xp_logs | Jay & Kevin, then Yvette and finally JP

Jay searches for Kevin and finds him, but getting through to Kevin while his ex is eating requires a little something extra.

He'd been on the prowl for Kevin for a half hour and unknowingly caught in a transition from Workshop to suite and back again. it wasn't until Jay caught sight of his target coming out of the kitchen that he stepped back behind a door, contemplating his next move. Pounce or pull? "Gez," Jay ran a hand through his hair, finding it funny how Catseye was rubbing off on him again because he suddenly had this urge to talk about himself, to himself, in third person.

He could hear Kevin approaching (knowing it was only Kevin because there was no one else around) and impulsively, Jay stuck a wing out, blocking Kevin's path. "Halt," he said in his best pirate voice. "Yee gotta pay a toll, or uh.. Pay for somethin' else. Argh!" He pulled the door into him closer, hiding behind it while his wing continued to block the path. "So what'll it be?"

Kevin was at that point of the day where he hadn't eaten in about four or five hours so his brain was going a bit fuzzy. There was a hot dog in his hand, no bun and uncooked, and it was halfway to his mouth to experience the first bite of its death when the wing had popped out of nowhere. Logically he should have known it was Jay what with it being a red wing and there not being anyone else with wings around anyway. He just didn't have the protein in his system to function on what should be a normal level of comprehension, though. Mostly he just stared at the wing blinkingly and finally took a bite of his hot dog. Through his chewing he mumbles, "Ah got 'nother hot dog." Lamely he held his other hand up to offer the hot dog as a toll payment.

Silence meant hesitation and Jay's hand stuck out, open and ready. "Ah'll take the hot dog," he growled low. He couldn't see Kevin's body nor could he determine where Kevin's hand was until he poked his head from the side of the door and snagged the hot dog, stuffing it in all at once. "Argh!" he said with a full mouth and grabbed Kevin's hand, pulling him into the room and closing the door. "Tha' eee a 'ood awot ogge." Of course he couldn't help but press a hand to Kevin's chest and back him into a wall. "December tenth what are ya doin?" he asked, swallowing the last remains of the food down. Yeah, he ate that way too fast.

Kevin was chewing, which currently meant most of his concentration was devoted to the act which would then be shifted to the act of swallowing, then the act of biting and back to the act of chewing until the poor hot dog had been completely conquered and obliterated. Half the hot dog still remained when he realized the toll payment had been accepted. Of course, he was a little slow on picking up on that fact and hadn't managed to blink yet before he was pulled into a room by his mysterious pirate toll guard.

"Huh?" Back against the wall, Kevin bit off another piece of his dwindling captive. "Tenth? Huh? Hi Jay. What're you dragging me into rooms for?" The confusion was plain on his face until a realization hit him. "You held me up for a hot dog!" If he wasn't so opposed to it on principle he would have pouted. Instead he defiantly popped the last bit of hot dog he had into his mouth for decimation.

"Maybe," Jay said, looking guilty. He went to grab for the hot dog when it was popped and disappeared into Kevin's mouth. "There was a surcharge there! Stop chewin or Ah'm gonna --" and he did. Jay's lips closed over Kevins and he went fishing exactly for what he was charging for. Any excuse for a liplock and a little tongue action. His hands on Kevin's shirt crunched up the front of his shirt, curling into fists as he pulled Kevin to him and retrieved the hot dog. Triumphantly he pulled back, hot dog dangling from his lips and smirked. It lifted up like a cigar and he raised his eyebrows in play. "Ah win."

Exactly how did you respond to that? Kevin was all wide eyes and possibly just a little grossed out, but that was largely overridden by the very real pout that manifested on his face. He sullenly narrowed his eyes at his once boyfriend and current complication. "That's just low. How you gonna go and steal my hot dog from outta my mouth?" He inched out from between Jay and the wall, careful to not let hair brush against the wall, and went for the door with every intention to go back to the kitchen and retrieve more hot dogs. "Ninjas wouldn't go and steal my hot dogs," he grumbled to himself.

