That evening, Dakota had called Tom and Cesar and asked if they were willing to run the shop on their own on Sunday. Both of them had been surprised and had asked Dakota if he was okay. The only time Dakota had ever taken a day off was because of illness—and even that rarely happened. He'd always hated the idea of leaving the restaurant under the complete care of others, because he wasn't convinced that either of his assistants could cook ramen as good as he did. After William had asked him out, though, he realized that he had to put his apprehensions aside. They were plenty capable, and he was probably just being unrealistically perfectionist.

"You'll be working with Cesar and Tom this Sunday," he told Ellie the next day when she arrived for her shift.

"What's going on?" she asked, surprised.

"Nothing. Well, not nothing. Nothing's wrong."

"Okay, so what's going on?"

Dakota couldn't stop himself from smiling. "I might've been asked out on a date by William."

Her jaw dropped. "What!?" The customers in the restaurant turned to stare at her, and she blushed red. "Excuse me," she said, and dropped her voice. "What? Are you serious? When did this happen? How? What?"

"Yesterday afternoon," Dakota said, and he filled her in on the details.

"And I wasn't here," she moaned, wringing her hands. "Dammit, dammit. Man, I knew there was a connection. I knew it."

"We'll see," he said.

"Look at you, playing it all cool. This is like your first date in... Is it your first date? You never told me."

"You're right, I didn't," he said.

"So, is it?"

"None of your business."

"What! Hey, not fair. I'm your confidant."

"I think you assigned yourself that role," Dakota said. "It's only because you're so damn nosy, Ellie."

She shrugged. "Not gonna deny that. But c'mon, I know you love me for it."

It was true. Ellie had worked for him since she was in high school, and he'd come to appreciate her candid personality. She was his closest friend, as odd as that was for a thirty-year-old alpha.

"I'm not expecting anything to happen with William," Dakota said. "But you've been so damn insistent that I find a date that I figured I might as well try."

She smiled knowingly at him. He could see that he couldn't hide the truth from her, as cool as he tried to play it off. William wasn't just some convenient find. He'd asked him out because he'd felt a connection to him, a rare attraction. If William had never come around, Dakota wouldn't even be thinking about dating.

He had a special place in mind that he would take William to—an exclusive upscale bar and traditional Japanese multi-course kaiseki restaurant located exclusively in a basement beneath one of the highrise buildings in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles’s Japan town. The owner, Gen, had been a friend from Japan and a frequenter of Katsuo's ramen shop. It would be nice to see Gen's restaurant again. With his schedule, Dakota had only had the chance to visit it a few times over the years since it'd opened. He knew Gen would give them extra attention, and maybe even a bit of a discount. It wasn't a place that Dakota could afford to go to normally.

The week passed by painfully slowly, and Dakota had found himself swamped with self-doubt, which was a first for him. William never sent him another text message, not that Dakota had expected him to make casual text conversation, nor would he even have known how to carry out a text conversation with someone he was interested in, but he began to wonder if this whole thing was a mistake. Maybe William had changed his mind and the date was going to be awkward as hell. Dakota was at a loss for what to do and what to expect. He was in uncharted territory. He got William's address the night before the date and felt a little better when William sent him a message saying, "I'm excited for tomorrow!"

He spent nearly all of Sunday afternoon standing in front of the mirror trying on different outfits. He spent so much time at the restaurant that he hadn't really bothered to update his wardrobe over the past several years. Everything he owned seemed so old and drab. In the end, he selected his best fitting shirt and a pair of good jeans he'd bought when he lived in Tokyo.

William's condo was close to Send Noods, and he even had to pass it on the way there. He fought temptation to swing in for a few minutes, just to double check to make sure everything was running smoothly.

William appeared at the front door looking stunning as hell in a crisp oxford shirt and chinos, with a pair of dark leather boots. He smiled that adorable smile at Dakota and closed the door behind him. He was effortlessly handsome. "Hello," William said.

"You look great," Dakota said, at a loss for better words.

"Speak for yourself," William replied.

Dakota's heart pounded hard as he drove. The car's stereo was off, but neither of them were talking. William cleared his throat.

"So, do you date your customers often?"

William was smiling and it sounded like he was joking, but Dakota detected a hint of seriousness to the question. "No," he replied. "I'm a bit nervous, if you can't tell."

"Oh, don't be nervous. Why are you nervous?"

"I don't really date. This is new to me."

