Miscalculations

[Alvaro Castellano]

Man oh man, were these danishes tasty. Alvaro licked his lips and then made sure he got everything before wiping his face with a napkin. He forgot how good this place was because, well, half the time he didn't come here. It wasn't in his neighborhood. He'd only come because he had to kill some time before...

Oh shit! Checking the time on his phone, he realized that he was late for the big dinner date thing.

His problem was that he still didn't have a date. He'd dressed to kill for it and everything. (Not literally) But his mother was fully expecting him to bring somebody for her to meet... because he was going to meet his mother's new man.

She hadn't dated in a long time. Like, since his dad died. The fact that she was moving on was huge and now Alvaro felt like an ass for not taking this seriously. It was just that the date he did have lined up had to cancel last minute, leaving Alvaro on his own.

He spied somebody sitting by themselves in the next booth. Making sure to brush off any crumbs and check that his tie was straight, he walked over, all smooth like and he smiled--also all smooth like.

"Hello, I couldn't help but notice you're here on your own," he decided to start with because Let's go on a date right now seemed too aggressive.

[Ashley Yeo]

"I'm not a girl," was the first thing Ash said as he turned in the booth, looking up at the man who had waltzed up to try and hit on him.

Seriously.

Just because his hair was getting a little long in the back these days, everybody had to think he was a lady?! It didn't really help that lots of girls were going for shorter cuts, though, or that half of them dressed in casual or loose-fitting clothes.

Ash wasn't annoyed, however, not just then. He was still way too satisfied about the danish that he'd just eaten. The old diner off Main and 4th served the best pastries anywhere. Still. Even after all these years, the food was good. Brushing some crumbs off the lapel of his shirt, he reached for his glass of iced water and sipped some of it.

Then his lips twitched and the faintest hint of a smile warmed his expression. "And I'm a cop, just so you know, so if you're trying to peddle anything illegal, you're outta luck."

[Alvaro Castellano]

"What?"

He blinked. Oh. Yeah. He wasn't a girl, that was true. From a glance, he seemed like one but now that he was close up, there were some very definite signs that led to his masculinity. Alvaro lifted a fist to his mouth and let out a soft, embarrassed cough. How awkward was this? But it wasn't like Alvaro was strictly about girls. It was just that... taking a guy along on his date to meet his strict mother was kinda like a big FU to everything. He wondered what message it would send to her new man, though. If he could roll with it, then he could roll with anything.

"Okay," Alvaro said, lifting both hands and spreading his fingers to show his innocent, innocent hands. "First, I didn't think you were a girl." (A lie but he told it smoothly enough that he thought he could get away with it.) "And second, I'm not peddling anything. I just came over to check if you were here on your own, albeit to ask you on a date but, you know... I get it." He took a step back. "Totally off the table."

He bowed as if in severe apology.

"I'll leave you to your danish now."

[Ashley Yeo]

For a moment, Ash eyed the guy up and down. Not bad. Kind of weird, walking up to somebody in the middle of a diner but it wasn't like he was rude or obviously sleazy about it. If anything, he was quite polite. Maybe he wanted the company.

Ash blinked. Orrr... he could have wanted a date. Or that.

"Ah..." He wasn't sure if he should laugh or not and settled for drinking some more water, eyeing the man as he bowed. "Well... wait a minute." Seriously, the guy wasn't bad looking and Ash was sort of lonely lately, having just moved back into town. He didn't know many people and of the ones that he used to know, most had moved away from Hazleton by now. Everybody seemed to want to chase that big city dream, and here was Ash, moving right back.

"I wouldn't say it's totally off the table," he continued slowly. "It's just a little surprising to get asked out in the middle of a diner." Mid-danish, too! But even if it turned out to be a huge bust, at least he could make a new friend. Ash wasn't exactly the shy type, although he could definitely admit that after his last relationship bombed out big time, he was wary about jumping back into anything serious. But a date was just a date; it didn't have to lead into marriage or anything.

"I'm Ash." He held out a hand, grinning a little bit. "And if you want to go out, I'm gonna have to run a background check on you first."

[Alvaro Castellano]

Oh, so he hadn't totally alienated and weirded out the poor guy. Alvaro smiled graciously and took the hand that was offered, giving him a nice, firm handshake. The guy in front of him was so pretty for a guy, it was no surprise that some might think he was a woman. But he really lacked the womanly curves and he had what looked like some nice definition in the arm area. He'd look like a creep if he tried to check out anything below the waist but yeah. Not a bad looking guy at all.

Not that looks were his only credentials!

"So it's not off the table but you need to run a background check on me." He sucked in a soft breath and lightly crinkled his eyes as he looked sideways and then upward. Then he tapped his chin once. "Thing is, this is kind of an emergency. I would need you to date me..." He checked the time on his watch. "Like fifteen minutes ago."

[Ashley Yeo]

"Yup!" Ash tilted his head gently sideways to watch the show of deliberation. No name? Was he really hiding something or trying to make a drug deal? (Not that Ash couldn't just take a peek through the database at the station to find out if this guy was really a crook or not...)