"You just don't notice ninjas take your stuff til it's too late and Pirates are better, by the way." Jay sucked in the hotdog between his lips, chewing down before taking a moment for a hearty swallow. He clucked his tongue at Kevin and obviously got in his way. "Where you goin' huh? Ah asked you a question." Jay's finger poked Kevin in the chest again and he fanned out his wings, very much getting in the way of any possible escape. "What are ya doing the tenth?" he asked.

The groan started before Kevin could consider stopping it. "Aw, c'mon, Jay! Why ya gotta go all food Nazi on me? Just lemme go back to the kitchen." He could see it in his mind, all clean and shiny and full of food. Kevin really, really, really wanted that food. And the food wanted him. He knew it did. "Tenth? Why're you asking about the tenth? It's only halfway through November, why would I know anything about December yet?" Kevin dropped down and crawled under a wing so he could get to the door, push it open and start to make his escape to the kitchen.

Jay let him go under his wings, mostly because he didn't want to have his wings fall apart so soon after growing them back. He was still enjoying the return of the bright red feathers. He folded them back and looped his arms around Kevin, being half dragged, half walking towards the kitchen. "Christ on a cracker. Gettin' a straight answer outta you shouldn't be this hard!" He hung onto Kevin's waist and was half tempted to slid up the fabric. Except that Kevin would have a mental cow and he wasn't ready for that right now. He was dragged all the way to the kitchen where Jay was forced to let go (due to counter tops getting in the way) but still managed to successfully wedge himself between Kevin and the fridge. "Password." He smiled. "Password or a kiss."

The new appendage in the form of one winged man in no way impeded Kevin's journey to the Land of Food. He was, in fact, completely unfazed to the addition. Once he would have twitched or tensed before being able to relax, but now he just made a mental note of where the arms were and went on his way. It may have been because of the fuzzy brain or maybe he really had gotten better about proximity while his powers were out for maintenance. Kevin tried to not think about it too much, really. "Shouldn't take the Lord's name in vain," he warned belatedly. Though, the idea of Jesus-shaped cheese and salami on a cracker was sort of amusing. He tried to not let the grin make it to his mouth. "Ah thought there was a whole sorta don't ask, don't tell, and definitely don't broadcast in public going on here." His hand gestured between their bodies to indicate he was referring to their undercover seeing one another situation.

"Well Ah don't see anyone around, do you?" Jay asked. "Besides, half the school's got telepathy or something goin on like that. Can't hide what they already know." No one cared anyways. "So," Jay crossed his arms in front of the fridge. "Now cause you're askin' too many questions, it's gonna be Password and Kiss, or Kiss and a date. Ah bet you don't know the password," so then he would get a date. For sure he had to get a date, never mind the kiss. Jay had enough time between now and the tenth to learn a thing or two about cooking Kevin some sensational, mind blowing meal.

"If you're looking to renegotiate the terms of our arrangement," he said in his best impersonation of Nathan's lawyer voice, "you'll have to go through the appeals process. There's a form, then deliberation, review, more deliberation, eventually judgment." With another glance at the refrigerator he was being bodily barred from Kevin added, "And you'll have to pay a fee to have the terms reconsidered by the cabinet." Then he spun around and went foraging in the cupboards for something edible. Maybe he could score some Spaghetti O's with meatballs if he was lucky.

"All right," Jay said, watching Kevin try to scrounge for food. "Yanno, yer awful cute when you're starvin' and getting desperate. Mah conditions of our arrangement is as follows," he held up his hand, ticking them off, one by one. "First, you're gonna give me a kiss cause Ah want one. Second, none of this peckin' stuff. Ah want open mouth. Third, Ah want the tenth free. Fourth, Ah want the tenth free for me. And five," he closed his fist and stuck out a finger, pointing it at Kevin. "Ah'm gonna make you dinner, which goes back to number one."

Kevin was nodding along arbitrarily, not really paying attention but sort of listening just because he wasn't exactly not listening. "Score!" There was almost a little victory dance when Kevin found an abandoned tin of ravioli hidden away in the back corner of a cupboard behind some rice cakes. Who ate rice cakes? Kevin was willing to bet they were just there as ravioli cover but since there was no name on the can he wasted no time getting the top off and spearing a ravioli through with a fork. He inched further away from Jay before putting it in his mouth. After swallowing he pointed at Jay with the fork which now had another ravioli on the end of it, "Didn't Ah say there was a form? Fingers ain't a form. Go find a form, then there will be thinking and hmming and maybe some chin strokin' while the cabinet considers."

