by Shawn Keys
A faint flush deepened Elenia’s caramel skin as her three friends around the table raised their own identical drinks and gave a small cheer. She pinged her own glass off the others, then took a polite sip. Setting it down, she gushed a little before diving back into her blueberry crepes, “The judges were actually super amazing! I know they look all grim and hard on the show, but that’s mostly for the cameras. They walked around before the auditions, encouraging us and giving us all pep-talks. Then after, they shook all the hands of everyone going home and hugged everyone who made it. I mean, they’ll always be intimidating! But not quite as terrifying anymore.”
Yukiko tipped her glass in another small salute. “Doesn’t change the fact that you held it together long enough to make it happen. What’d you make for them?”
“Pumpkin hummus flatbread pizza with a spinach salad garnish.” Elenia looked proud of the slightly unusual combination.
Lia piped up, sounding impressed, “Very festive.”
Elenia looked a little embarrassed again. “I may have read that Glen Riley adores pumpkin spice everything. Seemed like a way to score a few extra points.”
Sasha grinned. “There’s our girl. Research wins the day!”
Yukiko objected, “Nothing wrong with research! Saved my butt yesterday when my bosses tried to give a huge chunk of change to this one group selling what amounted to magic beans without a shred of proof the technology could produce the bean-stalk.” She angled her glass across the table back at Sasha. “What about that text you sent last night about finishing off an important segment? You said it was being picked up by a few more outlets?”
Sasha glowed. “The human-interest angle caught on. A few of the networks picked it up for the morning news cycle, and I think it will play over the 24-hour news channels for today. Maybe into tomorrow. Not to mention the PGA changed their own coverage to include a few mentions of the underdogs who were nipping at the heels of some of the pros, ‘inspired by the chance to do some good’.” She spoke the last words as a quote from her work, obviously proud of her choice in phrasing.
Lia teased her a little, “That’s why I didn’t see you at the play, hmm? I mean, Elenia had the best excuse. And Yukiko’s bosses might have spent a hundred billion dollars or something ridiculous if she wasn’t there to talk them down. But making an inspiring story witnessed by millions? That’s the best you got?” The rest of them had told her in advance they couldn’t make it; only Sasha had actually taken tickets and seemed committed.
Sasha answered with a soft moan of sympathy and plea for forgiveness. “Ohh, I’m sorry. I really am. The whole thing was crazy, but I had to take the chance. I swear I’ll see the play three times this week to make up for it!”
“Uh huh. Sure, you will.” Lia grinned. “You’re talking like I don’t know your modus operandi. Promise me to go once, and I’ll buy it.” She stuck her tongue out. “Just like you’ll be buying your own tickets this time around.” She paused a little, then said, “Besides, I’m not going to make you say you’re sorry too much. Because, I sort of went ahead and… umm… asked a guy to come with me to our Thanksgiving dinner tonight.”
Their mouths fell open as one.
Elenia managed to speak first. “What? Who?”
Yukiko blurted out a second behind, “When did you have a chance to meet someone? You’ve been too busy to properly shop for groceries!”
Lia smirked. “Well, I did consider that cute cashier at Hugo’s, but he kept pestering me to get off my phone and pay him proper attention… something about paying for my purchases. So clingy!”
Laughing at her sarcasm, Sasha guessed, “This can’t have been going on that long. You haven’t mentioned him to us! What’s his name?”
“Oh no!” Lia shook her head vigorously. “We’re not playing that game. I’m not letting you hunt him down over social media and judge him halfway to Hell before you even meet him. I met him last night. He’s handsome, he’s kinda funny, and he saved my cute butt when the tech systems crashed. That’s all you need to know. I’m going to bring him around, you’re going to approve of him, and then I’m going to haul him away to do unspeakable things to him for a few hours with a clear conscience. We’ll see where it goes from there.”
The others all laughed and relented a little.
Sasha shrugged, “Shouldn’t be too weird. You won’t be the only one alone. I assumed Yukiko would be bringing Paul.”
