"Hey, babes."

Lorenzo got up to hug Dominque. The man took things as they came and accepted the embrace.

"Hi Loren, how are you?"

"Good, long time no see, are you fleeing us, babes? I heard you've become unconditional of Da Stuff St Honore. You got reeled in by the boss lady's magic."

Everyone knew about Dominque's Kaede case. The staff members at the St Honoré store weren't talkative, but Steph could not refrain from ranting about how the man hung around his woman.

Dominque slicked a hand at the back of his head in embarrassment, "yeah, I like it there. Is Marco around?"

Lorenzo looked over Dominque's shoulder, "he's right behind you."

Dominque turned and fell almost nose to nose with Marco, "oh shit, don't do things like that, man."

Marco stretched out his hand, and the men proceeded to greet him, "what are you doing here?"

"Are you were free for lunch."

Marco grinned, "wow, what owes me this honor? You've been ghosting me."

Dominque shrugged, "I just wanted to catch up."

Marco stared at Dominque up and down. The. The man wore a plain white tee and beige cargo shorts and still looked like a GQ poster boy.

Marco knew there was no effort or will to please. Still, every girl who walked by swooned over Dominque. In comparison, Marco was the second choice though he checked every detail on his outfit. The man shaved, his hair was neatly clipper cut, Homme by Dior oozed out of every pore of his body, Marco estimated he grazed perfection. A weird sensation filled the man with an emotion that had been dormant for a while.

Marco smiled, "I was about to go to Ben's. If you're okay, we can go there."

Dominque turned, "bye, Loren."

Lorenzo winked and went to sit back behind the nail bar.

The two men strode out into the bright July sunlight. The air was thick and unbreathable. Dominque wondered if Kaede changed mannequins under the spotlights' heat or if she too was having lunch.

Since the dance class, Dominque didn't know whether he should stop by to see her.

Kaede told him to ask Marco about her, and so it became his priority. The man had to have answers before engaging anything else. Yet he stalled, scared by the truth that could bring an abrupt end to something he was not sure he wished to let go of.

Ben's was across the street from the store. The bistro served burgers. It was where people went instead of McDonald's, convincing themselves the homemade fries and desserts were the healthier choice. Ben's was a taste of America seen by the French and perfect for the man who entered the restaurant with a wolf's pack worth of hunger.

They took a seat on a table not far from the counter.

Dominque's eyes roamed on the 60′s style decor, in its golden metallics, white and black marble checkered floor, and vintage pin-up in frames. Kitsch was the only word that came to mind, but people came for this fake authenticity.

Marco picked up the menu, "so, how have you been since?"

Dominque looked at his watch.

Marco frowned, "what's wrong?"

"I am just checking the time. I don't want you to be over on your lunch break."

Marco grinned, "Dude, don't worry, Kaede's gone. Don't sweat it; I can stay out longer. I mean, I've got to have some advantages, right?"

Dominque cocked an eyebrow, "can your staff do that?"

"What do you mean? Of course not," Marco scoffed.

"Then don't do it, Marco. Don't give yourself privileges they don't have."

"Hey, stop it; you sound like Kaede."

In a twisted way, Marco was right; perhaps the woman wore off on him. Dominque spent a lot of time in her store and saw how Kaede managed her team. The woman took a one-hour break and ten minutes around 5 pm.

Kaede never stepped over her time; she even took less to eat. Her staff followed in her footsteps and never trespassed. If the team didn't like her, at least they respected the way she supervised.

There was a neat difference between the two stores. In one, it was a big one frat party where people chilled, came to admire Joseph's myriad of beautiful sales assistants. Whereas in the other concept, the staff always reviewed their performance and offered the best and most professional advice. Both formulas reeled in benefits, but there was no doubt that the cub would eat the lion in the long run.

It pleased Dominque to see that things were going well for Marco, but it frustrated the man to note Marco still did not aim for excellence, just like when they were in the French Junior league of hopeful players. Marco contented himself with half-toned results when he could do much better. Marco never questioned his performance or decisions; this made him seem narcissistic and self-efficient.

The waitress came, "hi, what will you have today?"

Marco closed the menu, "I'll have a Manhatten burger, fries, diet coke, and raspberry cheesecake."

The waitress turned to Dominque," I'll have a caesar salㅡ."

"Dude, we came to eat burgers. It's the only day of the week in my regime where I can have this. I don't want you to make guilt weigh with your salad."

"Okay, I'll have the same as him with a Saint Pellegrino, but without the dessert."

The waitress tapped on her touchpad, "oh, sorry, we only have Badoit."

"Then, I'll have that."

Marco glared at Dominque."

"What?"

"Nothing"

"Come on, Marco, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Looking like what? What have you been up to lately?" Marco asked, leaving his friend in total bewilderment."

"My sister asked me to take over her classes until she gives birth and finishes her leave."

"It's crazy; I can't believe baby-D is pregnant. I mean, Dyan is a kid."

Dominque smiled, "not anymore. She's a woman who takes care of her business."

The man was proud and relieved to know his sister grew up to be a responsible adult. Her teenage years gave Dominque many migraines. He remembered how he used to cross Dyan in nightclubs he went to. Not only was she under-aged, but his parents thought she slept over that friend. Dominque covered up many things, like when she crashed her parent's car into a tree or the fact she got arrested when a fight broke out. The man was always there to see Dyan's failures but also a witness of her success, and the most significant achievement was not far from occurring.

"How long before birth?"

"Three months, I'm excited."

Marco gave him a blank stare; children were still a subject lost on a faraway shelf of the library of his mind.

"Anyway, if you're dance tutoring, it means you're staying, right?"

Dominque nodded, "yeah, I'll stick around for a while to support her."

The waitress brought their drinks.

"Apart from that, what else do you do during your day? I mean, I haven't seen you around; the guys have been asking for you. Corentin and his teammates will have a yacht harbored close to Saint Tropez this summer; they invited us. You should see them more; they might get the impression you're avoiding them."

Marco heard Steph talking; he knew how Dominque spent his days. The man didn't intervene because he didn't want to arouse suspicions, but Marco felt he had to specify a few things.

"I hang out."

"Alone?" Marco raised an eyebrow.

Dominque shrugged, "well, everyone is at work."

"So, what do you do?"

Dominque felt like a cheating husband whose wife carefully maneuvered to rig out the truth. The man sighed and was about to speak when the waitress posed their dishes.

Dominque looked up; his lashes flapped as he uttered, "thank you."

The waitress blushed and smiled. Even though she had the same reaction when Marco thanked her, the man could tell it was Dominque who caught her eye. Such things also occurred when they were teens; people liked Dominque from the first instance. Marco observed him for a long time before wanting to befriend him. Since he could not beat Dominque in any field, he joined him. Once they sealed the friendship, Marco too became an unconditional fan of his.

Silence reigned as the men began to eat. After a few bites, Marco shot, "How's Kaede?"

Dominque's eyebrow rose, "eh, she's fine."

"That's where you've been hanging out, right? With Kaede."