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Aleece sat on the bench in Campus Park her phone out and resting in her hands in her lap. Her head was down and felt distinctly uncomfortable at the moment, waiting on Aroon to show up. She wasn’t worried about a date with him no…it was just the fact she felt like she was getting stared at. It could be for the fact she had a big fat lip, or it could be the make up she wore at the moment didn’t cover up the glaring bruise lining her jaw and corner of her mouth.
She didn’t fight for a reason and that impromptu lesson did nothing but teach her how to take an ass whooping. With a sigh she didn’t look up or pay attention to anyone that might have passed her along the paved walk way. She didn’t want to cancel with Aroon because it would be a relatively stupid thing to try and hide. It wasn’t’ like she had been in a serious fight over anything…
Cringing lightly she brought her hand up and delicately touched the tender area, thankful that it had been the one and only time she had gotten punched…well at least with something that showed. She smoothed a hand down her dark washed jeans and she tugged at the white layered sleeve voile top a bit uneasily, despite herself feeling her anxiousness creeping up on her as she waited.
Dropping her hand she tipped her head back and brushed back her dark brown hair left down and not straightened, leaving her locks to fall in thick waves past her shoulders.
ooc: The image for Aroon is the second extra one in my bio. ^^
ic:
His phone sat on the dresser unit at the foot of his bed as he pulled his jacket on over his shirt, adjusting the collar with a quick run of his fingers along the edge...He was due to meet her in ten minutes, certainly more than enough time for him to get ready, so he idly paced around the room before giving a glance into the mirror. A preening gesture here and there adjusted his hair slightly, and with a smirk he ascertained that he was ready.
Quickly picking up his phone, keys for the dorm and his car and stuffing his wallet into his pockets, he walked out of the room and made his way downstairs, whistling to himself a cheerful tune as he stepped out into the light. His pace was light but brisk as he approached the park, his thoughts scattered as he thumbed his keys idly...
'is that....'
Squinting his eyes slightly against the sun, shining into his face, he looked at the girl he saw sitting on a bench and managed to confirm to himself that it was, in fact, Aleece. Smiling, he raised a hand in a brief wave as he approached, waiting until he was in normal speaking distance before doing so.
"Hey, you. Ready to go?" he added a short smile with the words, unfortunate that it was almost immediately marred by a scowl as he spotted the bruisings on her face...Now Aroon didn't consider himself anyones keeper, he particularly didn't view himself as someone to get possessive over anyone, but he didn't deny a flare of annoyance at seeing the injuries. The Thai had no trepidations on fighting a woman if the need presented itself, but certainly didn't advocate unwarranted violence to them...With a flick of his wrist, his left hand extended quickly, yet gently turned her head to the light slightly, with the faintest of movements...
The smile was gone, replaced by his 'usual' straight-faced expression, dirtied by the half-lidded eyes and furiously creased brow. Yet, his voice was even, calm, if maybe a little terse. He had no reason to be angry, so he would ask before he did or said anything...
Aleece straightened her head at the sound of Aroon’s voice and couldn’t stop herself from looking at him straight on almost cringing at the scowl that replaced his smile instantly and she attempted her own small smile. Though it faltered a bit when he suddenly reached out for her chin turning her face up slightly, not giving her time or a chance to pull back. The movement wasn’t rough at all but it didn’t stop the small noise of discontent from escaping her as she was more or less made to sit in his light grasp.
When he asked the two words she had hoped wouldn’t come up she gave a small sigh feeling entirely foolish. Aroon didn’t look happy at all and she was left to wonder for a brief second as to why…
“Should've bobbed when I weaved,” she said lightly. Really it hadn’t been like she had been jumped by a gang of thugs, but she saw it wasn’t going to fly…her half assed attempt of brushing of just not gonna cut it this time.
“Just some training, I didn’t move out of the way fast enough, didn’t block, and got knocked in the jaw,” she said at last feeling her cheeks heat up pretty hotly at her admission to the fact she had been to slow and...well not paying one lick of attention.
“Its no big deal, unless of course you don’t want to go on a date because I’ve got a busted up lip,” she said lightly her small smile back as she waited patiently with her face still in his hand. To be truthful at the time it had been quite the big deal, it had been the first real punch she had ever taken and it hurt like hell to say the least. So she hoped this didn’t put a damper on anything for what ever reason.
« Last Edit: Jun 19, 2009 14:27:16 GMT -6 by aleeca »
He exhaled slowly, mentally turning over the words as he considered whether they were truthful or just an effort to cover up something else...Not only could he see the blush that crept onto her face though, he could practically feel it on his fingertips. She was embarrassed, and with a slight twist of his lips his hand pulled back from her chin.
