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During the week, whenever Ryan Brownstone got home from work, he would do a bit of cleaning in his apartment. He figured that, if he did a little bit at a time, the apartment would be good and presentable for his next date with Jason. This way, Ryan would not be in a mad rush to get it all cleaned right before the weekend and tire himself out for his date.
The weekend had finally arrived. Ryan was busy getting ready for his lunch date. Once again, Ryan had brushed his teeth just to avoid any comments from Jason who also happened to be Ryan’s dentist. While gazing into his closet, Ryan wondered what kind of outfit he should wear. Jason had been slightly more dressed up than Ryan had expected for their previous lunch date. Perhaps the minotaur had been expecting a classier appearance from his date as well. Ryan had never fretted this much about a partner before. He had not gone out with anyone since his college days and those were usually just short hookups. This was the first time Ryan had really thought about the possibility of forming a long-term relationship with someone and he wanted to make sure he made a good impression. Ryan eventually settled on a striped long-sleeve button-up shirt and tucked it into a pair of dressy black jeans. It was not quite on the level of office attire, but he still looked nice and presentable for his date.
A short while later, Ryan heard the buzzer for the lobby and, sure enough, Jason had arrived with lunch. Ryan let the minotaur in and soon there was a knock at the door. The human nervously gulped and opened his apartment door. This would be the first time someone else had been in his apartment aside from the building manager or a repairman.
“Hello there, Jason. Come on in,” Ryan said and watched as the minotaur entered the apartment. Jason had to crouch to avoid hitting the light fixtures with his horns.
“Ah, so this is what your place looks like,” Jason said as he walked through the living room area. This time, the minotaur was sporting a blue dress shirt and grey slacks. Ryan now felt like he had made the right choice with his attire for the date.
“Yes, welcome to my humble abode,” Ryan stated as Jason looked around and got a good view of the layout. The minotaur spotted a small sofa and chair facing a television that had a couple of gaming consoles hooked up to it. Ryan had mentioned that he liked to play video games. Jason had never gotten into gaming himself. He preferred doing physical activities that kept the body healthy. The minotaur then spotted a guitar stand with an electric and an acoustic guitar sitting in it.
“Ah, I remember you mentioning that you played guitar,” Jason said.
“Yeah, I took lessons while growing up, though I must admit I haven’t played it as much as I used to,” Ryan replied. He used to play in bands and perform back in his high school and early college years. However, by his later college years and certainly by the time he had started working, Ryan did not play the instrument as much. Now, he occasionally noodled around or played some familiar tunes he still remembered when he was bored, but that was pretty much it. He had not performed or even jammed in a long while.
“You’ll have to play a song for me sometime. I’d like to hear you on your guitar,” Jason said. He thought that Ryan should not let his musical talent and skill go to waste.
“Yeah, I suppose I could do that. I’d have to break out the ol’ songbook and do a bit of practice first,” Ryan replied. He would need a bit of preparation time before he played any songs. He was a bit rusty in that aspect. Ryan then saw the bag in Jason’s hand. “Ah, is that the food?” the human asked.
“Ah, yes, it is,” Jason stated. He looked around until he spotted the kitchen area. He took out the casserole dish containing the chicken as well as the container with the salad. “There you go. I’ll leave it to you to serve things up,” Jason said. He then looked around to see if there was a dining table. There was a small table in the corner with a couple of chairs. It did not seem like it would fit someone of Jason’s stature.
“We can eat here in the living room area,” Ryan said and gestured to a small chair and sofa. They would probably be a better fit for the minotaur even if they were not as large as Jason’s furniture.
“Yes, I think that would work better,” Jason replied. He felt a little relieved as he had been worried about breaking one of the dining chairs if he had sat in it. The minotaur seated himself on the sofa as he could stretch his legs out a little on it. While Jason was doing that, Ryan prepared two plates with the lunch that his date had brought.
“Here you go,” Ryan said as he handed Jason a plate and sat down in the chair with his own. As they were eating, Ryan watched Jason handle the knife and fork. The utensils looked a little bit small in the minotaur’s hands and yet Jason seemed to handle them well. Ryan wondered if it was because Jason was used to using dental tools that also seemed a bit small in his hands. However, the minotaur did seem to have a bit of difficulty with the food in his lap.
“Sorry, I’m just used to using a table,” Jason stated as he tried to keep his plate steady.
Ryan wished he had gotten a couple of folding tray tables, but he had not thought about having them up until that moment. He then looked at the coffee table. “I can move this closer to you,” the human offered.
Jason tried to reposition himself on the sofa, but found it difficult as, for him, the furniture was quite low. He also realized that he would need to spread his legs and lean over the coffee table just to eat his food. “Thanks, but I’m alright. I can manage this way,” Jason stated. He would just do his best in the position he was in.
The two guys finished their lunch. Ryan then collected the dishes to wash later. Jason was eventually able to get himself off the sofa.
“So, what should we do now? Did you want to go for another walk?” Jason asked.
“Yeah, we can do that, as long as you promise to slow down so that we can walk together. Last time I kept having to hurry to try and keep up with you,” Ryan said.
“But that’s good exercise for you. It will help keep you nice and fit,” Jason replied. He then noticed that Ryan was giving him a look. “Yeah, you’re right. If we’re going to be dating then I suppose we should be walking together,” the minotaur said.
“Thank you,” Ryan said. He did not think that dates needed to be a workout. He knew that Jason enjoyed exercise and physical activity, but really, a romantic date was not the time or place for that sort of thing, unless the date was at a gym.
