With Elissa coming over for dinner, Tommy needs to get his act together after the run in with Tamika and Madame Rose Li. Will he let those events spoil his night? Read on and see.
Scene setting : Tommy’s apartment – Gantz Series.
Written with VunG.
Razorbackwriter:
Tommy’s apartment
6.30pm
The basket that had been left at his front door was now sitting on a lounge room chair, while Tommy was busy in the kitchen. He had made a promise to Elissa that he would cook for her that eve, and it was a promise that he had no intention of breaking. Tommy had decided on a family favorite. Thai green prawn curry with jasmine rice and condiments. One thing about Tommy was, he did keep a lot of fresh food on hand, being that his diet required it – that and he was passionate about cooking; something that had been passed down from his own Mother.
The kitchen now gave off a heavenly smell, and with the curry simmering nicely, Tommy took the chance to go and grab a quick shower and freshen up before his dinner date. Passing the large mirror just above a book case, he glanced at it. It was easy to see the worry lines now on his forehead. Frank still hadn’t called and the weight of guilt was starting to fall heavily on his shoulders. That….and the incident with Tamika out in the hall. Was he wrong to tell her the truth about his relationship with Elissa? Tommy had always been so non committal when it came to relationships, though Tamika had a way of worming into his life and his apartment at times. He knew he was going to have to try and get his key back off her at some point. Sooner, rather than later.
Before getting in the shower, Tommy did try Frank’s phone again. It simply rang out. Tommy let out an exasperated sigh. With what Madame Rose said, still fresh in his mind, he knew that something was definitely up. But what could he do? Everything had pretty much centered around Frank for the past week or so. Was Tommy being selfish, to just want to have one night not having to worry about the detective? Tossing the phone on the bed, Tommy headed into the bathroom, slowly stripping off as he did so. He left a trail of clothes that led up to the shower cubicle, where he could now be seen behind the opaque glass pane. The hot jets soothed his body, and soon he was busy scrubbing himself down, and then washing his hair. Elissa would be arriving at any moment, and he wanted everything to be just perfect.
Once out of the shower and patted down, he dressed in a simple grey t shirt and jeans. All formality and the usual suits going out the window. He even was padding around barefoot. This was his way of relaxing. Passing the red basket one more time, Tommy rolled his eyes, before picking out the bottle of champagne and taking it to the fridge. Might as well chill it. What could it hurt?
~RB~
VunG: Elissa kept forgetting that Tommy had a bit of money on him–of course he would, he was a reporter. He might not be a business tycoon, but he was probably doing better than some, and this was a nice apartment complex. Taking a deep breath as she drove up to one of the parking spots, she made sure to give herself a nice look in the mirror, making sure she looked alright. Besides putting on the dress and some simple flip flops to go with them, she hadn’t done a whole heck of a lot. She’d brushed her hair and made sure everything was neat, had used a little make up to touch up blemishes but nothing that anyone would ever notice. She wasn’t a girly girl that really made herself up, as it was this probably a bit more than usual, but she wanted to look good for him, especially since he was going through all this effort. It wasn’t like she was uncomfortable in this either–while it may have looked nice, really it was just as comfortable as anything else she owned, perhaps more so in some regards. If he just wanted to relax and have a nice casual date, she was more than happy with that… again, she just wanted to make their first proper date a good one and look at least a little more proper than ‘I was just shot, can you tell?’
A check at the front desk for room number and an elevator ride later and she was at Tommy’s door, checking herself and making sure that she was all set. Satisfied, she gave a ‘shave and a haircut’ knock and waited for him at the front, hand on her hip just for the sake of theatrics. Oh shoot… had she put on deodorant? Bugger…
Razorbackwriter: Tommy was just about to enter the kitchen to give the curry sauce a stir, when he heard the knocking at the door. A quick check of the time, and sure enough, Elissa was right on time. Tommy wondered if she had managed to come along by herself, and not had to bring the fluffy Princess. Striding over to the front door, he undid the two locks and swung it open, only to see his girl standing there with her hand on her hip – a real sexy pose. Tommy’s eye cast up and down to take in what she was wearing. She looked fantastic, but then again she looked just as good without clothes. Tommy found himself smiling freely, and took a step back to allow her to come in.
