A Dinner for Two

[missjessica]

Another day was settling down, the sun just a couple hours away from setting along with the people it shined down upon. People were strolling along the sidewalks, on their way home. Jessica was sitting down in a corner booth in La Caravelle. It was fairly empty, at the moment. Though they had quiet mood music playing through the sound system. The employees were busy getting ready for the dinner rush in a couple hours. Rushing around cleaning tables that have been recently abandoned by customers. The lunch hour rush has came and went and it was just Jessica, and little Madeline sitting in the corner of the restaurant.

Madeline was curled up on the seat next too her, looking like she was taking an afternoon nap. Jessica on the other hand, was sitting cross legged, her ballet flats on the floor. Her feet bare against the comfortable seat. Her hand idly petting Madeline as she stared out of the window. The restaurant was just outside the port, the smell of the sea, and the salty air was fresh to her senses. Jessica had lunch with a friend of hers early that day, but she was waiting for someone now. She had called him earlier on her cellphone and asked if he wanted to have dinner after his last class. She was just waiting now.

A waiter walks over to Jessica's table and quickly whips it clean. He places a coaster down before placing a glass of water with a lemon slice. He also places a plastic bowl filled with water on the ground next to Jessica's seat. "Will that be all Miss René?" He asks her. Her stare out onto the port is broken when he spoke. She looked over at him and nods. "For now, Thank you." She smiles politely at him. I swear I'd hate to work at a restaurant. Waiting on people, how can they stand it. Ew. Jessica shuddered.

She smirked to herself as she turned her attention to her dog. She poked Maddy's side gently, to wake her up. Madeline lifts her head up and looks up at Jessica. Jessica uncrosses her legs and slips on her ballet flats. She stands up, picking up Madeline and places her down on the ground next to the water bowl. Madeline eagerly starts to lap water from it. After a moment, she stops and Jessica picks her back up and places her down on the seat. She sits back down herself. "Did you enjoy your nap Maddykins?" She giggled rubbing Madeline's tummy. Madeline lies on her back, her paws in the air as she pants happily. "Mmm, Yes you did." She smiled down at her dog. "Who's a good girl, huh? Who's mommy's good girl." Madeline barks in reply. "That's my girl!" Jessica praises as she picks Madeline up to give her a little hug.

[brody]

Voicemail received at 2:49pm.

"Hey Brody baby. Can you meet me at La Caravelle after your class? I'll be waiting in the corner booth facing the port. See you then. Love you, bye."

To save this message, press 1. To delete this message, press 2.

It’d be a cold hearted man that wouldn’t smile at a message like that. With his phone slipped into his back pocket, he walked across the lawns of the campus of the University of the Mediterranean. With a name like that it was obvious where ‘Aix-Marseille II’ was situated, so he really didn’t mind walking the abnormally long distance to get his car after his last class had ended. The weather was good, from here the sea looked vibrantly turquoise, and he was about to go find his girl.

Yeah, that still sounded weird. Brody had been dating Jessica for little over two months now, but it was the longest relationship he had ever held down. Brody Hathaway was renowned for being a ladies man. In short, he had his first kiss when he was nine years old, lost his virginity when he was fourteen, and stopped counting when he was sixteen. Before Jessica the longest time he spent with a girl was about 3 weeks before he lost interest and moved on. And yet, he couldn’t tell what was so different about this particular one. Maybe it was how he was, rather than Jessica herself, that had him hanging around. Maybe he was getting older, wiser… he was being serious about his education for one thing, which meant that he didn’t have as much time as he once did to chase skirts, and the fact that Jessica shared one of his minors helped to spend time with her, in lectures, lab and doing homework.

Then again, maybe he just liked her that much.

Either way, the thought of seeing her lifted his spirits even higher then they had been since earlier that day, when he had spent a free class in a friend’s room devising yet another plan to get Ten, his best friend, to finally get out of Wales. They had planned her escape (or indeed his escape back to her) repeatedly over the last three years (eight months and fourteen days…) but this time he felt confident that it might actually work.

He hoped he was right.

She wasn’t planning on coming for another two weeks or so, so that meant he had plenty of time to warn tell people that she was coming. He had to keep it from his parents, at least for now, but there was no reason his brothers couldn’t know. And then there was Jess. He’d tell her, sure, but it wasn’t going to be plain sailing… that was the catch to his confidence. Jessica knew about Ten – everyone did – but no one but his family actually met her. Jessica tolerated the phone calls at awkward hours of the day and night, the online conversations and the text messages that he exchanged with his childhood friend, but he couldn’t help but feel apprehensive about the two meeting. The two girls couldn’t be more opposite. To be honest, Jessica was actually more like the epitome of everything Ten stood against… so her visit was going to be interesting, at least.

