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“That’s two bars in one night you’re taking me to,” she pointed out. “And I’m pretty sure Punch Line serves alcohol too.” Victor laughed.
“You should know by now that I don’t need—or want—to get you drunk to get what I want from you,” he said. “If you want to go home alone at the end of the night, I won’t try and argue you out of it.” That was a rule for him: he never—ever—pressured a woman to come home with him, he never pressured a woman to do anything she seemed the least bit hesitant to do. After a month with Danielle, Victor knew when she was unequivocally in the mood.
“I know,” Danielle said, her smile warming up a bit more, but the playful gleam still in her eyes. “It sounds like a lovely night,” she said primly. Victor chuckled.
“I thought it would be a pretty decent mix of date and celebration,” he said. Danielle nodded and they both settled in for the relatively short drive to the restaurant. Just being close to Danielle, seeing her in the dress, not quite being able to feel the heat of her body next to his, was enough to start the heat flowing in Victor’s veins.
He wanted—almost more than anything—to reach out and pull her into his lap, to nibble along the column of her neck, up to her lips, and let his hands wander over her curvy, lush body. But there was time enough for that later on, he reminded himself.
Tuna Bar was, as always on a Friday night, busy—even at the slightly early hour. People nursed drinks and sampled from beautiful dishes, and Victor followed the hostess to their reserved table, still feeling a little anxious to get Danielle alone again; but a drink would take the edge off, prepare him for enjoying all the buildup to the great ending. “I should have asked how you feel about raw seafood,” Victor said as they sat down. Danielle laughed.
“It depends on the seafood,” she said, taking a deep breath. “The way it smells here—I am definitely in favor.” Victor grinned and glanced at the menu, almost in passing; he’d been to the restaurant a few times before and had brought Danielle specifically because he had liked his experience each time. He knew what he wanted—and he was interested to find out what Danielle wanted.
“Can I get the two of you started with some drinks?” Their waiter looked as Victor expected: clean, professional, interested. Victor glanced at Danielle.
“I think I know a few things we’ll want,” Victor told the man. “I’ll have the yuzu sour.”
“The Winston’s Heat sounds amazing,” Danielle said.
“It’s one of my favorite drinks here,” the waiter told her.
“And I know we’ll want the scallop crudo, tuna tartare, and creamy rock shrimp,” Victor added to the man.
“Excellent choices,” the waiter told them, making notes. “I’ll be right back with your drinks, and I’ll put in your first orders. If you need a few more minutes after that to choose your main courses, feel free to take your time.”
“That is kind of a lot for an appetizer,” Danielle pointed out to him. Victor chuckled.
“Well, a little of this, a little of that...Besides, sushi is light on the stomach.” Danielle considered that and nodded after a moment.
“I can see that,” Danielle admitted.
“Whatever you feel like though, you can have,” Victor told her. “This is a celebration after all.” Danielle chuckled.
“When have we ever had a meal together where I couldn’t order whatever I wanted?” Victor returned her smile with a pleased grin.
“Well, this time I want you to order not just anything you want, but everything you want,” he said. “Don’t think about the price on anything, don’t think about being full—we can take away the leftovers and have them later.”
“Do you have a cooler in the car or something? Raw fish isn’t going to last well in a car while we watch the show,” Danielle pointed out.
“I can have Alan take them back to my place, put the leftovers in the fridge,” Victor told her; he’d already thought of that—it had been a contingency he’d used before. “And I have dessert waiting for us at my place, if you want it.” Danielle’s lips twitched with an almost-smile. It was so good to see her happy, to see her enjoying herself. Of course, seeing her enjoying herself in another sense is even better, he thought.
“What would dessert be?” Danielle’s voice took on a note that Victor recognized after a month of close contact with her; she was starting to feel the way he felt, starting to get into the vibe of the evening.
The drinks came, and by then they were both ready to order the rest of the meal: a J&J roll, a Dragon roll, and the Sindy roll, the last chosen by Danielle alone—but Victor was more than happy to share it. Their first course came soon after, and they dropped into casual conversation, each of them snagging bits of raw scallop, dressed shrimp, and bites of chopped, dressed raw tuna in between sips of their respective cocktails.
“You never did tell me what dessert is going to be,” Danielle pointed out as they both relaxed more and more, and Victor grinned.
“Well, I was thinking of a sundae bar,” he said. “Since I know you love ice cream.” He had a rather novel idea for how the sundaes they made would be served—but that would come later, when it was time for them to go home and enjoy the end of their night together.
After a nice dinner, and the relaxation of the standup show, and maybe a drink or two afterwards, Victor was sure that Danielle would be as fully blissed out as possible; and of course, the lean protein and basic carbohydrates from their meal would leave them both in the best possible condition to spend the rest of the night having sex.
Victor made a mental note to himself about what their next big celebration might entail: maybe he would book them both a day at Terme Di Aroma, to really maximize Danielle’s relaxation, on one of her days off. He knew that Danielle loved massages—he’d used that to his advantage more than once in the month they’d been together. She’d love, even more, a full day of pampering and luxury, something she probably had never had a chance to experience. Victor made a mental note to get his assistant on the task of figuring out the logistics of it all for the next month.
“A sundae bar, huh?” Danielle plucked a shrimp out of the beautiful glazed plate between the two of them and ate it quickly, and Victor enjoyed watching her savor the taste. He nodded.
“A few different ice creams, caramel sauce, whipped cream…” He let the words trail off, raising one eyebrow significantly. “Everything you could want for a delicious end to the night.” Danielle chuckled and licked her lips, as much to tease him as to catch the traces of the sauce there.
Victor grinned at her and took another slice of scallop crudo off of the main plate, telling himself that the waiting would be more than worth it by the time they got back to his place. He would make sure they got some coffee at some point—the better to spend as much of the night as possible enjoying each other’s company; and, of course, enjoying all the sweet stuff he’d gotten for the date.
