Another Day

The remainder of the class is eventful. More throwing moves to disarm people are shown, then discussed in a group. The others in the class consist of two who are training for police work. Another one is young, fifteen or sixteen, learning for his own satisfaction. The others he is unsure about. Although the class is small, he doesn't talk to most of the people in the class. Just a mutual relationship consisting of a desire for self defense training. In the last five minutes of class people exchange goodbyes and thank yous. Once everyone leaves, Al and Elina talk for a few more minutes. Al gives her directions to his house. She asks him what kind of food he likes or what his favorite dish is.

"Well anything with steak is good. Here, take

this and I'll see you at my house." He says this while reaching into his pocket for his wallet. He's bringing it out and getting a fifty when she puts her hand on his and tells him it's not necessary.

"Please, I don't want to have you pay for it all."

"Oh don't worry about it. It's not a big deal. Just save up a good appetite for tonight. You're going to need it." She is now very close to him, pulling slightly on his shirt. If he is blushing he's too numb to know. He's speechless. Is she talking about hunger or something else? They say their goodbyes and agree to meet later.

The drive back to his house has Al anxious and excited. He drives to the store and picks up some candles and flowers. He gets inside and takes a quick look around before heading to the flower section. Finding a girl who works there he asks what he should get.

"What kind of smells do you like?" she asks.

"To be quite honest I'm trying to get something a woman will like."

"Depending on how well you know her, I would suggest getting roses. Can't go wrong with roses. Yellow or red, not white."

Alemeth wonders about this, remembering hearing this before, but can't recall why.

"White is bad because . . .?" Alemeth asks.

"Each color of rose symbolizes something. White means marriage. So it would be wise not to get this unless you're really serious about her. Know what I mean?" Al nods and asks what the others mean. After learning that yellow is beauty, Al decides to get a half of dozen of those. She then guides him about candles. They both smell many different scents. When she advises a smell of cucumbers, Al looks at her strangely.

"I'm a psychology student and when we were learning about the differences between sexes and such there was a study to find out what smells women and men like. You know, when it comes to perfume and cologne?"

Al's listening to her explain the study and starts to get what she is saying. She continues to say that when it comes to men, they like the smell of donuts. Funny, Al thinks to himself. Girls like the smell of cucumbers. This also is humorous to Al as he chuckles twice.

"Do you get it?" she asks curiously.

"Yeah, donuts for guys, cucumber for girls."

"No," she says back excited to tell him, "Girls like cucumbers." She says this using her hands to emphasize the shape of a cucumber. Al watches as she uses her fingers to draw an invisible cucumber. Al nods his head and keeps watching hoping to understand what she is saying.

"And guys like donuts." Again she uses her hands to draw the shape of a donut, a hole. She then combines the two and Al gets what she is saying.

"I got ya, that's funny. What a coincidence. I'll get this candle then." Al grabs the candle as he says this will be the one he buys and the girl just smiles. Al meets her at the register and she rings him up for the flowers and candle. After paying her and giving her a tip she tells him to have a goodnight. He says it back and smiles. Putting the stuff in his truck Al checks the time. He still needs to clean a bit and set up the flowers and candle. He only has an hour and he must make the best of it.

Once he arrives back at his house Al rushes inside and cleans the house quickly. Nothing too extravagant, just a clean up. Put stuff away and tidy up a bit. He goes into his room and wonders if he should clean this up. Will they go that far tonight? Just in case, he puts clothes away and sprays a bit of Febreeze to freshen things up. He goes back into the kitchen and gets out the items from earlier. He gets a vase and pours cool water in it then puts in the flowers. He sets them on the table. He takes one out and places it at the small desk near the front door. One to give her personally, he tells himself. He lights the candle so the scent will already be circulating when she arrives.

The door bell rings when the time strikes and Al opens the door to an amazing sight. In a black short dress is Elina. Absolutely stunning, he thinks. She normally grabs a guy's attention with her looks, but now she could stop traffic. Her black dress is casual and she's wearing heels. She has light make up on with her hair down. She's holding a paper bag that Al immediately grabs from her. She says thanks and enters his house. Al with his free hand, takes the flower off the desk and presents it to Elina. She smiles and gives him a light kiss on the cheek.

"You're too sweet Al."

