Such Great Heights (Kevin/Tylor)

[Kevin Rowlings]

Six o'clock.

I wrung my hands, pacing the apartment. I hadn't been this nervous in ages, and it was difficult to keep from shifting as the full moon had just passed. One more time, I went to nervously check that my outfit was still in order. I wasn't sure why I was freaking out so much over this. It was just a dinner, I had to keep telling myself. I took a deep breath to calm myself and looked in the mirror again. Just a dinner, Kevin, I told myself, You're making up spilling his tea.

You know, everyone has that little voice in their head that makes them do particularly stupid shit. My favorite comedian, Christopher Titus, refers to this voice as one's "inner retard." I decided that must have been the voice that told me to ask Tylor to dinner, which seemed like a decidedly stupid move on my part after knowing him for only a few hours. And after making him spill his tea all over himself at Starbucks, even. I guess I didn't expect him to agree. But he did, and that's why I was here now, nervously wringing my hands and checking my watch religiously every five seconds to be sure I didn't miss catching the bus line that would take me to the restaurant.

Six fifteen.

We agreed to meet at Shiro's at seven. Once more I took a deep breath, steeled my self-confidence and headed downstairs, out of my building, and over to the bus stop. The bus rolled in within minutes and I climbed aboard, taking a seat and staring out the window for the next forty minutes.

Six fifty-eight.

I stood at the front of the building, waiting.  I started trying to come up with how I was going to start a conversation with him. Hello, Tylor, how are you? or the generic, Hey man, or just a friendly "''Sup?" I decided on the first one, thinking it sounded the most professional.

Seven o'clock.

I leaned against a pole and scanned the parking lot for him. I hoped that all would go well tonight, because I had a feeling that Tylor was going to be worth my time.

[Tylor Moore]

Why the hell did I agree to this?

That same thought seemed to ring through my head for hours after running into that huge beast of a man back at Starbucks. I was leaning against the counter waiting for my order to come when I first saw him. He first caught my eye because he was so huge! He reminded me sorta of a bear. At first glance I almost thought him to be a Lycan but I wasn't one to jump to conclusions without even speaking to someone...but that didn't stop me from being any more suspicious. I knew the guy somewhat as a regular to the shop so I had a conversation or two with him but nothing more than small talk...until that day. My order had come and I turned to go to my table so I could get to work when BAM! I smashed right into a large, beastly body causing me to spill my green tea all over my brand new white dress shirt and tie. Being as cool, calm, and collected as I am I just kinda glared at him for a while until I noticed the guilt in his face...then I felt my face loosen up.

The guy was cute, I will give him that. Especially when he began apologizing to me continuously as if he just committed a felony or something. I shook my head reassuring him there was no harm done though I would have to go home and change my shirt. Well, after his little spastic moment, we sat down and began to talk a bit and he was even kind enough to buy me a new order of tea. This was the first time we actually had a conversation that lasted more than thirty seconds. I was actually interested in what the guy had to say...which was odd. Usually I would have just brushed them off like the utter douchebag I am but I was actually listening to him. Though I'd never show it I was in a good mood talking to him. Good moods are rare for me, let me tell ya! I live in a world of pessimism and negativity so that was a little bit scary.

To make a long story short, we spoke, I tried to be an ass, he was persistent, asked to me to diner, and that's what brought me to weave my sleek black ducati through the crazy traffic of Seattle. It was six fifty eight and Shiro's was still quite a ways away and I am a punctual man god dammit! I was not about to be late for the first date a man had ever asked me on!...Date...I was actually going on a date. The guy said it was just two friends keeping it professional but I could see it in his eyes that he wanted it to be a date. I decided I would humor him. Luckily I got to Shiro's just in the nick of time. I parked right next to the pole where the man was and pulled off my black helmet, a nonchalant look on my face. I looked the man up and down with an impressed nod. "Looking good."I placed the helmet under my arm before unzipping the black leather jacket I had over my torso. I shrugged it off to reveal my brand new formal clothing. I patted my stomach a bit to get out any wrinkles. Before we could even move I pushed my jacket and helmet into his arms with a sarcastic smile. "Carry this for me till we get inside, will ya?"