"Training..?" he said, skeptically as an eyebrow flicked up, watching her nod as if to reaffirm the point for him...Again, he sighed and nodded. If she'd been hurt because of her own volition, then he had no place to question the motive. He left it alone for now and simply shook his head at her suggestion that he'd not want to take her out because of her lip and whatnot. He reached out and tapped her lightly on the forehead with a single digit, hardly touching her, but the gesture was evident. "Don't be so silly, of course I still want to take you out..."
He was smiling again when he drew his hand back, but held it out just long enough for her to reach for it, bringing her to her feet. He cocked his head to the side for a moment as he looked at the bruise, hidden under the makeup, and visibly winced...
"Yeah, you really should've bobbed...Whoever got you has one hell of a right hook..." he said, raising an eyebrow...He pondered the origins of the bruise for a second more before shaking it out of his head. He was here to show her a good evening, not muse over something that could have no real serious problem to it at all.
"So, was there anything you had in mind, or am I finding another quaint little spot like last time?" he quipped, a soft chuckle rolling from his lips as he looked to the Chilean girl for whatever she would suggest.
When he questioned her reason of training she nodded minutely her head barely moving against his hand and she was left wanting to squirm in her seat nonetheless when he sighed then nodded at last. She felt his hand slip from her chin and she relaxed down a little in her posture. At the tap on her forehead Aleece blink once before she smiled a little more and ducked her head with a nod of her own.
Looking at him a moment later though she caught him eying up her bruised face, saw his wince, perhaps in sympathy or understanding but it made her lips pull down in a small pout when he commented next. Yeah no need to tell her Anna had a mean right hook. She felt it…all to close and personally. All she knew what that she didn’t want to have anymore lesson’s with that woman, and would be content if that was there last run in…ever.
Standing she quirked an eyebrow when Aroon asked her if she had anywhere in mind, she really hadn’t thought of anything, “well I thought I might leave it up to you since you seem to be so good at finding quaint places.”
Laughing softly she stuffed her phone into her back pocket and took a few steps back walking slowly backwards as she faced him enticing him to follow, to get going. “And since this time you’ll have a shirt on…” She started again teasing clearly, “maybe you won’t have to worry about getting suddenly mauled by hormonal blond waitresses.”
Lifting an eyebrow she couldn’t help but keep her grin from turning into a light smirk. Aleece probably figured though he didn’t mind the attention one bit if the assembly had been any indication and she laughed to herself remembering that particular moment, him standing there clearly unaffected by the whole ordeal, though it caused a returning blush to tinge her cheeks.
« Last Edit: Jun 20, 2009 1:54:53 GMT -6 by aleeca »
"Hm....I think I know somewhere that'll do just fine, then..." he said after considering the notion for a moment or two...Aroon was not one to have a 'favourite' place for anything. He liked the bistro in East Chula Vista because they did decent coffee, but he also knew of at least a half-dozen other places that did coffee that was equally good. No, the Thai was more akin to trying somewhere new as often as possible, aware of the potential for serious disappointment with some of them in exchange for finding a gem once in a while. If he was going to take Aleece out, he'd need somewhere that he remembered as being good, but also somewhere that would appeal to her as well.
He had a place in mind...
With a smile he shifted his feet, taking up the gesture from Aleece before he rolled his eyes at her words..."I wouldn't worry about that, I plan to keep my shirt on for tonight...", he quirked his head to the side at her, a single break of laughter slipping through his lips as he grinned, "...at least, that's the idea..."
He wondered to himself just how much of the 'assembly' held by the director she'd seen, though going by the faint flush on her cheeks he had a sneaking suspicion that all things depending, there wouldn't be too many surprises left for her...Stifling a snicker at it, he fished his car keys out of his pocket while turning to her. "So, if I'm picking where we're dining, we're gonna want to take a car. I doubt we'd get there until pretty late otherwise. That sound alright with you?"
Giving a small short, soft laugh to herself she turned to walk right and next to Aroon her hands laced together behind her as she went her smaller steps from her short legs keeping up with him, their pace still leisure. “Well that might be the idea,” Aleece started a grin turning into a lightly smirk as she turned her head to look at him, “but will you be able to restrain yourself and actually stay dressed?”
Laughing softly at that she raised an eyebrow briefly before looking ahead of her as she listened to him say that they would be needing to take a car and her face flashed in momentary curiosity. She wondered where they could be going that wasn’t in walking distance not that she minded taking a ride especially if he had a car to get there in.
With a smile Aleece nodded and continued to follow him lead, “that’s fine with me.”
Taking a small breath she looked to the side and titled her head indulging herself for a moment to really look at him. As she expected he was exceedingly easy on the eyes, but she really wanted to know what this guys catch was. There had to be a flaw somewhere in the seemingly perfect façade. A blurp in his personality? Hell, even criminal history in his past? Had to be something... and with a returning grin she looked away.
