Mulligatawny Soup

"If I recall Julie, you said that you don't know how to act on a date. The truth is, I've forgotten too. So why don't we just think of it as a practice date?"

Julie had a definite look of astonishment in her face.

"Seriously Julie, we'll go through all of the motions of what a date is supposed to be like, without all of the trauma that a real date would have with someone that we've just met."

I thought she was buying the idea as one corner of her lips curled up.

"And if we blow it, so what? We're still neighbors."

Julie was smiling.

"I do have to come over to get Lulu at some point."

"So is that a yes?"

"Okay, Jim. I'd love to. Thank you so much," she said with a funny grin and a twinkle in her eye.

We finished our sandwiches, cleared the plates away and refilled our wine glasses. Julie was topless the whole time. We started on the Mulligatawny soup.

"Mulligatawny is an Indian soup created during the British raj to satisfy the needs of the army officers, who demanded a soup course with their dinner," I stated matter-of-factly. "Here's how I make it, chop two onions into the soup pot with a little olive oil."

"I'm not getting anywhere near frying onions without my top on."

"I'm not asking you to do anything, all you have to do is just sit there and look pretty and watch."

"Okay," she said, pushing her chest out, "I like cooking with you." She had a huge grin on her face.

I added a daub of butter into the pot.

"One sliced celery stalk...one chopped red pepper...one chopped green pepper."

She just sat there and watched, her wine glass in her hand. She smiled. Clearly she enjoyed this. Certainly with her boobs hung out like that, so did I. I slipped a large chopped garlic clove into the pot.

"Now we have to spice things up." I reached into the spice drawer and pulled out jars of cumin, powdered coriander, turmeric and cardamom. I looked over to Julie, she was rolling her big nipples between her thumbs and index fingers.

"I'm just trying to spice things up here," she said with mock innocence in her eyes.

What a tease. Yet another friggin' Julie. Maybe the wine was getting to her? I handed her a small can of tomato puree and a can opener, "How about twisting this open instead?"

As I added spices to the pot I said, "Easy with the cardamom though." I ground some fresh black pepper too.

At that point Gomez and Lulu came into in the kitchen. Volunteer help.

"Next we add the chopped tomatoes and..." I reached back into the spice drawer, "a little Herb de Provence."

"Very impressive," she said.

I popped the frozen beef stock into the microwave and put the timer on for five minutes. As I scooped the tomato puree into the pot I asked Julie, "Could you get the Worcestershire Sauce, it's in the cupboard above you just to your left?" She did. Her right boob hung down provocatively under her arm as she reached for the bottle. Her nipple was perfectly silhouetted. Beautiful, I thought. Nice ass too. Why had I not seen Julie in this light before?

I stirred the pot as the microwave heated the stock. I added a couple of dashes.

"Next the secret ingredient, Frank's Red Hot sauce."

"Oh come on, that's not authentic Indian," she said with a mock accusing tone.

"I disagree Madam, Frank's is a wonderful source of capsicum, that's all we need here."

"Well, I'm impressed," she said.

I turned to her, blatantly gazed at her boobs and said "And so am I."

"Ha!...Now you're being silly."

I just smiled at her, giving a couple of shakes of hot sauce into the pot.

"Should I bring something for dinner tonight?" she asked sincerely.

"Julie," I answered, "you don't have a kitchen. I'll make dinner, set the table for two. How about candles and soft music? I can make this all a very romantic dinner."

Julie grinned a great smile at me. Her brown eyes sparkled.

"I take that as a yes," I proffered.

"I don't want you to go to any trouble for me," she answered.

"Trouble? I would love to have you over for a quiet, little romantic dinner date," I said as I cracked black pepper into the pot. "Practice dinner date," I corrected myself. "I'm looking forward to this," I said as I gazed directly into her eyes.

She smiled.

The microwave beeped. I popped the stock into the pot and gave it all a stir. I closed the lid and said to Julie, "So we have a hot date tonight...and we're going to have some hot soup."

Her face beamed.

Coyly she asked, "Should I dress appropriately...for the hot date...and some hot soup?"

"Absolutely."

"It does smell good in here."

Clearly Lulu and Gomez thought so too.

She slipped on her bra and sweater, she sighed and said, "Thanks for lunch Jim, thanks for everything. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it, but I've got to go." She paused for a moment, I could see that self doubt was creeping back into her. She then added, "Are you sure you want me for dinner tonight?"

"Oh, I want you...for dinner." That sounded stupid. I felt embarrassed for saying it. I closed my eyes, face flushed a bit. "Sorry," I said meekly. When I gained enough composure to look back up at her, she smiled at me with a bit of whimsy in her eye.

"I'm not sure when the workmen will be finished, I'll call you when they're gone and I'll come and get Lulu. What time, do you think then for supper? Sevenish?"

"Yeah, let's make it seven and if things change...well, we'll know. And you can leave Lulu here. I'll feed her."

"Jim, thanks," she said as slipped her jacket on. She gave me a peck kiss on the cheek and told Lulu to 'stay' as she slipped out the door.

What a sexy woman I thought as I watched her walk across the lawn in the light rain. Her bum swayed provocatively with each step. Her back was straight, her head held high. All of a sudden I became conscious of my dick pressed against my pants.

