Vietnamese Take-Out

"Yes, well, I'm actually calling to see how you'd like a little Vietnamese takeout." Trinh thought she had found a clever way to invite herself over to Peter's to prepare a meal for him. She was very impressed with his Thai cooking skill and wanted to reciprocate, but more than that, she just wanted to see him again...big time.

"To be honest, I'd rather take out a little Vietnamese."

"Do you have a little Vietnamese in mind?" Trinh giggled.

"Yes, I have a spicy little dish in mind."

"Is it Pho Ga?"

"Nope."

"Cha gio?"

"That isn't it either."

"Canh chua tom?"

"Sorry. What I have in mind is a lot hotter than that."

Trinh shifted from sitting cross-legged to lying on her back in her bed. She was calling from her room at her parents' San Jose home. While she enjoyed teasing Peter, she felt it would be wonderful is he came right out and said he wanted her. A little more bait for Peter, one more comment from her, and he'd grab the chance. She knew him that way.

"Like, those are some pretty spicy dishes. What could be hotter?" Trinh asked.

"The spicy dish I want is called Trinh Huynh."

"O-o-o-o-o-o-o-oooooo," Trinh laughed into the phone, but what she was thinking about was how she ended up being dessert at Peter's the last time they were together. He had used his tongue and mouth on her for half and hour, tasting her and savoring her like someone who really knew how to enjoy his dessert. Over and over again, helping after helping, Peter had licked her "plate" clean, making circles with his tireless tongue, lapping up every drop. And after Peter was done with his dessert, Trinh had sampled his Italian taste treat and ended up with his special sauce...everywhere. Trinh pulled her pillow down and pressed it between her legs.

"Am I a dish now? I thought I was dessert."

"Yeah, you've just been promoted to the main course."

Trinh laughed but pressed her legs together and felt a dampness beginning. How was she going to wait until she saw him again?

"Okay, Trinh, I don't think we're talking about food here anymore, or are we?"

"Well, actually, Peter, I'd like to cook a Vietnamese meal for you. What do you say about Saturday at your place? Really casual."

"You mean, cook a meal, watch a movie and keep it simple?"

"Well, yeah, that sounds like fun."

"That would be perfect for a fall Saturday. Lucky for you I'm not scheduled at the hospital, just on call. The forecast is for rain, so I'll pick a movie and you'll bring the ingredients you need."

Trinh was smiling broadly. She was glad Peter couldn't see her grinning like that, or writhing on her bed with her pillow. She was so excited but she still wanted to play it cool. Maybe he'd rent "Gladiator," one of the few movies Trinh had seen in the theatre. Me, Peter, and Brad Pitt's ass. Trinh's imagination was racing out of control, but she was composed enough to play it off.

"I'm hoping my job doesn't need me on Saturday, but I'll call you if anything changes. I'd like to come over at 7. That will give me enough time to cook." If her job called her, she'd tell them her liver fell out rather than miss this date.

"Okay, 7 it is."

Saturday couldn't arrive fast enough as far as Trinh was concerned. Now, what to wear? Trinh's closet, running almost the width of her room, was barely large enough to hold her wardrobe packed with cute junior's clothes she'd snagged on sale from almost every major department store. There was the temptation to put on her favorite baby blue velour sweats, the ones that caused Peter to ravish her on their first date, but no self-respecting clothes horse like Trinh would ever wear the same outfit twice. She eyed her favorite club jeans, the ones that looked tight but slid off very easily. A little white thong under those would do the trick. Maybe she would be dancing around the kitchen, and Peter would spy the top of her thong peaking out, then she'd end up being the appetizer and the main course. "Omigod, what am I thinking?" she said aloud. She wasn't even at his place yet and she was getting herself wound up. Besides, Peter's roommates were going to be around this time, so they were going to need to behave. Dinner and a movie, no fooling around beyond that.

When Peter's doorbell rang at 6:30 pm, he was just stepping out of the shower. "Shit," Peter said, now tracking wet footprints across the carpeted bathroom floor. "What kind of idiot would carpet a bathroom?" he added, knowing full well that his roommates, the married couple who owned the townhouse, were responsible for carpeting everything. Peter padded downstairs in a terrycloth robe, toweling his head.

It was Trinh! "Good one," Peter said when he opened the door. "Well, I thought I'd see what you looked like if I arrive a little early," Trinh laughed back at him. He smiled at her, letting her know that she was successful in her revenge for when he arrived an hour early for their last date.