William looked surprised. "You've never been on a date?"

"Well, I've dated, but it was a very long time ago, and I was different person back then."

"Don't worry. I haven't been on a date in a long time, either. We're on the same page. Nothing to worry about."

"Oh, so you don't go around to various restaurants, asking the owners out on dates? I was going to ask if that was something you did."

"No!" William laughed and hit Dakota's arm. "No way. I could hardly believe I asked you on a date. That was out of the ordinary for me. So, be happy. You're special, apparently."

"I feel the same way. I mean, I felt like there was something drawing me to you from when—"

"The supermarket?" William asked.

Dakota was surprised. "Yeah. Well, when your friend Victor introduced you, too. But running into you in the supermarket kind of... Well, it surprised me. I thought about you a lot after that happened." He paused. "That sounds kind of weird, doesn't it?"

"No, actually," William said, softly. "The only weird thing about it is that I felt the same way. Who would've thought two people could connect over a carton of spilled eggs."

Dakota wanted to tell William just how much he'd been on his mind, but he held his tongue. That would be weird. But he was happy and surprised to hear that they'd been feeling the same way.

They chatted the entire way to the restaurant, sharing little snippets about themselves. He told William a bit about his childhood in Japan and stories about working for Katsuo. He told him about his parents and how they'd divorced when he was young but omitted mentioning anything about the dark periods that he'd long put behind him. William told him about Nate, and how he and his ex had split up when his son was about three years old, and how his brother had taken them in. William didn't expand on it much, and Dakota didn't ask. William sounded much happier talking about the things he and his son were doing now. Nate was in third grade, William was working for his brother's company, life was going well for them.

Dakota was taken by William's upbeat energy. He spoke with clear eyes and a sparkling, wide smile that gave Dakota a pleasant feeling. It was addicting to see, and Dakota wanted to do everything he could to make William smile.

It was so strange. He'd barely spent any time with him at all, but he really did like William a lot. Every second that ticked by in his presence only grew his attraction for him. He couldn't understand how it could be possible to feel this way about someone. He hadn’t given himself permission, or decided, "Okay, you can fall for someone now." Nothing had really changed about his attitude towards relationships, and yet somehow, here he was, falling for William.

Life could really throw curveballs at you, and they weren't always terrible.

The stairs to Gen's restaurant descended into a dimly lit hallway, the concrete walls lined with large, circular cutouts inlayed with bamboo. A rock garden-style fixture ran along both sides of the hallway, which were lit by long floor lights that gave the place a futuristic zen aesthetic. The interior of the underground restaurant had the same kind of design, and William seemed to be very impressed. They were shown to their table, which was in a private room backed by a tall, gnarled, moss-covered rock with a waterfall gently streaming down its side. Gen came to greet them.

"Best ramen chef in Los Angeles," Gen said, laying a hand on Dakota's shoulder. His English was touched by a light Japanese accent. "Have you eaten his ramen?"

"I'm a big fan of it," William said.

"Then you have good taste," Gen said. "It's very good to see you again, Dakota-san. I'll try to stop by your shop again soon. Please don't hesitate to ask if you need anything special."

"Thanks, Gen-san," Dakota said, shaking his hand.

Gen winked at Dakota and then bowed to William. "Nice to meet you, William." He left the room and closed the sliding wooden door behind him.

After ordering their food, the waitress returned with a bottle of wine and two glasses. "On the house, from Mr. Fujimoto," she said.

"That was nice of him," William said, and Dakota felt pleased. The date was actually going really well. William seemed to be impressed with everything, and more importantly, they were actually hitting it off.

Maybe, Dakota thought, with a bit of awe, this might end up going somewhere.

* * *

William didn't say anything, but he'd actually been to this restaurant before, when he was just a kid. It might've been under different ownership at the time, but it was still just as fancy. His parents had taken him and Parker, and they'd sat in one of the other private rooms. It was one of the many restaurants his wealthy parents enjoyed eating at, and he knew just how exclusive and expensive this place was. He hoped that Dakota wasn't spending more than he could afford being here. He would've been just as happy eating at a McDonald’s, if meant getting to talk to him.

He was really enjoying himself, and he was really enjoying Dakota's company. William was glad that he'd let his guard down enough to ask him out. Dakota definitely seemed to be different than anyone else he'd been with before, but it was probably still too early to really tell. Sometimes, it wasn't until after the bedroom that he would see the real personality emerge. But he wanted to believe that this was the real Dakota, the only Dakota.

