[Ashley McKenna-Chase]

kiss and tell

Ashley cast Alice a disapproving look. “You have lots of brains so shut up, you would make great zombie bait.”

She laughed softly as Alice scolded her for being offended by Stephen getting to meet a potential new man before she did. “Well, I gotta say, I’m a little jealous he pretty much helped to set you guys up.” And more than a little surprised, too. “But I’ll get over it once I’m the maid of honour at the wedding.”

Alice didn’t have much ammunition left when it came to throwing things at Ashley, which was probably a good thing. Ashley couldn’t help but tease her best friend with stuff like this. It was just so easy to get Alice blushing.

She patted her stomach fondly as Alice inspected her six pack. Of course she knew that most guys who kept up a decent workout in the gym were likely to have better abs than her, but she also knew that Alice was more than capable of lying in order to stroke Ashley’s ego.

“Why thank you, they are impressive,” she said with a wink. “I’m glad to hear that his are almost drool-worthy though. Bring him along on our next gym session and let’s see if we can push past the ‘almost’ barrier.” Ashley giggled then, feeling a little childish for discussing a stranger’s abs in such a crass way.

Ashley beamed happily at Alice’s praise for her karaoke skills. “What can I say except you’re welcome?” she sang, temporarily jamming out as she hummed the next line. Then she snapped out of her performance, meeting Alice’s thoughtful look with her own intrigued gaze.

“Hey, that’s a great idea! Is it too much for a first date – just inviting him straight to your house?” she pondered. “I know you’ve kinda already done that but… you know what I mean. Maybe that’s a second date idea.”

Alice Morrow

316
WORDS

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Ashley McKenna-Chase + Nathan Havelock + wearing

Alice waved the jealousy away, "I mean he helped, but I'm sure we would have found a way. He was a lifesaver though. I'm pretty sure those costumes are the only reason my mask isn't plastered all over the newspapers right now." She sat up suddenly at the maid of honour comment, "Oh will you now? I'm glad to see that decision is already made." Not that there was anyone else Alice could have asked. It had been difficult to keep in touch with a lot her old friends after the Event, she'd been so busy with training. Ashley was now, without a doubt, her best friend, and she felt odd when she tried to imagine life without the petite brunette. She was just so much a part of her life now. "Oh my god no, I really do not want him seeing what I look like at the gym." She smiled evilly, "Not until I have him locked down, that way he can't run scared." Alice wasn't being entirely serious, but her friend would know that she tended to get a little too into relationships too fast. It was probably a result of how she had grown up, being an orphan had left Alice as the type who would hold onto a relationship just a little too tight. She applauded briefly at Ashley's demonstration of musical talent. "Plus when you get up and sing everyone forgets how awful I was so it makes that kind of thing much better for me." That was a step too far. Alice flung her last pillow at Ashley's face. "Stoooop, you'll make me feel bad about it again." Realising she now had no soft items close by, she crossed her arm and mock glared at her roommate. "Maybe you're right though, we can go to a nice little place I know, oh oh, I could take him to that French place we went. That was nice right? After that I can think about inviting him round. Will you need advanced warning?" Her eyebrows waggled lasciviously, only interrupted by the ping of her phone. She almost squealed with excitement. "He messaged me back!"

© seadra of gs

[Ashley McKenna-Chase]

Kiss and tell

Ashley snorted. “Oh I see what your daring escape plan was now. I can’t believe you played dress-up in Hero couture to sneak your way out of a party. That is so you!” Her laughter was gentle, affectionate, in full understanding that Alice was not the hugest fan of the celebrity side to her Hero work. She seemed a little more at home throwing punches at villains than she did throwing back punch with rich strangers.

The way Alice was suddenly sat upright tickled Ashley. Her objection was not, it seemed, at the implication of a wedding – merely that Ashley had deigned to assign herself a place in the wedding party. “You’re welcome, I’ll need your input on the bouquets and centrepieces, of course,” she teased.

Ashley happened to think that Nate should think himself lucky to see what the two of them looked like at the gym. Sure, they both tended to work pretty hard and ended up looking pretty shiny, but they generally looked okay. No, how they looked at the gym wasn’t the main concern… “You don’t need to worry about that; the smell, maybe!” She giggled. “So yep, definitely lock him down first.”

Enjoying the applause for a moment, Ashley nodded her head in a lazy imitation of a bow. “You’re not awful!” she exclaimed. “You can do a pretty great ‘Be Our Guest’,” she pointed out.

