Rory sighed as he caught sight of the young woman seated at one of his tables. He was on the brink of a brilliant idea for his next play, but at this rate, he’d never be able to pin it down.

Not that there was anything to be done about that. Straightening his tie, he made his way over to the table to greet his customer.

“Good evening, ma’am,” he said politely. “My name is Rory, and I’ll be your server this evening. Can I start you out with something to drink?”

“Iced tea,” she said wearily, then cocked her head to the side. “Rory Montoya?”

Glancing up from his pad, he studied the young woman more closely. “Arianna Stone? Wow, it’s been a long time, huh?”

She nodded. “Yeah, it has. College seems really far away now, doesn’t it?”

“It’s only been three years,” Rory mused, shaking his head. “I guess a lot can happen in that time. Anyway, let me get you that drink.” He chuckled as he started away. “Arianna Stone…wow…”

“Call me Ari,” she called after him, and he grinned as he turned to nod at her. She’d always insisted that he call her Ari, but he found her full name to be so much prettier. Arianna. It was so…poetic. Of course, whenever he’d pointed that out in the past, she’d shrugged and called him Roderick. There was no guaranteeing she’d remember his real name three years later, but it wasn’t worth betting on. He didn’t want the rest of the wait staff getting it into their heads to call him Roderick. He got enough of that from living with his older brother.

With a good-natured grin, he stopped to make sure his other tables were all set before going to fetch Ari’s iced tea. He fought to subdue his smile as he filled her glass. Her showing up at the restaurant didn’t mean anything. Maybe they’d get a chance to catch up, renew their friendship, but he shouldn’t expect that she’d be a major part of his life now. She’d been friendly in college, but nothing more, and he shouldn’t expect anything more now. And all she likely expected was her iced tea.

He rolled his eyes as he brought the glass to her table. He really needed to stop analyzing this; just take the girl’s order and move on. “Here you are,” he said with a smile, setting down her drink. “Would you like to order, or are you waiting for someone?”

She frowned. “Well, I was, but I don’t know if he’ll show up.” Then she shrugged. “Ah, well. I never was much for blind dates anyway, but one of the guys from work wanted to set me up. Guess I’ll just have to tell him it didn’t work out.”

Rory nodded sympathetically. “Poor fool doesn’t know what he’s missing.”

“Aren’t you sweet,” Ari chuckled. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’m not really looking for a guy right now. It’s just nice getting a free meal every now and again.”

“Well, I’m afraid this is a bad restaurant to get stood up in if you weren’t looking to spend money,” Rory said apologetically. “We don’t dress this nicely for fast food.”

She waved this off. “As long as the food is worth it, I don’t mind. So tell me what you’ve got good.”

“Well, what are you in the mood for?” he inquired, walking behind her to cast a quick glance at the menu. “We’ve got soups, salads, sandwiches, pasta-”

“Ooh, you know, I could really go for something smothered in alfredo sauce.”

“Well, your classic response to that would be fettuccini. Now are you thinking chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, tomatoes…there are a few options listed here.” Rory indicated the items on the menu, then took up his pen and looked at the girl expectantly.

After contemplating the menu for a moment, she glanced up with a smile. “I’ll go with the shrimp bowl, if that’s alright. And hold the tomatoes.”

“Certainly. Anything else?” She shook her head, and he nodded and took her menu before starting away. After giving her order to the chef, he hurried back out to the dining area to check on his other tables. By the time he’d given two of them their checks and cleared their tables, Ari’s meal was ready. There was no time for small talk, however, as another of his tables had just filled up. It wasn’t until Ari had finished eating that Rory was able to speak to her again.

“So do you live around here?” he inquired as he handed her a takeout tray.

“Just outside the city,” she responded, frowning as she tried to transfer the pasta into the container.

“Oh, so do I,” Rory exclaimed. “We should get together sometime and catch up.”

She shrugged agreeably. “Sounds great. You free tomorrow?”

“After about three.”

“Ok.” Ari paused to consider. “I work until about seven, but we could get together after that. Where do you live?”

“Why don’t I give you my address?” Rory suggested, writing it down on his pad and handing it to her. “And you can stop by whenever you’re done work, and we can maybe go get something to eat. Sound good?”

“Yep.” She studied the address before putting it in her purse. “Now I should really get going. If I could just have the check?”

“Sure.” He took the check from his apron pocket, then accepted her credit card and hurried off to put it into the machine. Returning a minute later, he handed her the receipt. “Alright, just sign this and you’re good to go. And I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She smiled as she signed the receipt, adding a generous tip. “Bye.”

---

Adrian was just beginning to relax when his younger brother entered the apartment.

“My god, Adrian,” Rory exclaimed. “What on earth are you doing?”

“I’m practicing,” Adrian responded, cracking one eye open to peek at his brother. Unfortunately, the couch was in the way, so all he could see were the boy’s feet. “I have to teach these positions in class tomorrow.”

“Why did you have to become a yoga instructor?” Rory muttered, shaking his head and throwing his jacket on the couch. “As if being a model wasn’t enough. You’re already a pretty boy, do you really have to be a fitness guru, too?”