“Hope you’re hungry.” His voice had a richness to it. Standing there in his simple t shirt and jeans, it looked a bit strange compared to the backdrop of his apartment, which was almost clinical. It was a large open space, vast windows that showed the city skyline, and modern furnishings that would have cost a bundle. There was expensive art pieces on the walls, but in one corner, there were a series of black and white photographs of Tommy and his brother. They were taken by one of the paper’s top photographers on top of one of the city’s buildings. You could see the likeness and playful attitude between the two young men. Both athletic looking. Model material with natural features that just caught your eyes and you couldn’t look away.
When Elissa passed through the door, Tommy would close it, being careful to lock it. He gave the door a pat and turned on his heel as he knew that Elissa would probably be checking out his place.
After the rotten day he had had, and of course the drama when he entered his building, Tommy wanted to relax and just enjoy being with Elissa. To have her to himself again.
“Would you like a tour?”
~RB~
VunG: Elissa was more than happy to see the look on Tommy’s face as he caught how she looked, smiling back just as freely as she looked him over. Apparently he was in a less formal mindset, but that said he still looked great in that shirt… not that he needed clothing to look good, but hey. As he stepped back, she would gladly follow him in, responding to his comment with a grin and a nod. Almost immediately she was struck by the smell of what he was cooking. She couldn’t pick up what everything was, she could cook but she wasn’t a mistress of the trade, but she knew the scents of shrimp and curry when she caught them. Good choices, though she hadn’t had the two combined. Would be interesting.
Of course, that took second place to his room. As she walked in she couldn’t help but marvel at just how nice the place looked. She had been expecting this to be a nice place, but dang! This was a lovely home, from the furnishings to the paintings. She especially liked the view–she was so used to being stuck way down low; it was rare that she got the chance to look out onto the skyline like this. Eventually she would catch the romantic place-setting for their dinner, and she’d smirk at the sight… he really was pulling out all the stops for her wasn’t he? It would be nice to be able to relax again. To get away from the madness of work, to forget about this idiocy with the ‘alien’, to forget that they had been in a firefight just yesterday… just to have some nice time between the two of them. Was that so much to ask? Was that too selfish?
Letting out a soft, content sigh, she would soon hear his question and happily turn to him and nod emphatically to him, before pausing, putting her finger up, going to the front and kicking her ‘shoes’ off and setting her purse down. ~Now, I would,~ she said, blushing a little.
Razorbackwriter: “My mother always said that girls love a guy that can cook. So, I took my lessons from her.” Tommy was now feeling much more relaxed that Elissa was here. He enjoyed watching her walk into the apartment, and then stop to take it all in. It was much bigger than her place of course, and he hoped that it didn’t overwhelm her. Tommy didn’t exactly go into detail how much he was worth, but it was safe to say that he could afford the nicer things in life. Watching Elissa turn and show that radiant smile of hers was reward enough. He glanced down as she kicked off her shoes and set down her purse. She was more than ready for the tour.
Moving to her side, he took her hand in his and led her slowly through the spacious lounge area and to the right where his room was just off the side. They walked through the open doorway to view a large king size bed, adorned in a silver grey and black doona with matching cushions and pillow rolls. The room looked like it had been in Vogue, everything was immaculate, which didn’t match the way Tommy had been at her place. He must have a house keeper. In fact, he did. She also took care of the shopping, though Tamika had been keen to cook for Tommy on many occasions using her own supplies. A large walk in robe, that any New York girl would die for was to the right of the bed, then that went through to his ensuite. A shower cubicle large enough for four people, with a marble and white vanity and loo. Mirrors were everywhere and Hollywood lighting was around the mirrors over the vanity. It was glamorous….for a guy.
“The bed is not normally so neat.” Tommy squeezed Elissa’s hand as he said this. Well, he hadn’t been in his own bed for a few nights now. Thanks to…Frank and of course Elissa. That part he didn’t mind at all. Tommy then said off the cuff “It would look a lot better with you in it.” There was that cheeky Tommy resurfacing.
Bringing Elissa back out to the main open area, he pointed out his office, and to the right of that was the guest room. He had it set up for when his Mother came to the city so it had a woman’t touch. Not at all masculine. The office walls were lined with all sorts of sporting memorabilia, and there was a treadmill with large flat screen tv on the wall. A set of weights, and rolled up yoga mat was leaning against the wall. Seeing this side of Tommy, and how he lived might intrigue Elissa, or she could understand him a little more.
The lounge area showed an eight seater leather lounge that was in an L shape, and faced a monstrous entertainment system with a large wall mounted TV. A great place to catch those late night movies. It was all very inviting.
