The Winner at Dinner

Story Submitted by Ali:

Trey and I interned at a congresswoman's office together and we hooked up a few times before he asked me out on an actual date.

"I know this great place," he told me, over and over, "It'll blow your mind."  He built up our date destination so much, that I couldn't help but be a little skeptical as to whether or not he would deliver.

The day of, he asked me to meet him at his friend Will's home.  I thought it unusual, but guessed that maybe he would already be at Will's house and that Trey and I would head out from there to wherever our mystery destination was.

I made it to Will's house and Trey met me at the door.  He invited me in.

I asked, "Shouldn't we be heading to dinner?"

He said, "We are."

He opened a basement door and motioned for me to go inside.  I shook my head.  "No way.  What's going on?"

He explained, "Nothing bad.  I promise you'll love it.  Will and I spent all afternoon setting it up."

Will himself came up the basement steps.  He was dressed in a full suit and tie and introduced himself.  I asked Trey, "What's going on?"

Trey said, "Will and I built a little restaurant set-up, downstairs, just for our date.  He's going to be the waiter.  We cooked and everything."

He led me into the kitchen where indeed, things were cooking.  I thought the whole setup unusual at best, but I had to give Trey credit for ingenuity.

Still, I had my reservations.  I said, "Can we have dinner up here, in the dining room, instead of down in the basement?  I'd feel better about that."

Trey said, "We spent all afternoon on cleaning up the downstairs.  We even made a restaurant thing with a window, tables, and chairs."

I said, "Maybe we'll go there for dessert."

He was down about it, but Will said, "The customer is always right," and ushered us to our seats in the dining room.

Trey was sullen, and I did my best to explain to him why it was weird for a girl to go into a basement with two guys, one of whom she had only just met.

Trey said nothing.

Will served us some squash soup for our first course.  Trey pushed it away from himself, saying, "I'm not hungry."

I tried some, and it was good.  I asked Trey who did most of the cooking, himself or Will.

In reply, Trey extended his arms at me and screamed, "Rape!"

I jumped back and stared at him.  He lowered his arms, shrugged, pushed his soup bowl off the table, where it shattered on the floor, and stood up.

Still looking at me, he yelled, "Will, I'm heading out," and left the room – and apparently the house.

Will arrived shortly thereafter and asked what had happened.  I told him, and he asked for my help in cleaning up the broken bowl and soup.

Will said that Trey could sometimes be a little strange, and then he asked me if I wanted to have dinner with him instead.  Will had done all of the cooking, and I wasn't about to turn down a home-cooked meal just because of one idiot, so he and I had dinner together right there in his dining room.

Will and I ended up being good friends, although things are a little weird whenever Trey hangs out with us in a group.