Yukiko gave a soft snort. “Umm, no. We’re over.”
Once more, there was a round of surprise around the table. “Since when?”
Yukiko’s anger flared a little more with the memory. “The prick was stealing from me! What’s worse is that he didn’t even need to be! His father is a circuit court judge, and his mother is on the board of directors for Tailspin mobile tech. They cut him off and told him he would be frozen out unless he proved he was taking life seriously.”
Sasha said, “Ahh! That’s how you two met. I wondered why your father made that introduction.”
Yukiko nodded. “Yeah. He was doing a favor for Paul’s father. To be fair to my Dad, Paul looks good on paper. But he was slipping things onto my credit card without me knowing. I ended things right there.”
Reaching out to squeeze her hand in sympathy, Elenia said, “I can’t believe you had to work after that. I’d be wound so tightly; I think I’d snap.”
Normally bold and brash, Yukiko’s smile grew a little sly and mischievous. “Oh, I was ready to scream. Fortunately, I had a little help with that. See, it was this department store employee who saw it happening and tipped me off.”
“That’s nice!”
“I thought so. So, umm, I sort of took him aside and showed him what I was going to show to Paul last night. Remember I mentioned that last night was supposed to be the night?”
Sasha gasped, “You mean the purple thing? You showed that to a stranger?”
“Mmm hmm.”
Lia giggled hysterically. “Holy crap! What’d he do?”
Yukiko shrugged. “He kissed me.”
Elenia smiled. “That’s sweet.”
Yukiko grew a saucy grin. “Down there.” She pointed under the table.
That drew out a proper round of shocked gasps.
Lia’s gasp ended in a titillated grin. “You’ve never been that naughty! What got into you?”
Yukiko searched for the right words. “I have no idea. It just happened. Paul was such a jerk, and this guy was open and honest and sweet. Nice guys finish last, right? I figured we both deserved a treat.”
“What about after?” Sasha nudged her for more details.
“After? Oh, well, we slipped out of there.”
Sasha held her up. “Hold on a minute. It stopped there? Orgasm score: you one, him zero, and he was cool with that?”
Yukiko smiled. “Mmm hmm.”
There was a long pause.
Elenia broke the silence. “You may have found a mythical creature.”
Yukiko snickered. “Well, he’s real enough. Sasha’s going to meet him soon enough. He’s agreed to talk about the thefts going at his store. He got fired over it. That means the management there is protecting the staff who were in on the stealing. I said I would mention it to you. Maybe see if you were interested in the story.”
Sasha switched out of her naughty-thoughts mode and back to her reporter mentality. “Hmm, I’m not sure that’s enough to bite on. It really depends. If it was only a couple of crooked managers and salespeople, no-one is going to care. If it is a condoned practice in all Sally North stores? That might fly. But tell you what, if I start asking around, I guarantee you that anyone caught with their hand in the cookie jar are going to get fired. Either honestly, or because the company will make them into scapegoats.”
Yukiko smiled coldly. “I think I’m fine with that.”
Sasha nodded. “Alright, then. Let me know how I can get in touch with this guy, and I’ll take his call.”
“He’s calling me Tuesday. I’l
l connect you two then.” She gave a huge exhale. “I swore I wasn’t going to bring this up. If Lia hadn’t started talking about her new guy, I could have kept this under wraps until after the weekend. I’m still forgetting about Paul, so let’s drop this until we need to think about the story.”
Sasha grinned again. “And then I get to meet your unicorn.”
Lia giggled. “I honestly thought I was going to be the one you would all be mocking for having jumped too fast. I mean, I asked a guy to Thanksgiving dinner after knowing him for all of twenty minutes. But I have to admit, Yukiko. You win.”
Elenia was being awfully quiet. But as the others unveiled their wicked fun, she injected, “Ahh, maybe not.”
Sasha tried to imagine what she meant. Unable to fathom, she asked with a joke in her voice, “Did you sleep with one of the judges?”