Dakota refilled their wine glasses. "And they were neighbors?" he asked, laughing.

"Yeah," William said. "Kell lived in the exact same apartment complex as us. When Parker found out, it looked like he was gonna go into shock."

"Because he liked him?"

"That's the thing," William said, taking a sip of wine. It'd been a very long time since he'd last had a drink, and they'd already finished a glass. He felt the warm tingle of it in his belly. "He actually hated Kell. Or, well, they didn't get along at all."

"Really? And now they're mates."

"With a kid."

"Life throws curveballs," Dakota said, his eyes wide.

There was a light knock on the door, and it slid open. The waitress had their food, and in the moment of pause when she set the many, ornately decorated and impeccably arranged dishes down in front of them, William wished that he was sitting next to Dakota instead of across from him. He felt that magnetic pull, like his whole body was being drawn to him, and all he wanted to do was be close to him.

How could this be happening so quickly?

The answer really didn't matter. The simple truth was that it was happening, and it seemed like perhaps the only thing that William could do was hold on for the ride.

It was just a few moments, less than a minute, that the waitress spent placing their dishes onto the table, but to William it felt like ages. He just wanted her to be gone so that he could keep talking with Dakota.

Finally, she finished. William thanked her quietly as she slipped away. Dakota continued to gaze across the table at him. William was quite tall, but Dakota's stature made him feel small. His eyes were soft and his look was gentle, though with his imposing physicality it would be easy to be intimidated. But William wasn't.

He is a good guy, he thought. He has to be. He just seems so different from all the others. Maybe he'd been wrong about his assumptions, that people were bound to be attracted to the same type of people. I want to be wrong. If it took the bedroom to reveal a person's true personality, William realized he was more than willing to find out what kind of person Dakota really was.

"So, how do we eat this?" William asked, overwhelmed by the number of exotic looking dishes spread out in front of him. He recognized a few things here and there: a plate of sushi, some tempura, and a grilled fish. Back when he'd come here as a kid, his parents had always ordered the plain stuff, usual stuff. A fusion pasta. Steak with Japanese marinade. That sort of thing.

Dakota took the lid off a ceramic cup and looked into it. "Ah, this is a kind of soup." He pointed at the other various dishes. "That's tofu. Those are sweet pickled vegetables. That's boiled lotus root. Not sure what that is. That's kobe beef. You can eat it all any which way you like."

William started with the soup. He picked the little bowl and tipped it to his lips. The broth was cool and savory, with an amazingly complex mix of flavors he wouldn't have been able to describe if his life depended on it.

They talked and laughed, and William felt something loosening its death grip around his heart. Just a little, not entirely, but enough to feel really happy that he was here with Dakota. This was nice.

He ate from the various dishes, feeling slightly self-conscious as he did. He snuck glances up at Dakota, checking to see how he was eating his food. William took a drink of wine. He didn't want to get drunk, but at the same time he felt so aflutter that having a bit of a buzz was the only way he could calm himself. Did Dakota feel the same way? It felt like the date was going well, but William couldn't be sure. Maybe he was the only one feeling this way, and Dakota was just being polite. Was it disappointing to him that William didn't know anything about the food? Maybe a chef would rather be with someone who knew about food.

The real question in the back of William's mind was what did Dakota think about him being a single father? Obviously it wasn't so big a deal, because he'd agreed to the date, but opinions could change. And more importantly, what would Nate think of Dakota? Would they get along?

William did his best to silence those thoughts. His mind was going a mile a minute, and it was way too early to be thinking about stuff like that.

He drained his wine.

"More wine, or?" Dakota looked at him, his eyebrow just slightly cocked.

Oh god, he thought. Was he drinking too much? He didn't want to look sloppy in front of him, but it was probably too late.

"Maybe I'd better not," William said. "I've already had a lot."

"Good idea," Dakota nodded. "I should stop, too." He called the waitress and had her re-cork the bottle for him. She filled out a little tag with his name on it and tied it to its neck before taking it away. After they finished their meals, the waitress reappeared with a slice of cake and two cups of coffee.

"These are complimentary from Mr. Fujimoto as well," she said. "This coffee is Kaya Kopi Luwak from Indonesia, and the cake is a chocolate mousse baked specially by Mr. Fujimoto."

Both were delicious. "He always liked to show off his baking skills," Dakota explained to William. "Gen was a baker before getting into the fine dining business."