“So…where are we going? Or am I just gonna have to wait and find out, again.”
« Last Edit: Jun 20, 2009 17:27:43 GMT -6 by aleeca »
He smirked, without needing to look back as he spoke.
"Actually, it's not my restraint I'm worried about, but your concern is noted..." he jibed, a curl of his lips baring a couple of teeth as he grinned, shifting his eyes with an easy, calm expression in them as he settled into the 'routine' they had had the previous time they'd spoken. Whilst it would be exceptionally easy to simply play on that base-line, he figured that if he wanted to continue seeing Aleece, whatever the capacity, he should probably let her in on a few other things. It would be no surprise if someone was wondering what his angle was, considering that up until now he'd been able to lead conversation and actions in such a manner that simply made him look his best. Smooth talk and banter was not difficult when you could read people well, a little forward thinking made things like going out for drinks or food a more fun experience, even his appearance played to his favour. In that light, he would at least give away one or two of his secrets...
"Alright, we're just over here then..." he added, gesturing with his head towards the Audi sitting amidst a few other cars. It fit well, he thought. Not too new to stand out, not too old to look like a pile of rust. He noted her question with a small turn of his head, and pondered the notion for a moment before he smirked inwardly, nodding as he replied.
"Alright, I'll cut you a deal....What would you trade for letting me keep the destination secret for now, since I kind of want to surprise you with it?"
As they neared the car, he set his palm on the roof above his door, waiting for her answer before he got into the vehicle.
"You think your restraint is good enough, eh?" Aleece asked with a laughing tone looking up when he pointed out his car. An Audi...pretty hot even it wasn't this years model. Hell he was doing much better then her and had a car. At the moment there wasn't a need for one so she hadn't thought seriously of working to get one.
When they got to the vehicle she paused at the passenger side, leaning against the side and slowly smiled wider. "Well...since you put it like that. I suppose I can be a good girl and just wait. I'm a generally patient person, after all."
She waited for him to unlock the door if it was indeed locked, not really needing to know where they were going only just ribbing him about the whole thing. Aleece saw the opportunity to really find out something about him in the available trade…but she held off for now. This was pleasant and she didn’t want to mingle anything else into it for now…
“So how’s your shoulder doing?” She asked seeing that he didn’t have it in that sling and nothing was wrapped up, “been keeping out of trouble by the looks of it? No kids wanting to beat you up for your lunch money today?”
As usual there was a teasing lilt in her tone curious as always but going about it as if it wasn’t a big deal. Aroon she knew could probably take care of himself just fine.
He grinned as he opened the door, nodding to her subsequent words with a small shrug of his shoulders. "If you wish, though I never had you pegged for the patient type. More the....spontaneous type."
As he sat into the seat, he pulled his seat belt over and clipped it in before flicking the engine to life with a turn of the key. The rev of the engine was understated, one reason he liked this car he would admit. It didn't 'roar' like a louder engine might, and whilst he waited for Aleece to settle herself he began to edge out of his parking space. Once he had a clear shot, the car leapt into life with a slight lurch as he began to pick up speed. It would take at least twenty minutes to get to this place through the early evening traffic, so while the roads were still all but empty, he'd push it just a little more to balance the time. He had no worry of trouble, not on these side-roads leading away from the Collective.
He glanced to his side as she questioned his shoulder, and he gave a small smirk at the sarcasm before chuckling. "No, completely trouble-free, with the Directors assembly the exception. I think I've managed to put people off trying to beat me up for a while after that. The shoulders gotten better. It's still a little sore, but just an annoyance now, really."
He smiled through the lilt, knowing that she was just being curious, though maybe a touch concerned, and he decided to lighten the topic some. At least, he attempted to. He was hoping that there wasn't an ulterior motive he'd missed or was uninformed of.
"So, what have you been doing, besides apparently bobbing when you should be weaving...?"
Aleece just smiled as she followed suite getting into the car as well and promptly buckled her seat belt and brushing a hand through her hair as they got out of the parking lot and headed off to where it was that Aroon had decided on. She was glad to hear though that his shoulder was feeling better though she had noticed it just fine at the assembly. Though when he said it was an annoyance more then anything, she smiled as widely as she could with out being reminded of her bruised jaw.
“Well good, maybe we can go running sometime, instead of just running into each other. Never taken my run with anybody before,” she said almost thoughtfully and turned her head to look at him briefly before letting out a breath as she faced front again.