Alice’s final piece of ammunition flew Ashley’s way. She probably deserved it – and now she had all the pillows too, mwahaha.

“Ah, oui, oui – very romantic!” Ashley said in a half-attempt at a French accent. “That was nice, and definitely a bit of a secret so he probably won’t have been there before. And pfff, if you give me advanced warning then I’m more likely to be sat here on the couch waiting to say hi and be an embarrassing roommate – so I guess that’s up to you,” she grinned.

She leaned across the sofa, craning her neck to see the phone. “What!? What did he say?”

Alice Morrow

338
WORDS

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Ashley McKenna-Chase + wearing

Alice was now lacking any ammunition or cuddly items, and found herself somewhat put out by the situation. The fact that she had caused the situation didn't even appear in her mind, so she glared at Ashley instead. It made her feel better. "I think half the reason that Heroes are such a big thing is that everyone secretly loves dress up anyway. It's just less fun when you do it for your job, so I've got to get that fun where I can." She ignored the wedding comment. Alice definitely wanted to get married, but at this stage it didn't exactly feature highly on her list of things to do. She was only nineteen after all, it was a bit young to be tying the knot. She blushed briefly, "Ah I hadn't even thought of that. Do you think it's too much? A French place? I mean, it's not like it's Paris…" Alice's question might have seemed silly to some, but her last relationship had ended badly when she'd pushed for a little more commitment, and she was just as worried about doing the same thing with this relationship. Maybe even more so, Nate was a much better guy than Jason had been, he was a lot more mature for a start. She paused, putting a finger up as she acceded to Ashley's logic. "Good point, so expect the first time he visits this flat to be when you're out of town on tour. God knows it'll be hard enough convincing him I'm not a loser without you hanging around telling him all of my embarrassing stories." She tapped on the small notification, relieved after her outburst that the message was actually from Nate. It would have been awkward if it had just been an email from Amazon or something. "He's back in town, and he'd like to meet up soon. Also, he's fed up of peanuts, I guess he had a few too many on the flight back, and we might have raided my minibar in the hotel…"

© seadra of gs

[Ashley McKenna-Chase]

kiss and tell

Returning Alice’s glare with an innocent smile, Ashley giggled to herself.

“Well duh, that’s the only reason anyone becomes anything famous. I know my stage outfits aren’t as glitzy as a superhero costume but I have my fun too,” she said, grinning. “And the amount of make-up they pile onto my face is like a whole dress-up experience in itself!”

Ashley felt bad for making Alice blush at the idea of the French restaurant being too romantic – she hadn’t even been trying to tease her that time. “No way is it too much, the rich boy’s probably been raised on that kind of thing since he was a baby. Well… actually, it probably won’t have been as nice as the food at the place that you’ve found, but I don’t think he’d raise an eyebrow at a French restaurant. I didn’t think the vibe wasn’t cringey and romantic when we went there – it’s too cool for that.”

She was trying her best to reassure Alice, even though the two of them both knew that Ashley was definitely not the poster child for establishing long-term relationships and was probably not qualified to give anyone relationship advice.

Ashley pulled her phone from her pocket and pretend to tap at it manically. “BRB, just cancelling all my shows and moving my bedding onto the sofa.” She caught Alice’s eye. “I promise I wouldn’t make it weird, I’d hide in my bedroom really. Or uh… maybe go stay at my parents’,” she added, remembering their shared wall suddenly and not really wanting to think about it.

She peered at the screen.

“He’s trying to start an in-joke with you, he is so into you,” she proclaimed. “If he didn’t care, or if he was only in it for the …you know, then he’d just text you a time, date and the address of some shady motel.” Ashley was exaggerating greatly here, but Alice would probably know better than to take her seriously about such things. She clapped her hands. “What nights are you free this week? You should see if your schedules line up… see if he wants a more exciting culinary experience than complimentary peanuts.”

At that, Ashley got to her feet and wandered into the kitchen in search of snacks that she was allowed to have, settling for half an avocado before heading back to the sofa. She squished up next to Alice. “So, what did he say?” she asked, not even pretending not to look over Alice’s shoulder.

