"You realise the guy's never going to recognise you from that ad?"
Craig McKinley ignored the question and frowned at the choice of ties laying on his desk. Red. Blue. Red. Blue. He reached for the blue, hesitated and went back to looking at each strip of fabric in turn.
"I said--" Donovan began again, from the desk to Craig's right.
"I told the truth," Craig said. He wasn't going to worry about the possibility he and his internet date might spend his entire lunch break lurking around the same bar without recognising each other. He wasn't going to worry about any of the other things that could go wrong either.
The tie was the thing to concentrate on. Pick the right tie and everything would be fine--or, at least, he'd feel more appropriately dressed when everything went wrong and it all hit the fan.
"The ad said... Twenty-six year old gay man seeks same for long term relationship. Blond hair. Blue eyes. Slim build. Average appearance. Own home and car. Secure job."
Craig nodded to each point as the slightly older man recited the ad at him. "Like I said--I told the truth."
Donovan made a sceptical noise in the back of his throat. "Maybe--more or less."
Craig frowned, wondering which part of the advertisement the other man thought he was lying about.
"You're really selling yourself short on the whole average thing, sweetheart."
Craig didn't need to look to the side and see the other man's expression. He'd spent long enough staring at Donovan over the months they'd worked at adjoining desks to know just how the other man's eyes sparkled when he teased.
Heat rushed to Craig's cheeks, despite the fact he knew Donovan flirted with everyone in the building, male and female, in exactly the same way. Craig mentally rolled his eyes at himself. Eight bloody months, and the guy could still get him all hot under the collar with nothing more than a casual compliment.
)
