Alec smiled as Jensen opened the door. He said, “I hope this smile doesn’t break my face. I haven’t had many reasons for even a little grin lately.”

Jensen smiled back. He gestured toward the living room and said, “Come in. Have you ever been inside this bungalow before?”

“I saw it at an open house when it was for sale before you bought it. It was like a cave then. They stripped all the furniture out and didn’t have one of those…what do you call them? The people who make it all fancy to get you to buy it.”

“Stagers.”

“Yeah, those.” Alec held out a full paper bag. He said, “I forgot to ask you what you like, so I got the safest Chinese I could think of. There’s sweet and sour pork, Mongolian beef, and wontons. I hope there’s something you can eat in it. I know you’re not a damned vegan. I found the beef in the lasagna.”

Jensen said, “You can bring it in here to the kitchen. I’m cooking up something to add to the meal.”

“You and your cooking. I’m not complaining. It is good, but I could never do it like that. Are we going to eat in the kitchen? It’s more fun to eat on the couch.” Alec glanced around. “That is if you’re not too picky about what you do where in your house. I bet a white glove would come out clean.”

Jensen laughed. “It’s fine to eat in the living room. I’ll bring plenty of napkins. Set the food down there on the coffee table, and come to join me in the kitchen. I need to make sure these don’t burn.”

Alec pushed a pair of little Asian statues to one side of the coffee table and set the bag on the other end. He stepped up behind Jensen at the stove. “What’s in the pan? Did you make that from scratch?”

“They’re pot-stickers. They’re little Chinese dumplings. I didn’t make the dough from scratch. I bought it at an Asian grocery. I thought it might be fun to have something homemade. You’ll love these. I promise.”

Alec stepped up closer behind and whispered, “If you insist.” He said, “I’ve got something for you,” and he brushed his lips against Jensen’s neck with a light kiss.

It took Jensen by surprise. He probably should have seen it coming. Alec told him that he felt something, but it was still a shock. Jensen muttered, “Oh, fuck.”

“Is something wrong?”

“Uh, no, nothing at all, but you didn’t do that at your place. I, um, need to concentrate for a minute here. These suck when they get burnt.”

Alec brushed his hips up against Jensen’s backside. “Okay, I”ll be good. At least for now.”

Jensen exhaled sharply. “There’s a bottle of wine there on the kitchen table. The glasses are in the cupboard, and the corkscrew’s in the drawer to the right of the sink. Can you take care of that?”

Alec kissed the side of Jensen’s neck one more time. He inhaled the slightly soapy, clean scent, and he ran his fingers up the buzzed hair at the back of Jensen’s head. “I think I can handle the wine.”

“And thanks for the kisses. I do appreciate it.”

Alec carried two glasses of wine to the living room. He situated himself at one end of the sofa and waited for Jensen.

As he stepped into the living room, Jensen held a pair of cloth napkins under one arm, and he carried three plates in his opposite hand. Six pot-stickers were laid out on the top one. Alec looked up, shook his head, and smiled. “We don’t need plates. I do like the real napkins.”

“With the plate, you can mix everything together. I like to do that.”

“Someone needs to show you the right way to eat Chinese.”

Jensen said, “Oh, I already know how to use chopsticks. You don’t need to show me how. I learned when I was a little kid.”

“I didn’t mean that. Hand me one of those napkins and put those plates down on the coffee table.”

Jensen followed the instructions. He looked down at Alec and asked, “What next?”

Alec sat with his back pressed up against one end of the couch. He tugged off a sneaker and pushed one leg up against the crevice where the cushions met the back. “I hope you don’t mind this.” Alec patted the cushion between his legs. He said, “This is where you sit. Grab that bag before you join me and pull the coffee table close.”

Jensen lifted the coffee table up and set it down closer to the sofa. Alec watched Jensen’s Adam’s apple rise and fall as he sat with the bag of Chinese food in his right hand. Jensen leaned lightly against Alec’s chest and asked, “Is this what you had in mind?”

Alec reached out and kneaded Jensen’s shoulders. “Yeah, exactly, but you need to relax. It’s dinner, and it’s supposed to be fun, not tense. Dig into that bag and find us some food and chopsticks. How about we start with the sweet and sour pork? Hand me the boxes.”

Alec dug into the sweet and sour pork with a pair of chopsticks and held a piece up to Jensen’s lips. He said, “See, this is how people that like each other eat Chinese.”

Jensen grinned and chewed the piece of pork. He swallowed and said, “I love this, but why don’t we start with the appetizers, the wontons, and the pot stickers. We don’t want the homemade stuff to get cold.”

Alec said, “You’re too much. Do you know that? You’re this adorable Betty Homemaker kind of guy, but you’ve got a backbone and opinions. I think you’d bitch the hell out of me if I got out of line. Right?”

Jensen laughed. “I’ve done that once or twice. Ask my friend, Les.” He dug into the bag of won-tons, dipped it into the box of pork to collect some sauce and held it up behind his head for Alec. He muttered, “Oh, fuck,” again when Alec’s lips closed around his fingers sucking lightly before taking the tasty morsel of pork.

“Mmm, that tasted good, but I’m not sure if it was the pork or it was your fingers. I probably need somebody to keep me in line. I can take care of myself, but I don’t have a lot to show for it. Maybe I do need a good man.” Alec shifted slightly as he felt himself growing stiff in his jeans. He knew Jensen could feel it.