"Screw the Cabinet," Jay bawked, pushing off the fridge and making a grab for the can. He got his hand around it but having his hand over Kevin's made it for an impossible grip to hold. "This is stupid. Ah can't talk to you when you got food hanging outta your mouth." Since Kevin wouldn't let go of the can, Jay bent down and scooped him over his shoulder, slapping his ass. "Pirates taking over again. Argh! MATEY!" He spun around once and went through the door, making sure to duck down and use his wings for balance. He wasn't sure where he was heading, but somewhere with water sounded good.

"Cabinet won't be won over to your side with your stripper moves!" The comment was largely lost most likely since Kevin was hanging over Jay's shoulder. "What are you doin'?" He poked the older guy in the side once, but since Jay seemed to be on a mission Kevin just shrugged and took the moment to shove more ravioli into his mouth. He made a mental note to be thankful for his grip and attention to detail that kept the can right side up even when he was upside down. It'd have been tragic if all the ravioli fell out. When he'd downed half the can Kevin reached around Jay's waist and offered a forkful of ravioli to him, "Want some?"

Jay was incredibly ticklish and bent to the side, bouncing of a nearby wall. "Don't do that.. Ah mean, ARGH! dont' do that! Grrr!" He made his way down the hallway, intent on finding something, but all he could think of was the indoor pool and detoured through the boys locker room. He looked down and shook his head to the food being offered. "No bribin' here mate. You're fate is set, your doom is sealed." He howled and stepped up onto the diving board. "Now yee be walkin' the plank unless the cabinate reconsiders. He's a hostage to me wishes, argh!"

When the so-called bribe was refused Kevin shoved the fork into his own mouth instead. "Whassat 'm reconsiddin'," he asked around the food in his mouth. He probably should have been more concerned that he was about to be thrown into the pool but Kevin was fairly sure he could manage to drag Jay in after him so at least he wouldn't be the only one suffering.

"Havn't you been listening to a word Ah've said?" Jay asked, sounding mildly annoyed. "You're gonna come into my suite, sit down and have some dinner with me. Dry humpin' and chaffing may follow." Jay cleared his throat, staring down at his reflection in the water. The pool looked cold and Kevin's weight was starting to hurt. He took a pace back and slowly let Kevin stand at the end of the board, rolling his sore should. "Deal or you can keep walkin' the plank."

"Ah've been listening," he replied defensively. "But Ah've been digesting and it's not like you don't know how it is digesting." Kevin made it sound much more grave a business than the digestion of food really ought to sound. Once he was put back down he just went back to eating his ravioli until the can was empty and he was left looking longingly down into its empty depths. With a sigh he looked back up at Jay. Damn, the ladder was on the other side of Jay. Why was everything on the other side of him today? "And you're cooking? 'Cause, Ah remember the last time you tried to cook. You set the suite on fire."

"Ah'm gonna get lessons from an expert," Jay announced. "And it only set fire cause someone didn't clean the pan properly, thank you very much. So don't go blaming me for that whole mess. Ah was just innocent in trying to cook a nice meal." He let his hands idly trace up Kevin's thighs and settle on his waist, eager to pull his attention away from the can and into him. "So what''ll it be??"

Kevin's eyes followed Jay's hands until they stopped moving, then he looked up to find Jay's eyes. All he said was, "Ah wasn't the one who washed the pan." After all, he was digesting still.

"Ah know. We found that out real quick." He had thought that grease was suppose to be there. His mama always cooked like that. But then, she knew what she was doing. Jay hadn't. He knew basics but nothing elaborate. His hands linked around Kevin's waist, pulling them together and he drew Kevin in closer. "So? Dinner? With me? On the tenth?"

Kevin sighed a little. He was so not getting out of this one, was he? "Promise Ah'm actually going to survive the experience?" It was a perfectly valid question considering Jay's culinary abilities as they had already been demonstrated in the past numerous times. Now, if it was cereal and ice cream then Kevin would have trusted him much more easily.