With a shrug of one shoulder went on to answer his question of what she was up to, reaching up a hand to unconsciously finger the afflicted area. “That’s it,” she said with a small grin her tone a little quieter. “Nothing really seems to happen to me unless it’s unexpected, kind of like this pop in the jaw.”
Laughing softly, “so to correct you, I’m not spontaneous, everything around me is, and I’m only forced to go along with it.”
It was definitely a change of pace for her, she was used to nothing happening, people leaving her alone and nothing exciting happening. But here ever since she transferred…to many things were popping up around her, causing her to be drug into things to keep her cynicism to a minimum about this place. Though there were encounters like with Aroon that were pleasing instead of worrisome if this was going to get her sent to the Pit or…be punished in some way by the headmaster.
“So,” Aleece said with a small laugh, “it seems that there are couple videos of you on the Internet, naked, from the assembly, and let me tell you, I think you’re quite popular. I just don’t know how I’m going to contend.”
She tried to beat back another small laugh that wanted to bubble up and bit her lip, “I think there is even a Aroon fan base. Have you seen it?”
Of course she was just kidding, but the video had gotten a lot of feed back and hits, she didn’t know if it was because of him being naked along with the others. But the affect and purpose of having it up had been served. The video was now hosted on many different sites and no by her. It had spread, pretty quickly.
He nodded with a light smile, though he didn't turn to look at her. Driving as he was, he considered that they'd both enjoy the evening a whole lot more if they weren't wrapped around a streetlight.
"That sounds like a good idea, but we'll have to see if your stamina can keep up with mine...."
Hey, he didn't have to look at her to shoot his wry smirk, if she were to be looking at him as he suspected from that remark, Aleece would see the corner of his mouth curled slightly as he chuckled under his breath. A quick glance at a road sign and he was back to listening, rolling his eyes when she mentioned the 'unexpectedness' of her bruised jaw. He was still a hint suspicious as to its origins, but he'd already told her he believed her that the cause was purely bad luck, if not accidental. It wasn't like he'd never seen a female Muay Thai fighter with bruises from bare-knuckle training, so the concept was at least reasonable.
"I'm guessing then, that your days are just a series of unexpected twists?" he replied, actually turning slightly to look at her for a moment with a small smile, "On the bright side, at least it's not boring, right?"
For a few moments there was an air of contemplation, and he took it to focus exclusively on the road as he mused over what else he would do for tonight...When Aleece did speak again, he sighed in a rather feigned exasperation, a touch of actual embarrassment on his cheeks, but just a little.
"Yeah, it seemed like a good idea at the time, stick it to the man and all that...As for being popular, I could argue otherwise some days. Apparently, more than a few of the students have got a bit too much 'school spirit' for their own good..." he muttered, his words turning a little annoyed closer to the end before he caught himself and kept the tone lighter.
"Wait, a fan base? Now who doesn't want one of those? Besides, I think you'll 'contend' just fine...."
He had considered the chance that someone had filmed the 'events' of last week but decided to dismiss it. His act had been one of personal amusement, and if he'd gotten a few people to stop taking the entire farce seriously then all the better. On the other hand, if he was now all over the internet, he couldn't deny a curiosity as to how popular it'd become.
"That sounds like a good idea, but we'll have to see if your stamina can keep up with mine...."
Aleece was looking his way, furtive glances, but she still saw the smirk on his face, “well if I’m not I’m sure you won’t have a problem helping out building some kind of stamina up, right?”
Returning the smirk for one of her own she turned her head to look out her passenger side window, not really seeing where they were going, but enjoying the ride nonetheless. She suspected she should feel a little bit more nervous because of the fact they were on a date, but for some reason she just really couldn’t be. Aroon apparently had it all, the looks, the brains, the car…to top it off he wasn’t lacking in conversational skills so something to talk about was hardly a problem.
Turning her attention back his way she chuckled about his comment of her life never being boring she nodded slowly in agreement and let her gaze drift off, “nope…I can honestly say my life has hardly been boring since coming here.”
Which was true, she found herself tangled in more affairs and other peoples business then she would at any given moment back home. Here she was sort of forced to mingle with things that didn’t have circuits or wires and have a monitor for a face. Yeah…she was a nerd.
Raising an eyebrow her grin threatened to break out wider when he commented on his popular status on net. She could almost see the embarrassed little tinge in his face and it endeared her somewhat to him. Though…her small smile seemed to dim a bit when he seemed to want to get upset about the system, in general, with that comment. Quickly she smiled again however when he went on shaking her head a bit.
“I’ll contend just fine you think?” Aleece teased with raised and almost disbelieving eyebrow, “well I guess then I won’t have to link you the fanfiction site I found either dedicated to you from all the fangirls, and boys staring you in their own personal little fantasies.”