Dakota sipped on his coffee. His free arm rested on the table, his hand open and relaxed. William found himself glancing at it, that magnetic feeling growing stronger inside of him. He wanted to reach out and touch him. What would it feel like to hold his hand? He had such large hands. He imagined how warm and strong and safe they would feel, wrapped around his own.

He bit his lip, trying to turn his attention away. If he reached out and took Dakota's hand would he reject him, or would he like it? A thrum of nervous energy pulsed through his body. Should he try to hold his hand? Was it too early for that?

Jesus, had it really been so long that he was getting flustered just thinking about holding someone's hand? He was probably just drunk.

He drew in a breath and went for it...

But just as he was going to move his hand from where it sat in his lap, Dakota pulled his away and tucked it underneath the table.

Damn, William thought. Too late. He instead went to grab his coffee cup as inconspicuously as he could and took a drink of it. His heart was pounding. The coffee was strong. With all the caffeine and the alcohol, he hoped he didn't explode.

"Are you alright?" Dakota asked.

William blinked. "Huh?"

"I just noticed that your hand is shaking."

William swallowed. Oh god, one more embarrassment. He set his coffee cup down and placed his hand flat on the table to try and cut the jitters. "Yeah, it's probably just the coffee," he said. He was lying, he drank plenty of coffee at work every day.

Then, William's heart leapt as Dakota reached out and placed his hand on top of his. He looked up at Dakota, who was looking at them with concern. "You're trembling a bit. Not used to the caffeine?" Dakota moved his hand away. William pulled his back into his lap. The touch had been brief, but it'd felt like a shock to the system.

"Maybe not," William said, not wanting to admit the truth.

The chocolate mousse cake was divine, and William wished he could've had a whole slice to himself. They both took turns cutting pieces off of it with their forks, and when they reached the last bite, Dakota offered it to William. "Don't expect me to politely refuse," William said, grinning. "I'm gonna eat it."

"Do it. It's all yours," Dakota said, smiling back. He had a smile that could melt a brick of ice. God, was it just the alcohol that was making him feel so damn enamored? Or maybe it was all this chocolate. Chocolate was an aphrodisiac, wasn't it?

After they finished, Dakota left to go to the bathroom. While William was sitting waiting for him, Gen came to the table to say goodbye.

"He's in the bathroom," William said.

"Ah, I’ll wait. I’m very happy for Dakota-san. I hope things went well?"

William smiled, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I hope so," he said. "He's a bit hard to read."

"Mm. He can be. But if Dakota wasn't into you, you would know. Trust me. He has very little tolerance for anything that he thinks may be a waste of time. To be honest, I was surprised to hear he was taking someone out on a date. Something unrelated to his restaurant. So, you must be special."

William laughed. "No, I don't think so. I'm just someone who ate at his restaurant three times in one week."

"Well, I don't know how much he's told you," Gen said. "Maybe this is going too far, but Dakota doesn't really date. Not since I've known him."

"He did mention that," William said. "That surprised me. I wouldn't have imagined that about him. Do you know why?"

"He's very committed to his craft," Gen said. "Very. But before studying ramen, well... I think that's a question only Dakota-san can answer."

A few moments later, Dakota returned from the bathroom. "Oh, Gen-san. Gochisousama deshita. Thank you so much for the meal. Come by Send Noods anytime."

William wondered why Dakota had never really dated. He'd said that he was a different person back then. Different, how?

They walked up the stairs and out into the cool night air of downtown Los Angeles. As they strolled back to the car, William felt that magnetic pull again. They were walking so close to each other that their shoulders were nearly touching. He could feel Dakota next to him. In his imagination, he could picture little arcs of blue lightning banding back and forth between them. They were conductive to one another. He wanted to feel Dakota's hand again, but was it too early for that? Dakota had touched his hand in the restaurant, but that probably hadn't meant anything...

Dammit. He never used to be indecisive like this. He used to just go for it. He used to take control.

Maybe that'd been part of his problem—rushing into things. But how could he help it if he felt a certain way?

Just keep it under control, he thought to himself.

Dakota pulled into the parking lot in front of William's condo. William was having a good time. He wanted to keep talking with Dakota. He didn't want to be apart from him just yet. The condo was empty; Nate was at Jenny's house. He could just invite him in. They could keep talking, keep laughing, keep getting to know one another. He had an unopened bottle of wine in his pantry. They could have a glass and wear down some of this caffeine buzz.

