Mystery Of You (Pub 5)

22 - Parents

Ian waited until they were on the train to touch her. When she stepped onto the sidewalk smiling, he had a powerful urge to kiss her right there. With only standing room, he held her steady with one hand on her hip and his other hand grasping the overhead pull. With his legs spread, he balanced better and held her against him. Her shampoo drowned out the smell of the train, a combination of body odor, perfumes, garlic and a hint of curry. Ainsley had led him to his regular commute, so when they switched trains at Government Center, the outbound train was packed.

She whispered. "Sometimes the red line is less crowded."

He smiled. "Next time we'll go your way."

She chuckled. It shouldn't feel so good to be with her after a week. Once on the sidewalk, they discussed dinner.

Ainsley said, "I'll cook tonight."

Ian smiled. "I'll take you out tomorrow night."

"Like a date?"

He laughed. "It's obvious." He started to say more, but sucked his words back. He needed to bring it up. They had agreed to be honest, so he would lay it out. "Um, are. Are you still doing the online stuff?"

Ainsley stopped walking. He turned to face her slightly smiling face. "Seriously? Why would I want to continue that torture when I can get wet with you?"

He smiled as relief spread. "Wet and dirty."

"But seriously, this is my first attempt at dating in my thirties, so I don't know if dating is even the right word. Even in my twenties, I never slept with more than one guy. Aside from obvious health reasons, it's not right. So no more swiping right for me as long as we're getting..."

"I get it."

"Like the puddle. I haven't bothered, but I'll mute my profile."

Ian nodded. He couldn't ask her to take it down. He reached up and scratched his neck. No, he definitely couldn't ask that.

When they reached their building, they went in opposite directions. He went to feed Felix, change his clothes, and do his exercises which only took about fifteen minutes.

When he entered her small apartment, it smelled of garlic. She looked busy mixing something in a small bowl.

"Smells good. What are you making?"

She smiled. "My famous shrimp tacos. You can assemble your own."

In front of him, she had chopped tomatoes, floured tortillas, fresh snipped green onions, and a cut avocado. She put down the bowl with a creamy mixture. "My special sauce."

He let her go first and followed. Ian was never a picky eater. Growing up in New York City, he had been exposed to lots of different ethic foods. In his experience, shrimp or fish tacos came from restaurants, and were not something made at home. He folded the small tortilla with the tidbits inside and bit into it. Some of the sauce dripped onto his hand, but he didn't care.

"Delicious." The sauce was special. "I'm impressed." He almost joked about it being too bad that neither liked marriage. David teased about marrying Rose for her cooking skills, Ian was skeptical since Rose worked so much. "What else can you cook?"

"I just started cooking the past two years, so I can muddle through. This is my signature dish, but I can change it up with chicken too."

"Next week." He winked.

"What can you make?"

He paused. "You experienced my pasta."

"It was good. Hey, did you ever meet with HR?"