“But before we do that,” Jason said and then reached into one of the bags he brought. The minotaur pulled out a small pouch.
“What do you have there?” Ryan asked.
Jason opened the pouch to reveal a toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, and a pack of dental floss. “Just the essentials,” the minotaur replied.
Of course, Ryan thought to himself. He should have expected that Jason would bring along some dental hygiene products. The guy was a dentist after all.
“Let’s go get our teeth brushed,” Jason said with a grin. He wanted to make sure Ryan maintained a nice and healthy smile. The two of them went and brushed their teeth with Jason noticing that Ryan’s bottle of mouthwash still had a plastic wrapper over the cover.
Hmm, I’ll have to have a talk with him about that sometime later, the minotaur thought to himself. He did not want to ruin their date with lectures on maintaining proper dental hygiene. Jason then flossed his teeth and then looked at Ryan to make sure his date flossed his teeth well.
Once the two had finished with their dental care, Ryan put on his shoes and locked up his apartment. The two guys then went for a nice little stroll around the area. This time, Jason made sure to hang back a little so that the two could walk together. Ryan much preferred being able to have a casual stroll instead of constantly having to catch up with his date or get left behind. He looked up at the minotaur and smiled.
“What?” Jason asked, wondering what Ryan was smiling about.
“Nothing in particular. I’m just enjoying spending time with you,” Ryan replied.
“Oh! Well, me too,” Jason said, flashing a pearly-white smile at his date.
“I’m glad,” Ryan said and continued to casually walk down the sidewalk with Jason. At one point, Ryan looked over at the minotaur’s hand, then looked at his own. Although there was a small urge, Ryan did not feel that it was the right time to start holding hands during their walks. Perhaps, after another couple of dates, it would feel more appropriate.
Eventually, the two guys made it back to Ryan’s apartment where Jason collected all his items.
“So, what should we do for our next date? I think we should try something other than just having lunch,” Jason said.
“Yeah, we should do something else. Is there anywhere in particular that you’d like to go or anything you’d like to do?” Ryan asked. He was not sure what kind of places Jason liked to visit.
“Hmm, well, I do like going to the gym. Perhaps I could take you with me next time,” Jason said.
“Hmm, I haven’t gone to a gym since college. What other kids of people are there at your gym?” Ryan asked.
“I’ve seen a lot of different people there. I’ve seen rotund guys who want to lose weight to other fit guys who just want to make sure they stay in shape. A lot of my gym buddies are like me in that we like to work out to maintain our muscles and top physique,” Jason explained.
“Ah, I see,” Ryan replied. In his mind, he pictured Jason lifting weights with a bunch of other muscular guys. Ryan started feeling a little warm and fluttery at the thought.
Jason saw the expression on Ryan’s face and smirked. “Hmm, I can see why you’re interested in going to the gym,” the minotaur said with a little chuckle.
“Huh? Wha? What do you mean?” Ryan asked, being shaken out of his little visual fantasy.
“Oh, come on, now. I know you have a type,” Jason teased as he flexed an arm. One could see his arm muscle bulging under the shirtsleeve. Jason had caught Ryan staring at the minotaur’s muscles on more than one occasion. Plus, there was that time when Ryan had felt up Jason’s abs and commented about how much he loved them while drunk.
“Hey! That’s not the only rea-er, I mean…that’s…I’d go there to work out!” Ryan stated, getting a little hot and flustered.
Jason chuckled as he put an arm around Ryan and rubbed the human on his shoulder. “I know. I’m just messing with you,” the minotaur said with a cheeky grin. “But I could still see that expression on your face,” Jason added. He knew exactly what Ryan was thinking about.
“Agh! Was I that obvious? Sorry. That’s not something I should be doing on a date,” Ryan said, feeling a little embarrassed. He really needed to stop being so horny if he wanted to be successful with his dating.
Jason chuckled, finding humour in Ryan’s reaction. The minotaur then gazed out of the window at the nice, sunny day. “Or, maybe we could hold off on that until a little later. I believe I saw that next weekend is supposed to have nice weather as well. I was thinking of maybe taking advantage of that by having our next date be at the park where we can enjoy some nature. Get ourselves out of the house, or the apartment in your case,” Jason said.
“Yeah, that sounds nice,” Ryan said. It looked like those muscular men would have to wait, which disappointed Ryan slightly. However, he was more than happy to spend time with Jason wherever the minotaur wanted to go. Plus, Jason was the only muscular man Ryan felt he should be thinking about anyway if the two were trying to see if they could have a successful relationship. Then again, a little extra eye candy would not hurt, as long as Jason was the main focus.
“Wonderful! That means I won’t have to cook this time. I’m looking forward to our next date,” Jason said with a big smile.
“I am too,” Ryan replied. He then received a minotaur-style kiss on the cheek. “Euugh,” the human groaned as he wiped his face.
“Sorry, I just like being affectionate,” Jason said. The two of them decided on a time to meet up. Jason wanted to be there nice and early to enjoy the full day, but Ryan did not want to be there too early as he enjoyed being able to sleep in on the weekend.
After making sure he had everything he had brought, Jason waved goodbye to Ryan and then left the apartment. Once Jason was gone, Ryan walked over and picked up his acoustic guitar. He sat down in the chair and plucked away at his musical instrument.
“Hmm, maybe I should play something for Jason on our next date,” Ryan said to himself. If they were going to be hanging out at the park, then Ryan could add a little music to their date as they sat under a tree and Jason listened to the melody. The minotaur did say he wanted to hear Ryan play. It looked like it was time to break out that ol’ songbook and get reacquainted with the guitar.