Alice Morrow

417
WORDS

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Ashley McKenna-Chase + wearing

"That… makes a lot of sense actually…" Alice wasn't big into celebrities, but the ones she knew were either musicians or actors, both of which could quite frequently be found in elaborate or just downright weird get ups as part of their jobs. They were expected to dress up just as much as Heroes were, although perhaps not quite as stylistically, depending on the role they hoped to fill. It was true, they'd gone together, and while there had been couples there, no one had mistaken them for one. Usually when a restaurant was over the top romantic they assumed that any pair coming in was together, the waiter there had simply treated them normally; maybe he had a fool-proof gaydar or something. She felt better at the thought; good waiters were hard to come by, because the really good ones could pick up on the vibe of the evening when you walked through the door. It was probably one of the reasons why the restaurant did so well despite being hidden down a back alley. That and the amazing food. Real French cooking, not the overpriced and over presented stuff that was usually served in expensive and well-appointed establishments. Mock disgruntled, Alice snapped her fingers, "Damn, and I really wanted to meet him in a questionable motel just outside town. That's when you know a guy really likes you, when he doesn't want anyone to see you two meeting up." She thought for a moment, "I'm patrolling tonight and tomorrow night, show people that I'm back, remind them that Paladin is around, that kind of thing, but I have a free night on Friday. Just got to hope no one decides to go too hardcore at the clubs." Heroes were permanently on call. Sure they had days when they wouldn't have to be out in costume, but if a metahuman attack took place they were expected to suit up and get there as soon as possible. Paladin couldn't fly, but she could move around the city pretty fast, so that meant if anything happened in San Francisco she ended up being called in. "Friday's OK isn't it?"

© seadra of gs

[Ashley McKenna-Chase]

kiss and tell

Ashley scooped a hefty amount of avocado into her mouth. “If Friday’s good for you, and good for him, then it sounds pretty great to me.”

She’d hoped that Alice might have already enquired about Nate’s schedule while Ashley was grabbing herself a snack, but it seemed Alice wasn’t quite confident enough yet to make such moves without some reassurance.

“You can suggest a questionable motel out of town if you like,” she teased, “But I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear that you want to go out for dinner. Just be straight up with him, it’ll be fine. It’s only dinner, you’re not asking him for his hand in marriage. Yet.”

Ashley felt pretty secure in her advice – she wasn’t pushing Alice towards any kind of commitment in the slightest, but if an invite to dinner was enough to scare the guy off then he probably wasn’t worth their time. If he knew about Alice’s excellent taste in food then there was almost no way he could say no, unless he had some kind of late-night MNRU shift. Even then, he should probably try and get out of it – Alice’s refined palate was second to none.

“I can make myself busy on Friday night, I promise.” She couldn’t picture her schedule, but she was probably already busy – she just didn’t know it. Alice was sure to feel more comfortable knowing that she had an empty apartment to return to; alone or otherwise.

Alice Morrow

243
WORDS

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Ashley McKenna-Chase + wearing

With Ashley's approval, Alice started tapping out a message to Nate. I'm free Friday. Do you want to go for dinner?   Message sent, she dropped the phone back onto her lap. "That's true, besides, I'm an old fashioned kind of girl. He's got to ask me." She grinned at the irony, after all, she was the one who had just asked him on a date. Hopefully her taking the lead on this wouldn't scare him off. She knew that it would bother some guys, or it had bothered some of the guys she'd dated before. He was older though, and hopefully that meant much more mature. "Thank you. I know you wouldn't really try to embarrass me, at least not yet." She glared daggers at her roommate. Knowing full well that it wouldn't be long until Ashley was hanging about and telling embarrassing stories, at least if things worked out with Nate anyway. Besides, she didn't particularly want to disturb her friend if she did end up coming home with Nate, and if things didn't work out she might want a bit of time to herself anyway. Her phone pinged again, and a quick glance showed that it was a message from Nate, confirming that he was indeed free on Friday, and would love to get dinner. She sprang to her feet. "Right, you've got to help me pick out an outfit."

© seadra of gs

[Nathan Havelock]

Kiss and Tell

Friday Night

It had been a good day, Nate decided. He’d been making quite a lot of progress with a number of rehab patients and had run perfectly on time during his afternoon clinic with all the efficiency and expertise of somebody who had run them many, many times before. Which of course, was exactly the case. It had been noted by a few of the senior doctors, however, so Nate was feeling more pleased with himself than usual. Nothing would probably come of it but it was still nice to feel appreciated.