~RB~
VunG: Well, Tommy’s mom wasn’t wrong about the cooking thing, at least for Elissa. It was always a wonderful treat when one came home to find a wonderful meal waiting for them–granted that she also did the same, but she always preferred relationships that were a give and take. As for the home, she wasn’t quite what one would call overwhelmed–she’d been in nice places like this, though not as a date or guest or anything like that. That said, it was still impressive, and it informed her that, besides being a wonderful guy who was quirky, intelligent, great looking, and amazing in bed, he clearly had a bank account to lean on. Why not tell her he was the heir to a throne while you were at it.
When they got to the bedroom, she was mostly just surprised by how large it was; the details were impressive, but getting this much space in New York was like trying to get the golden egg laying goose to lay again after you’d dissected it and stitched it back together with googly eyes. The walk in robe probably didn’t impress Elissa as much as it would have most New York women, but she was still surprised by it–again, thanks to the size. And then there was the bathroom, and in her head she was already promising herself that they would go in there sometime soon. Honestly, she didn’t even question if it was femmy or not; she was a woman who shot bank robbers for a living, she was pretty certain that a guy who liked feeling nice wasn’t going to get any stranger looks.
As he first introduced the bed properly, she would roll her eyes at the ‘not so neat’ comment, assuming that the reason for that was that he was usually a bit of a lazy slob. A place this large, you NEEDED a house maid to look after it–either that or spend a LOT of time yourself. Then, just as she was running her hand over the fabric, wondering what it was like (quite nice, as the case might be), she would look up at his comment, immediately returning his cheeky grin and cocking her hips. ~You better believe it.~
The rest of the place was also pretty interesting, though not quite as much of a shock to the system that the other bits had been. The guest room for his mother was rather sweet, and something that she could definitely appreciate–it was nice when a man was close to his family. Actually, she needed to send another email to her folks, now that she thought about it. The sports memorabilia got a smirk out of her–suppose it was inevitable that every guy would like some sport or another. The treadmill was an interesting touch as well as all the other work-out equipment; she had a little herself, but she kept it tucked away under beds and in closets and such… then again she didn’t have the space to spare to keep it out in the open. It was good that he took such pride in looking after himself, not that she’d doubted it from the previous time.~A yoga man, huh?~ she commented as her gaze passed over the mat, ~I would’ve thought you more of a tai chi person.~
As for the lounger area, well it was about what she would expect from the sort of money on display–it was impressive and expensive. With the tour done, she would turn to him with a grin, ~You, my dear, are one fancy son of a bitch.~
Razorbackwriter: Watching Elissa sign that she thought Tommy was more of a tai chi person, made Tommy chuckle. The idea of practicing Tai chi in those satin pajama like suits just wasn’t his thing. Besides, yoga kept him very fit and it was something he could do either with a class or at home – which was more the case. The reporter winked at Elissa.“Each to their own.”
Wandering back out into the main lounge area, the tour was over and dinner was about ready to be served, until Elissa turned around in front of him and showed that wicked grin that he loved so much.
~You, my dear, are one fancy son of a bitch.~
“Looks are deceiving. I’m just a regular guy. You should already know that by now.” Tommy poked her nose gently with the tip of his finger, before gesturing for her to take a seat at the dinner table. “I’ll be serving up dinner, why not grab a seat?”
The table was already set, but Tommy had to get things prepared in the kitchen so he could bring it out to be served properly. He padded back into the kitchen, which had a large opening view space so Elissa would be able to see him as he worked. By the way he moved about, Elissa would be able to see that he knew his way around a kitchen, and the steam rose off the curry as he lifted the lid and gave it another stir. Tommy started with placing a special cup mold of rice on each plate, then ladled out the shrimp, followed by a good coverage of the green thai sauce. He used garnish and had poppadoms ready in a small basket, along with yogurt and chutney. Tommy would need to make a few trips back and forth, but not before placing down the dinner plates. One before Elissa and another where Tommy was to sit.
Tommy selected the Champagne that had come out of the gift basket from the fridge, and brought that out last. The candles were lit and Tommy clicked the remote to have soft music playing in the background.
It was all very romantic.
Tommy took his seat, which was just adjacent Elissa and smirked at her. He was curious to see if she liked his cooking. He had done a lot in the small time he had before she arrived, so it was a bit of a rush job.
Off to the side on a chair was the basket of roses and chocolates from Madame Rose Li. Tommy had forgotten to dispose of it.
“Bon appetite, El.”
Tommy raised a glass to her and waited for her to reciprocate.
~RB~
razorbackwriteraus 
