Disclaimer: I do not own Human Target and intend no copyright infringement.
SAVORY SNACKING
It was 5 am when Ilsa Pucci rolled over in bed. She was going to make an honest attempt at 7 but the sleep she sought just wasn't going to come. She rose out of bed slowly and grabbed her robe. It was a bright Saturday morning and the weather was the nicest it had been in some time. She thought to herself how nice it would be to go for a long walk and relax, but her work ethic got the better of her. Her new foundation had jobs coming in like wildfire, and the crew started to show signs of physical exhaustion. After speaking with them, Ilsa decided that weekends off were now mandatory, and all of them were to take some sort of mini-vacation every few months...compliments of her.
She knew that Winston would listen and go somewhere exotic, Guerrero would be in some dark hole no doubt torturing someone while Ames would be in a wild college town where she could spread her wings without getting shot. Christopher Chance however was a bit different. He was perfectly content with lying around the warehouse all day with Carmine. Its not that she minded, but she knew that he needed to get away at some point. As for herself, she couldn't justify leaving with any sort of work that needed completed. She headed to the shower to get prepared for the day. The cool water made her skin tingle and it helped her to completely wake up. She grabbed her robe and headed to her closet. She was going to call Chance and ask if it was okay to come in and do some much needed work, but she thought it better to not. Just in case the man was making some sort of attempt at resting. She was quiet enough any other time.
When Ilsa arrived, the place was dead quiet. She thought Chance may have gone out after all. She went to the kitchen and grabbed some juice out of the refrigerator and went to her office. Considering no one was there, she walked over to the stereo to turn on some relaxing music. She smiled to herself and spoke aloud, "Jazz mix, you are definitely the choice for this mound of paperwork!" She put the CD in and the music started flowing. She sat down at her desk and closed her eyes for a moment and let the music relax her.
After a few moments passed, she reached down into her briefcase and pulled out a bag of sunflower seeds. Ilsa Pucci was a woman of dignity and amazement. A woman who probably never bit her nails or ate a candy bar in public. But here she was ready to let go of her inhibitions. Her friends back in London would be absolutely mortified if they caught her eating…of all things….sunflower seeds! A food that required the used of all parts of the mouth with an ending that included spitting out a shell. She chuckled to herself and was happy to be alone. She dove into her work.
Christopher Chance woke up with a puzzled look. He could have sworn Ilsa said no working on the weekends. Winston told him that he would be taking a trip to see some relatives while Guerrero and Ames never said about what they were doing. He never inquired to Ilsa about what she did in her free time, so he sat and pondered about who may have been playing music at this ungodly hour. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, only to hit the back of a huge sleeping pile of weight. Carmine never moved. He must have agreed that this hour was even too much for him. Chance showered and pulled on a pair of jeans.
He grabbed a towel to finish drying his hair and proceeded down the stairs. When he hit the bottom stair he stopped. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ilsa at her computer. It wasn't the music she was tapping her foot to, or the barely there shirt she had on. It was the sunflower seeds she was eating. He had to take a second look because he could not bring himself to the realization that this woman of such grandeur was eating the food of the ball diamond gangs he grew up with. He patiently watched her as she placed a few seeds in her mouth and within a split second was depositing the shells onto a small paper towel on the desk. He wondered how anyone could possibly eat those things with such speed…and grace. The act wasn't as unbearable watching Ilsa perform it.
When he finally snapped back into reality, he walked up to the front of her office. When she looked up, she was in the middle of shelling a seed. Her soft lips were slightly parted and her face started to flush when she realized she had been caught in between jazz and seeds. She started to blush even more when she realized there was an extremely attractive man without a shirt standing in front of her. After what seemed like years, she finished shelling the seed and grabbed the stereo remote to turn down the music.
"Mr. Chance, I'm so sorry. I had no idea you were here. I was hoping to come in and finish some work before it caught up to me."
He stared at her. "Ilsa I thought no work on weekends?"
"Well…yes…but. I needed to get my mind straight…you know."
Chance didn't say anything. He knew Ilsa needed to do work to get her mind off of a lot of things. Shooting Hector Lopez, a murdered husband. A cheating husband. "Sure. No problem."
He sat down on the edge of her desk. "What's that?" He pointed to the bag of sunflower seeds. She lowered her gaze in a bit of embarrassment. "This is a small vice of mine that now only you know about."
He raised an eyebrow. "Ilsa Pucci, billionaire eating sunflower seeds? Should I mention this to Connie?" He narrowed his eyes at her.
She shot him a leer right back and smiled. "No!" She pointed her finger at him. "And she won't be finding out either!"