All of a sudden Al thinks about what he's wearing himself. He can't remember if he changed. Looking down he realizes he did and is in casual dress also. He brings the bag into the kitchen and sets it down on the the counter. She looks around and starts to unpack the bag. It is awkward at first, but she breaks the ice quickly telling Al to show her around before she starts cooking. He starts with the kitchen telling her what the wood is and the tile. Bringing her into the living room he tells her small stories about getting the furniture. He brings her upstairs to show her his work out room. She asks where his room is and he shows her. It's very basic. Not just his room, but the entire house. He really doesn't need to impress anyone so he keeps everything simple. She enters his room and looks around. Pleased with it she comments on the beautiful house. When they both return to the kitchen she tells him to go away so she can cook.

"Go watch TV or something, I want this to be a surprise for you. I can find everything I need and I brought some stuff to help so this shouldn't take long."

"Okay, just call if you need help. I'll go watch the news. There is a small TV in that cabinet if you wanna watch something." Al points to a cabinet above the main counter. She says thanks and tells Al to go relax. While watching TV Al listens to Elina move around the kitchen singing to a song that's playing on the TV in the cabinet. Al waits no longer than thirty minutes before Elina asks for help setting the table. Al enters the kitchen and the smell of seasoned steak hits him. It smells so good Al almost begins to salivate. He gets the appropriate dishes out and places everything on the dining room table. Once everything is ready, Elina puts the food on the plates. Al watches her place steak, broccoli with melted cheese and some sort of pasta on both plates. Al realizes he forgot about getting wine and silently curses, but is relieved when Elina asks where the wine glasses are while pulling out a bottle of red wine.

"They're right here," he says opening the cupboard and grabbing two wine glasses. He places them on the table and she brings the wine and pours a good amount into each glass. She just smiles at him and tells him to sit down and enjoy.

"This looks really good. I didn't know you could cook like this."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me Al, but I'm glad we are finally doing this."

"What is this exactly?" Al asks while beginning to cut into the steak.

"Getting to know each other in a more personal way," is her answer. As they eat and drink they chat about small things: politics, work, themselves. They laugh and talk, really enjoying the time together. Until she starts telling him, in a more serious tone, how much she likes him. She begins to tell him what she likes about him. His looks, attitude, career, and how he makes her weak in the knees. When she is pouring out all of her thoughts Al just watches her and admires her courage. When he realizes she is done and she is waiting for his response back, Al returns in kind.

"I've felt the same way about you since we met, but I never wanted to rush into anything. Never wanted to push you away." He looks into her with his piercing blue eyes. The gaze is held for what seems like eternity until she finally gets up, goes into the living room and puts on music, then returns to the dining room.

"Let's clean this up," she says. Both of them begin cleaning the table, rinsing off the dishes and placing them into the dishwasher. She tells him to hold on a second and walks into the living room. As he continues to clean up the table and rinse dishes, he hears her looking through his CDs. He begins to hear soft music playing and she returns into the kitchen slightly dancing her way in. She smiles and gets closer to him and starts pulling him into the living room.

"Slow dance with me Al." Wrapping their arms around one another, they dance close together. For two songs the stay like this, in each other's arms, not speaking rather just gazing into each other's eyes. After the second song ends, she looks up at him and brings her mouth to his. She trembles as they share their first kiss, still dancing.

"I want you," she whispers in his ear. Al smiles back and replies, "I've wanted you since we met." He takes her arm and guides her toward his bedroom. He is nervous with her and hopes wholeheartedly he will please her. In the bedroom, she brings him to the bed. He sits and she leads herself to him. The kiss is passionate, slow and sweet. Their hands caress each other as their tongues explore. Her slim, fit waist forms to Al's hands; her hands on his chest, lightly pressing on him to push him on his back. She climbs on top of him and he could feel her breasts being pressed into his chest.

As they remove their clothes, their hands explore each other's bodies, shaking with desire. They move slowly, deliberately taking their time. As he enters her, Elina beings moving in rhythm with him. Soon she is breathing heavily as her body shudders with want. Her last moan is mingled with his name and sounds her satisfaction.

They change positions and continue with their exploration of each other, kissing and gazing into each other's eyes. Elina marvels at his stamina, as she encourages him along their journey. He's beginning to feel pressure and her body can sense it.

"My stomach," Elina directs him as he makes his way closer to his release. Afterward, he collapses onto the bed next to her and she curls up next to him with her hand on his chest, her head near his.

"Wow Al, wow. That was purely amazing." She lets out a long satisfied sigh. She looks back at him and he stares at her, realizing he could get used to hearing that. She rubs her hand on his chest, down to his stomach. She can feel a scar on his stomach. Not wanting to ask, but still curious she looks at him while covering his scar with her hand and running trails over it with her fingers.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I did." He kisses her on the forehead and soon Al is fast asleep, their bodies entangled. This is Elina's favorite part of making love. She feels the fondness to protect him until he is able to gather his strength again. It is now that Elina knows that he is the most vulnerable.

