by Sky Winters
“Where are the other customers and why is there no buffet set up?”
“Oh, that. The owner I was counseling is my brother. He just bought this place. Since he doesn’t feel like he should have to pay me for services rendered, I decided he was providing dinner, but they aren’t open yet. We have the place to ourselves other than the two employees who are testing some recipes tonight.”
“So, we’re guinea pigs?”
“Pretty much.”
“I assume we’re test tasting pizza.”
“You assume incorrectly, madam. Part of the space is being utilized by a startup catering business. The two employees that are here are the master chef and his assistant. I’m not entirely sure what they’re feeding us, but both are trained chefs, so it’s bound to be good.”
Mandy laughed. She had to give him points for originality. He certainly wasn’t boring. Their conversation continued as the chefs began delivering assorted plates of food, starting with a light soup and a delicious vegan salad. By the time she had nibbled from one plate, another was arriving for her to taste and, just as Weston had promised, it was all very good.
“Oh, God. This is the most delicious tiramisu I’ve ever tasted!” Mandy exclaimed, still savoring the velvety texture of it against her tongue.
“I am going to have to agree,” Weston said, finishing off the last bite of his own.
The meal was almost over and Mandy realized that Weston had not made mention of the favor that he had brought her here to discuss in the first place. She wanted to broach the subject but they started talking to the chef, praising the food.
“It was amazing,” Mandy gushed.
“Thank you. We’re excited to get started. Our first wedding gig is on Saturday and we have several others in our sights, but it takes time to build a clientele. Hopefully, you’ll tell anyone you know about us,” the man said, offering her a business card.
“Absolutely,” Mandy said enthusiastically. She glanced at the card, noting the name as “Side Bar.”
“So, you enjoyed everything then?” Weston asked, nodding for the couple standing by the table to leave them.
“Enjoyed isn’t even the word for it. It was all incredible.”
“Good. I’ll let them know that they have my investment,” he said.
“What?” she asked.
“That’s why they were feeding us. It’s sort of an audition for food,” he said.
“Oh, now I see. Your brother owns this place, but you’re planning on investing in the catering company that will be sharing his kitchen.”
“Yes. They will be doing a good bit of their work from home, but they need the larger amenities that can be set up here for major events.”
“You should do well. They’re truly gifted.” Now that they were alone, she finally asked him about why she’d shown up here in the first place. “By the way, what was the favor you wanted to ask of me?”
“You’ve already answered it.”
“I have?”
“Yes. I just wanted you to help me sample the food.”
“You could have just said that,” she laughed.
“Where’s the fun in that? Speaking of fun, how about we go play in the ball pit?”
“You’re kidding right now, right?”
“Nope, I’m not kidding at all. Come on. How many chances will we ever get to have a ball pit all to ourselves without screaming kids that are undoubtedly shitting their diapers and wiping snot on the balls?”
“That just makes it sound less appealing. It’s full of germs already!”
“Nope. My brother emptied it, cleaned the barriers with disinfectant and put in all new balls. This may be your only chance to get in a completely clean one and relive your childhood. He opens tomorrow, so it’ll be tainted within moments of the door opening.”
Many looked at him for a moment. He looked almost boyish, grinning at her. She could tell that he really wanted to and that made her want to, as well. Rather than responding, she took off running and jumped into the large pit that sat to one side of the room, laughing as her body sank down into the colorful plastic orbs.
“That’s more like it!” he told her, following her into the pit and bouncing about a bit before making his way through them toward her. She dove down into the balls and hid from him, suppressing giggles while listening to his playful taunting that he was going to kiss her when he found her.
“I’m over here,” she said from one corner before slipping along the wall underneath to the deepest part of the pit. He found her anyway.
“Gotcha!” he said, his hands landing on one shoulder before drifting down toward her waist and pulling her upward to face him.
“So?” she replied, beaming back at him.
“You were warned!” he told her, pulling her close to him and kissing her softly on the lips.
Mandy was a little disappointed. She wanted more, a deeper kiss, a longer one, but she had to remember that she was the one who’d made it clear she wanted to keep things light. He seemed to be making sure that he kept to his word, pulling away from her and leading her out of the pit.
“Come on. I’ll win you a stuffed animal,” he told her, digging in his pocket for change.
Mandy followed him to one of those big standup machines that held all sorts of creatures and a crane. It had been years since she’d played games like this. On some level, it was very relaxing to just get out and do something completely silly like this.
“Which one do you want?” he asked.
“The unicorn,” she said, pointing toward a pink, sparkly one in a back corner.
“Oh, sure. You would make it difficult,” he laughed.
“You strike me as the sort that likes a challenge,” she told him.
“You know me well already. Alright. Stand back and just watch the master at work. I’ve got this.”
Mandy watched as he made a half dozen attempts at retrieving the unicorn and only managed to move it a few inches. Digging around in his pocket, he frowned down at the change in his hand.
“I’m out of quarters. Let me go see if they’re still cleaning up in the kitchen. I’m sure they can break a bill for me.”
