Chapter 19
"Right!", Kate said, looking carefully at all the products purchased for a surprise dinner, soup, spareribs, sauce, potatoes, vegetables, a bottle of Pinot noir, tiramisu and candles. She put everything in a cool bag and went to her bedroom to change. After a refreshing shower, she put on her new red lace underwear. She pulled out of her wardrobe a classic blue pencil dress with a V-neckline. She put on a little makeup, let her hair down and put on a pair of slingback heels. She grabbed the bag, her handbag, the car keys and drove to Dylan's house.
She parked the car and headed for the driveway. The garage door was open.
She noticed with relief that he was still busy.
My thoughts were correct. Little boys with a new toy forget everything, even their stomach, and that's very rare.
"Hey workaholic!", she greeted him, standing in front of the garage.
He looked up and a wide smile spread across his face. "Hey Kate! What brings you here?", he asked, putting down a screwdriver. He walked over to her. "You are breathtaking! Do you know that?"
She smiled broadly. "Thank you! Well, you've already taken care of me several times so I thought it was time to return the favour. "
"Oh? And what is it going to be?"
"Have you ever thought about food?"
He looked over his shoulder towards his car and then towards her, "Ah, uh, I haven't thought of that yet. I was busy, you see".
"I thought about it. When you said that you got your car, I knew you would forget to eat. The same goes for little boys with a new toy. I had it planned and I'm going to prepare a meal for you, for us", she said, lifting the cool bag she had in her hand.
"Ah! Sounds interesting. Well, please drop everything in the kitchen, I'll finish this and I'll be with you in a few minutes", he said.
"Well, take you time".
Kate entered the house and was really surprised to see a stylish interior, something she didn't expect from Dylan. She saw the kitchen and put the cool bag on the counter. She couldn't help herself and went back to the living room to take a look. She mostly looked at the cupboard and smiled.
I was expecting a thick layer of dust, but now that I see his interior, I guess he likes cleanliness too. I don't see any dust. It's already one common point!
She went back to the kitchen and opened some cupboards to look for something.
Yes! The tablecloth, the crockery and the pots and pans.
She started setting the table and heard him saying, "Kate, I'm ready. I'm having a quick shower and I'll be all yours!"
"Okay!", she yelled back.
She finished setting the table and started to warm up the soup, spareribs and cook the potatoes.
Fifteen minutes later, Dylan was back and entered the living room. He saw the table set with plates, cutlery, napkins, a bottle of wine in the cooler and a lighted candle.
"Wow! What's this? I thought you were talking about preparing us a meal, but this", he said.
Smiling, Kate walked out of the kitchen. "It's the least I can do for you. You helped me a lot, so."
"Ah…uh".
"Well. Aperitif?", she asked, taking the bottle and filling two glasses with Pinot noir.
"Cheers! To…our cooperation", she said.
Damn! You stupid sheila, you should have said 'to us'. Now, you're no further ahead than before. No, no. During dinner I'll broach the subject.
They toasted, "Yeah, to our team!", he said and they took a sip.
The dinner started well, but with the spareribs this was an unexpected turn of events.
As she was cutting the meat from one of the ribs, it flipped over and fell into the sauce.
"Hey!", she said surprised.
Kate looked down and saw sauce stains all around and especially on her dress.
"DAMN!", she muttered.
Dylan saw it, "Go to the bathroom. There are face flannels. You can try to clean the stains".
She looked at him defeated," Yeah, I'll try. Sorry to leave you alone".
She took off her shoes before entering and closed the door. She saw a pile of face flannels, grabbed one and turned on the hot water tap. She used soap and started rubbing the stains. Quickly the whole front of her dress and her bra were soaked. She looked at herself desperately in the mirror, tears burning her eyelids.
Damn, damn, DAMN! Now this! How do I look? Ridiculous! Could something not be fine for once?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. "Kate? Are you okay? And the stains?"
"Uh…ah….no. it's grease. I can't get rid of without a suitable product", she said and bit her lip.
"I have a washing machine. Put it in there", he said.
"Yeah, okay, but, uh…then…I….uh…", she stammered, looking at her image in the mirror, frowning.
She heard him chuckling, "I'll give you something to put on".
"Yeah, then okay", she replied, looking at herself in the mirror with a scowl.
She mouthed, "I'll give you something to put on".
What the hell does that mean?
A minute later there was another knock at the door, "I've something for you".
Kate opened the door and he handed her something navy blue.
"Thank you", she said faintly and unfolded the blue garment that was actually a shirt. She saw that it was new.
"Dylan, are you sure? It's a new shirt", she said.
"Yeah, nothing's too good for you", he said behind the door.
"Thank you. You're too kind", she said as she took off the dress and bra.
She put on the shirt and looked at her image in the mirror. The shirt was extremely large. It hung like a bag around her and her hands disappeared into the sleeves.
Damn! Kate, you look like Dopey!
Scowling, she rolled up the sleeves, unbuttoned three buttons and pulled up the collar.
She grimaced looking at herself.
It's a little better. Too bad I don't have a belt, it would look a bit like a dress.
The shirt slipped a little uncovering her shoulder. She pulled it up.
I know he's sturdy, but he's really built like a tank.
She sighed to regain some courage, grabbed her dress and bra and left the bathroom.
"Hey! That suits you well", he said when he saw her.
"You say that to please me", she replied embarrassed, forgetting to put on her shoes.
