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Alex let the door to the bar close behind him as he stopped to survey the crowd. It was markedly busier than last time, but the atmosphere was still rather low energy and calm. It made sense enough, for an early Friday evening, he figured. Being in groups, most patrons opted for the tables, leaving the bar itself largely unoccupied. As such, he was able to grab the same spot he had before. He decided to keep his jacket; he wasn't sure he'd be staying.

He watched Bill tending the other end of the long bar, not calling attention to himself. Even this far along, he was having doubts. Though, after a moment of watching the ram work, he couldn't exactly recall what they were. The effortless spinning and flipping of bottles made it difficult to think about anything other than strong arms and broad shoulders. It didn't take long for Bill to notice him, though, and eventually make his way over.

"Hey there." Bill said in a friendly tone.

"Hi. Remember me?" Alex risked being flirty.

"Would be a shame to forget such a cute face." Bill said, making the otter fidget bashfully. "What can I getcha?"

"Hm. Something... fruity?" Alex tapped his chin thoughtfully, then quickly added with a raised finger, "And virgin." Bill paused to scrutinize the otter, one ear flicking as he considered the request. Alex felt bare and vulnerable under the stern, searching gaze, his small ears flattening against his head.

"Allergies?" Bill finally asked.

"None that I know of." Alex answered.

"Alright." The ram sounded confident as he began gathering what he needed. The show was all for Alex now, as Bill got into the swing of his work. "So, you two havin' your do-over? Should I get the kitchen started on somethin'?"

"Oh, uh... no. Not yet. It's... it's just me this time." Alex explained nervously. "You might say things, uh... 'didn't work out' with my new friend." He paused, looking for a reaction. Bill seemed bewildered for a moment, until the otter gave him an encouraging look. Then things clicked.

"Oh. Well, that's unfortunate." The ram's brow furrowed, his words feeling distant after clearing his throat. "She seemed really into you."

"Sure seemed that way." Alex shrugged. The response didn't inspire confidence, those doubts brought back into sharp focus again. Had the otter called his bluff, or was he just playing along? "But what can ya do." Before he'd even finished, someone down the bar called out.

"Hey boss, need your help." Bill simply nodded at them, finishing the mocktail hastily and serving the otter, though not without care. Alex couldn't help but notice the ram seemed almost relieved, as though he was happy to get away from the situation.

"Sorry, I gotta deal with this." He gestured over his shoulder, turning to step away. "Enjoy."

"Yeah, no, I understand." Alex replied, Bill already walking off. Looking down at his hands he quietly added, "Thanks..."

He tried not to stare in their direction, but there was little else to focus on. As far as he could figure, it was something to do with the register. There was nothing to clue him in as to how long he might be waiting. It gave him time to think, at least.

Subtlety didn't seem to be getting him anywhere. Or maybe it was working just fine, and things simply weren't what he had hoped. That would be a disappointing outcome, but not a surprising one. For better or worse, he resolved to simply ask the ram outright. Simple and direct was good enough for a drink, after all. He sighed as he examined the tall glass, then took a sip.

It was incredible. He took another, holding it this time to suss out every nuance. The texture was silky and smooth, not quite thick enough to be like a milkshake. Sweet and tart danced across his tongue in turns, and a third, secret thing he couldn't pinpoint. Bill had hit the mark with nothing but a look at him, and nothing else existed in that small moment of bliss. Until their eyes met.

Bill looked in his direction and the two shared a small, polite smile. But the ram's impatient expression after glancing at his watch made the otter's stomach turn. Seeing Bill slip into the back room a moment later, after seeming to resolve the issue, didn't make Alex feel any better. Several minutes passed without any sign of the man, and the otter's anxiety was quickly building steam. When the door opened and a new person emerged and began tending the bar, it kicked into overdrive.

His leg began bouncing on its own as he tapped his drink, thoughts bombarding him from all directions. What did this mean? Was Bill avoiding him? Was this a hint to leave? Had he crossed some line? Should he not have come at all? The idea of coming back, even with Lorrie was- Wait! Hadn't Lorrie said-

"Hey there, space cadet." Bill said softly, startling the otter. "How's the view?"

"Oh. It, uh..." Alex wasn't sure what he meant, until he registered the look of mild concern Bill was giving him. Self-conscious, he tucked himself together a bit. "It just vastly improved, actually."

"That's good to hear." The ram said in that same caring tone. It became lighter and more conversational after taking the seat beside the otter. "So how'd I do?"

"Hm?" Alex raised an eyebrow, prompting Bill to nod at the drink. "Oh! It's perfect. Just what I was hoping for. You could do this for a living, even." He sipped at the drink with a cheeky smile.

"One day, maybe." Bill returned the humor before getting a little more serious. "Sorry for the wait, I tried to be quick. Was afraid you'd be gone by the time I could get free."

