He was mentally throwing everything that was 'her' out from him.  The way she smelled, the art on his wall that she chose, or the foods she ate that he didn't in his cupboards; all this and more just had to go.  He was done.  He stabbed at his salad missing the way the ham and cheese played between the greens and balsamic vinegar.  His favorite salad and he didn't even taste it.  He fumed up a case against her, justifying his every ill will.  Every word she said wrong.   Every little annoying quirk.  Even the fact that she needed so much closet space for all her clothes.  Never mind that he bought her those clothes or that he enjoyed how she looked in those clothes.... or out of those clothes.  Each bit of evidence added up into a maelstrom of anger and spite.  He added this to his righteous anger of being made the villian when he had planned to be the hero.  Every guy wants to be the hero.  To hear his future wife gush to their parents and friends about the wonderful way he asked.  He had it all laid out and she just blew it out of the water...  Her fault.  Not his.<br/><br/>He paused on that.  It wasn't his fault, was it?  He had called her.  He had called the restaurant.  He had arranged everything to start with.  He was nervous, as is right.  Proposing to someone was big business.  You really need to be sure of things.  He had a long day.  He had done a lot of business, a lot of trading.  “see me”  He wanted to play basketball to cool a bit, steel his nerves, prepare him. “look up and see me.”  He had gone to play, but had called everyone first.  Why was he wrong?  “Speak to me.”<br/><br/>The odd thoughts ran into his own, as if they were his own.  He was so distracted, he didn't even realize they were not his.  He looked up and around.  He saw the man sitting alone with a glass of wine.  The table was set for two.  He assumed the man has been stood up by a woman and could be in as much need for some male steam venting as he is.  He coughed to get the guy's attention.  The guy didn't look right away.  Maybe the guy didn't hear.  So Alex cleared his throat and said, “Hey.  Your woman not so happy with you tonight either?”  The thought that the guy could be alone was lost on him.  Worst, that the guy could have a taste for males never occured to him.  After all, he had been silently staring at the reflection of his pissed off (now ex) girlfriend when Anthony dealt with business.<br/>