"Cross my heart. How on earth do people eat those? Furthermore where did you pick up a taste for them?"
Ilsa motioned for him to sit down. "When I was growing up, there was a cute young man named Adam Smith. He apparently had a crush on me. We met at an old run down cricket field near my home where all of us children used to play. When he made me his girlfriend, he would always make it a point to bring me a small bag of sunflower seeds when we all played together. He would steal them from his father. His mother never allowed him to use chewing tobacco in the house so it was his only reprieve. He taught me how to be a whiz at eating them."
"What happened to him?" Chance was genuinely interested.
"Well the last time I heard, he and his family had fled from the gunfire to a relatives home somewhere South of us. I never heard from him since. Every time I want to think about home, I have a couple. And remember what it was like before all hell broke loose." Ilsa smiled at Chance. He knew the story brought back some hurt so he decided to change the subject.
"Well Mrs. Pucci, I never got the hang of those things. Care to give me a lesson?"
"You want me to teach you how to eat sunflower seeds?"
He gave her his best fatherly look. "Well technically you aren't supposed to be working young lady. Soooo…."
"Fine." She stacked her paperwork on the side of the desk and motioned for him to pull his chair beside her.
"Ok. The first rule is to not have 50 of these things in your mouth at one time. Amateurs think they can handle it. The pros only have 5 or 6. You are going to start with 1. Next, it is an art form. You aren't in the baseball bullpen so it has to look artistic."
Chance gave her a puzzled look. "Did your boyfriend teach you all of this?"
Ilsa gave him a small punch in the arm. "There are 3 ways to shell. You can crunch the entire shell open and eat the seed. You can crack it open between your front teeth from top to botto. Or…and this is my chosen method…you can slightly moisten the shell, place it to the side, crack it halfway open and pull the seed out with the tip of your tongue. That is the most complicated way, but Adam explained that it was the most attractive."
"Did your parents know that you were hanging around this guy? Geez what kind of cable was he watching?"
"Ok, Mr. Chance, I will demonstrate." Ilsa placed a seed in her mouth and within seconds she had shelled and eaten the inner flesh. He was simply amazed.
"I didn't even see you do anything."
Ilsa smiled. "Watch." She placed another into her mouth and sucked on it slowly. She slightly parted her lips so that he could see what she was doing. She deliberately cracked open the shell. Her tongue slid inside and pulled out the salty treasure.
Chance looked at her like she was insane. "This should be considered a dangerous sport you know."
"Ok your turn." She placed a seed in his hand and he threw it into his mouth. His first reaction was what she expected. Immediate crunch. Shards of seeds escaped his lips. She laughed and handed him another. This time he rolled it around trying to figure out how to complete the task. Crunch! Strike 2 she thought. She tilted her head and gave him a poor baby face. She gave him a third seed. This time she placed her hands on his cheeks.
"Alright Mr. Chance, before you go crazy, suck on the seed just a bit to moisten it." He complied. "Now, move it between your back teeth and bite down just a bit. But don't bite all the way thru."
Chance slowly bit down just enough to partially open the shell. He smiled. "Now move your tongue to the inside and take the seed out." She watched intently as his tongue moved slightly out of his mouth on its way to the prize. He poked and prodded a bit and finally opened his eyes expressively. "I did it. Ha!" She removed her hands and clapped. "Well done Mr. Chance! Adam would be proud." He shot her another fatherly look. "If you were my daughter, I would not let you hang around that kid!" She laughed at that.
They stared at each other for a moment while the music continued to play. The mix had landed on John Coltrane.
"Well I better get back to work." Chance placed his hand on Ilsa's wrist and gently pulled her back around. "Was I a good student?" Ilsa was caught off guard at their new proximity. "Ye-yes. You did well." She stammered. He placed his lips up to her ear. "I have a few lessons I could teach you." He gently kissed her ear and trailed down her neckline. He stopped at the point where her neck and shoulder met.
Chance pulled back to look into her eyes. They were warm and welcoming. She brought her hands back up to his face and gently pulled his lips to hers. His mind went in a million different directions. He thought about her eating the seeds, and the low cut blouse she was wearing. She tasted salty and sweet at the same time. No doubt a mix between the seeds and juice she had earlier.
Ilsa's head was spinning just as much. Her hands had moved from his face to trail down his bare chest. He tasted salty and minty. No doubt from the seeds and his toothpaste. He smelled delicious. After some time they broke apart to catch their breath. Ilsa spoke first.
"Were there any other lessons you wanted to teach me?" He smiled at her. "Yes ma'am." He grabbed her hand and led her up to his loft. It was going to be an interesting day off.