An emergency... Hmmm. Ash checked his watch too. "Oh well. Fifteen minutes ago I was kinda eating my danish and I hate to be rushed while I eat. Heartburn, you know." He wrinkled his nose lightly. "What's the hurry?"

This was getting weirder by the second! Weirder than Monroe Huang propositioning him earlier! Which... admittedly, Ash had been thinking hard about as he ate just now, before a stranger waltzed up to ask him out.

[Alvaro Castellano]

Names had all but been forgotten in the chaos that was inside his head at the moment. The fancy place his mother wanted to meet at was halfway across town and even this small sleepy town was annoying to get through when you were already running late. At least there were only like... three stoplights in the whole town, for whatever that was worth.

Slowly, Alvaro took a seat across from Ash--that was his name, wasn't it? Oh god, he introduced himself and Alvaro shook his hand and blabbered about stupid things... without introducing himself in return. He let out a sheepish laugh and reached out to lightly touch Ash's wrist.

"I'm sorry. This is all kinda wild. I'm Alvaro and my mother is expecting me to show up to this double date evening with her so I can meet her new boyfriend. She's been pretty shy about the dating scene since my dad... Well, anyway, it's a big night! But my original date canceled on me last minute." He sat back and remembered to breathe. "I've never brought a guy home as a date so this could get interesting."

[Ashley Yeo]

"It's nice to--oh, okay. Okay, yeah..."

That was a lot of words flying at him. Ash tried to keep up. Alvaro wanted a date to double-date with his mom (weird) who was seeing a new man, but Alvaro's date bailed on him at the last second. It made sense that he would try to find one quickly, so as not to disappoint his mom, but...

"You totally thought I was a girl, didn't you?" He said as much, just now! Ash made a wry face. Always with the being mistaken for a girl! From the back, usually. Anybody who looked at him properly knew that he was a man, even if he wasn't nine feet tall stooping behind a hot dog stand. Ash sighed and reached up to rub the back of his neck.

"If you need the help I'll go with you but it might be easier to..." As he spoke, he was looking around, trying to find a single female that Alvaro could ask. It didn't sound like he should run up with a man, to shock his mother on her big date. But the diner was full of elderly people and the few single females sitting by themselves weren't even in that plus/minus ten year range. A cougar versus a man? Difficult to decide which was worse, really.

Ash turned back to him with a little shrug. "You sure showing up with a man won't ruin her night?"

[Alvaro Castellano]

"No," he said, staunchly standing by his lie. But yes. From a glance, he thought it. What?! He wasn't used to dealing with guys so pretty. Like, did he use product on his hair? Did he wear makeup? Who knew! (Alvaro was not a girl but he used product though so he could hardly judge.)

Sensing the reason that Ash was looking around, Alvaro also looked around. Not really a whole lot of choices, were there? Alvaro could just leave the bakery and wander down the street but time was ticking. And yeah. Older woman versus man around his age? His mother would have way more kittens if he showed up with a woman her age! She might have been strict and judgmental but he didn't think of his mother as totally close-minded. At least, he hoped fervently she wouldn't suddenly show a side of herself he'd never met when she laid eyes on Ash.

"It will definitely not ruin her night," he said with a grin, because if anything, tonight was going to be an adventure and there were few things Alvaro loved more than adventures. "Come on," he said, holding his hands out to Ash. "Go out with me."

[Ashley Yeo]

Ash didn't know--bringing a guy home to a mother who wasn't expecting a man was... uh... highly likely to be a night-ruiner. However, he was nothing if not adventurous himself and with only a small hesitation, he took Alvaro's hands. "All right! Let's do this!" Alvaro could do worse than bring a cop home, anyway. At least Ash was clean, and an upstanding citizen! (Even if he was just engaged in a ridiculous shouting match with his childhood friend about a fictitious hot dog stand.)

He slid out of the booth without letting go of Alvaro's hands, grinning. "I promise I'll be on my best behavior tonight. I'll be the best last-minute date you've ever had!"

Man, Alvaro was really taking a chance, asking somebody out like this. He could've ended up with practically any crazy person; it was pretty daring and brave! It amused Ash, too; he wasn't used to this level of spontaneity but it was sort of a nice change. At least, it was different.

A little guiltily at that point, he remembered Monroe and... errr... maybe he had said that he'd go and see him first. But Alvaro needed his help! Plus Ash wasn't going to turn down a handsome man in need. Maybe it was a little bit of chivalry... or it was selfishness. Either way, he had to say something to Monroe! Dropping one of Alvaro's hands, he reached for his phone.

"Ahh... wait, give me a sec. I was going to meet up with a friend. I'll just let him know that I'm going over a little later than we planned." Ash lifted his head briefly and his smile turned a shade mischievous. "Do you have a car? Or should we show up in a squad car?"

[Alvaro Castellano]

"Ooh, now that is a promise."