Okay so maybe that one was a lie but she couldn’t help but snicker at him to herself as she turned her head, and propped her elbow against the door so she could halfway hide her grin behind her fingers.
« Last Edit: Jun 25, 2009 11:58:42 GMT -6 by aleeca »
He just chuckled at her retort, the smile on his face lingering as he continued to drive. A quick glance at a roadsign showed that they were close, and he mentally routed the path needed. Oddly, despite the general sense of annoyance that the Thai was dealing with at an almost never ending rate, he was in good spirits just now. Most of that, yes, he could appoint to Aleece and the light-hearted yet flirtatious banter that still hung around the pair of them.
After a moment from his own observation on his new found ..'fame', he shot a brief sidewards glance at the girl, an eyebrow raising up. For a moment his face was straight and unamused, but it took barely a few seconds for his lips to crack and the soft chuckling to escape him.
"No, I'm fairly sure you won't have to...Really overplayed your hand with that, Aleece...." he added, grinning as he cocked his eyebrow in amusement. Now, the notion that the video had a large number of hits, that was feasible. He could believe that no problem. The fanfiction notion was just beyond realism...
"Of course, I'm sure if anyone was writing fanfiction about me, you'd be the first to know?" he quipped, a wry smirk on his lips.
Aleece straightened her head and gave a good natured roll of her eyes at the guy talking about overplaying her hand on that particular joke, but she hadn’t meant to be believed after all. Though it would be quite hilarious to find some a fanbase somewhere that would write about Aroon, in a fictional way. Hell there probably was and she just hadn’t come across it yet.
Laughing to herself at the train of though she looked over to him and raised an eyebrow. “Hmm, and if I started the Aroon fanfiction fad? That I might have some nude pictures of you in a private bidding war? Would that come across as completely stalker – ish?”
With a quickly quirked turn up of her lips she laughed again and shook her head looking out of her window. She didn’t mean a word of, really there was no surprise left for Aleece at this point with Aroon, she’d seen him shirtless on the first meeting then completely nude a short time after and now they were going on a date…the order…seemed a bit off.
The video in general was popular, the out cry from faceless names all over the web not only in California but the world, across it, better then anything she could have asked for. Now all she was looking to do, was what the media did, what the headmaster and the system was no doubt doing all ready, twisting and manipulating information in a way to help her own cause…
Realizing she had paused, she looked at Aroon and grinned, “so enough of your growing popularity on the internet…” Her tone was teasing with a small laugh in it as she pushed a hand through her hair.
"Well, who wouldn't want their very own stalker, particularly if she's a looker? Still, if you went so far out of your way to cash in on my nudity, I'd consider it only fair to be able to do the same. Quid pro quo, am I right?" he jabbed, smirking at that. Frankly, the notion of Aleece having footage of him in his altogether in and of itself wasn't that shocking. He'd come to conclusions that that particular....spectacle would become quite well recognised. On the other hand, his normally composed mind began a slow descent to the gutter as it tended to around Aleece, a side-effect of her particularly well-played tease.
Though he'd not know she was thinking the same thing, he found himself briefly mulling over the logic of their situation. Technically, this would be a second date for them, if the coffee shop just over a week ago was taken into account. Now, whilst Aroon is no prude, and having dated before, he had a rough notion that usually the dates came first, then the full-frontal nudity.
Ironically, part of him felt a tad slighted that whilst she'd had the entire show, he was still viewing trailers. The instant that errant thought crossed his mind, he resisted the urge to smack himself. Idioms and analogys like that were below his standard...Instead, he glanced a little further ahead of them and saw where they were headed just up on the left. As he began to decelerate, he shifted to look at her with a dry smirk on his face.
"Yes...my 'popularity', that's what you ladies are calling it these days, huh?"
He rolled his eyes with a chuckle as he pulled the car into the lot, in front of the restaurant he'd decided to take her. With a quick glance at the simple sign hanging from the wall, he gave another glance at Aleece. "Well, we're here."
Siam, a remarkably authentic Thai cuisine restaurant, a little gaudy on the interior but completely rescued by the food which, coming from Aroon and being barely a year out of Thailand, was as good as that he could get at home. He smiled to himself as he popped the lock on the doors and swung his open as he stepped out into the sun. Hopefully Aleece would get why he'd wanted to keep it to himself until just now, considering that this was one of those small things about him he could show her, since he could hardly tell her. The Thai had no qualms about his atrocious cooking abilities, he could muster up a half-dozen dishes at a push, and most of those didn't actually require cooking...This way, he could show her a taste (no pun intended) of what home was like for him.
It wasn’t his teasing of having his own stalker, that much she had coming and knew a retort of the like would come from him, but the fact he thought she was a…looker, made Aleece’s cheeks heat up. But she quickly found her footing again wondering why she would even get flustered up at the fact he thought she was pretty…not even his suggestion of him getting the same rights to maybe get some pictures of her got the same effect.