His day was only getting better. Changing out of the scrubs he’d been too lazy to change out of from being on the neuro ward, Nate was changing into a nice shirt with his favourite pair of dark jeans. His best friends Harriet and Tyler had pointed out, rather frankly, that they were his best jeans because they made his butt look great. As such, they seemed perfect first date jeans. The shirt was understated – made of nice material, of course, but there was no hint to any trendy designers or expensive brands on it. It had been expensive, but that reflected only in its quality. Nate was very conscious about seeming as down-to-earth as possible to this girl.

It was a careful line to tread. He didn’t want to look like he hadn’t made any effort, but he didn’t want to look like a clueless rich boy. Alice seemed refreshingly normal – a little weird, sure, and with a superhero identity – so the last thing he wanted was to scare her off by making her think he had anything in common with the snooty high society types that his mother had no doubt name-dropped in her brief time with the young Hero. Classy, ass-highlighting jeans with a nice, simple shirt should do the trick. He’d even grown his facial hair to that perfect designer stubble length that screamed low-maintenance while being anything but.

He’d never heard of the restaurant Alice had suggested, which was exciting. They’d been texting back and forth, when they’d had the spare time, ever since that night in New York and he knew now that she was more than just a little interested in food – she could probably give most critics a run for their money. It was bound to be fantastic.

It was a lot closer to his apartment than Nate had expected, so he was a little early. The venue was tucked away in a back alley that he probably would have completely missed if he was just walking past. Even Google maps seemed a little unsure that he really wanted this to be his destination, suggesting a U-turn. He chuckled softly to himself and put his phone away in the pocket of his leather jacket. He was early, so Alice probably wasn’t here yet, but he didn’t want her first impression of the date to be of him glued to his phone screen.

Once he entered, he realised with an odd mixture of disappointment and relief that she wasn’t here yet, so he took his seat at the bar to wait. A red wine was recommended and he accepted it without further questions. The guy seemed to know what he was talking about and yes – first sip – clearly, he did.

He tried not to watch the door but he couldn’t help it. It was either that or re-read the wine list. As the time finally ticked over to the official meeting time they had agreed upon, Nate pretended to be very interested in the wine list once more.

Alice Morrow

599 words

ψ

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Nathan Havelock + wearing

Alice was late, fashionably late, she told herself, but really she was just late. It had been a combination of things. For one, her job was rarely predictable, Villain's didn't bother to schedule their antics with her first, and if she was the only Hero in the area then she had to respond. She wished that had been why she was late, it would have sounded much better. She'd been really nervous for this date, perhaps irrationally so, as she already knew Nate, and they'd been texting back and forth for a few days now. She'd spent most of the time between finishing work and leaving hoping for some emergency to come up. No crisis had been thoughtful enough to respond to her prayers and instead she'd had to get dressed hurriedly at the last minute. Neither Ashley nor herself would have allowed her to simply brush over the act of getting ready for a date though, and as such it had taken far too long to get dressed. She had briefly entertained the idea of giving up on her hair and simply using her powers to get there faster, but eventually settled on taking a taxi. She might not be rich, but she was a lot more well-off than she had been, and a life of having little money meant that she was rarely frivolous with money, and as such had enough saved up not to worry about such an expense. She turned down the alleyway, feeling a lot more confident about entering the dark and shady area than she had when she'd first found the restaurant two years ago. These days it wouldn't be her who needed to worry if there was a mugger lurking in the shadows. She peered through the glass window in the top half of the door, spotting Nate sat at the bar, looking very interested in the wine list. Which was odd because he already seemed to have a glass. Taking a moment to check her hair and dress in the dim reflection, she pushed open the door, smiling as Nate looked up. "I'm so sorry I'm late. Wish I had an excuse though…" She walked up to the bar, "You've not been waiting that long have you?" Gesturing to the glass on the bar, she guiltily asked "that's not the second one is it?"

© seadra of gs

[Nathan Havelock]

Kiss and Tell

Feeling an ever-so-slight sense of concern now because Alice still hadn’t shown up, Nate was doing his best to make one single glass of excellent wine last as long as possible. He read through the wine list once more, challenging himself to think of interesting meals to pair with each different wine. In fact, he was starting to get quite into that one… so it was actually quite a shock when the door opened and Nate was reminded of who he was waiting for.

He set the wine list down on the bar, offering her a breezy smile as she approached. “Alice! Hey, no problem, no problem. You look fantastic,” he offered, taking a moment to admire her dress.

As Alice gestured to the glass of wine Nate had been nursing, he saw the waiter pour out a second. Clearly Alice had been before and they knew her tastes. Either that, or this was an establishment that was very much of the opinion that the customer did not know best and they would drink whatever wine was deemed best for them. And like it.