Maybe that was a little rude...but I needed to test him. See if this man was truly worth my time. Thought I denied it with almost all my being I wanted him to be as persistent as he was earlier. Maybe this guy would help me forget about...him. I had spent so long trying to win the love of another man that I failed to realize it was never going to be mine. There was now a possibility to move on...hopefully.

I walked rather quickly infront of him keeping a bit of distance between us until I got to the door. I may be a jackass but I am still a gentleman. So...I held the door open for him. I mean, he was carrying my stuff and thought I was hoping for it to be the other way around I guess I can't complain huh? "After you, Kevin." At that...I actually smiled at him. Only for a second but nonetheless...it was a smile. A real, genuinely happy smile.

[Kevin Rowlings]

I smiled as soon as I saw him pull up. When he stepped from the motorcycle and took off his helmet, my expertly crafted greeting flew from my mind, leaving it empty. "You look good too," I said in response to his compliment, but the next thing I knew he was shoving his coat and helmet into my arms. "Dude, not cool," I say, shaking my head, but he was already at the door, holding it open for me. I couldn't help but grin and shake my head a little as I catch his smile.

This would be a good time to point out that I hadn't been on a real date in almost eleven years. I mean sure, there were random encounters at the bars and clubs, and that thing with the two-spirit shapeshifter a year and a half ago (I'll get into that at some point), but none of those were really…. dates.  They were casual partners, each and every one. Each fell for the same stupid pick-up lines. Each was more than easily talked into bed with me. But none of them interested me in the way that Tylor did, not since… well. That was ages ago.

I tucked his coat and helmet under my arm and smiled at the host. "Table for two?" I asked him.

He smiled at us and took two menus, leading the way to a small, out-of-the-way table. I followed, draping Tylor's jacket over the back of one of the chairs and going around to sit across the table. I unbuttoned my blazer and shrugged it off, also removing my scarf which I placed on the chair beside me, along with Tylor's helmet. I thought for a moment that next to him, I probably looked way underdressed, but upon realizing that the place was practically empty I relaxed. The waiter handed me my menu and I thanked him with a smile. I opened it but couldn't help looking over the top at him. "I love sushi," I said, grinning.

Oh gods, why can't you come up with something better to say?!

[Tylor Moore]

As Kevin spoke to the host I just stood there in my usual, almost pompous looking manner. I always stand up straight and sit up straight. I never slouch because, let's be honest here, that's just not classy whatsoever. Well as I stood behind him my eyes seemed to wander around the unfamiliar restaurant with my arms over my chest as always. That seemed to be my signature pose or something. Still, my face showed a nonchalant expression while we made our way to our table. It was odd to see the lack of people in such a place...but I wasn't complaining. I never liked...people. Hell, I never liked hanging out with people let alone going out on occasions such as this date...though, oddly, I was kinda enjoying this date already. What can I say? He may not be the kind of guy I would drool over but, all in all, he was a pretty cool person and seemed like a very interesting individual.

After Kevin had draped my leather jacket over the back of my chair I sat down and pushed the chair in closer to the table. I watched with vague amusement as he pulled off his blazer and scarf. I felt bad for dressing so...overly nice. I knew it was suppose to be a nice, relaxed occasion but I just felt weird wearing less than I usually did. I seriously need to stop working so much...I wear the same clothing every single day I feel...naked when I don't have the same amount of layers and type of clothing on. So, to make things less tense, I took off my black vest and threw it so that it sat ontop of my helmet with a slight grin.

