”

“No, no it’s okay, I assure you!” Chanyeol was smiling. Baekhyun looked really good. They were dressed the same way, except that Baekhyun’shirt was white.

“Well, I guess you waited long enough, let’s go then!”

They entered the restaurant and was welcomed by a beautiful waitress dressed in an all black outfit. She smiled warmly at the two handsome men she had in front of her, her eyes tending to stay longer on Chanyeol.

“Welcome to La Casa Romana! Did you make a reservation?” She said nicely.

“Yes, a table for two in the name of Park Chanyeol.” Said the tall man feeling a little intimidated by the way the girl was looking at him in front of his date.

“Thank you, let me check.” She looked at the register laying on a table besides her. “Yes I got it, but it was a reservation for 7PM…”

“Yeah, I’m sorry we’re late, we had a little impediment. I should have noticed you.” Chanyeol said immediately.

“It’s okay, we usually wait 25 to 30 minutes before we cancel an unclaimed reservation. Your table is ready and available. Please follow me!”

While walking behind her, Baekhyun mouthed a “I’m really sorry for this.” to Chanyeol who smiled and shooked his head.

“Here, this is your table.” She said showing a table located in a peaceful corner of the restaurant. “The menus are already placed in front of each seat. Don’t hesitate if you have any question. Have a nice dinner.” She left not before winking seductively at Chanyeol.

He tried to act like he did not notice but his cheeks turned into a little pink.

Baekhyun was about to pull his chair to sit but Chanyeol came next to him and did it himself.

“Please, Mr.Byun.” And Baekhyun sat down.

Then Chanyeol sat in his own chair in front of his date.

“The place is very nice Chanyeol. I love the decor and I hope the food is good as well.” Baekhyun said while taking the menu in front of him.

“Yeah I really like this place. Not too big, ideal for a romantic dinner and the food is very good.”

“Oh so I guess you come here often?” Said the manager while raising his eyes from the menu.

Chanyeol coughed. “Hmm, no, not that often. I came here only m-maybe two or three times...I-”

“It’s okay, I’m joking.” The other man cut him off laughing.

Chanyeol felt stupid and smiled while lowering his head. Chill Chanyeol, chill.

“I’m really happy that you accepted to meet me tonight. And I forgot to tell you how good you look.”

Baekhyun blushed lightly. “Thank you. You look really nice too. And about tonight you should thank Yixing too. He really encouraged me to come.”

“Oh, because you didn’t want to?” Chanyeol sound a little hurt.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant! But since Yixing is here only for 5 days I was supposed to stay with him the whole time. Especially during this week-end since I’ll be at work most of the time the other days. But he was with me when I got your texts and said that he’ll be okay tonight. So here I am.” Baekhyun smiled.

“I see... Well please send my thanks to Yixing. I’m really grateful for his sacrifice.”

“I hope it will be worth it.” The shorter man said on challenging tone.

“I’ll make sure it is.” Chanyeol answered with a smirk.

Then each one starts reading the menu more carefully. 5 minutes later a waiter came to take their order. Chanyeol took lasagna and Baekhyun spaghetti alla bolognese. Chanyeol wanted to order a bottle of wine but since Baekhyun was driving and working the next day, he dropped the idea. They took fresh fruit juices instead.

They were chatting when their plates arrived. Everything looked good and Baekhyun could not wait to taste his pastas.

Chanyeol was right the food was really good. They enjoyed it while talking about everything.

“Do you like your spaghettis?” The tall man asked after they stopped laughing about a story he told about him getting lost in a supermarket when he was 8 years old because he was following the wrong woman thinking it was his mom.

“Yes, they’re very good. What about your lasagnas?”

“They’re delicious. Wanna taste?”

“Oh, yeah, why not!”

Chanyeol picked a bit of his food with his fork. Baekhyun thought he was about to put the fragment in his plate. He was a bit surprised when the man in front of him held the fork in front of his face so he had to take the food directly in his mouth.

Baekhyun looked directly into Chanyeol’s eyes, moved his head forward and opened his mouth to take the food slowly. He started chewing while holding the eye contact. The lasagnas were really succulent but Baekhyun’s body reaction was not really coming from the food. The mood had made a 180° degree rotation.

“Really tasty.” Baekhyun finally said breaking the silence.