By now Brody knew the roads of Marseille like the back of his hand, so it took him only a few minutes to do the miles to the port, not that his slightly heavy-footed driving didn’t help. He parked up in the small parking area that ran the length of the street outside La Caravelle. The questionably sane grunge rock music that was blaring inside the car – the latest and most expensive gift from his father – thundered against the tinted windows of the vehicle and turned a few heads in his direction. As if they wouldn’t do the same if they could?

He smirked slightly to himself as he turned off the engine and climbed out, slamming the door behind him. At least his father’s newfound generosity allowed him to be even more smug than he usually was. The street was busy enough for that time of day, but Brody wasn’t bothered. He knew where he had to be. He had parked just outside La Caravelle so he was at the door and pushing it open in seconds. It didn’t take him long to spot the raven haired belle … and the brilliant white pom pom she called a dog… sitting by the window like she said she would. She was playing with Madeline which meant she was distracted, so Brody walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders before she could jump or beat him for the scare. He pressed a kiss to the ivory, soft skin of her cheek, before whispering in her ear.

“I swear you love that dog more than me.”

[missjessica]

Jessica jolts startled by Brody's kiss on her cheek. But a smile grows on her face anyways as she feels his hot breath against her ear, and feeling the weight of his arms on her shoulders. Her smile turns into a smirk as she sets Madeline back down on the seat. "Now now Brody, if that was the case I wouldn't be dating you." She turns around, still in his clutch and returns a kiss on his cheek, tippy toeing to do so.

"I missed you." She smiles looking up at him, her eyes gazing into his. She wraps her arms around his torso giving him a hug. "Y'know..." She giggled pulling away from him. "If I didn't know any better I think Maddy missed you too. Even though you think she's stealing me away from you." She smirks looking up at him. "You missed him right Maddy?" She glances over at Madeline on the seat.

Madeline jumps up barking in reply, running around in circles seemingly excited that Brody's here. "See? What did I tell you. She missed you too." She laughs at Madeline's response. Her attention shifts back to Brody "Mm, You hungry baby?" She looks up at Brody, placing her hands on his chest. She tippy toes up to give him a gentle kiss on the lips. "My treat this time alright? Since you paid for the last time. And I know you wanna be a gentleman and pay but I insist Brody." She whispered playfully giving him another peck on the lips.

"Now come sit down." She smiles grabbing onto one of his hands as she slips out from under his clutch. She slides into the sit, her hand slipping out of his. She moves Madeline away to make room for him. She looks up at him, attempting to give a sultry gaze as she pats the seat next to her. "I'm in the mood for some wine with dinner, what about you?" She asks biting her bottom lip thinking of what brand of wine she should order.

[brody]

Brody lifted his arms from Jessica’s shoulders with a smile on his face. The idea that she loved the dog more than him wasn’t exactly one that hadn’t crossed his mind before, but every time he voiced it she became quite dismissive, and that was probably worth it. The kiss to his cheek was cute enough to last anyway. Jess’s tiny size especially compared to him always seemed endearing. Like the way she had to stand on her toes to kiss him like that, it was like she had to put in that extra bit of effort, and it was just plain cute.

The idea that the dog missed him though damn near had him rolling his eyes. That bloody dog! It was over groomed and undersized and its yapping grated on Brody’s nerves. The only good thing that came from it was when Jessica came home with him and Morgan and Isolde got to play with the mutt. But he couldn’t hold it against the poor animal. It wasn’t her fault she looked like a toilet brush with no stick. To be honest, Brody didn’t mint her company when he could look past the frills and fluff. A dog was a dog, and he had a soft sport for the canine species. So when the dog started yapping at Jessica’s command, Brody had to force himself not to laugh. He thought she was going to wet herself in excitement.

“I’m starving,” Brody answered her as soon as the barking quieted down. And when she told him she was going to pay, he clamped his mouth shut. He hated it when she did that. At least when he paid for things he felt like he was taking care of her. It was a good feeling. The knowledge that you were being treated to lunch by your girlfriend with the fashionable, barking, handbag ornament… not so much. But he knew that he had little say in the matter.

“Well, you won’t let me eat otherwise, so fine. You pick up the tab this time…” The arms that were wrapped around her slender waist pulled her closer then, and he tilted his head so that his nose almost touched hers, and whispered “But I’ll have to pay you back later.”