Adrian smiled complacently. “Now, Rory, I know it upsets you that you’re not as beautiful as I am, but stop fretting about it. That flaming red hair becomes you quite nicely.”

Rory rolled his eyes and made his way over to where his brother was upside-down on the floor. With a smirk, he leaned on Adrian’s upraised feet and glanced down at him. “You know, one of these days I’m gonna come home with a girl, and you’re gonna look like a fool posing like that. And what’ll you do then?”

“I’ll charm her and sweep her off her feet and watch you cry about it later,” Adrian replied, smiling smugly. Rory frowned and pushed his legs over, and Adrian laughed as he rolled upright and bounced to his feet. “Aren’t you getting a bit ahead of yourself anyway? When’s the last time you’ve had a date?”

“That doesn’t matter,” Rory said stiffly. “What matters is that I’ve got a date tomorrow.”

“Do you now? A real date?”

“Well…not a date, really, but I do have a girl coming over here, and we’re gonna hang out, catch up, get something to eat…it’s a social event involving the opposite sex. Why shouldn’t that constitute a date?” Frowning, he ran a hand through his bright red hair.

Adrian smirked. “So who is she? Where’d you meet her?”

“Arianna Stone…she came to the restaurant for dinner, and since her date stood her up, we got to talking.”

“Got stood up, eh? Doesn’t say much for her.” At Rory’s glare, Adrian smiled and shook his head. “Yeah, yeah. Not her fault, I know. Relax.” He watched his brother’s expression calm, then cocked his head in thought. “Arianna Stone, you say? Isn’t that the girl you were crazy about in college?”

“I wasn’t crazy about her,” Rory retorted, crossing to the kitchen. “I happened to find her attractive.”

“And do you still?” Adrian prodded, fighting to suppress his grin.

Rory shrugged. “She’s just an old friend from school. Can’t I have dinner with her without it meaning anything?” Ignoring his brother’s response, he began perusing the refrigerator. “Chocolate cake? Wow, Adrian, you actually eat junk food?”

Adrian shook his head. “It was someone’s birthday at work, and they sent it home with me. Eat it, would you? I don’t need that temptation.”

“You’re such a girl,” Rory laughed, pulling the cake from the fridge. “I swear, Adrian, this stuff does not actually go straight to your hips.”

“It would,” Adrian replied with a shrug. “Would go straight to yours, too, if you didn’t have that lightning-fast metabolism. I envy you, Rory. You can eat whatever you like and still look good.”

“You can, too,” Rory proclaimed, unwrapping the cake and waving it under his brother’s nose. “Come on, it’s your cake. Have a bite.”

“Get that away from me,” Adrian demanded, pushing the plate away.

Rory shook his head as he bit into the cake. “You are a pretty little girl.”

Adrian flashed him a bright smile. “At least I’m pretty.”

---

Pale blue eyes peered at him anxiously, scrutinizing the lightly freckled complexion and the flaming red hair falling just in front of his eyes. Disgruntled, Rory pushed the hair aside and turned away from the mirror. Ari being due to show up at any time did not justify him having studied his reflection in the mirror every five minutes. He was turning into Adrian. One dandy was all they needed in this apartment; he had no desire to become one as well. And he shouldn’t be trying to impress Ari anyway. She was coming over to catch up with an old friend from college, not hook up with a guy. Hadn’t she mentioned only the night before that she wasn’t interested in finding a guy right now? It would be best to respect that wish and simply be her friend. And then, when she did become interested in finding a guy, all she would have to do is look right under her nose, and there he’d be, waiting for her. It was perfect.

Rory allowed himself a sentimental smile, then shook his head. If not a dandy, he was becoming a sap. Perfect. Were there no men left in the Montoya family? That would be a fine way to impress Ari; invite her over to meet a sissy and a fop.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, interrupting his thoughts, and Rory cast one last glance in the mirror before rushing to answer it. Ari stood outside, a light smile brightening her pale green eyes. “Hey,” she greeted.

“Hey,” Rory responded with a grin. “Come on in.” He moved out of the way to let her inside, then gestured to the couch. “You can throw your jacket wherever, and come have a seat…or you could see the apartment if you like, but there’s not much to it…nothing much interesting here…”

“Rory, I’m hurt,” Adrian declared, coming out of his bedroom. “You don’t consider your own roommate interesting?”

Rolling his eyes, Rory turned to Ari and gestured to his brother. “Ari, this is my brother Adrian. Adrian, this is Ari. We went to college together.”

“Yes, I know,” Adrian remarked calmly, moving closer and offering his hand. “Nice to meet you, Ari. I congratulate you for managing to tolerate Rory for so long.”

The girl smirked as she shook his hand. “Thanks. Nice to meet you, too.”

Rory shot a glare at his brother, then transferred his attention to his guest. “Won’t you sit down, Ari? Make yourself comfortable, and we’ll just let Adrian be on his way.”

“On my way where?” Adrian inquired ingenuously.