“Don’t be silly,” she replied, laughing.
“No. That unicorn is yours! We’ll have it before we leave here!” he said, trotting off.
Mandy looked around the room at all the arcade games and spotted an air hockey table. She had loved playing that as a teen. When Weston returned, he was all smiles, holding an entire roll of quarters above his head.
“I see you hit the jackpot,” she told him.
“In so many ways,” he told her with a little glimmer in his eyes that just melted her.
“Let’s play air hockey,” she told him.
“Oh, you don’t want to play that with me. I’m very competitive and quite good at it.”
“Let’s see what you’ve got. I think I can take you.”
“Oh, yeah? You’re on. Care for a friendly little wager?” he said, seeming to forget all about the unicorn.
“What did you have in mind?”
“I don’t know. Let’s keep it fairly open. How about the winner gets to ask the loser to do one thing and the loser will do it?”
“Within reason, right?”
“Of course, both legal and moral. How’s that?”
“Done. You’re going down, counselor.”
“We’ll see about that, Little Miss Newsprint.”
The game was intense. Mandy had forgotten how fast the puck moved. She could swear it moved faster now that she was a little older, but it was probably just her imagination. Weston was a formidable opponent. His reflexes were spot on, not letting her get anything past him at first. Then things took a turn and she was suddenly winning, slipping the puck past him very quickly three times in a row as he looked at her with a shocked expression.
With the score tied and whoever got the next puck tipping it for the win, Mandy decided her only option was to cheat. Holding up her h
and for a moment before serving the puck back to him, she reached up and unbuttoned her blouse a bit, revealing just a hint of cleavage.
“It’s a bit hot in here, don’t you think?”
“Well, it certainly is now. You know, if you think that showing off a bit of skin is going to distract me from the game, you’re probably absolutely right,” he said, laughing.
“What? Surely you don’t think I’m the sort of girl that would do something like that just to win a silly game,” she said in a serious tone.
“No. Of course not. You are above such things. I’m sure it never crossed your mind,” he said, grinning.
“It didn’t,” she replied, licking her lips slightly as she leaned forward to give him an even better view down her blouse. It was a bit naughty, but not vulgar. Though she told herself it was just being playful to win the game, she hoped it had a much more powerful effect than that. She realized that her fear was fading away, replaced by a desire for him to want her the way she was finding herself wanting him. Sure, it was soon, but Kellye told her to have fun, so perhaps she should do just that.
Leaning even further down toward the table, she lined up the puck and bounced it off one side of the table, sending it skating down the ice at a rapid rate of speed and directly into the goal on the other end. The table flashed with the scores, indicating that she was the winner.
“Double or nothing!” Weston shouted with a pained look on his face.
“You’ll do no better the second time around!” she taunted.
“Sure I will. Give me my chance at redemption, woman!”
“Nope. You lost. That’s the end of it.”
“That is just not fair.”
“Life isn’t fair. Suck it up, buttercup.”
“How can you be so cruel?” he said, a mock horrified look on his face.
“I’m a woman. It comes with the territory doesn’t it?”
“Oh no. You’ll never get me to agree with you on that. I’m not a fool!”
“Wise man. Well, let’s see what I want as my prize for winning.”
Weston walked around the edge of the table and faced her, crossing his arms and smiling down at her. Without another thought, she raised up on her tiptoes and kissed him. It wasn’t a soft, light kiss either. Instead, she found herself leaning hungrily into him, kissing him passionately. Weston didn’t hold back, a low growl escaping the back of his throat as he pulled her tighter against him and kissed her feverishly. They jumped apart as someone nearby cleared their throat.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but we’re closing up in a few moments,” the female half of the catering team told them with an embarrassed look.
“Ah, yes. Thanks, Beth,” Weston told her sheepishly.
“Thanks again for the gorgeous food,” Mandy added, trying to offset her embarrassment a bit with conversation.
“You’re more than welcome. I hope to see you again soon,” she replied, quickly making herself scarce. The couple burst into laughter as she disappeared back toward the kitchen.
“Come on. I’ve got to win you that unicorn before I go,” Weston told her.
“No way can you win that in a few minutes.”
“Want to bet?”
“Another bet? You’ve already lost the first wager.”
“Did I, Mandy? Did I really lose?” he asked with a smile, leaning over and kissing her on the lips. It was brief, but soft and sweet. She felt it just as much in her toes as she had the previous, more heated one. Mandy smiled up at him happily and shook her head as he pulled her back toward the game with the unicorn. He made a production of trying to win the unicorn a couple of tries before turning to her with a shrug.
“Oh well, you gave it your best shot,” she said.
“Ah, screw it,” he said, walking to the back of the machine and opening the plexiglass door. Reaching in, he pulled the unicorn out and handed it to her.
“That is cheating,” she replied.
“So? Takes one to know one,” he said. “Now, about the terms of our wager.”
“We never made any official terms.”
“Guess I can ask for whatever I want then,” he told her.
“I guess you can.”
The lights went off around them, leaving them standing in a nearly dark restaurant. Beth called out to them that they were about to leave and lock up.