Jensen asked, “So where did you learn to eat Chinese this way? It’s so romantic.” He wanted to say it was a complete surprise, but he was concerned that would be taken the wrong way. Instead, he said, “I love it. I’m not criticizing or complaining.”

Alec reached around Jensen’s body and grabbed another pot sticker off the plate. He asked, “What’s in these things? I’m not a fan of mystery crap wrapped up so I don’t know what it is.”

“You don’t like Christmas presents?”

Alec growled, “Fucker,” and he laughed. “Seriously, what’s in there? You don’t want to deal with me if it’s nasty. I have a few things I don’t eat.”

“It’s a mixture of beef and Chinese spices. I could have done pork, but I already had the beef. It’s sort of like a meatball with Asian flavors instead of Italian.”

“Okay, you eat it first.”

Jensen laughed. He dug into the bag. “I saw some soy sauce in here. Let me sprinkle some of it over them before you shove one in my mouth.”

Alec whispered in Jensen’s ear, “Oh, there are so many things that could go in your pretty mouth.” He smiled when he saw the blush spread to the back of Jensen’s neck. “I am a romantic, but don’t tell anybody. It clashes with my grumpy bastard image.”

With the soy sauce clinging in small droplets to the pot sticker, Jensen opened his mouth as Alec held it tight in a pair of chopsticks. “Mmm, I did pretty well with these.” He chewed, swallowed, and said, “Now you have to try one. It’s only polite.”

“How often do you think I’m fucking polite?”

“You can learn.”

Alec said, “Just pick it up with your fingers. Don’t bother with the chopsticks.”

Jensen grabbed the nearest pot sticker and reached up and behind his head. Alec grabbed his wrist and aimed the food for his mouth. He spread his lips wide enough to grasp Jensen’s fingers up to the first knuckle. He sucked firmly and licked the fingertips before he let Jensen pull back.

“Holy…damn, this is fun and freaking hot. Of course, I know you already know that. It was your suggestion.”

“Yeah, I do, and I hope we can finish up with the food soon. Why don’t you hand me a glass of wine? Shouldn’t we be clinking the glasses or something?”

“Are you planning a toast?”

“Nah, I just like to clink the glasses.” Alec chuckled as he took the glass from Jensen’s hand and the rims of their glasses touched.

Half of the Chinese food remained when they both gave up on it. Alec reached a hand forward and cupped Jensen’s chin in his hand. He tilted it up and back until their lips could meet. He parted his lips when he heard Jensen moan.

Jensen pulled the plate off his lap and set it on the coffee table. He did the same with the bag of Chinese food before turning around and facing Alec without ever pulling their lips apart.

Alec pulled back and said, “You kiss mighty fine. I mean that as a compliment.”

“I do well when I have a good man to kiss.”

“Well, the jury might be out on that good man part.” Before Jensen could respond, Alec wrapped a hand around the back of Jensen’s neck pulling him forward and kissing harder than before.

Jensen reached his hands up between them and kneaded Alec’s chest. It felt amazing to have a man touch him like that after so long. He wrapped his arms tight around Jensen and let one hand drift down to caress an ass cheek.

Jensen pulled back suddenly. “Can we wait on that?”

Alec knew he would happily go to bed if that were the direction of the evening, but he was fine with waiting, too. “I wasn’t angling to fuck you if that’s what you thought. I just wanted a handful of the best ass in the room.”

“I think you’re sitting on that one.”

Alec rubbed a thumb over the jeans and down the cleft created by Jensen’s ass crack. “I think I might disagree.”

“I guess I’m still an old-fashioned guy in some ways. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Am I heading for the door?” As the words spilled out of his mouth, Alec noticed something he didn’t see before. He spotted a small stack of vinyl albums leaning against the pillar at the base of the staircase. He recognized the one in front. Pointing over Jensen’s shoulder, he asked, “Is that what I think it is?”

Jensen turned his head and tried to see what Alec saw. He asked, “Is what?”

“You listen to vinyl unless you use them for decoration.”

“No, it’s my preferred way to listen to music.”

“And that album cover. It’s Lou Reed. I recognize it. Are you a fucking Lou Reed fan?”

Jensen turned his head back to face Alec. “I am. He’s one of my favorites. I love his stories.”

“Twisted junkies and fucked up relationships. You like those?”

“They’re human.” Jensen leaned forward for another kiss.

Alec loved that he finally found something in common with Jensen aside from the obvious physical attraction. Opposites could attract, but he found out too many times how hard it was to turn that kind of attraction into anything that lasted for the long term. All but one of Alec’s relationships fell apart when they realized there was nothing beyond sex and a morning shower. Soon it was all over, whether it took just two days or a month. What Alec liked best about Jensen was that he’d already rekindled the flame of hope snuffed out when Satch left so long ago.

Jensen pulled back from the kiss and asked, “Can we go on a date?”

“A date?”

“Yeah, a real date.”

“Like the fucking thing where you pull up at the curb and pick me up, and I have to be back by 11:00 p.m.?”

“Yeah, that kind of date. I’ll take you to dinner and a movie, but I won’t promise you’re home by 11:00.”