Rory frowned. “Don’t you have a yoga class or something to be at? Or one of those modeling gigs where you have to wear makeup?”

With an easygoing shrug, Adrian settled himself on the couch. “Not tonight. I worked during the day, while you were napping.”

“I’d been on my feet since eight this morning,” Rory snapped.

Adrian widened his eyes with mock innocence. “Not pointing fingers here, Rory. I was just saying.”

Irritated, Rory dropped onto a chair across the table from his brother and turned to look at Ari. The girl was sitting quietly on the couch, obviously enjoying the small spat between the boys.

“Not to interrupt anything, but I’ve been working for a while, too, and I thought food might be in order,” she ventured, unable to keep the amusement out of her eyes. “That ok?”

“Of course,” Rory said quickly. “Where would you like to go?”

“Actually, I wouldn’t be opposed to ordering out, if that’s alright.” Ari flashed a hopeful smile, and Rory nodded.

“Sounds good. Is pizza ok, or were you thinking Chinese or something?”

“Oh, let’s get Chinese,” Adrian put in. “I just love playing with the chopsticks. Don’t you, Rory?”

“You know very well that I don’t believe in chopsticks, Adrian,” Rory said stiffly. “And I believe I was asking Ari.”

“I can’t work them, either,” she said with a grin. “But I love the food. Do you have a menu or something?”

“Yeah, somewhere.” As Rory searched for the menu, he shot a look at Adrian. “You sure you can eat this stuff, Adrian? It won’t go straight to your hips?”

Adrian grinned as he looked down at himself. “I think I can afford to indulge this once. After you were so kind as to eat that cake for me last night…”

Rory scowled as he located the Chinese menu and handed it to Ari. Even though Adrian had asked him to eat the cake for him, he managed to make it sound as though Rory had stolen it. Why was his brother so good at twisting everything he said against him?

Not that the reason was relevant; the fact was that Adrian, despite being so ridiculously girly, was completely capable of talking circles around Rory whenever he pleased. He didn’t often begin the battles of wits, but he always won them. Rory was better off just ending it, before he lost any more face in front of Ari.

With this resolution firmly in mind, he wasted no more time in ascertaining what Ari and Adrian wanted and calling to order the food. In a pleasantly short amount of time, the three were sitting companionably around the coffee table, chopsticks and cartons of food in hand. In spite of his earlier consternation about Adrian pointing out his incompetence with chopsticks, Rory was rather enjoying himself playing with them. Ari simply used hers to stab her food, and though Adrian had an irritating command over his, he didn’t flaunt it at all, and Rory was beginning to relax. He didn’t know why he’d felt the need to compete with his brother for Ari’s attention; their normal relationship was much more pleasant.

Still, he couldn’t help but notice how often Ari’s glance wandered over to Adrian. Rory knew his brother was good-looking; it wasn’t his verbal skills that had gotten him a job as a model, after all. But was that black curly hair and pale skin really so attractive? And those piercing grey eyes, and that clean-shaven face? And sure, he was pretty well toned from teaching yoga and all that, but wasn’t it obvious that he was a pretty boy? That Rory was just as good-looking without being a fop? Wouldn’t a girl prefer that?

“So, Rory,” Ari began, interrupting his thoughts, “you still writing plays?”

He nodded. “I’m actually working on one now, but I’m not quite sure where to go with it. I could use some suggestions, though.”

“About what?” she inquired, frowning as she attempted to stab a wayward piece of chicken.

“I need a humorous way to kill off a character,” he responded, then grinned. “And being stabbed to death with chopsticks wouldn’t do.”

“Impaled by something?” Adrian suggested. “That’s always fun.”

Rory smirked. “Yeah, but it should probably be something that works onstage.”

“With the magic of props, you could probably do a lot,” Adrian pointed out.

Ari giggled suddenly. “You could have him step on a tack and bleed to death.”

“Or have him decapitated.”

Rory shook his head. “You guys are morbid.”

“Death by defenestration!” Adrian exclaimed.

“By what?” Rory questioned.

“Being thrown out a window.”

Sighing, Rory shook his head again. “Never mind.”

“Aw, come on, that’s good,” Adrian protested.

“I liked it,” Ari agreed, nodding.

“Whatever,” Rory sighed. “Thanks for your help.” As the other two grinned at him, he shook his head and continued poking at his rice. “I’m sure I’ll figure something out…”

---

Hello again! I’m back, after quite a long absence…sorry to those of you who missed me, I missed you, too. But now I’m back, with yet another story of ridiculous. Not another cliché, but hopefully a fun story for you to enjoy.

And welcome to new readers, I’m always glad to see new people. Hope you’ll enjoy this, too.

I don’t expect this story will be written quite as quickly as the last one, so don’t look for another chapter tomorrow. I’ll try to stay in the range of about one a week, but we’ll see how it goes. One can never tell.

Also, I know the title’s random. Haha. It’ll make sense eventually.

Anyway, I’m done. Hope you enjoyed, and I’ll try to get you another chapter soon! And any feedback is more than welcome. Thanks!