When the menu came I opened it and started running my eyes over the selection they had to offer. As I did I could feel him looking at me over the top of his menu. My paranoia began to start up when I realized it was in fact me he was looking at...was there something on my face? I touched my face gingerly with my fingers to make sure I didn't have something embarrassing there that had caught his attention. Is my hair messed up more than usual? I moved my hand up to my dishwater blonde hair and ran it through quickly. I had hoped he would stop looking at me...but he didn't. That was when * did the most childish thing I have ever done in years...I sat the menu up so that I could hide behind it. I couldn't stand the feeling of him staring at me like that. Most people would enjoy the attention but, me? I never knew if there was something wrong when they looked at me or not...it was all so very confusing in my head.

A little flustered, I replied to his statement with my own. "I-I can't eat a lot of sushi...seeing as it's fish and I am vegan...but I do enjoy miso soup." I slowly moved he head so that I could look over the top of the menu. Okay, the guy had a cute grin and it was contagious so I ended up grinning. Seeing how relaxed he was actually relaxed me which was strange to say the least seeing as I am possibly the most stressed out perfectionist in all of Seattle. I didn't know why this guy had such an effect on me but I liked it...I liked it a lot.

[Kevin Rowlings]

I snickered a little bit at his comment about being vegan and his childish (in a cute way) hiding behind the menu. Now, I'm a vegetarian myself, I still drink milk and eat cheese and eggs and whatnot, just not meat. I flipped his menu down flat on the table and pointed at the kimpira listing- burdock roots cooked in sweet soy. "Well, there's that… and hey, now I can see that lovely smile of yours!" I say, almost jokingly.

It would have made me laugh if what I had said wasn't true. He did have a damn cute smile, one that seemed to change his whole demeanor. And his hair and his eyes… well, he was good-looking all over. I smiled a little at the thought. Look at you, Kevin. Good food, good company… how long before you screw it up? I wrinkle my nose a bit at my own thoughts, reminding myself that this was not a date. I was not "dating" this man. But you want to…

I ignored my inner idiot and leaned back in my chair, propping my feet up on the chair next to me, and returned my attention to my own menu. After some examination, I finally settled on the mozuku salad and a bowl of nameko miso. About that time the waiter came back around to take our drink order.

I flipped to the back side of the menu and glanced over it, deciding quickly what kind of drink I wanted. "I will take the plum wine and…" I looked at the other drinks, my brow wrinkling as I scrutinized, trying to decide what I would follow the wine with. "Just a glass of ice water…  And if you're ready to put our order in I'm having the mozuku and the nameko miso…" I looked over at Tylor. "Are you ready to order?"

[Tylor Moore]

My eyes were finally looking at the names of the different dishes when the man decided to pull my menu flat on the table. My initial reaction was to wipe that childish grin off my face. It would be a cold day in hell before I let anyone know they caused me to grin. Emotions...aren't my cup of tea. They just cause issues that make life harder to endure. Happiness brings weakness in trusting the wrong people. Sadness brings ignorance which causes you to...mope around. Anger, which is possibly the only emotion that escapes me on rare occasions, brings stupidity resulting in mindless actions. I try my best to stay the indifferent jackass I am known to be but until this...this...man came into the picture I get this weird tingly feeling in my chest like a butterfly tickling my heart. Very gay metaphor, I know, but that is exactly how it felt. So gentle...so soothing...I hate it.

I watch his finger point to the burdock roots but don't look up when he addresses my 'lovely smile.' Lovely smile? I look around to make sure he is talking to me then give him a questioning look. "Okay then...whatever you say, big guy." When the fuck did I have a lovely smile? I started to over analyze the man's comment, like I always do, when the waiter finally appeared. "Took you long enough." My eyes did not leave the menu even when I made my rude remark. In hindsight, I really shouldn't have said such a thing because that was just horrible to do. However, after years of being that way to everyone I guess it just starts to happen naturally.