Instead she raised an eyebrow, the expression serious and probably would have worked if it weren’t for the mirth in her face, “well I don’t know how well that would sell for you, Aroon, but we can sure try and have a photo session.”
Sticking her tongue out she struck a pose with her hand behind her head, obviously the seductiveness of the position not really working out for her. Laughing to herself she dropped her hands and shook her head not really getting the chance to think of something to say back to him as they pulled into the parking lot of the place they were going. But she forgot about trying to keep up the witty banter when she saw where they were.
Aleece to say the least was pleasantly surprised. She had never had Thai food and she was always open for trying new things…With a smile and not a smirk or teasing grin she unbuckled her seat belt and followed him out, closing the door behind her and rounding the front of the car. Making her way up next to him she slide an arm through his and tugged half turned to face him as she urged them on, “well come on…aren’t you gonna culture me a bit?”
This was one of those things that she could say she had never tried, but had always wanted to. Though going by herself and knowing a bit of Thai society would put her in an awkward position (especially since her social record wasn't the greatest), so who better to show her then the guy from Thailand himself?
ooc: Any sections where spoken word is written with '~' symbols around it is spoken in Thai.
ic:
He simply stifled the short snicker that bubbled up in him when she mentioned a 'photo session', deciding that taking that one any further would simply delve into a spontaneous offer to go and fornicate for several hours. Instead, as he got out of the car and she shot the comment on his 'culturing' of her, he rolled his eyes with a dry smirk and stepped around to walk with her, tapping the fob to lock the vehicle as they made their way towards the restaurant.
"Now now, there's a whole evening for me to school your butt on Thai culture, after all..."
He smirked and took a step forward to open the door, hooking it to the side as he shifted himself, holding the door open for Aleece. Again, it remained that whilst the Thai was not one to pander to a girl, he had the manner to maintain certain aspects of chivalry without thinking. Then again, if the situation presented, he'd hold a door for anyone, regardless of gender. With a smile he stepped in himself and gave a nod to the hostess who approached them, her moderately accented English greeting the pair.
"Good evening, a table for two, is it?"
He nodded at the slightly older woman before she proceeded to lead them through the main floor. It looked like a reasonable evening for custom, just a little over half full and a good vibrancy about the place, a fine time to come here. When they were shown their table, he gave her a short smile.
~"Thank you, could you ask the server to bring over some cha-ma-now, please?"~
As they sat, he would give a small chuckle as he remembered that Aleece would require interpreting for his ventures into his native tongue. "Sorry, when I'm in here I have a tendency to deviate to Thai. I asked her to bring over a drink called cha-ma-now, it's the Thai equivalent of iced tea...Probably best to start you with something that's easy on the palate, no?"
He smiled easily and adjusted his chair as he followed her expression. Until now, he had only ever spoken English in her presence, so whether the appearance of his actual language would provide a new light remained to be seen...
« Last Edit: Jun 27, 2009 15:39:43 GMT -6 by aleeca »
Aleece merely followed Aroon in finding there no need to go into the countless number of rather dirty minded comebacks she could have for his statement of him and her butt. Stifling her own laugh she followed him, stepping in when he held the door open, her gaze instantly curious as she soaked up the ambiance of the entire restaurant.
Her expression softened a bit in a subdued but pleased little turn of her lips as she stepped in a little close to Aroon and followed him further in her eyes not sitting still and looking every bit of someone who had never been to a place like this. Aleece was so absorbed in looking like she had no sense with staring that she barely noticed when they stepped up to the table and with a pink hue lining her cheeks she remembered herself long enough to at least take a seat.
She smiled a bit more when Aroon started to speaking Thai and she raised an eyebrow in a clearly amused fashion until he turned to her and explained causing her to nod. While she wasn’t exactly worried about having something strange on her palate she was glad for the clear up. There was no surprise that he would give in the tendency to speak in his native language and she leaned comfortably against the table propping her chin in her hand her body angled toward him.
“No need to apologize to me. I have a tendency to speak Spanish randomly so I understand,” she said with a grin, “and I’ll trust that you’ll order something good for me to eat. Get a real authentic experience here, so hit me with your best.”
Her tone was edged with something a bit challenging knowing it would get a favorable response or reaction out of him. This was the first time all week she hadn’t had to deal with anything out of the ordinary, even if it was a new experience, there was nothing stressful or that required her to keep her on her toes.
