"You hungry?"
"Yeah, starving."
"Do you like sushi?" I ask.
"I do like sushi, but I can't go out dressed in my uniform."
"How about if we pick it up to go and bring it home?"
"Sounds great."
I drive to a little sushi place near my condo and run in and pick up dinner while she waits for me in the car.
When we walk into my condo, Evie halts, immediately spotting the MacBook I left open on my dining table with a red bow on top.
My heart picks up speed as I watch her take in the computer, finally looking up at me with a wary look on her face.
"Jake, you didn't–" she exclaims.
"Evie," I say, putting my hand up in a ‘stop’ gesture, "don't say anything until you hear me out. I know your first thought is going to be to say no to accepting this gift but please, just listen."
She raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything.
"I want to do this but not because it's just for you, but because I think you're amazing, and I think that making your dreams come true will spread far and wide and not only affect you, but would affect me, too, and many, many people beyond that. Please let me do this for you, Evie, and all those people out there who will be changed when they read the beautiful words that are in your soul."
She takes a deep breath, her eyes tearing up and says on a small laugh, "No pressure, right?"
When she walks over to the computer and starts looking it over, I know she’s going to accept it. I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face.
"You make it really, really hard to say no to you, do you know that Jake Madsen?" She takes a deep breath and I know what she’s feeling. I’ve been there, too. It can be a hit to your self-esteem to accept gifts from those who have more than you. I’m hoping like hell that her accepting this from me means she gets how much she gives me in return. Not monetarily, obviously, but in every way that really counts. She makes me happy. Unbelievably happy. And that’s worth all the MacBooks at Apple headquarters.
"Thank you," she finally says, looking me in the eye. I smile back.
**********
It’s a chilly night and so I flick on the gas fireplace, pour a couple glasses of wine and set them on the coffee table, and then lay our food out on a blanket on the floor. "Sushi picnic?" she asks, smiling and sitting down.
"Yup. When eating sushi, do like the Japanese do." I smile, kneeling down on the blanket across from her. I put my palms together in front of my face and bow slightly to her. She giggles and bows back. Then I grab our glasses and hand one to her. "To what?" she asks.
I consider. "To dreams." I say, clinking my glass to hers.
She takes a drink and then says, "Thank you again for the laptop, Jake." I just smile at her. That’s not the dream I was talking about but I let her think it is.
I open up all the containers – I got a little bit of everything since she told me to surprise her. She picks up her chopsticks and I unwrap a plastic fork. "Really, Jake?" she asks, inclining her head toward my fork. "When eating sushi, eat like the Japanese do."
"Babe, I don’t eat with sticks. I want to get the food in my mouth."
She frowns. "Oh, come on, what’s easier than picking up a big piece of sushi? It’s not like you’re trying to pick up individual pieces of rice. Look." And she reaches down with her chopsticks and expertly picks up a piece of Alaska roll, popping it in her mouth.
I look down at the food in front of us and then down at my fork and sigh. Then I pick up my chopsticks, break them in half and position them in my fingers. I reach down and position a piece of sushi between them and bring it toward my face. Inches away, it falls out and lands in my crotch.
My brows snap down as I hear Evie let out a very unladylike snort.
"Oh, that’s funny, is it?"
She’s looking down, clearly holding back laughter as she snags another piece of sushi with her chopsticks and pops it into her mouth, chewing and swallowing before saying, "Noooo, not funny at all. They take a little practice. Try again."
I fake glare at her, but pick my chopsticks back up and this time try a piece of tempura shrimp. I have it about halfway between the container and my open mouth when it too, drops into my crotch.
Evie lets out a loud giggle.
"Okay, that’s it. A fork it is." I pluck the food out of my crotch, noting my stained suit pants and toss it into a napkin sitting next to the containers.
"Oh, come on, it’s like, bad luck or something to eat Japanese food with a fork. Okay, if you won’t eat with chopsticks, I’ll feed you. Open your mouth." She picks up another piece of the Alaska roll and lifts it toward me. I open and she feeds it to me, her eyes glued to my mouth as I take it from her. My heart picks up speed.
Her eyes lift to mine and I see the desire there. In just moments, the atmosphere has changed, humming with something thick and electric. She looks down quickly, picking up a piece of shrimp and bringing that to my mouth too. This time, she lingers at my mouth with the chopsticks, sliding them out slowly after I’ve taken the food. I feel arousal swirling through my belly. Who knew sushi could be so sexy?
She feeds me several more bites and then takes a couple herself as I watch her chew. Focusing on her mouth is unbelievably erotic and I can’t help leaning forward and tasting her lips. "You taste salty, like soy sauce," I say, smiling right up against her mouth. "Sweet and salty."