“...Sorry?”

“The food...the food is tasty.”

“Ah...yes.” Just like you, Chanyeol thought. He was trying his best to tone down what he had in mind right now.

“Wanna taste mine?” Baekhyun said lifting an eyebrow.

“Excuse me?” Chanyeol was trying his best to not let his mind wander but the man he was looking at was not making it easy.

“My pastas, you wanna taste them?” The manager was smiling because he knew exactly what he was doing.

“Oh yes, please.”

Baekhyun proceeded to roll expertly the spaghettis around his fork and was about to feed his date back but when when he raised his arm, some of the bolognese sauce fell down dramatically on his white shirt.

“Oh !” He let out.

Chanyeol immediately stood up and took his napkin to help him clean the mess. With his big hand he was rubbing gently the already damaged tissue. He was kneeled down in front of Baekhyun who had started blushing because of the physical contact.

“You really don’t have to do that. It’s too late anyway. Ah, I’m so clumsy.” The short man let out with a desperate tone.The moment was totally ruined because of him now.

Chanyeol lifted his head so they were back to their eye contact again. Their faces were so close. They could almost feel each other’s breathes on their faces. Both of them started blushing, not moving, just staring at each other. Then the tallest one smiled, got up and went back to his place. They finally finished their plates in a lighter atmosphere.

The waiter came back and their ordered desserts, a lemon panna cota for Chanyeol and a tiramisu for Baekhyun.

They were eating their desserts and Baekhyun was now saying how much he was not ready to go back to work the next day because he had too much fun during the week-end. Chanyeol was listening to him and smiling because he knew he was one of the reason why Baekhyun had so much fun. Suddenly, something catched his attention. Baekhyun had a little bit of mascarpone on his lower lip. Without any warning Chanyeol extended his arm and rub him thumb on the other man’s lip. He then the mascarpone on his own thumb slowly.

“Really tasty.” He said to a now mute Baekhyun.

A few seconds went by and they started laughing with no explaination. They finished their food and when the waiter put the bill on the center of the table, Baekhyun took it before Chanyeol could make a move.

“What are you doing Baekhyun? I’m the one who invited you!”

“No, it’s my treat. Plus I was late, we almost missed the chance to enjoy this delicious food because of me so let me pay.”

“I told you it’s okay. No really, I want to pay!”

“Stop it Chanyeol! Who am I to let a  student pay for me when I have a job?”

“I wouldn’t have invited you if I couldn’t afford it.”

“Well, you’ll pay next time then.” Baekhyun replied with a huge smile.

“Oh so there will be a next time?” Chanyeol asked happily.

But his date looked at him and shrugged without giving an answer. He then winked and went to the checkout.

Chanyeol walked Baekhyun to his car. They were walking side by side silently in the fresh night. When they arrived at the car, Baekhyun turned to look at Chanyeol.

“Do you want me to drop you off?”

“No it’s okay thank you! I live a few blocks away, I will walk.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, thank you for tonight, I had a great time.”

“Oh you’re welcome! It was my pleasure! I...I mean… You’re really someone great Baekhyun. I hope we’ll be able to get to know each other better.”

“I hope so too.”

There was an awkward silence. That was usually the moment when you were supposed to kiss, but no one was moving.

Park Chanyeol, do something the tall boy thought to himself.

“Well, goodnight!” Baekhyun said, he was about to open his car door. But his arm was pulled and he was caught in the other man’s arms for a quick hug. He felt so warm.

“Be safe on the road! Goodnight Baekhyun!” Chanyeol said before letting go.
He waved at him when the shorter man left the car park driving slowly and walked back to his apartment his mind full of dreams.

From; Park Chanyeol

To: Byun Baekhyun
10:36 PM
Hope you went back home safely!

I really had a great night.
You’re really something else Baekhyun.

The more I know about you the more I want to know you.

Looking forward to our “next time”.

Have a good night :)

_____________________________________
[A/N] Thank you, thank you to all the subscribers! Thank you to all the readers as well!
I had formerly planned to update with 2 chapters but I got a little more work that I expected this week so you got only this one today. I'll try my best to update tomorrow!
Anyway, the story is a bit simple but I hope you like it! Please don't hesitate to comment on what you like or don't like so I can improve myself ;)