Jay kissed Kevin on the lips, smirking stupidly. "You'll be beggin' me for more!" He spread his wings and bounced off the board but by accident, slipped, grabbing Kevin and pulling him into his fall. Water surged around him awkwardly and his wings flailed before he broke the surface, sputtering. Way to break the romance.

"Or begging you to stop torturing me," Kevin muttered, voice soft from the kiss. Maybe it was the process of digesting distracting him more than usual, but the teenager didn't realize he'd moved, nevermind slipped in order to fall. Maybe it wasn't him. It was definitely Jay's fault since a second before Kevin hit the water he noticed Jay's hands grasping onto his sleeve. Damn it. The water rushing in over his head to cover him snapped Kevin back to reality quickly and soon after he was swimming upward until he broke the surface and gasped for air.

"You're like a bad luck," Kevin floundered for a word as he started to tread water, "thing! First you steal my hot dog," he took a stroke to pull himself toward the edge of the pool, "then you lock me outta the fridge," and another, "and then you throw me over your shoulder and march off, and then you throw me in the pool!"

"Ah'm sorry! Ack" Jay's wings, despite their hollowness, were like dead weights to him, suctioning to the water and he finally managed to get to the side, only half listening to Kevin yelling at him. He pulled himself out of the water and stood there, wringing out his shirt. "Aw shit. Favorite shirt too," he muttered to himself. He hated being wet like this, hell, he hated wearing clothes at all. Only half of what Kevin was saying registered. It was like nice background noise, refreshing in it's normalcy. "Oh shush for heaven's sake. You're gonna get fed, so why ya complainin'?"

"Uh-huh," Kevin was busy trying to wring out his shirt while simultaneously shaking his head to get some of the water out of his hair. He felt like a wet dog and was sure he looked a bit like a drowned rat what with the three layers of sopping wet clothing he had clinging to him. "Probably poisoned, too," he muttered under his breath, too soft for Jay to hear.

He might have not heard exactly what was said, but he heard something. "What'd you say?" he asked, shaking the water off his hands and slicking back his hair, a playful grin reappearing over his features. He whistled appreciatively and closed the gap between them, brushing a hand over Kevin's covered stomach. "Doesn't leave much to the imagination, does it?"

Kevin looked over at Jay after glancing down at the hand that moved over his stomach. His eyes were narrowed and there was a vaguely sarcastic look to his features. "Neither did all those times I didn't have my shirt off." Smirking, he pulled his top layer off. "Course, if Ah remember right you weren't too appreciative of me leaving so little to the imagination where other people could see." He was referring to San Diego and the small fit Jay had over Kevin flirting with and kissing Angel even though Kevin's version was joking around and kissing her cheek to prove a point.

Kevin sure knew how to kill a mood, that was, if Jay was deterable. His fingers hooked into those pants, careful to stay within the bounds between underwear and jeans and he pulled Kevin's hips into his, glancing over his shoulder to see if anyone was lookin' in on them. Satisfied that there was no one there, Jay leaned in close, murmuring against his lips. "Ah wasn't talkin' about your shirt."

An eyebrow raised, looking a bit lazy in its nonchalance as it did. "Ah could walk around without those, too. All over the mansion. Nothin' but sopping wet boxers." He was teasing Jay, something he rarely ever did. He seemed to either always be pushing Jay up against a wall or completely oblivious to any flirtation the other boy attempted.

"You don't play nice," Jay whispered and stepped backwards, heading towards the boy's change room, pulling Kevin with him. A stupid grin smeered his features and his thumbs hooked into the belt loops of Kevin's jeans, pushing his wings and back into the door, leaning against it.

Being pulled along without complaint, Kevin had the beginnings of a smirk on his face. He let his hips press Jay more securely against the door, careful to not let his exposed forearms brush against ether Jay or his clinging clothing. "Is that supposed to be a complaint? If Ah remember right you don't much like when Ah do play fair." Without giving Jay a chance to respond, Kevin kissed Jay, hard and eager. He was feeling playful, but not gentle.

His hands let go of the jeans, sliding around to Kevin's rear and he fell into the door, stumbling back a pace, pinned when the door hit the wall. "Rrrraow," Jay growled flirtatiously. He loved Kevin and ridiculously so because he let Kevin do whatever he wanted and even went so far as to push him until he got what he wanted. "No complaints here," he mocked a bite at Kevin's mouth, teasing. No, not one complaint, except to say that next time he wanted attention, he'd make sure to feed Kevin first.