“My second? No…” Nate shook his head with a laugh before suddenly going stony-faced and locking eyes with her. “This is my third.”

He held the dead-pan delivery for a few seconds, unblinking, and took a long sip of his wine. Nate then proceeded to nearly spit the wine everywhere as he finally cracked, swallowing the mouthful quickly so he could laugh.

“I’m so sorry, I promise this is just my first glass. I wasn’t waiting long – and you are worth the wait, anyway. Seriously.” That dress really was great. He’d already seen Alice in a wide array of costumes considering the short amount of time they’d known each other, but this was the first time he’d seen her dressed so nicely. It was a sight he definitely wanted to see again.

They were shown to the table and Nate entertained himself with a brand new menu – this time, for the food.

“Okay… this all looks too good that I don’t actually know where to start. Definitely a far cry from canteen food.” He looked up at Alice. “Did you say you’d been here before? Can I hear your expert recommendations?”

Alice Morrow

375 words

ψ

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Nathan Havelock + wearing

Alice smiled, blushing ever so slightly at the compliment at the brief admiring look at her chosen outfit of the night. If only he knew how much effort had gone into choosing this outfit. She returned the admiring look, she wasn't at an angle that would allow her to echo the sentiment of Nate's friends, but undoubtedly would once he turned around. "Thanks, you look great too though." She felt unaccountably nervous, and then remembered that this was only sort-of a first date. They had already gotten to know each other intimately when they'd met, so this should be much easier. That thought allowed her to relax a little, though only a little. When he told her that he was three glasses deep she felt her stomach drop away. "Oh I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to be late. Things just sort of piled up and then-" A glare was the only appropriate response when she discovered that he had been teasing her, followed by a gentle punch to the chest. "Hey no fair, that was mean. Making me feel all guilty like that." She took her opportunity to admire Nate from behind, and had she known them, would have agreed heartily with Harriet and Tyler. They did make his ass look great, not that it needed any help. She sat opposite him at the small round table, enjoying the view from the front this time, before briefly perusing the menu. She didn't need to spend much time looking at it, she already knew it fairly well, and it didn't change so often that she needed to check up every time she came here. When Nate asked her for recommendations, it became clear that she was in her element. "Well you should definitely have the Coquilles Saint-Jacuqes to start, they're scallops in white wine with mushrooms, absolutely amazing. Then for your main…" She flicked open the menu again, "The Piperade tastes so good, but if you want something more meaty I'd try the Blanquette, it's a veal ragout and the meat just like, melts in your mouth, it's so good." She closed the menu, looking hopefully up at Nate to see if he approved of her selection for him.

© seadra of gs

[Nathan Havelock]

Kiss and Tell

Nate felt really bad as Alice fell for his lie about how many glasses of wine he’d consumed, the apologies rushing out of her in a wave of panic. As soon as his composure broke, however, she immediately stopped and fixed him with a glare before punching softly at him. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to harbouring any bad feelings for the deceit.

“Sorry, I’ll make it up to you. From now on I’ll be completely serious and straight-faced.”

His smirk, however, ruined the message somewhat. He couldn’t help but be playful – her reactions were so worth it. As somebody who wasn’t exactly shy of dressing up as some haute couture villain to escape a celebrity-ridden party, she also didn’t seem the type to take things too seriously. Nate had had plenty of fun dates in the past, but he was sure she would be heading straight for first place. Alice was neither a medical student nor from high society – already she was sitting on a hefty pile of bonus points from those facts alone. Being honest with himself, Nate was very excited to see how their relationship would develop, and already he was finding himself hoping for a date number two.

Lighting up instantly with unwavering confidence, Alice talked him through her suggestions with the certainty of somebody who really knew their food. Nate looked through the menu to read the descriptions and made an impressed sound of agreement with her choices.

“I’m definitely going to have to try the Blanquette, I can feel myself drooling just thinking about it,” he laughed, pretending to wipe his mouth dry. “What are you going to get for yourself? Don’t let me take the best dishes.”

As he perused the rest of the list to see what else the restaurant offered, he looked up at her with a sudden question on his lips. “So is this the kind of stuff you can cook yourself?”

She’d said she worked in a diner, which wasn’t remotely close to being in the same league as this kind of restaurant, but her passion and knowledge suggested a greater depth to her skills than just flipping burgers and frying eggs.