Alvaro raised his brows and smirked. There had been a handful of these last minute dates because Alvaro had a hard time convincing anybody that he was boyfriend material. That ended up with a lot of people breaking dates when they found somebody better. Or maybe he was just a loser; that could be it but he didn't fully believe in it. He was sure whatever it was, it was on the other person's end, not his. He was perfectly charming!

"Sure," he said, aware that he was breaking up plans. Spontaneous dates led to broken plans. This was probably why all those girls disappeared on him. Another guy was spontaneously asking them out! To a dinner with their mothers, no less!

It was sweet of Ash to care--both about his friend and about Alvaro's mother. Alvaro's grin softened slightly while he turned his head away politely to let Ash text his friend and let him know what was going on. At the question of whether he had a car, he looked back over--but before he could answer, Ash brought up his squad car.

Alvaro let out a surprised laugh.

"Oh no, no. My mother would have a heart attack!" Part of him wanted to play the prank but not on his mother. "I'll keep that in mind for somebody else, though. No, for tonight, we're going in my jag." He winked.

[Ashley Yeo]

"Impressive, a Jag," Ash whistled, lifting his brows momentarily. So, Alvaro was a high roller, huh? He was sorta dressed to impress. Smiling to himself, Ash pocketed his phone--after Monroe had been placated with the promise of donuts and a slightly delayed reunion. "I guess that beats a squad car! Come on, let's go, you said we were late already didn't you?"

He headed out of the diner, waving to the gray-haired waitress on the way out. He remembered her! What was her name? Jane? Jenny? When he was younger, he used to stop by all the time for a chocolate milk or a donut after school and she would serve him, along with a pat on the head. After a moment and a quizzical look, her expression cleared and she waved back.

Outside, Ash glanced around for a Jaguar and sure enough, there it was, parked curbside. He let out an impressed noise and barely contained the urge to bounce on over and check under its hood. Clearly Alvaro took good care of his car; it wasn't coated in a layer of grime and dust the way some cars around here were. "Looks like we'll be going in style!"

[Alvaro Castellano]

Yep, a Jag. It was definitely more than a baker should have been able to afford but he wasn't going to get into those details. He smiled at Ash's smile, even if it wasn't meant for him. His smile grew. Oh yeah, a Jag definitely defeated the squad car. A younger Alvaro would have begged to differ, though. Cop cars, firetrucks, all those exciting utility vehicles were like the most amazing things ever.

"I go everywhere in style," Alvaro said with a wink. "What're you talking about?"

He hit the button to unlock the car and mischievously stepped forward to slide the door open for Ash. He would have done it for a lady, so why not for Ash? It was only polite. With a cheeky smile, he skirted around the front of the car so he could pop into the driver's seat. Everything smelled clean and the car was definitely clean and greatly cared for. It was Alvaro's baby!

"See? No regrets!" he said as he started the engine.

[Ashley Yeo]

"Look at you, Mr. Slick!" Ash teased, running an admiring hand over the door handle. Shiny and chrome, what was not to love about a car like this? Before he could grasp it to open the door, though, somebody slipped in ahead of him and opened the door for him.

A normal person would probably have been quite pleased at the show of chivalry--if that person were a woman. For a man who was often mistaken for a woman from the back, however... not so much. But Ash wasn't so much of an asshole that he couldn't even handle a joke and he recognized that mischievous smile. "How gentlemanly," he murmured, like a Southern Belle, fluttering a hand in front of him to fan himself before slipping easily into the passenger's seat.

"No cigarette ash on the seats or anything!" Ash exclaimed in mock-surprise. He buckled up and settled back against the plush leather seat, then grinned cheekily at Alvaro himself. No regrets? Hmm... "I think I'll be the judge of that, Mister."

That engine, though, purred like a kitten. Or a really big cat. Even when they sped through the streets--Ash keeping an eye on the speedometer because he WAS a cop, after all!--the engine rumbled smoothly. How much did a car like this set him back anyway? Guy was probably well-off, Ash decided. "How'd you get a car like this all the way out here? The transport fees must've cost you an arm and a leg!" Their local dealership definitely didn't have beasts like these!

[Alvaro Castellano]

"Yeah, no," Alvaro said, wrinkling his nose. Cigarette ash! Alvaro was a staunch non-smoker, okay? He wasn't going to have anything like that on his seats. It was a joke but still--what a nightmare! He pet the leather seats as if to reassure the seats themselves that they'd never be treated as such. Once they were buckled and ready to go, he eyed Ash and his equally cheeky little grin.

"All right. I'll let you judge me after the night is over. But!" He pointed upward just for emphasis. "I think you'll find me a pleasant date."

He lowered his head slightly, as if demurely. "But I'll let you be the judge of that."

His smile was secretive as he glanced over at Ash. He thought Ash would find him pleasant, even if they were just on this thing for convenience's sake. As he drove smoothly out into the road and carefully made him way into traffic, he mulled over their situation. It would take at least ten minutes to get where they needed to go so they might as well converse and get to know one another.

"Oh, it did. But I have connections." His eyes lit up when he glanced again at Ash. "Connections are what connected me with the jag in the first place."