"No, honestly. Blue looks good on you".
"Ah! The washing machine. This way", he said as he made his way to the garage.
"The washing powder is on the machine", he said pointing to the box.
"Meanwhile, I'll reheat the ribs".
Kate put her clothes into the machine, started it and returned to the living room.
There, Dylan gave her a glass of wine, "Here you go. To forget the stains", he said.
They clinked glasses and took a sip.
When they had finished with dinner, he asked, "Shall we have dessert on the couch, watching a movie?"
"Hmm, sounds good. What kind of movie do you have in mind? If you don't mind, no horror movies or race cars", she replied.
"Nope. I found a good one on TV. Knowing your tastes, you're going to like it. It's 'A Good Year' with Russel Crowe. It's about a finance specialist from London who inherits a mansion with a vineyard in Provence in the south of France".
"Ah? That's interesting".
"I've always wanted to see Provence. Have you been there yet?", he asked.
"No, but it's on my bucket list when I go on a trip to Europe. Well, sit down and I'll serve you dessert, but I've to get my dress out of the washing machine first", Kate said smiling.
Dylan walked over to the couch, sat down, and watched amused as Kate walked off on her bare feet in the oversized shirt.
In the garage, she found a washing line on which she put to dry her dress and bra.
Kate came back with two plates garnished with a piece of tiramisu. The shirt slipped again, uncovering her left shoulder.
She noticed that he was smiling. "What are you smiling at?", she asked, handing him the dessert.
"You. You look se….uh… amazing. Irresistible in fact", he said.
"Come on you! I'm swimming in your shirt", she replied, whacking his leg and sat down.
"No, I mean it", he grinned.
"Shut up and eat!", she grinned back.
"Wait, I'll turn on the TV on first. The movie will start in a few minutes", he said.
They placed the empty plates on the coffee table and Kate slipped onto the couch, stretched out her legs as she unknowingly kicking into one of his cushions, which fell to the floor and curled up against him
He wrapped his arm around her and began to stroke her bare shoulder.
Halfway through the movie she looked at him, "Dylan, I want to ask you something".
"Go for it".
"We're good together, aren't we?", she began a little unsure.
"Yeah, we are".
"And you like me?"
"Yeah, absolutely".
"Uh…just like…me….or, uh…something….uh…more?", she asked looking at him. Her heart raced, hoping for the liberating answer.
He chuckled and it made her heart sank.
"Kate, how dare you ask that. If anything were happen you, then I'll never forgive myself. The fact is….ahum…the fact is that it's complicated. You're my commanding officer. There are the rules. And if I…. What if we can't make it work? Then I'll lose a good friend. Are you quite following me?", he said.
She sat down on her heels next to him and cupped his face in her hands, "Dylan, you're not going to lose a good friend, but you'll have a partner for life. You won't get rid of me so easily. Do you understand?", she said decisively.
He smiled broadly. "I understand you loud and clear ma'am!", he grinned and kissed her passionately wrapping his arm around her, pulling her closer. She kissed him back and moved to sit on his lap. He started stroking her legs, working his way up to her thighs and she struggled with the buttons of his shirt to open it.
"I've always wanted to do this", she whispered, stroking his chest.
"And I often dreamed of feeling your body against mine", he mumbled, his hand sliding under the shirt and up to her waist. He started fondling her breasts and Kate moaned.
"I know a better place than this narrow couch", he whispered in her ear.
"That would be lovely. I can't wait!", Kate murmured back and moved aside so that he could stand up. Dylan lifted her off the couch and took a step towards the bedroom. Unfortunately, he tripped over the cushion that had fallen to the floor and lost his balance.
"Huh?", he mumbled.
Kate slipped from his arms and fell on a club chair. "Hey!", she squealed. The club chair tipped over and she hit the floor. Dylan tumbled forward, hitting the side of the club chair with his manhood and also landed on the floor. He groaned and grabbed his crotch.
Kate moaned and rubbed her head, chest, arms.
"Damn!", she heard and crawled to see where the groan was coming from.
"Dylan? Are you okay?", she asked as see saw him.
"You can never guess what I touched the club chair with", he gritted between his teeth.
"No?", she replied is disbelief.
"Yes, that's it", he said as he stood up cautiously, still clutching his crotch.
"Oh no! Dylan, I'm really sorry", she said, rubbing her aching arms.
"No, I'm sorry I brought you down. Are you okay?", he asked, sitting down on the couch.
"Yeah, nothing is broken, although I already know that tomorrow I'll be covered in bruises", she said, rolling her eyes.
He rubbed his face, "What a pitiful start to a date, huh?"
"I think that we'll keep it simple by going to sleep. That's the best idea, I think", she replied, rubbing her head.
"Yeah, that's the safest idea. I'll raise the club chair up", he said.
"I'll give you a hand", Kate said and they put the club chair back in its place.
They walked to his bedroom and went to bed. He switched off the light.
A minute later he chuckled.
"What?", she asked.
"Well, if we were to tell this story, no one would believe us".
"No, they'd think we pay them lip service", and she giggled, but stopped quickly and moaned.
"What's going on?", he asked worried.
"My ribs. They hurt when I laugh", Kate said.
"Broken?"
"No, that would be more painful, it's just bruised. And my head is hurting too", she said, touching her forehead.
Despite all this, they fell asleep.
To be continued