"Well, I suppose that's fair, though I can't help but apologise. I mean, what kind of a date would it be if I needed subtitles for you to understand what I'm saying?" he retorted, smirking with a small shrug of his shoulders. "But, don't worry. I'll stick with the stuff I can at least assume you'll like, because a truly 'authentic' meal might be a little beyond the palate. Hell, it's far beyond mine, and I grew up there...:"
He wasn't exaggerating, either. Aroon remembered some of the more...unique dishes that he'd tried over the years, including fried giant water bugs and chili padi -Birdseye chili he'd heard them called over here-. The bugs were just awful, and he'd not even consider them tonight. The chili wasn't too bad, in comparison, but it was fiery enough that the Thai, accustomed as he was to spicy food, found them hard to stomach.
A minute or two later, the two drinks were set down at the table along with a pair of menus. Thankfully there were English translations for the dishes, though he would expect any kind of eatery in this country to have such a thing. He sipped the strong, sweet beverage without opening the menu, instead folding his hands over each other and mentally considering what he would order for them. Rather than just getting two individual dishes, it might be more appropriate, and a little more interesting, to get a few different smaller dishes to cover different aspects of the food.
"So, if you're putting your trust in me to order you food, you should let me know if you're allergic to anything, or if you're particularly averse to anything like spices. Wouldn't want to have your first experience of my countrys cuisine ruined because of it, right?"
He stirred the drink in front of him with the straw provided, swirling the ice in a rhythmic rattle as he waited for her to answer. It seemed a personal question to pose, but mostly he wanted to make sure he didn't end up hospitalising her if she had a nut allergy or something like that...One might call that a slight foot-in-mouth situation.
Aleece actually found it kind of engaging, attractive even to hear a different language she didn’t know spoken. It was appealing in a way that fascinated her and peeked her naturally curious side, the part of her that liked to soak up anything and everything that was new to her. But if he wanted to be thoughtful enough to keep her informed of what he was saying then she’d be grateful for that too.
With a small chuckle she nodded understanding completely what he meant. Aleece remembered one time on a family trip back to Chile, and some of the foods there had her raising more then a few eyebrows wondering if she was actually expected to eat what was put in front of her. So between growing up on her mothers home cooked meals that was rich in heavy in hot spices and authentically cooked food and this she was pretty sure could handle it.
Aleece sat up straight when the drinks arrived and she didn’t’ hesitate to bring it closer to take a sip and hummed, the sweetness of it hitting her like a brick to the face, but loving it. When she pulled away she did open the menu just out of inquisitiveness just to see what her stomach would be up against tonight. She was quickly entertained and enthralled with just the menu when Aroon’s question made her hum in question and look up. Lowering the menu she glanced his way and shook her head slowly, “I don’t have any food allergies that I know of…”
That probably wasn’t to comforting seeing as how it would be a instant date killer to have her wind up in the hospital because of some unknown, late surfacing reaction to some certain thing she’d never eaten, but it added to the fun of trying it anyways. Grinning a bit she shrugged before going on.
“Well, its not a truly great date unless something unexpected happens,” Aleece teased with a growing smile and raised an eyebrow.
"Well, if there's none you know of, and I'm assuming you've eaten more than Cheetos and French fries in your lifetime, then I think that rules out shellfish, nuts, milk and all the normal things. That'll make this a whole lot easier and really, really widens up the list of things I can have them serve." he remarked, a smirk on his face as he linked his fingers together, resting his chin on the backs of them for a few moments as he slipped into thought, putting together a list of dishes for Aleece to try in his head.
After a few moments, he smiled and nodded. "Alright, I think I know what we can get..."
Taking another sip on the sweet tea, he caught eyes with the waitress that had brought their drinks over, causing her to pace over swiftly and produce a small pad and pen. He held off, sticking with English for now as he turned to her.
"Okay, can you do a small bunch of sample-type dishes, rather than just a large plate?"
She looked at him puzzled for a moment before nodding, "Uh, I don't see why not, the chefs do taster events once in a while. I'd have to find out about pricing on it though, if you want to wait?"
"No, that's alright for now, we can deal with that later. Alright, so we'd like sampler dishes for Kai Yat Sai, Ping Pai, Khanom Bueang, Khao Mun Gai, Khao Soi, Massaman, Mee Krob, Pad Khing, Rad Na, and Tam Mak Hoong. Is that alright?"
As the pen scribbled across the pad, the waitress nodded slightly, "It'll take a little while to have them ready, but it shouldn't be a problem at all. Was there anything else you wanted?"
He shook his head with a polite smile, "No thanks, I think we'll be fine now."
As she nodded and walked off to put their order in, he took a small sip of the sugary drink in front of him before he chuckled and spoke up to Aleece. "If you would like, I can explain the dishes to you now, or when they're in front of us..."