"Here, let me get those for you." Peter reached for the two full shopping bags Trinh was carrying, and she let him take them out of her hands. But what she really wanted was a hug, or something.

Peter didn't disappoint. Instead of taking the bags and walking them to the kitchen, he put them down and embraced Trinh. She thought he smelled great, just stepping out of the shower, and his robe opened enough for her to see his smooth, developed chest.

Peter's lips were still moist from the shower. When their mouths connected, she felt steam from his body. She was slow to let her tongue into Peter's mouth, determined to both tease him and keep a little distance at their first embrace.

But it was Peter who separated first. "I'll get you all wet, Trinh."

"Right, I don't want to get wet first thing."

"And it's talking like that'll get you in trouble first thing."

"What did I say?" Trinh looked at Peter innocently, but when the other meaning of her words occurred to her, she gave Peter's arm a playful slap. "O-o-o-o-o-o-o, I think I'm scared now. Maybe I should leave before the trouble and you can cook up all these foods yourself."

Peter reached for Trinh's arm and started pulling her towards the kitchen. "Nah, I was promised a little Vietnamese, and that's what I'm gonna have tonight."

"Hey, your roommates..." Trinh protested.

"Well, I'm sorry to say, they went out of town for the weekend...

"And you're telling me we're all alone?"

"No. There's another couple who'll be here tonight."

Trinh looked at Peter with disappointment. If his roommates were out of town, it was kinda mean that he went ahead and invited more people over without first asking her. "Who are they?" she asked.

"Michael and Glenn will be joining us after dinner. We'll have a fire and then it'll be a foursome."

This was sounding too kinky all of a sudden. "Who's Michael and Glenn?"

"Michael Douglas and Glenn Close, the stars of 'Fatal Attraction,' that's the movie I rented for us after dinner."

Trinh punched Peter as hard as she could. "You are so bad. But I guess if I'm gonna share my evening with another couple, they'd be interesting company." Trinh loved "Fatal Attraction" -- she wondered if Peter knew how much. That scene in the elevator! Trinh liked the idea of this foursome.

Peter brought over the bulging grocery bags, then excused himself to finish drying off. This left Trinh with some time to swing open the kitchen cabinets and get herself oriented to the cooking utensils. There was already a wok on the stove with some virgin olive oil, a garlic press, and a few other utensils Peter had anticipated that Trinh would use. "That's sweet," she said.

"What's sweet?" Peter had surprised Trinh. Damn, she forgot how athletic he was, how much like a cat he moved. He suddenly was there, smelling really great -- make a mental note -- what's that he's wearing that smells so fresh? -- and Trinh was talking to herself in his kitchen.

"How about some goi cuon?" Trinh had these already prepared. It would be good to start with an appetizer, and then they could take their time preparing the ingredients and cooking the main course together. "I love spring rolls!" Peter said. Trinh paused for a second. Did Peter know Vietnamese, too, she wondered.

Everything was going along perfectly. Peter and Trinh had finished the spring rolls, dipping each in fish sauce. Together they were chopping up ingredients when Peter's cell phone started playing an unfortunate melody.

"Uh-oh," Trinh said. "Hello," Peter turned away from Trinh while answering. "Isn't there someone on duty..." he continued. "No, I understand you're calling for a reason, I'll be there. When? Half an hour..." When Peter snapped his cell phone shut, his voice was suddenly all business.

"Car accident victim."

"I see."

"Once I'm done with the film, I'll come back. Do you want to go home?"

Trinh was disappointed but not ready to quit the date. "Oh no, I'm not letting you off the hook that fast. All we have to do is cook this up, so I'll be here."

"Stay outta trouble." Peter winked and suddenly, he was out the door, leaving Trinh to cover the chopped ingredients with Saran Wrap she found in the cupboard.

"Hmmmmmmm, while the cat's away, the mice will play." Or, when she thought better about it, "Curiosity killed the cat." Trinh looked up the staircase, the empty staircase leading to the empty bedrooms upstairs, in the empty house that was just abandoned by her dinner date. "Oh, to hell with it...I'll only go through his room."

Peter's bedroom door wasn't even closed, removing half the fun of sneaking inside. The blue blinking light indicated that Peter's computer was in sleep mode, but a good place to start for a snooping, curious girl. With a jiggle of the mouse, the screen grew bright. "Okay, C drive, where are those dirty pictures," Trinh said to the monitor. She didn't have to look far before she found an "adult pix" folder. "Aha, let's see what kind of perv you are, my Peter."