And then, who knew what would happen next?

"Thanks for tonight," William said, as Dakota turned off the car. "That was a lot of fun. I'm really glad that I asked you out."

Dakota laughed. "I'm really glad you asked me out, too."

"It's um... To be honest with you, it's been difficult for me to think about dating the past few years. Things never seem to work out the way I hope, and it came to the point where it just wasn't worth it anymore. Things are good for me and Nate right now, and they weren't always that way, and I was afraid of risking that. His father was just not a very good guy. Oh, what am I saying? Maybe I'm still a little buzzed."

"It's okay," Dakota said, his voice soft.

"But, um, I really did have a great time with you. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous as hell. I still barely know you, but, I want to get to know you."

"This is all new for me," Dakota said. "I honestly never thought I would be dating someone, let alone feeling this good about it. It's all taken me by surprise, really."

"You seem so calm," William said. "You're so collected. You're like a... like a boulder. And not just because you're so—" William reached over and squeezed Dakota's huge bicep, grinning.

Dakota chuckled. "Trust me, it's taken a lot of work and practice to attain this level of calm," he said. "I'm not really a relaxed person by nature. Anyway, that's the face. I'm freaking out inside."

William laughed "Really?"

"I didn't realize my heart could beat this damn hard."

"You fooled me," William said, laughing some more. And then, without even thinking he found himself reaching over and placing his hand on Dakota's. Dakota turned his palm up, and their fingers slid together and intertwined. A gentle shiver passed up William's body, and he closed his eyes for a brief moment. Why did it feel so damn nice? Was it just because he hadn't had this kind of contact for such a long time?

Dakota blinked at him. His chest rose and fell heavily, and William could tell that his heart really was beating that hard. Dakota's grip tightened slightly on his hand.

"So, we should do this again," Dakota suggested.

William nodded. Maybe this will be different. Maybe he's different. "Yeah," he said, softly. "I think I'd like that."

They both got out of the car and walked hand in hand up to William's front door. He unlocked it and turned to Dakota. He wanted to invite him inside, but... There was no reason to rush. It would be better not to rush. He slid his arms around Dakota's muscular frame, hugging him. He was so big that they barely made it entirely around him. Dakota hugged him back. "Thanks again," William said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Dakota said.

William stepped into the dark apartment and turned. "I'll message you," he said, and Dakota smiled. He gently shut the door and let out a breath.

Ba-dump.

He knew exactly what Dakota meant. His heart was beating so fast. He looked up at the ceiling and chuckled to himself. This definitely was not how he thought this month was going to go.

I want him to be different than the others. Please let him be different.

"Are you kidding," he whispered, happily. "He's amazing."

He went to the bedroom and undressed, tossed his cell phone onto the bed, and practically danced his way into the shower. He couldn't wait to talk to Dakota again. In fact, he would text him the moment he got out of the shower.

The hot water streamed over his body, riding the curves of his muscles and streaking down the length of his cock. Its warmth caressed his balls, and he closed his eyes. His tip was wet with precome just from the excitement of holding Dakota's hand. Jesus, he was horny. When was the last time he'd gotten an erection just from holding someone's hand? Maybe not since Eddie, when he was young and aroused by pretty much everything.

He felt his cock stiffening up, rising and swelling to size as water cascaded onto it, pattering against his veined skin. He wrapped his hand around it as his mind drifted. What would have happened if he'd invited him inside tonight? He slowly stroked his cock, his lips parting slightly at the pleasure of it. He imagined himself on the couch with Dakota, talking, their fingers intertwined. And then a kiss. What would his kiss be like? He wanted him to be rough with him, to force him back into the couch as he kissed him hard, his tongue penetrating his mouth and playing against his.

He grunted as he imagined this, his hand pumping faster and faster. And then what would happen? He pictured hands grasping at fabric, ripping and yanking off clothing. Naked skin on skin and experiencing Dakota's cock for the first time.

God, he shouldn't be thinking about this. He shouldn't be getting ahead of himself, he should be going slow, not fantasizing. But it felt so damn good!

"Oh fuck," he murmured as his cock throbbed. "Ohh..."

Outside in the bedroom, William's phone vibrated as the screen lit up with a notification.

It wasn't Dakota. It wasn't Parker, or Victor, or anyone that William would want to get a message from. No, this was a message that, when he saw it, would have the power to ruin the happiness of that entire magical evening.