While Kevin made his order I had finally decided on what I would get. I passed the menu to the waiter after my date of sorts had finished then began my order. "All the same as him except add the kimpira to my order." I gave him a quick, sarcastic smile before looking back at Kevin. I was hoping he would think I was a complete douchebag by then but it seemed like he wasn't standing up. The fuck? I raised a brow at him before reclining back in my chair a bit. "So...Kevin. Not meaning to sound rude or anything but why did you want to make up spilling my drink on me with a date? Hm?" Yes, I did use the word date because it was. I am a master of denial but even I had to accept that fact. I crossed my arms over my chest and watched Kevin with a rather amused look on my face. If we were going to be on a date might as well get to know the guy, right?

[Kevin Rowlings]

I kind of gave Tylor a funny look when he was rude to the waiter but I shrugged it off. I had seen him be an ass to the baristas at the Starbucks before, so this wasn't exactly new behavior. I did have to hold myself back from saying something though, I mean, the guy had only been gone for three minutes. The waiter took my menu and walked away, leaving me alone with Tylor.

It's occurred to me on more than one occasion that I am a massively persistent person. More than once I've been turned down by whatever random girl or guy, and through my persistence they either wound up sharing my bed or hating me forever. So, what's the difference between them and Tylor? I had to ask myself. Well, for starters I didn't use any of my go-to lines on Tylor. He was different… and not just because of him being a consistent asshole, but his energy… his scent… I couldn't help but smile as I caught it on the breeze as the waiter walked past into the kitchen to put our orders in.

"So...Kevin. Not meaning to sound rude or anything but why did you want to make up spilling my drink on me with a date? Hm?"

Ty's words brought me back to the present. Date? Did he seriously say the word date? It took me a moment to recover, but I chuckled; though secretly, he was right. "It's not a date, Tylor. Just two friends having a professional dinner."  I smiled and thanked the waiter as he brought us two sake cups and a decanter with the plum wine. I poured one for Tylor first, passing it over the lotus centerpiece in the middle of the table, then poured my own, drained it, and poured another. "I mean, unless you think it's a date…" I couldn't stop the words falling out of my mouth. Seriously? Fuck you, inner retard. Regret immediately flooded my system and I smiled awkwardly, blushing slightly. I prayed he couldn't see it, or that he wasn't paying attention.

[Tylor Moore]

I rolled my eyes at his comment. A professional dinner was what he was calling it? The guy was buying me dinner, treating me nicely and giving me alcohol. It was a date. No way around it. "It's a date. Just admit it big guy." I could see his blush and, quite frankly, it was cute. Okay Kevin altogether was cute. That was pretty much the whole reason I came on this date, I guess. Call me shallow, whatever, but I really though this guy was attractive. I especially liked the fact about how...big this guy was. I mean, I'm not a really small guy. I got some serious muscle on me after years of working out and whatnot but this guy was HUGE! He was built like a bear! It was oddly...sexy.

When the waiter appeared with the sake and wine, I wrinkled my nose at the sake. "I hate this stuff. You can have mine." I wasn't a big a big drinker of alcohol due to the fact that I can't hold my liquor...like at all. I guess it runs in my family but after about two glasses of wine I am shit faced drunk and ready to do anything...which isn't good. So I try to avoid alcohol at any cost...unless I am on a date. Then I will have one glass...maybe one and a half. Was I about to let Kevin know how I have a low tolerance for alcohol? Hell to the no! Most guys would find a way to use that against me by trying to manipulate my actions while in my drunken state. I highly doubt that Kevin would have done such a thing...but in this town, you can never be too careful and, let me tell you, I am extremely careful.