The names of the files told the story: "hot_couple, les_licking1, mmf, asian_bj." Trinh had a sudden feeling of remorse. These were his fantasies, perhaps, but he was entitled to them. Plus, she hadn't seen such pictures before, and maybe she'd think less of Peter if she saw what he had downloaded off the Internet. Her index finger hovered over the "asian_bj" file. What was that about curiosity and the cat?

It was then that she noticed the web cam staring out at her. She had done chat rooms with some guys, so she knew how much fun the little cams could be. And sure enough, there was Logitech Image Studio under "Programs," software that would wake up that web cam and create a movie. Should she open the software and see what happens? She doubled-clicked and a green light on the web cam illuminated. "Oh goody, let's have some fun."

When the program opened, there were already some video files represented by thumbnails on the screen. One showed a smiling, tanned Peter with a tropical background. Trinh double-clicked the thumbnail, and a movie, complete with sound, began on the screen. Peter did this Hawaiian "hang loose" gesture and ran into the surf; he was obviously somewhere tropical, maybe even in Hawaii. He came out of the surf, water dripping off his dancer's physique, then plopped down on a beach towel. The movie had ended after two minutes. "Hey, this was getting good," Trinh complained. Trinh looked at the next thumbnail, Peter on the towel, and double-clicked it.

Peter wasn't asleep on the towel but propped up on his elbows. But he did the most amazing thing. Peter reached down to his swim trunks and began to wriggle them off. Who was filming him? It didn't matter as Trinh's eyes were fixed on the screen. The white skin of Peter's butt sharply contrasted with his very tanned back, almost as bronzed as Trinh's skin after a few sessions in the sun. Peter lifted his hips and began to push his trunks down further but the movie ended.

"This film better have a happy ending," Trinh complained. The next thumbnail on the menu showed water and a distant island, and Trinh hoped that there was something on the beach that might come into view once the movie began. She was right.

As the panoramic view slowed panned downward to the brilliant white sand, the camera came to focus on Peter's upper body, still propped up on his elbows. The white sand clung to the backs of his wet arms. In fact, he was wet all over. After pausing for a little on Peter's smiling face in profile, smiling as he looked out towards the surf, the camera pulled back gradually to reveal Peter's completely naked body. His dimpled butt would have made Brad Pitt jealous. "Damn," Trinh said aloud. Peter began to bend his leg facing the camera, lifting a little angle in his hip. Was that his thing she was beginning to see come into the light? Before Trinh could get a good look, the short movie ended. Trinh clicked the other thumbnails on the menu, but there was no continuation. Now what? It was just getting good. She replayed the movie five times.

All of a sudden, Trinh had a divine inspiration. If Peter could make a teasing film of his hot body, she could too. Trinh clicked the "Record a video button," and suddenly she saw herself on the monitor, the web cam recording her every move. She stopped the recording to adjust the settings. "Now, what I want to do should take about three minutes."

Not that Trinh Huynh would ever participate in a booty shake or thong dance night at her favorite college club -- they had them going on all the time! -- but there were a lot of boring nights at her parents' home when, with nothing better to do, Trinh would put on her favorite booty shake hip hop tunes and, well, strip. She kicked off her tennis shoes and began to cue up mentally one of her favorite "all the way" songs, "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot.

Trinh clicked the "Record" button and looked at the monitor, suddenly smiling a secret "I look pretty cute look," then began to gyrate her hips. She pulled her t-shirt halfway up her chest, and as she slowly spun around, she unsnapped her pants and pulled them down, but only enough to expose her thong riding over her hip. Trinh danced around with her pants undone and her shirt pulled up, exposing her yummy, flat belly and those alluring visible strings to her thong. She then crossed her arms and slowly removed her t-shirt, continuing with her body waves after tossing her shirt on the floor.

Now, to bring up the heat even more. Trinh shoved her pants down, way lower, and she put her hands on her thighs and began to thrust out her own tight, dimpled butt accented by her white thong. She bounced her ass to the song playing in her head, angled perfectly to the cam to catch all the best jiggling. This was a very hip thing to do, something she'd never do at her club. Well, that really wasn't true, she thought. She had done it, but not with her pants pushed down below her ass. It was just dancing, after all, and as long as the clothes stayed on, it was her duty to shake her booty.