Gloved hands slid up Jay's sides, then back down to his hips which Kevin pulled in closer to himself. "Maybe," he started with a kiss to Jay's jaw, "you should not complain," then another further down, "somewhere else. Somewhere," another kiss, "not so...public access?" Kevin pulled back just far enough so that he could look Jay in the eye with a raised eyebrow.

"Well," Jay replied, looking a little stunned. "After much delib-ar..er.. Dilibar-something-shun. Oh hell, after a lotta thought, me and the peanut gallery agree that no more complaints are gonna be filed. We're just gonna mentally lock this away until we can uh... reasses the uh... " Jay gave up. He couldn't think straight. A micheivious grin grew in place and he slid along the door and around it until his back was pushed into the otherside with his wings. He closed door and raised a hand, passing over the shiney metal mechanism beneath. "Good thing for locks then huh?"

Immediately after, Jay runs into Yvette and she helps him out in his dilemma.

Pulling off his shirt, Jay had to stop midstride and bent over. The suction to his skin stuck and in a twisted motion, got caught in his wings and through his arms, over his head where he was to the point that it wouldn't come off. Tangled was a good word for it and he walked backwards, trying to peel off the fabric, grunting when he smacked into the wall.

"Jay?" came a familiar accented voice, and a soft giggle. A pair of long feet in black socks appeared in his narrow field of view, followed by a glimpse of a spiky head and a small, elfin face as Yvette bent over to try to see him. "Are you being stuck?"

"Well, " Jay started in reply and from his angle, he could see her hair falling in his line of covered vision. He smiled back at her. "Ah ain't stuck. Ah'm just.... Okay, Ah'm stuck. Ah'm wet and stuck in this shirt. Wanna help?" He turned around, offering the exposed side of him, for her to grab the shirt and pull it off his wings.

"Did you go swimming in your clothings? Or perhaps you were falling in the lake?" Yvette examined the situatuion. "And I think I can be helping, but it is depending on if you are liking the shirt too much."

"No, Ah was... uh.. Ah fell into the pool. Kev and Ah were sorta working out something." He struggled a bit more, his wing caught in the hole that Clarice had cut and sewn for him. He stopped turned around and tried to stand upright. Unfortunately, that meant that his arms went up in the air too. "Promise not to say anything?" He was practically beaming. "Ah got a date with Kevin on the fifth. Ah'm makin' him dinner!"

"A date? That is very good for you." She was worried about Kevin - she knew he was off his magic medication that controlled his powers - but she'd learned not to go there. They were grown... men. Or something. "I think I will have to be cutting the shirt off, Jay. You are making too much the mess for it to be pulling off."

"No no!" Jay twirled and backed up a pace. "Don't cut it. This here is a Toby Keith concert tshirt. Ya just can't go and replace somethin' like this. Ah got it on, sec..." Jay's fingers feebly tried to grab for the back end of his shirt and he arched his back, leaning into the wall as though that would give him more leverage. Exhausted, he stopped, slumped into the wall and stared at her. "Okay, this sucks."

She rolled her eyes, although it was hard to tell with the glowing. "Here, to be standing still," she told him. "I will not be cutting if you are not making the wriggling." She held up her hands, securely gloved, to show him.

He waited,wary of her hands on his shirt, worried for his shirt, hoping it would stay in one piece. She pulled and he pulled, the twist forcing Jay to turn around and slid out of the wetness. He stumbled back at the release and stood upright, returning to her to take the shirt."Thanks Evie," he smiled, cutting her name into something easier, something that was just for him to call her.

"You are welcome, Jay," she replied, smiling at the nickname - he wasn't the first to have called her that. "But the next time you are making the date, stay away from the pool, yes?"

"Oh yeah," Jay nodded, balling up his shirt. He fell to his knee in a proposal plead and held out his shirt to her. "Think you can sneak this into Kevin's room for me? Maybe give him somethin' to think about until then? Or just, you know, say somethin' like -gee golly gosh Kev, Ah don't know where this shirt came from. Is it yours? and you know, leave it with him. Maybe point out that it's mine so Ah can get it back." There was no greater sacrifice than a Toby Keith concert Tshirt.