I nod to him as he passed me my glass of the plum wine but before I could even take a drink he had already finished off his first glass and was starting another one. I took a sip and raised a brow at him. "Nervous or something? You sure did finish that first glass off pretty quickly." I found it humorous that a big man like him would be nervous over someone like me. Of course he wasn't nervous. This was probably a usual thing for him and I was just another name on a list or something. It wasn't upsetting to think about that because, really, this was more so that I could try the dating scene out again. So far...it was okay. I hadn't made too big of an ass of myself just yet...but it had just started. "So...Kevin... I noticed you have very strong forearms and biceps and you tap random beats when you are in thought...do you possibly play the drums?" There I go, analyzing people yet again. It was just my instincts taking advantage of me yet again. When I wasn't sure about someone's intentions I would study their movements and whatnot and work off of that. nine times out of ten it actually worked...so I stuck with it. Strangely enough, I had the sudden feeling I was being watched...perfect. There goes my paranoia. I try to ignore it but instead end up  tapping my food on the ground nervously. I begin to sweat...oh God I was going to embarrass myself. Al lI had to do was focus on Kevin. I just wanted him to talk. "Tell me about your hobbies."

[Kevin Rowlings]

Big guy? I couldn't help but smile a little at his choice for terms of endearment. No one had ever called me "big guy" before and it was amusing to hear. "Nervous? I guess I am, a little bit. But this stuff is like water to me, it will take a whole lot of it before it starts having an effect. I drink it more for the taste than anything else," I say with a slight chuckle. It's not 100% a lie, being what I am makes imbibing alcohol, or any drug, for that matter, a little difficult. It often takes upwards of an entire bottle of 80 proof to even get me to the point I would call "drunk".

I was actually just tapping on the table when he asked me about drumming. "Uh, yeah, actually. I have my own set back at home," I said, sitting up straight and placing my hands in my pockets to avoid drawing attention to it. Dammit, there he went, making me all self-conscious. I felt my face redden as blood rushed to my cheeks. I both loved and hated how this was making me feel. All I knew was it was becoming hard to focus on anything but the man that sat in front of me.

"Um, okay, hobbies," I had started to trip over my words. Stop talking, idiot. You're an IDIOT. "Well, as aforementioned, drumming; I'm also pretty handy with electronics. I've been working IT at the bank for seven years now, so I'm good with the hardware and software of computers, even tiny ones like cell phones and digital cameras. As a kid I always used to take things apart and put them together again. I'm also pretty eco-friendly," I said. "Well, and of course shifting." I took another deep sip of my wine. "What about you?"

[Tylor Moore]

I watched Kevin get all self conscious as I sipped my plum wine. I wasn't one for alcohol but if I just let it sit there it would have been a waste of money and I would look like a prude. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed a good beer every now and again but I didn't enjoy wine too much. However, I hardly noticed the taste as the man before me began to name off his hobbies. My paranoia was still poking at my mind but I refused to look around or even break a sweat. I was fine. Kevin was fine...very fine... I mean no. He was okay. And everyone else there was fine. Everything was fucking fine. Now, if only my mind could have grasped that fact everything would have been peachy keen. Next thing I knew, I was half way done with my glass and Kevin was still talking about his hobbies. Not that he spoke forever I just drank my wine pretty damn quickly! Being the light weight I am, I would probably end up going home with this guy and fucking him. Not that I was complaining... I just like to keep it classy.

I nodded to his responses with a vacant look in my face until he got to shifting. My head shot up with my eyes narrowing at him slightly. I hope he didn't mean shifting as in Lycan shifting. If so, I would have to leave right there. I was seriously hoping this guy was not a were-creature because I despised them. Racist? Sure am. and with a valid reason, too. So fuck you.

I decided not to ask about his shifting comment until later. Now it was my turn. "Well... I work out. Tell people they are screwed up and need help, and surf. I don't surf a lot around here for obvious reasons but whenever I go for a vacation I go somewhere I can surf." I went to take a drink from my wine bottle but it had suddenly gone empty. I blushed at my glass and let out a soft, embarrassed chuckle. "Sorry... I have anxiety issues and they are kicking in." I shut up pretty damn quickly after that comment. That was not something to bring up on the first date! I should have just told him 'I am also a racist against Lycans and have weapons on me right now because I am THAT paranoid' while I was at it. I just shook my head while reaching my glass out toward him. "Pour me another glass, will ya, handsome?"