Elenia rolled her eyes. “Of course not!” With a sigh, she recounted the tale of the early morning escapade in the store and the efforts that a random stranger had gone through to acquire her a food processor. “He even helped me carry it to the car.”
Yukiko smiled. “And fueled that obsessive-compulsive disorder of yours.”
“Above and beyond the call of duty, I’d say. He might have changed my life.”
“You asked him out?”
“No. I mean, I’m about to head into this reality show. If I win, I could be given a chance to be a sous-chef at one of the best restaurants in the country. I couldn’t get mixed up in that sort of thing.” She shrugged, then smiled. “But he kept staring at my lips.”
Yukiko offered a kind smile. “There’s a reason for that. They’re hot.”
“Thanks, ‘Kiko. I love you, too. Well, I figured I’d help out his fixation a little.”
Sasha caught on. “In your car?”
Elenia nodded guiltily.
Lia plucked a piece of watermelon and chewed thoughtfully. “Wow, this is a close call. Which of you was, in fact, the sluttiest yesterday?”
Sasha cut her off, “Not so fast, ‘Ms. Thinking About Sleeping with a Random Guy After Twenty Minutes’. If we extend this contest to the end of the weekend, you might win the whole thing.”
Lia decided sticking out her tongue wasn’t too childish and a totally valid response. “Once you meet him, you’ll understand. The technical word for him is ‘yummy’.”
Elenia laughed. “So was my guy.” That earned a few groans at her double entendre. She vaulted away from the naughty talk to focus more on the dinner she intended making. “OK, enough of all that. We’ve made our bid for becoming the most disreputable women in the city. Let’s talk dinner party. I’ll have the food on the table at 6:30. Everyone be there by then, alright?”
Sasha tossed her a salute. “Yes, Ma’am.”
Yukiko added, “I made sure Carlo and Jane had the new timing. Jen and Brad might be a little late, depending on how the trains are running.”
Lia said, “I spoke with my cousin. She’s bringing her sister as well. Can they show up before me? That won’t be too awkward, will it?”
Elenia smiled easily. “I’ve met Janella before. We get along. I’m sure I can entertain her until this new man of yours manages to drag you there.”
“I’ll tell her not to cause any trouble.”
“And I’ll make sure she has an excellent place to lie in wait to ambush your new friend.”
Lia frowned. “Thanks… I think?” She cleared her concern with a small shake of her head. “Need us to bring anything?”
It was Elenia’s turn to shake her head. “Nope! I’ve got everything under control. Just show up! We need to do this. With Yukiko making an impression, she might get that promotion sooner than expected. Lia’s got her play. Sasha’s going to be winging around the country as an investigative reporter or something. And I’ve got the show and who knows where that will lead? This might be the last chance we have to hang out together until Christmas. So, show up! No excuses! Hang up your phones and put them on silent. You know the drill.”
Solemn promises were passed around the table. Mimosas were raised to seal the bargain. They dug back into their wonderful brunch, knowing all the while that it was only going to be the second-best meal that they would eat that day.
Chapter 7:
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
By the time he was pulling his car into the underground parking of Lia’s friend’s apartment, Rick was beginning to believe it should be patently illegal to wear dresses like Lia’s while sitting in the passenger seat of a car. Her exquisite legs extended out from under the dark-crimson fabric, visible from the thighs down without a stitch of fabric in the way. The streets lights made her rosewood skin look polished, shimmering under the flashes of light as they drove by.
He was fairly certain Lia had noticed his attention, because she took great delight in crossing and uncrossing her legs at frequent intervals. Alluring? Yes. Distracting? Oh, more than that. Flat out deadly. He did his best to keep his eyes on the road and his hands on the wheel. But his car was a standard. Every time he reached for the gear-shift, he felt like he was reaching for her thigh instead.
Rick was probably imagining it, but he swore she was licking her lips and emitting soft sighs of her own each time he made that motion… then, exhaling softly in disappointment when he didn’t follow through.
Totally your imagination, Rick. Keep it together. Remember: first date. She looks like a walking sexual fantasy, but… first date. Cool it.
