Under The Mistletoe

Part 25

Dinner

In my line of work, I am not often star-struck, but that threw me for a loop. I had met Kevin, but I had been prepared for that. I just looked at Avi as he watched Matt and Scott leave. "I uhm...I uhh." Real good Lizette, learn how to form words. I instinctively reached for his hand. "Not the friends I thought I was meeting."

"Me neither." I smiled and took a deep breath. "Shams was that you?"

"Nah, he just showed up. I told him you were coming and he insisted on waiting for you." Sham's smile was something else. Ben was laughing so hard I thought he was going to fall out of his chair and Harm failed just as miserably at hiding his amusement. "So," Shams looked at the others to sober them. There were exactly two spaces next to each other open at the table. Both had ice waters, one had iced tea. "I didn't know what to order you to drink, Lizzie, but I'll know next time." He stole Lizzie's hand from me and my startled expression. "Oh God," he covered his mouth.

I let Shams take my hand and he pulled me to the empty seat designated for me. I was suddenly very shy. I looked at Avi, entirely unsure of what to say or who to address. "Thank you. Iced tea would have worked for me or root beer." I winked at him and settled in my seat. I looked around at the other faces and smiled. "Hi, I'm Lizette or Lizzie for short."

I sat down. "This is Ben, you know who he is. This is Harm. We hang out and this is Shams." I laughed at him as relief washed over his face.

"I hoped I had heard you right. I guess I did." He turned to Lizzie. "Nice to meet you. Where are you from?" Everyone offered Lizzie a hand and a smile. Ben greeted her in Hebrew.

I shook everyone's hand and turned my attention back to Shams. "I have been here for the last 10 years give or take, but I am originally from a suburb outside of Chicago." I thanked Ben back in Hebrew.

I smiled when Ben nodded. Our waiter arrived and we ordered. We had a great time hanging out and talking with my friends. There was lots of laughter, especially when I got ratted out and the guys started telling stories on me. It became apparent that she spent a lot of time at my place, but no one seemed to bat an eye. Lunch was wonderful and fun. I was sad when it was over and we had to go separate ways. "Avi," Ben questioned. "You have your own Menorah now don't you?"

"Yes."

"Come over before Hanukkah ends, bring Lizzie. Let's light a candle together. Rob is coming tomorrow. We can look at applications while you are there. There's plenty to keep you both busy. How about dinner tomorrow night?" I looked at Lizzie. I was down, the question was, was she?

I took Avi's lead. "That sounds nice. I would really like that."

"Okay. Tomorrow after lunch then?"

"Yup."

"See you then. And Ben?"

"Please. No more surprises."

"I make no promises."

We hugged and parted ways. I walked happily beside Lizzie out to our cars. It was still early afternoon and I still needed to work on the Aca Applications.

He walked me to my car. I sipped my arms around his neck. "That was so much fun. Would you mind if I ran a few more errands?"

"No. I'll be home."

I looked around and kissed him softly. "Okay. I'll be home before sundown. I love you."

"I love you too." We went our separate ways from there. I went home and ordered dinner then set about the Aca auditions with renewed vigor.

I made a few stops. One was to pick up some mistletoe and I found some strung with blue and silver ribbon. I made my way home and got there before the sunset. I got all of my stuff in the house and slipped into a gray t-shirt and black sweatpants, leaving on my bra, panties, and knee socks. I sat down next to him on the couch and smiled.

"Hi!" I finished the video audition I was watching, made my comments, then turned to kiss her. "How was your day?" I put my computer up.

"Hmmm. Not bad. I got some things I needed and some things I didn't. Did you get a lot of auditions watched?" I climbed into his lap.

"Hmmm, well. I got quite a few done." I put my hands on her hips as her arms circle around my neck. "Dinner will be here soon and it's almost sundown. In an hour."

"In that case." I leaned in to kiss him. Softly at first, but I let it devolve into something wild and a little crazy. I tugged on his hair and rocked my hips into his.

While I should have been much more specific on the timing of the dinner I had ordered, I simply could no longer be bothered to care. I put my hands in her hair and pulled it as she kissed me like there was no tomorrow. I locked us in a devilishly strong and much-needed kiss and let my hips roll up to meet hers. It felt wild and crazy and perfectly out of control. Breathing became an option and delirium set in. When the doorbell rang I growled. Loosened my hold and closed the kiss only to give her a soft peck on the lips. "That would be dinner," I heaved. "Let me-- Oh, you better get that. I'm not decent at the moment."

I giggled and climbed off of his lap to get the door. I signed the slip and left a tip and took the food to the kitchen. "What are we having?"

"A very good meal," I said as I moved to meet her in the kitchen. "Steak. Baked potato, Grilled asparagus. Lava cake." I grabbed the plates down and gathered the silverware. "And a very nice red wine."

"Mmm. Just like our first date." I grabbed two wine glasses out of the cupboard and took them to the table.

"That was the best night."

"It was a good one. Hopefully, we get a little further tonight. Than we did that night." The food smelled so good. I waited patiently while he served us.

"Hopefully." I looked up without raising my head and grinned at her. "Menorah after dinner. Then I want to give you a bath."

I loved that grin of his. "Okay." I dug into my meal. It was so good. "Thank you for this."

"Thank you." I smiled and set about eating. Smiling often but too busy eating to talk. When the chance presented itself I tried. "What all did you do today?"

"I picked up some things from my place, I went to a few stores, I finished shopping for my family, got some new sweaters and leggings. Oh! And I got this." I jumped up and ran to the bedroom. I brought back the bag with the mistletoe in it and handed it to him.

"Ooo. Pretty. Now, where are we gonna hang that?"

"I thought I would leave that up to you."

"I suppose over ou-- the bed would be a bad idea." The thought, both of them seriously crossed my mind. "I know just the place. I'll hang it while you are enjoying your bath."

"Okay. I love you." I returned my attention back to my plate. "Where is this from?"

I just smiled that knowing smile. "It's really good huh?"

"It really is." I sipped my wine. "My steak is perfect."

"Good." I finished my dinner and my wine and put the dessert in the microwave to heat it up. While it was heating a grabbed the vanilla ice cream out of the freezer. I must have been doing a good job of doing special things for her every now and then because she had yet to ask me what I was apologizing for. It was a rather enjoyable change of pace. I looked at her and watched her eat for a little while. For once I was done before she was, but then again. I saved half my steak and potato for the morning or a 3 am bite, depending on how the rest of the evening went. The sun was getting closer to setting. We needed to finish eating.

I noticed him watching me eat and I smelled the chocolate cake. I saved half of my dinner and put it in the fridge. I drained my glass of wine and smiled. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"You put up with me. You deserve a gold medal for that. Ready for dessert? We can save some of that for later. You will be hungry."

I raised an eyebrow at his last comment. "Yes please." I reached for the bottle of wine and refilled our glasses. I loved watching him move around the kitchen. It was a beautiful dance really. He soon returned to the table with one plate of chocolate lava cake with ice cream on top and two spoons.