“Sushi, I want sushi,” Alex answered the dinner question for her when the movie was over.
“What no pizza?” she grinned at him.
“No, pizza is for after game. Can get good Sushi in Baltimore?”
“Of course. You can get anything in Baltimore.”
“’No, you cannot. What about Borscht? You can only get really good Borscht from a real Russian.”
“Yuk, aren’t there beets in Borscht? Ewww!”
His shocked look on his face made her burst out laughing.
“If I made it for you, you like.”
“You would cook for me?” she asked her eyes widening.
“Maybe. If you are lucky and a good girl,” he said with mischief in his eyes.
“Define ‘good’,” she asked, but he would only smile. She grabbed her Penguins jacket from the rack by the door as they went outside. He stopped short, glancing back at her.
“You not wear THAT!”
“Why not? It’s chilly out,” she teased him.
“I not go out in public with you in THAT.”
“Really? Because this is what I’m wearing. You knew I was a Pens fan when you came over. This is who I am. If you want sushi with me, you better get in the car.” He snorted through his nose and mumbled something in Russian. It was probably better that she didn’t know what he said. The tone of it didn’t seem very friendly. He was still grumbling when he started the engine.
“You need new clothes. I buy you new jacket.” He pouted all the way to the Wild Sushi and she regretted antagonizing him so much. Wild Sushi had a bar stretched out across the far wall. All the food was on display. It was clean and modern with light oak veneered tables and chairs and white floors, walls and counter tops. There was a large cream colored modern art piece above the bar that evoked feelings on the sea with its raised waves splashed horizontally across it. There were large dark brown vases with tall reeds in them scattered about the room. She looked about her at what other people were eating. She’d never had sushi before, but it certainly looked bright and colorful against the white dishes.
“What you like?” Alex asked her.
“I don’t know. I’ve never had sushi before.” He raised his eyebrows at her.
“Better get a variety then.” He ordered several items that meant absolutely nothing to her and the waiter returned quickly with Mango Ice Tea. He was grinning at her like he knew some secret that she didn’t.
“What?”
“You in for surprise,” he said and took her hand in his. They were interrupted by a couple of fans. They were very nice and Alex signed an autograph for them. They wished him luck in the game tomorrow.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized.
“Why? They were nice. You were very sweet to them.”
“It will happen a lot.”
“I know.” Even then, there were two girls in the corner who had spotted him. They couldn’t be more than 18 and were very cute and very blonde. It was really the first time Sophie ever thought about the fact that she was older than Alex. It was only four years, but she didn’t even know if he realized it. They sauntered over and shamelessly flirted with Alex while he gave them his autograph. They barely gave Sophie a second look. Alex flashed them his brilliant smile and looked over at Sophie. He motioned to her and introduced her.
“This my girlfriend, Sophia.” Sophie was shocked. She couldn’t believe he’d introduced her that way. The two girls looked in her direction, smiled and said a quick hello before skulking off back to their table. She couldn’t keep from grinning to herself.
“Alex, you just crushed those poor girls,” she chastised him, hiding a grin.
“What was I supposed to say?” She really didn’t have an answer for him, luckily the food arrived. There were five dishes with an incredible assortment of not so good looking things. Sophie glanced at him skeptically.
“Try this first. It a California roll. You like this. It tame.”
“Tame, huh? You think I need tame? I’m here with you, aren’t I?”
“I want you to like first. Then we have adventure.”
She tried the roll. It was very good. It had crab, cucumber and avocado. She liked it very much. Next he had her try what he called Tempura Calamari. She liked Calamari at seafood restaurants. She liked this one too. It was very light and surprisingly sweet and hot at the same time. Alex said that was because of the Thai sweet chili sauce. Then he had her try something else, but wouldn’t tell her what it was called. It was salty, with avocado and an odd taste that she couldn’t identify.
“It called Dancing Eel roll,” he said, his eyes sparkling.
Sophie nearly choked. It took all her will-power to swallow what was in her mouth.
“That’s gross,” she choked. He laughed at her.
“Okay, this one better. Promise,” he added as she looked him in doubt. It was shrimp tempura with asparagus and was topped with salmon and avocado. He said it was a Dragon roll. It was very good. He had regained her trust. Finally, she tried the Coconut Shrimp. She really enjoyed that as well. Alex insisted that she had to try the hot Sake before they left. It was so strong, she actually had to exhale the fumes. She enjoyed it though. She was quite happy with her new adventure.
She was feeling very relaxed when they got home. She walked into the living room to sit on the couch and stubbed her toe on the coffee table.
“Ouch! I hate it when I do that!” she exclaimed, sitting down on the couch and grabbing her foot. Alex sat next to her and took her foot in his hands. He rubbed her toe and the ball of her foot. It felt good. His hands were warm and he rubbed gently, but firmly. The friction between their skin was relaxing her even more.
“Better?” he asked softly.
“Um, hm,” she mumbled, closing her eyes.
He smiled and moved up her ankle to her lower calf. He grabbed the lotion that she kept on the side table and rubbed it over her leg up to the knee and then to the other and back down to her feet again. He took his time, massaging and kneading her muscles. She whimpered in approval. He started massaging her lower thigh. She was feeling very relaxed and a little excited at the same time. Suddenly, he stopped. She opened her eyes and saw him sit back against the couch. She sat up and snuggled into him. He wrapped his arm around her neck and kissed her forehead.
“Game tomorrow. Time to go?” she asked.
“I am going nowhere,” he said and gave her a long, deep kiss that left her dizzy.
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