“Sounds like our cue. We’re being evicted. How about we drop our cars off at your place and then walk to that little pub a few blocks down for drinks?”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. It’s a work night, after all.”
“I wasn’t planning on getting completely shit faced and ending up in jail or anything,” he laughed.
“Okay. Just a couple then.”
“Deal!”
They walked hand in hand out to their cars, saying their goodbyes to Beth and her partner, who was named Jacob, according to their business card. Weston made sure she was safely behind the wheel of her rather sedate Toyota Camry before climbing into his much more substantial Mercedes GLE. Making her way the few miles from the restaurant to her apartment, the smile never left her face. It only broadened each time she looked in the rearview mirror at him following her.
Parking in the garage attached to her apartment building, they made their way directly down the ramp and onto the sidewalk, covering the few blocks to the pub with their arms wrapped about one another’s waists. Mandy marveled at how quickly she had abandoned her reservations about getting closer to Weston. Yesterday, she had felt only fear at even getting to know him better. Today, he had somehow won her over completely, making her feel so at ease that she no longer gave a second thought to how things might go wrong.
“I almost didn’t call you,” he told her over drinks.
“I wouldn’t have blamed you if you hadn’t,” she admitted.
“You just didn’t seem to be all that interested in me. Of course, being stubborn, I decided that was a challenge I had to take on.”
“So, I’m just a challenge for you then?” she asked.
“Hardly. There’s something about you, Mandy. I saw it right at the start, at that party. You give off this soulful vibe that is intoxicating. I couldn’t help but make a beeline for you before someone else snatched you away from me.”
“There’s that silver tongued lawyer again,” she laughed.
“No, just an honest man. I wanted to tell you that on the first date, but I was afraid it would frighten you away. Then I thought I’d done that anyway.”
“It wasn’t you. It was all me,” she said.
“And now? Should I plan on you tucking tail and running away if I try to get too close to you?”
“No, but I still don’t want to rush things. I just need for us to take our time, to just be whatever we become without pushing the envelope and trying to make it something it might not be.”
“That sounds like fear still talking to me, but I understand. Still, what you need to know about me is that I have very basic instincts when it comes to finding a woman I want to be with. You’re the first woman I’ve ever met that felt like some sort of destiny for me. Does that scare you?”
“More like terrifies me,” she told him.
“Well, just know that I will honor your wishes to take things easy, but I have no intentions of letting you slip away now that I’ve found you.”
“Noted,” she replied, not sure what else she could say to something like that.
“Alright, enough of the heavy discussion. Let’s dance.”
“Dance? Are you kidding me? No one here is dancing at all,” she said, waving her hands to the half populated bar and empty dance floor.
“They will be when they see how much fun we’re having,” he told her, standing to pull her up from her chair.
Mandy followed him reluctantly to the floor, the house music playing a slow ballad in the background. He turned out to be a beautiful dancer, gliding across the floor with her and twirling her about playfully. Everyone around them seemed
to fade away into the gray as they became completely lost in one another. After a while, the music changed to something a little more spirited and Mandy looked around to find they had been joined by a half dozen couples. She smiled at how right he had been about inspiring others to dance.
“Want to sit this one out? Perhaps have one more drink before I take you home to get your rest for work tomorrow?” he asked.
“That sounds like a plan,” she said, following him off the dance floor to their table.
The night had gotten very chilly by the time they finished their drinks and made their way back toward her garage. They were standing at the door to his Mercedes when she realized something. She wasn’t ready to end their night together.
“I guess this is goodnight then,” he told her.
“It doesn’t have to be,” she replied. “Maybe you could come up for a while. It’s probably too soon to be driving anyway, after our drinks.”
“Well, honestly, I wasn’t going to. I had planned to just call a cab and leave the SUV here,” he laughed.
“Come on up for a while then,” she told him.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to overstay my welcome with you,” he replied.
“I just don’t think that’s possible,” she told him softly.
They were barely inside her apartment door before they were all over one another, each of them unable to contain their animal urges any longer. It was if they couldn’t get one another undressed quickly enough as they created a line of clothing that trailed from the door to the bedroom. Weston seemed to easily lift her, carrying her to the bed and laying her down before climbing in after her, his body pressed against her own.
The sensation of his bare skin against her own caused a familiar clench inside her, and she felt herself melting her at his touch. The stiff hairs scattered plentifully across his chest tickled her nipples, leaving them hard and aching against him. His hands stroked her naked form almost delicately, sending delicious shivers throughout her body.
“God, you’re gorgeous. I’ve wanted to do this since I met you,” he breathed against her ear, the vibrations of his voice teasing her even more.
She cooed softly beneath him as he stroked her back and stroked her sides, his hands moving upward to cup her full breasts. Every nerve ending seemed to sing with life and a need for more of him. She ached to have him inside of her, but he took his time, teasing her endlessly. His fingers rolled around her terse pink nipples, soothing them before pinching and twisting them one by one. It filled her with a delicious mix of pain and pleasure that drove her wild.