She shook her head at him, but took the shirt. "You are such the, how you say? Big pork? But yes, I can be leaving it with him. Perhaps I can be saying I am finding it at the pool, yes?"

"That's big ham," Jay corrected and resisted the impulse to mess her hair, because he liked his hand where it was. "And yeah, that's a good idea. Ah'll save you some of the food Ah'm cookin' for the date when Ah get on that."

"It is the deal," she replied with a grin. "And now you should be going for the dry clothes. You are making the puddles on the floor."

"You--" he pointed at her with both hands like gunfire. "--Are the best. Ah owe ya big time.

In the evening, Jay seeks out JP with a request to help him win back a certain someone's heart.

Jay smoothed a hand through his hair, wings shuffling anxiously as he headed down the hallway, counting off the familiar door numbers until he got to the one that he was seeking. He rubbed his arm, shifting before the door and raised his hand fist. He hesitated, hoovering over the wood and dropped his hand, rubbing the back of his neck. He smiled to himself, knowing he could do this, wanting to do it for Kevin. Jay tried again, knocking on the door and standing back, tucking his hands into his back pockets.

Jean-Paul was definitely having casual evening; he came to the door in jeans and a t-shirt, his reading glasses hooked casually on the front of his shirt, a book tucked under one arm. He looked a bit surprised to see the youngest Guthrie at his door, but not displeased. "Jay. What, as they say, is up?"

Jay half snorted but he meant it for a chuckle and it came out an awful lot like phelm in his throat. He coughed, trying again and ran a hand through his hair only to have it fall back in place. "Well, Ah -- somethin's up. Ah wanted, well, no. Ah just heard you're good at cooking, that you got your own restaurant, that right?"

Jean-Paul's eyebrows lifted slightly. "You have done your research," was all he said. Though he kept his voice mild, he felt slightly discomfited; the bistro still went under Raymonde's name, after all, and he rarely mentioned it. He stepped aside finally. "Come in and we can talk."

"Just a little," he admitted, shoving his hands in his pockets and shuffling inside. He couldn't believe he was being invited in. He'd only meant to talk to the man, just get a few quick tips and leave. "Are you uh, interested in giving lessons?"

"I'm surprised you are asking. I thought Dane was teaching home ec...no, she has left, hasn't she?" Jean-Paul frowned a bit as he pulled his thoughts entirely into the present. "Do you mind if I ask why?"

"Well, Ah already know how to cook some. But yanno.. well, see, there's this guy," he pulled his hands out of his pockets, taking a seat and spreading them in an explinatory gesture. "And he's sorta special to me. Well, he was mah boyfriend. He ain't now but Ah'm still crazy about him. He's real quiet and he won't start nothin'. So Ah thought Ah would try out a dinner on him. Ah mean," Jay blushed. "Not on him but you know, feed him. Best way to his heart is through his stomach, right?"

Jean-Paul's suite only housed one at present but, even so, the place looked spartan -- the were stacks of books and notepads around and a laptap set up, but nothing about the place really had a personal touch to it -- no pictures or art, just a leather jacket tossed over the back of the desk chair. Jean-Paul took a seat across from Jay's chair, on the small couch.

"Oh, yes?" The Quebecois seemed to have relaxed a bit. "What kind of cooking does this man like, then?"

"He's southern. Georgian sorta guy, so Ah'm not too sure what he likes, except a good ol' home cooked meal. We never did much eating except.. well," Jay scratched the side of his cheek, grinning widely. "Ah just wanna cook him something nice."

"One man's nice is another man's rabbit food." Jean-Paul considered the problem. "I don't see any reason why I can't give you an assist, if you can come up with the menu yourself. Otherwise, I'll likely wind up sending you to your beau with poutine and butter tarts."

"Chicken? ugh! We don't eat chicken." He gestured to the wings as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Jay did not eat chicken for the sake that it felt like he was eating one of his own and it was too close to his genetic mutation. "Oh wait, poutine. Sorry. Poutine is good. Ah thought you said, like, chicken in french or something. You didn't mean that right?"

"Not unless 'chicken' has come to be slang for 'fries, gravy, and cheese curds' while I was gone, no." The other man looked faintly amused at Jay's outburst.