As Trinh continued playing "Baby Got Back" in her mind, she reached behind and removed her bra, first keeping her hands covering her breasts in modesty. When she finally removed her bra and dropped her hands, she pushed her chest forward, her firm breasts perfectly suspended over her toned mid-section. Trinh reached up and squeezed her breasts, staring defiantly into the web cam, then smiling as if to say, "Look, how very naughty I am."

On automatic pilot, Trinh continued her dance, sliding her dance pants down and stepping out of them so quickly so as not to even lose the beat. Trinh gyrated her hips in a figure eight, another very hip move she had practiced for many hours, now being recorded for performance for the very first time. Trinh lost herself, not even sure when the web cam stopped filming her erotic striptease.

Trinh collected her clothes and redressed herself, not even checking the results of her web cam solo. "He can say whatever he wants," Trinh reminded herself, "but that was one of my best performances." She viewed the thumbnail, showing her smiling coyly at the web cam, now joining Peter's tropical vacation thumbnails. This would be an interesting surprise for Peter later, she thought, or if he didn't return, he could eat his heart out watching her dance, knowing that he missed a lot of fun by ditching her.

Like a curious cat, Trinh pawed her way through Peter's things. She opened his closet door and took out one of his business shirts. It smelled just like him! Trinh put the shirt on, way too big for her. Maybe she'd sneak the shirt out of his house -- what a souvenir! At the back of Peter's closet, Trinh couldn't resist a shelf of photo albums, one of them hidden behind the others and very fancy. She pulled that one.

Inside the album were wedding pictures, and worst of all, the groom was Peter! Trinh took the album out of the closet and turned out Peter's desk lamp. Maybe it wasn't him. Sure enough, under the blinding light of a 50-watt halogen bulb, there was Peter, a much younger Peter, posing in an idiotic blue tuxedo. The bride, a girl who looked quite a bit older, was standing with a little boy. Was it Peter's??? What the fuck is this about???? Is Peter one of those crazy guys who has a wife in each coast, neither one knowing about the other?? Trinh felt weak in the knees. And a freakin' kid!!!!?????

Maybe it was some consolation, but the pictures in the album showed a lot of people who were wearing very reserved smiles. Some may have been frowning a bit. People sitting around tables, red eyes glowing back at the camera, strange relations to Trinh but Peter's intimate and closest family. Well, curiosity had killed the cat. Now she understood what the phrase meant, not just some cutesie folk saying. Trinh would have to confront Peter with knowledge, or would he just become angry with her sneaking around? Well, if this is what it took to find out the truth. Trinh was suddenly very confused. She replaced the album as best as she could, then returned downstairs. Peter's bedroom had suddenly become a chamber of horrors for her.

When Peter returned home, the place was quiet, too quiet, and Trinh was lying on her side on the couch. The energy didn't feel right. "Honey, I'm home...we saved a life tonight...what's for dinner?" Peter was joking around but Trinh barely stirred. Maybe she was cold.

Peter opened the grate of the fireplace, struck a long match and lit the newspaper under the kindling and logs he had painstakingly arranged for a romantic fire. Trinh seemed to be sitting up now, rubbing her eyes with her hands. Yes, he'd been gone for two hours, but for some reason Peter thought Trinh would be dancing around the house like that girl in "Flashdance." Well, one cute thing -- Trinh was wearing one of his shirts. That meant she had been to his closet, and in his closet, uh-oh. Oh-boy. Yep, there were things in his closet that needed explanation if she had found them.

The look on Trinh's face told the story. Peter wanted to explain the embarrassing truth to Trinh, the truth he neglected to tell her up to this point, but he wanted them to be doing something together. Maybe he could work in his confession during a light conversation over dinner.

"I'm going to heat up the wok," he said, "so you just tell me what to throw on when, and I'll be the Vietnamese cook tonight."

"I'll do it. You're not Vietnamese, y'know, just an Italian guy from New Jerk, I mean, New York." Trinh lifted the wok and let it bang down on the stove.

Peter got some garlic ready for the garlic press, ignoring her comment.

"This enough?"

"You don't want to stink too much, do you?" Trinh asked, then under her breath, "you already stink in my book."

Peter's plan to wait until dinner for his announcement was no longer possible. Sure, he deserved to be dissed, but at least she'd know the whole story so she could be mad at him for the right reason. "Trinh, there's something that I've been meaning to tell you..."