Alice Morrow

362 words

ψ

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Nathan Havelock + wearing

The seriousness of the next statement was fortunately spoiled by the mischievous smirk that accompanied it. Clearly he was going to take some pleasure in teasing her over the night, and hopefully in the future. She didn't mind too much, it made her laugh after all. He was very different from the guys she had been on dates with before, clever, stylish, and charming. Where had he been hiding all her life? She was glad that he appreciated her food choices, and indeed seemed comfortable with her knowledge of food. The last time she'd been out for a meal with a guy he'd had a cheeseburger, showing a decided lack of imagination and culinary ambition. She laughed, "Don't worry, I already picked out the best dish for myself. I'm having the Terrine and then the Foie de Veau." She was actually pronouncing the dishes relatively accurately, although her accent could definitely use some work. It was clear that her knowledge of French extended to food and food alone, maybe with a bit of wine thrown in there. Speaking of which, she took a sip of the wine that the waiter had poured for her. She was pretty sure the man recognised her, and they knew she was underage, but evidently they'd realised the purpose of the meal tonight. "Oh, I mean, I could cook some of this stuff, but nowhere near as good as the guy that works here. He's actually French and it's all like proper French food instead of the stuff you get in like Michelin starred restaurants." She wasn't really sure where to go, she'd had first dates, but they were usually much more budget affairs with much more budget guys. Simple, easy, not things that she spent hours picking an outfit for or accompanied by great wine, which she gratefully took another sip of. "I've always liked cooking, loved making all sorts of different meals, but it's hard to get a job doing that kind of thing. You have to work your way up and well, it doesn't really pair well with the other stuff I do." She was talking too much about herself wasn't she? She should ask him something about himself. Something that wasn't too clichéd, so why he'd become a doctor was right out, as was how had his day been. She scrolled back in her mind to their conversation in the bar where they'd met. "So did your mom tell you all about how she met you know who at that party?"

© seadra of gs

[Nathan Havelock]

Kiss and Tell

“Ah I see, so you’re keeping the best dishes for yourself!” Nate narrowed his eyes and made sure to check out those two dishes in particular. He nodded – they did indeed sound delicious – but he was still happy with his own choices. Or rather, Alice’s choices on his behalf.

As she took a sip of her wine, Nate took a moment to admire her nails as her fingers wrapped around the wine glass. The manicure had been difficult to fully appreciate from a distance, but now he could see that it was endearingly childish – a playful, galactic design in stark contrast to the rest of her outfit. It looked good though. The splash of colour, together with the vibrant blue of her hair, kept her from looking too sensible without making it seem like she wasn’t trying.

He smiled appreciatively. “Practice makes perfect. Maybe you can invite me over for dinner some time? I’d return the favour but we’d only end up eating takeout or something.” Nate wasn’t an incompetent chef, but he knew his limits. He could cook, but not well enough to impress somebody. Especially not when that somebody was very much an expert in that field.

“I gotta say, I do sometimes go to Michelin starred restaurants. Is that bad? Are they secretly not as classy as all my friends seem to think they are?”

The question was partly asked in earnest, but equally in jest. Nate’s social circle was fairly confined to people who sought out the finer things in life and Michelin stars was one of the indicators they searched for. He didn’t personally care about such things, in fact he was rather smug over being at this secret little unstarred restaurant Alice had found, but he had certainly been under the impression that a Michelin starred restaurant was a great thing. Perhaps it was an authenticity, je-ne-sais-quoi kind of thing.

“I can imagine your other work can get in the way of climbing that particular career ladder,” he laughed. “I think it’s great that you can keep it up alongside your main job, I think it’s all too easy to get swallowed up by a career. I’m amazed we managed to both be free on the same night. Cheers to that,” he added, winking, as he raised his glass.

The topic change amused him. “You want Carol Havelock’s review? She was very excited, I gotta say. Expressed her disappointment that she just seemed to disappear halfway through the evening, but assumed it was something to do with saving the world. You know how it is,” he said, in his best impression. “Don’t worry, she was very impressed. I didn’t tell her that we met. I just know she’d be watching like a hawk if I did. It’s more fun to be a little secretive, right?”

The waiter came to take their orders, and Nate was relieved that neither of them were butchering their pronunciations. There was nothing quite like an American stumbling their way through a foreign language with all the subtlety and nuance of a brick to the face, after all.

Alice Morrow

518 words

ψ