Even though Aleece’s taste range was a little wider then unhealthy junk and fast food she could honestly say she wouldn’t mind living off those two particular starches for as long as she could. She, to say the least, was a bit surprised when Aroon started rattling off the rather large list of foods to try and smile spreading on her face, but a bit worried about her rather boorish eating habits in front of the guy. This was a date after all and when placed in front of food she was at her weakest. At least it hadn’t been a burger place then she’d really make a real embarrassment of herself.
There was a reason she ran almost everyday and it was because she indulged when she probably shouldn’t. Pushing all that out of her head for the time, she ducked her head down, and took a long sip of her drink she looked up as she did taking the time a second after to straightening in her seat properly, licking her lips unconsciously, catching every bit of flavor she could to enjoy it.
“Well, I think it’ll be more fun to get an explanation as we go. It’ll give me a better idea to what you’re having me eat,” she said lightly leaning back in her seat her fingers trailing up her glass to the straw and turned the tea with it slowly.
Looking over to Aroon she took a moment to study him a moment honesty curious how she of all people interesting him enough go out with him here, to a Thai restaurant. Aleece was sure that with that video he was getting more then a few offers from girls around the collective…or it wouldn’t surprise her a bit. Stifling a small snicker she looked down briefly before looking up again.
“So, for the collectives hottest star,” she started off teasingly, unable to really let him live it down and finding it doubly amusing because she had helped by spread the video. “Besides being an exhibitionist what takes up your time on a daily bases?”
"Sure thing, though I'm starting to think it might be more fun to have you guess what's in each dish..." he quipped as he returned to slowly stirring his drink with a twist of his index finger and thumb. He caught her looking at him in a manner he'd seen a few times before and, rather than call her up on it, let himself remain 'focused on the drink in front of him for a moment or two. When she shot up the conversation again, however, Aroon groaned quietly with a grin on his face.
No, as unashamed as he was about the entire debacle, he know full well that he would never live down what had happened. That alone would be the sole embarrassment factor about it, knowing that if, by some reason he was to ever bump into anyone from Chula in twenty years, that would probably be their very first topic of conversation.
However, her remark made it easy for him to exact a semblance of 'revenge' on her, and he grinned before responding with a small, smug look on his face.
"Well, if you mean besides having to deal with the steadily growing number of girls who've offered their numbers and/or beds to me in the last week...."
He raised an eyebrow at her, making it clear by the tone of his voice that it was farcical and nothing more, before he carried on. "Besides the obvious things like class, I don't really do anything. I mean, yeah, I'm in a gym a whole lot, but other than that the extent of my free time is usually just...meandering around. Sometimes I go for a drive, sometimes I go grab coffee or a movie, I check out the internet once in a while...Oh, I used to really be into photography back home, but I've been at a bit of a dead end on what to do about that over here. Other than that, yeah, I'm just a bit of a bore for the most part. I read books and lie in the sun, that's pretty much the best description of me I can give."
He shrugged with a half-smile, taking a small sip of his drink as he let her process that and leaving the opportunity present for her to ask another question if she wished.
She couldn’t ignore the twinge she felt when he teased back about the apparently numerous amounts of females clamoring to get in his bed, and give out their phone numbers to him, but she hardly let it show as she grinned. Leaning in she narrowed her eyes playfully, “yeah…but all those girls aren’t here now are they? I’d have to say my chances are better…for whatever reason, and if whatever reason that may be I’ll just have to make sure I can keep your interest long enough that they won’t matter…”
With a smile she raised a testing eyebrow for him to counter that and knew he probably would. Looking down she listened to his hobbies finding that he sounded just about as exciting as her and stifling a small laugh she rested her elbow on the table, pressing her mouth against the back of her fingers, before shooting him a side long glance. Dropping her arm she let her hand fall to her glass so she could move it and not bump it.
“I remember you mentioned photography before,” Aleece finally said, not wanting to let the silence stretch on for to long between them. “I’m sure you could just do it has a continuing hobby…surely there has got to be something that’ll inspire you.”
She’d never taken pictures on anything fancier then a cell phone or a digital Nokia so the prospect of perhaps learning more about cameras become an instant peek in her curiosity. It was sort of embarrassing because she realized that her face spoke everything she was thinking loud and clear…its what made her a horrible liar, and its why she preferred to be behind a computer screen. Looking down she smiled kind of sheepishly, “I mean…not to be pushy or anything about it.”
Shaking her head Aleece lifted a hand and ran it across her forehead and down to her mouth biting her lip lightly. Now…now, you get flustered? she thought to herself a bit put out with that fact…over…something like photography, but she had a feeling it wasn’t exactly because of the choice of topic.
« Last Edit: Jun 30, 2009 21:16:03 GMT -6 by aleeca »