"Oh good. Sorry. Mah French sucks a whole lot. Ah blame the southern drawl. Imagine if Ah was a French talkin' southern? That'd be all kinds of wrong. So anyways," Jay brushed his hands over his thighs, sitting up and on the edge of his seat. "Ah need somethin' that'll woo him. Yanno? Make 'em melt for me."

"I am afraid you are doomed to disappointment if you've come seeking a telepath or a no-fail aphrodesiac, Jay. In this instance, the choice of menu has a specific and personal purpose, and I do not know enough of your ex to guess what he would like, even if I were more familiar with Southern cusine." Jean-Paul stretched a bit and resettled himself. "Slow down. Give me a place to start besides 'not chicken'."

"Well, what about something, oh Ah dunno, different? Maybe something on your specials at your restaurant. Hey! Anything that says 'killin' stuff ain't all that bad' works for me."

"I'm not so much involved in the day-to-day operations anymore. Even so..." Jean-Paul shook his head and reached for a legal pad sitting on the end table, jotting down a quick list before passing it over to Jay. The list was blank, save for column headings: Appetizer, Salad, Entree, and Dessert. "Let's try breaking this down."

Jay took the pad and read the listings. "Oh," he said, obviously unprepared to go to this extent. "Ah was just thinking the one course meal but now that you put it down on paper, it'd be more impressive, woldn't it, if Ah did it like this."

Jean-Paul only just held back from a despairing facepalm and silently applauded himself for his restraint. "Such a presentation might be considersidered more romantic, yes. So we are going with Southern food? Do you know any appetizers that would suit?"

"Nachos?" he asked. "Oh wait, maybe that's mexican. Nachos and Cheese," he nodded,looking content and over confident with himself. He was jsut teasing Jean-Paul but he didn't think JP had gotten that part yet.

"I know what you're thinking. 'It's late and he cannot possibly have enough energy left to throw me back into the hall. Besides, I am too cute to kick out.' Let me assure you that you're wrong on that count."

"That you don't have much energy or that Ah'm too cute to kick out?" Jay smiled back innocently.

"It has been a long day and I am tired, but I could very easily find it in me to punt you back through that door."

'Okay okay! Don't need to be grumpy about it. Be happy, yanno, be gay." He covered his mouth, trying to bite back a laugh and shook his head, gesturing an apology. "Ah'm sorry, Ah couldn't help myself on that last bit. Okay--" he cleared his throat, getting serious. "First foods. Maybe a salade?"

"I'm sure that was very clever when it came to mind, and simply lost something in the journey out." Jean-Paul drummed his fingers along the arm of the sofa. "You might try sliced tomatoes in vinegar as opposed to the usual green salad; it's not any more difficult to prepare and a bit less usual. Assuming that goes well with the main course."

"Oh don't be such a stick in the mud," he scorned. "Well, Ah.. well you mean just vinegar and tomatoes? Raw? No cooking? Hardly sounds like an appetizer."But still, he nodded and set it aside mentally for a possibility. "Or you know, maybe we could jsut try some dishes and see which one works best? Words and food don't mix good together for me. Ah have trouble tryin' to pick out mah breakfast, let alone, trying to pick out a romantic dinner for two."

"Salad dishes generally don't require much in the way of cooking," Jean-Paul deadpanned. "But that would not be the worst idea in the world. Trawl the internet, pick up some dishes that sound appropriate, and get back to me. We'll see what we can do about matching your skill level with your culinary ambitions."

"Okay," Jay said reluctantly. "But Ah dunno how well that's gonna go. Guess that's why Ah'm here. Get expert advice." And he seemed pleased about it as well. getting lessons from not only a role model but a delicious looking appetitizer as well. He could look. He wasn't dead.

"There is time to feel things out, Jay. The more invested you are in what goes onto the table, the more special the meal. Unless there is a certain date you need this by?"

"December fifth," he said proudly. "Took a little - well a lot - of askin' on my part, but AH finally got him to agree. Don't wanna blow things, so Ah'll do what the expert says."

That was sooner that Jean-Paul had expected, but he nodded. "All right, then. You have your homework. Tomorrow at six, we can start."