"Nearly convinced myself that's what you wanted." Alex said, a little embarrassed about himself. "Good thing I'm indecisive, huh?" He joked, and the two shared a small laugh. "Besides, Lorrie'd give me an earful if I had bailed."

"...She put you up to this?" Bill asked, brow furrowed.

"Eased my doubts." Alex clarified with a firm, reassuring tone. "I wasn't sure if you were, y'know, playing along?" The ram nodded his understanding. "But she convinced me. Said the odds were good." He offered the ram a flirty smile.

"A safe bet, definitely. I'll have to thank her." Bill said, his words visibly boosting the otter's confidence. "Did you have any plans in mind?"

"You know what they say about counting chickens." Alex said, coy and playful.

"Dress for the occasion?" The ram said, sporting a subtle grin as he stole a downward glance. The otter had undoubtedly been hopeful about how things would go, choosing black thigh-high stockings and a skirt that barely overlapped them.

"Hey! This is perfectly appropriate for a night out!" Alex exaggerated his indignation through a half-fought smile, feeling his face get warm. He decided to turn the tables on the ram, tentatively brushing his foot against the big guy's leg. "Anyway, I'm more interested in what you were thinking."

"I took the night off, if you're free?"

"Well," Alex pulled out his phone, careful to hold it where Bill could easily see, and frowned at the blank screen of the unpowered device, "things are pretty tight, but I'd be quite happy to squeeze you in." He raised an eyebrow at the ram.

"Whaddya say we grab a bite and find a better place to talk?" Bill offered. No sooner had he spoken, than a large basket of fries and a drink hit the bar between them, startling Alex. The otter looked up to see one of the tenders, barely hiding a grin. They winked at him before taking their leave. He gave Bill the same open-mouth smile of wonder he'd given Lorrie last time. The ram took the whole event in stride, all but an admission of his plotting.

"I could get used to this." Alex said, sliding the basket toward himself. "What are you gonna have?" He looked Bill in the eye as he ate a few. For his part, Bill seemed highly amused, grabbing the goods and leading them to a booth with a little more privacy. Alex tossed his jacket onto the bench, choosing to sit opposite him and take things a little slower.

"I wasn't thinkin' anything at the time." The ram wasn't shy about letting his eyes wander, though they quickly settled on the table. "Truth be told, I didn't expect you'd actually take me up on it." Alex felt his stomach drop, having a whole new reason to wonder if he shouldn't have come. Bill didn't notice, focused as he was on his thoughts. "Realizing you were here for that, well," he paused, a look of [something] on his face. He looked the otter in the eye. "Like I said, I owe Lorrie my thanks."

"But then..." Alex tried to ignore the unwinding knot in his stomach, hoping it would pass without drawing any attention, and praying Bill wouldn't say anything about it. "Why'd you wait so long? I had to be sat there a good ten or twenty minutes before she showed up." Alex took up the footsie again, and found it helped to calm his nerves. He interpreted Bill's admission as permission to be more assertive with his contact, and to his delight, the ram's leg extended toward him, actively participating.

"Didn't know who you were before that. And customers are off limits." Bill explained matter-of-factly.

"Am I not a customer anymore?" Alex asked, before gasping and pulling his foot away. "Are you banning me??" He feigned shock, jumping to the conclusion as a joke and getting a big laugh from Bill.

"Course not. There's exceptions for people we know."

"Oh you know me now?"

"I'd like to." Bill said. "And based on what I've heard, I knew you wouldn't mind a feeler. Wanted to be a little more subtle, go a little slower, but Lorrie had her own plans." He flashed a thoughtful grin.

"Yeah, I dunno where that came from." Alex said. "We were just supposed to meet up and hang out. Guess something got into her." He shrugged.

"Or she was hoping something would." Bill smirked.

"Beginning to wonder if that's the real appeal of this place." Alex held the ram's gaze as he brought a few fries up to his mouth in a deliberate motion. His foot reached out to resume play as he ate. He was eagerly engaged.

"Startin' to seem that way. So-" Bill interrupted himself, a thought seeming to occur to him. "Can I call you 'Allie'? Or is that a privilege?"

"I'm not picky about it, just don't call me Al."

"Noted." Bill acknowledged respectfully. "Not a fan of 'billygoat' and the like, myself."

"Good to know." Alex nodded. "I might've made that mistake." He admitted with a nervous chuckle. He propped himself up on his elbows, holding his chin in his hands. "What can I call you, then?"

"Bill's fine." The ram gave him a warm smile.

"Agreed." Alex said, taking his turn to let his eyes wander.

"William, if you're feelin' formal, or dramatic."

"Oh, well perhaps I," Alex sat upright, placing a hand on his chest and speaking in an officious manner, "Alexander, sole heir to the family Tolbin do indeed feel so inclined." He held the prideful pose for a moment before sticking his tongue between his teeth.