October 30, 2015

For the past week they've been starting to see each other more and more. Since he didn't have work he would visit her on her lunch break and both of them would go out for food. They would hang out after she's done working and spend most nights at his house. The two of them were really getting to know each other. Their feelings for each other kept growing every day. After a night at a restaurant and deciding it was best for her to stay with him tonight, he brings her to his house. That night they make love again. Falling asleep together, entwined. In the morning Al wakes up to the sound of a distinctive ring from his phone. He looks at his watch. It reads eight thirty. He sits up on his bed, turning to the side, placing his feet on the ground. He answers the phone.

"I thought you said I had a month," is the welcoming Al gives. Al's annoyed due to the fact he has a new relationship with someone and he knew Gladden would be telling him that his expertise is needed.

"I know, but with the intel you gave us it would seem that we have a mole."

"Do tell."

"Meet me at the usual spot." Gladden is referring to the spot they have met many times before. It's one of the places he uses to debrief Al with his next mission.

"I have company over right now. Two hours. I'll see you soon." Al hears the other end of the line disconnect and he hangs up the phone. He turns to look at Elina, sleeping so beautifully next to him on his bed. He wakes her up gently and tells her he has to meet his boss soon. She replies by asking him if he has to leave to go to another embassy.

"More than likely yes, but don't worry, I'll be back before you know it. Let's take a shower and eat, then I gotta go meet my boss." The two get up from bed. She's only wearing one of his shirts. Too sexy, he thinks. He enters the bathroom, turns on the shower and strips down. As soon as he does he feels her hands run up his back. She goes to him and faces him to kiss very intensely. Both get in the shower, make love, then wash each other off lavishly with soap. They rinse off under the warm water. They dry themselves off and get dressed.

"So when will I see you again?" she asks this sort of sad, but very sensual about seeing Al again.

"I'm going to go see my boss, talk to him, then I'll call you to find out when I'll be back."

She tells him that's good and that she can't wait. They both make plans for later tonight. Once she leaves he gets in his truck and leaves for the San Tan village. He travels north on Higley and turns west on Williams Field. One short mile later he's pulling into the mall and searching for a parking spot near the small park area. He gets a spot near the park and notices Gladden's car, the new Charger. Al walks to the picnic area and spots his boss. He sits down at the chess table and Gladden gets the pieces out and they both set up the board.

"I believe it's thirteen to ten, your lead." Gladden speaks of the score they have been keeping while playing chess. Gladden uses quick attacks when playing, trying to take out the king as soon as he can. It's a good strategy, to catch your opponent off guard, but it normal leads to poor piece placement. His side is always scattered. Al does the opposite, carefully planning his attacks, using back up with his other pieces, setting up traps. They begin to play when Al asks why he's here.

"We looked at the intel you gathered for us from the last minute operation and it seems we have a mole." Al ponders this for a bit, thinking of his next move and what Gladden just told him.

"I'm guessing we don't know who it is, but I'm guessing the code in the intel matches somewhat with code used by America. What government agency?"

"It looks like CIA, that's why we called you. You're going back to Russia to find either who it is or how to find out. A small headquarters for EG is in Russia. We know that the intel we need is there. The place is called Red Mountain. It was used many times throughout transmissions between the unknown mole and a religious faction."

"Tell me what you know so far and when I leave."

Gladden tells him what they found so far. A overzealous religious group is using a arms dealer as a third party to get their hands on a special material that kills off life within a certain radius. The religious group is the unknown faction. The material is very potent and hard to clean up. Gladden says if a dirty bomb was laid and detonated in Manhattan it would kill all life in the city, not just human. Plants, animals, everything. It would be about three hundred years before anyone would be able to live there, because of the level of toxicity. It would become a ghost town. The stuff sounds really bad, Al thinks. He always wondered why people wanted to use such harmful material on earth.

"So a faction is using this arms dealer to get the material for them. They wanna use it somewhere that we don't know yet and someone in our government is helping this faction, and we don't know who that is either. My mission is to find the glue that connects these pieces together?"

Gladden looks at Al and nods. "Here is your flight ticket to Washington. It leaves in three hours so pack and I'll see you there." Gladden looks at the board and sees Al has him in checkmate. Gladden sighs and gets up to leave. Al curses to himself. He won't be able to see Elina. As he walks to his truck he phones Elina and tells her the news. Well, tells her that he has to leave for work. She tells him she understands and to be safe. After saying goodbye Al heads back to his house. His mind is on Elina, but he will have to focus on his job now.