She’d know exactly what he meant, and that was only a good thing. He released her quite quickly though, and watched as she sat down and made room for him. He followed, too obediently. Wine was the last thing on his mind at that moment; vodka maybe, but being barely late afternoon even thinking about a shot or seven was severely premature. The reasons for his severe lack of logic and patience that day was because he knew what was to come of it. So he took a breath, ignored the offer of wine, focused his gaze solidly on Jessica.

“I have some news.” He hoped there was more positivity in his voice than he felt. “Ten’s coming. Flying over in a couple of weeks. I figured you’d like to meet her… possibly.”

[missjessica]

Jessica's eyes grew wide as she stopped everything she was doing when she heard those words. 'Ten's coming.' The words rang through her head as if she was just told her credit card was just canceled. Even Madeline sensed the vibe, and became still and silent. Jessica's thoughts raced. She's going to be...here?! She felt threatened but she had to think of something to say quick. She leaned back in her seat, putting a half smile on her face. "Sure, it'd be cool to meet my baby's best friend." She giggled innocently, to reassure him that it was okay with her.

She moved of her bangs out of her face and behind her ear. "Well, you maybe don't want the wine, but I do." She smirked deciding on asking the waiter for the Chef's recommended wine and ordering a bottle of that. She needed it, especially after hearing that. What if she's prettier than me... She pouted thinking to herself. She rolled her eyes, Oh my gosh that was so childish. She sighed petting Madeline idly. It's going to be a long week.

The waiter walked over with two menus and placed them on the table. He half smiled at the two. "What would you two like to drink this evening?" He asked politely, as he picked up the water bowl from the ground the glass of water from the table. His eyes darting from Jessica to Brody, waiting for someone to order something.

Jessica smiled when the waiter came by. "I would like a bottle of the Chef's recommended wine, if you don't mind and possibly another water with that." She looked down at Madeline. "Oh, and possibly another bowl of water for the puppy here." She then looked over at Brody, leaning against him slightly. "What do you wanna drink baby?" She whispered to him quietly.

---

((Pardon it, my muse is half there and I was contemplating what Jessica would say to that. Lol)))

[brody]

‘Relief’ was an understatement. Brody all but beamed at Jessica’s words reassured him that she wanted to meet Ten. Granted, the fact that she was more worried about it than he was, was something completely lost on him. After all, he had a habit of seeing what he wanted to see rather than what was really there, and at that point he wanted some sort of mellow reassurance from at least one of these girls, and he wasn’t going to get it from Ten.

The waiter came over then and Brody took one of the menus from his hand and he sat the other one on the table. Jessica’s whispered words near his ear had him biting his tongue for a minute while he thought. Yes, he thought about what he wanted to drink, but the way she cooed into his ear struck a nerve. One that hadn’t been breathed on in a long time. He frowned slightly. He liked Jessica, he really did – hell, he liked her enough to tell her he loved her – but there were things, tiny things, that had started to irk him lately, even in the slightest. Like that bloody dog. And how every second word was ‘baby’.

“Coffee,” he sighed at last, “really strong.” He couldn’t drink; he was driving, and if caffeine was the closest thing to alcohol he was going to have to kill his tension, he was going to make sure he had enough of it. The waiter nodded with a pleasant smile, which Brody automatically resented, and he went back into the kitchens with glass and bowl in hand.

Finally alone, Brody turned to look at Jessica and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. His blue eyes bored into her with a knowing smile before he lifted the menu in his hand to shield their faces from view of anyone else. There he pressed a kiss to her soft lips, vastly more intimate than the one of greeting minutes before. Yes she was starting to grate on his nerves, but that was her only fault, she gave as much attention as she craved, and she was damn cute too. Unfortunately, her dog felt that she was being left out, and no sooner had the moment turned heated Brody felt a rough, wet tongue on his arm. Brody pulled back and send the white fur-ball a bit of a glare as he threw the menu back onto the table. It was that or risk smacking the dog with it. Maddy of course was overjoyed that her plan worked, and Brody simply scratched his head, defeated.

“Oh, you know this party tonight that Marty is throwing over in his block? I know you said you wanted to go because whatshername and her minions are going to be there, but I can’t. Have to stay home tonight and watch my sisters. You should go though, you won’t get a chance to go to a party like that for a long time again.”

And Brody desperately needed a night off from Malibu Bar-...

Shit. He definitely needed to stop talking to Ten so much.