Mercifully, the ride was at an end. He found the visitor parking, slid into the stall, and killed the engine. “Your chariot has arrived, my good lady.”
If he thought a little old-fashioned speak was going to throw her, he didn’t know her very well. And, well… he didn’t know her very well. So that made sense. Lia merely smiled, and answered, “So it has. Come, good Sir, shall we away?”
He should have expected that from a writer. He wasn’t going to out-clever her in word play, that was for sure. Rick popped out of the car, then circled to the other side to hold the door for her. In this case, it wasn’t only an empty gesture of chivalry. He drove a fairly low-slung sport-edition sedan; nothing astonishing like a Lexus or a BMW, but with enough pep to get his blood racing. Climbing out of the low leather seats might be a challenge for Lia to do without flashing the world from inside her dress, so Rick politely gave her the support she needed to slide out gracefully. He guessed that might be where the tradition had started from in the first place: helping women preserve their dignity while in sexy dresses!
Once she had got herself out, Rick closed the door and offered his arm. What the hell. We started with chivalry. Might as well go with the pattern and see if she likes it. Lia linked her arm through his with a pleasant smile, and they walked off in step.
Lia had clearly been here before. She had the code to let them in without need for a buzzer or an intercom. They walked across the lower lobby and into the elevator, where Lia pushed the button for the seventh floor.
As they started to move, Rick commented, “Nice building. Looks modern.”
Lia nodded, leaning back against the railing, doing her best to look casually enticing. “It’s common in this part of town. Feels like it’s trying to impress everyone with how chic and sophisticated it all is. Fortunately, the building designers didn’t make everything tiny and pretend we have to live in small cupboards as if we lived in Manhattan. The apartments are open concept, lots of windows, and plenty of space. Good for entertaining.”
Rick asked, “Even a one-bedroom place? You said your friend lived alone, didn’t you?”
Lia confirmed, “She does. But she bought a three-bedroom condo.”
“Oh? Why? Did she expect roommates?”
Lia gave a soft laugh. “Oh, no. I think she would drive a roommate crazy pretty fast. She’s very particular. Very orderly. We love her to death, but she can try the patience of a saint.” She went on, “She converted one of the bedrooms to a kitchen annex. I told you she loves to cook, right? S
he opened a second passageway to link the kitchen to one of the bedrooms, then put all the fridges, freezers, storage cabinets and pantries in that room so she could double up on space for chopping area, ovens and all that jazz in the main kitchen. The third room she keeps as a crash pad for us. We’re here for parties and events more than any of our places.”
Rick nodded. “I get that. I fill that void for my own circle of friends.”
Lia grinned softly. “Of course, you do.”
“I fear you might be getting something of a ‘white knight’ impression of me. I am capable of being less than strictly, squeaky clean you know.”
Lia pushed off the railing as the elevator binged their arrival. She leaned against him a little, allowing him to feel the warmth of her body through his light-silk, black dress shirt. “I’m counting on it,” she said in a throaty purr. Flickering a small, suggestive grin his way, Lia wandered off through the doors.
They nearly closed on Rick before he remembered he had to move his feet to keep up. First date, Rick. Remember. First date. She’s teasing. Lots of fun, ending with a cold, cold shower once he got home. Don’t expect any more.
They came to the door and found it unlocked and resting on the door jam, open so that a stream of guests could arrive without needing to answer it every ten seconds. Security inside the locked-down building clearly wasn’t much of an issue, at least not for a gathering like this.
Inside the door, there was a nice entryway with a marble-tile floor and a closet large enough to hold a small army’s worth of coats. Rick noticed their host’s personal items filled about half the space, including a bunch of black scarves for when the weather turned cold. They caught his eye mostly because of the ‘Sally North’ tags on them. Small world, he laughed inside.
Lia showed no hesitation about walking in without an invitation. She called out, “Evening!”
An answer came from the kitchen, “Come on in! Janelle and Klara are both here.”