"Forgive me, your majesty, I had no idea." Bill smirked, and Alex giggled. "So then, Allie..." He crossed his arms on the table in leaned in, laying on the charm with a smoldering gaze. "How shall we proceed?"

"Gosh, I dunno... Options?" Alex asked.

"We could the song and dance; conversation, a movie, dinner, walk in the park, et cetera. All that nice stuff." Bill said, sounding very much like he'd enjoy doing any of those things.

"That does sound nice..." Alex said thoughtfully, though he had a sneaking suspicion there was an 'or' just around the corner, leading to the ram's true preference. He gave him a look that conveyed as much.

"Or, if you'd rather..." Bill continued, earning a smug grin from the otter. "I take you back to my place and fuck you like a toy." The grin now included shock.

"AHAH- Okay. Wow." Alex fanned himself, a gesture he'd have made even if his face wasn't incredibly hot.

"If that ain't too forward." Bill added.

"Look, I don't know WHAT that woman's been telling you, but she and I need to have a serious conversation about sharing secrets." The otter tried to play off the mild embarrassment with humor, but was betrayed by his refusal to make eye contact.

"Should I interpret that as an answer?" Bill asked, sporting his biggest grin so far.

"You..." Alex pointed at the ram, hand bobbing as he paused to think. "You can sit right there while I go... pretend I need to think about it." There was a defiance in his tone as he stood up from the table, grabbing his bag. "Don't eat all the fries while I'm gone."

"Ya better hurry then." Bill took a handful and started eating them, all while holding the otter's gaze.

The bathroom was bright, clean and seemingly empty as Alex went up to the sink. He splashed cold water on his face and took a moment to check himself in the mirror. Still looking pretty damn good, he thought, but he decided to fuss and primp anyway. Things were going so well and he intended to help them along however he could. A bit of brushing, a little perfume, some readjusting. He stopped to evaluate his handiwork, before taking a deep breath and psyching himself up.

"He likes you." Alex told his reflection, firmly and under his breath. "He wants you. You can stop worrying about it. Now go out there and get it."

"You go, girl!" A feminine voice shouted from one of the stalls, startling the otter. "Rock his world!" He was feeling far too good to give in to embarrassment here, instead rolling with the surprise.

"I will, bathroom ghost! I will!" Alex proclaimed dramatically at the ceiling as he left, the voice cackling behind him. When the otter returned to the booth, he motioned for the ram to scoot over, and sat beside him.

"I can assume you know the rules already?" Alex asked, placing his hand on Bill's thigh.

"The basics, yeah. You'll have to fill in some gaps, though." Bill said, idly stroking the back of the otter's hand.

"It'd be my pleasure. Though I doubt you'd feel it, big guy like you." Alex teased.

"You won't need to hold back, then." Bill teased back.

"O-oh... really?" Alex was taken aback.

"If that's okay with you."

"Y-yeah. That's great." The otter didn't even try to hide his enthusiasm. He genuinely hadn't considered that an option, but was excited by the potential. He took Bill's arm and tucked himself under the ram's shoulder, draping it across his own. "But don't think you get to have all the fun."

"Your fun is my fun." Bill said, relaxing into the new position. "That all you wanna do?"

"Dinner first?" Alex suggested. Bill seemed into the idea by the way he nodded.

"Doable, if you don't mind swingin' by the grocer's." The ram said. Alex had to think a moment before realizing what it meant.

"Wait, you wanna cook?" The otter's enthusiasm bubbled up again.

"Somewhere you'd rather go?" Bill offered.

"No, that sounds wonderful, I just... I'm starting to feel really spoiled." Alex said, a twinge of guilt in his voice.

"That's kinda the idea." Bill said, earning a look of confusion. "I consider it part of 'the arrangement'. She and I don't get together too often, so I like to make it special." He explained. The otter was quiet and thoughtful for a moment before coming to an unfortunate conclusion.

"Oh..." Alex said softly.

"I can tell what you're thinkin', and don't bother yourself." Bill said in that gentle tone from earlier. "One good night every now and then suits me fine." He sounded as though any more than that would be too much.

"She that rough on you?" Alex grinned.

"I ain't fragile, I just know what's good for me." Bill grinned as well, though more to himself than the otter. He seemed to be thinking about a previous encounter, and quite fondly at that. "As for us, we might only have the one night. Curiosities are satisfied; that's that and we move on. To me, that's all the more reason to make it memorable." He stopped to take a drink. "But, I can tone it down."

"No no, that makes sense. Knowing that, I feel better about it, and I agree." Alex said, leaning into the ram's side.

"Glad to hear it." Bill said, giving the otter a warm smile. "That leads us to the next issue."

"And what's that?" Alex asked innocently.

"What would you like for breakfast?"