Am I being seduced or am I the seducer? Before I could rationalize that question, two thoughts hit my brain simultaneously. 'Dress appropriately' for dinner and Mulligatawny ain't gonna be enough for dinner. I wondered what she would wear as I rummaged through the fridge to find something to make.

I had one large boneless, skinless, chicken breast. Good start. Eggs. Cream. Yogurt. All kinds of vegetables.

If Julie wants to have sex with me, I thought to myself, damn right I'll do it. She's an adult. She knows what's she's doing. It'll be good for her. It'll be good for me too.

Good practice too.

I knew I could set a nice romantic table for two. I'd get a fire going. Candle lights. Soft music. I knew I could do it right.

The soup of course would be central to the whole meal. To stray away from the Indian theme seemed a little brutish, but I didn't know what Julie's tolerance of spice would be. I decided that the rest of the meal should be complementary to the soup, toned down in the spice department and not a huge quantity. Just enough to be elegant.

The chicken breast was cubed and put into a bowl with a little finely chopped garlic and onion, tandoori spice and yogurt. As I covered the bowl with Saran Wrap and slipped it into the refrigerator to marinade, I tried to figure out what I should wear. From what she said, I expected her to look hot. And the new Julie certainly was not shy.

I found frozen Indian naan bread in the freezer. Perfect.

I turned the soup down to a low simmer. Cooked rice would be added at the last minute.

Nice shirt and slacks? Boring.

I continued to prepare the meal and planned for the evening.

Julie rang. "The workmen are gone," she said.

I asked Julie if she's okay with Indian food. "Love it! See you at seven then?" she asked with a little apprehension in her voice.

"I can't wait," I answered. Even through the phone line I could tell she smiled.

Beautiful. I had an hour and fifteen minutes.

I turned the outside hot tub on to warm up the water. Just in case.

I lit the fire and made my way upstairs. After I shaved and showered, I dressed up in my tux. Why the hell not?

The round table was laid out with a white linen tablecloth, matching napkins, the best silverware and two silver candlesticks with white candles. I placed white china bowls overtop white the china plates. I placed crystal wine glasses and water goblets. I dimmed the overhead lights. Perfect.

With ten minutes to go I dished the chicken satays and the spiced lentils into a two compartment chafing dish and lit the little tea lights underneath. Raita into a silver bowl. Serving spoons set. Silver platter ready for the naan.

I pressed the button on the CD changer, the first CD came on. It was my own mix of classical music. I turned the volume down to just the right level. I lit the candles. Erik Satie's Trois Gymnopedies came on. Everything was perfect. I straightened my black bow tie. The fasteners on my pleated shirt looked sharp. I felt like a million bucks.

I noticed it was pouring with rain outside.

At exactly seven o'clock there was a tap at the kitchen door. I opened the door to find Julie wrapped in a raincoat with a hood over her head. She had rubber boots on and a plastic shopping bag in her hand.

"Hi, come on in."

"Oh my," she said as she caught a glimpse of me in my tuxedo.

She stepped inside and smiled at me with bright red lips and lots of make-up. She slipped out of her sopping wet coat which I took from her and hung up on a coat rack. As I turned back to her she was bent over slipping high heeled shoes on. Wow I thought.

She was dressed in tight little black dress, fairly short. The dress had wide straps which slung low on her shoulders, almost on her arms. A triple strand pearl necklace hung slightly off her neck. Somehow the dress really made her boobs look great, lot's of cleavage. I could see lacy stocking tops just peeking out from under the dress as she stood back up. Her legs were the same color as her arms but shimmered.

"Wow! You look fantastic." I said. I'm sure my eyes bulged out. Something else too.

She grabbed her little black clutch bag from the plastic bag, grinned at me and walked off towards the kitchen through the little hallway, as I stared with my jaw dropped as she flipped her bleach blond hair back. As she strode off she placed one foot ahead of the other, like a runway model, giving her bum a sultry wiggle.

"Are you hungry?" she asked and turned her head as she stepped forward into the kitchen.

Before I could answer, I watched in horror as Julie's right high heel snapped sideways. She lost her balance, fell forward to the floor on her right arm and shoulder and rolled onto her back. Her legs were splayed wide open and her naked pussy was on glorious display. No panties and clearly not a natural blonde.

"Oh my god are you okay?" I rushed forward afraid she had banged her head.

"I'm fine...I'm fine." As she lifted herself up on her elbows I slipped one hand under her neck. She noticed that her dress had ridden way up and struggled to pull it down again.

"Are you hurt? Are you sure you want to get up? Does anything hurt? Is anything broken?" My heart raced. I was scared for her health.

She lay back down flat having closed her legs and fixed the dress. "I'm not hurt. I'm okay. Nothing's broken, except my dignity."

"And your shoe," I added.

She kicked off her one and a half shoes and I helped her up. I tried to make light of the moment, I said, "That was the best entrance ever. You can come over at any time."

"Shut-up Jim, I'm so embarrassed."

"Bare assed is about right." I swiftly came back. Perhaps a little too quickly. Clearly she wasn't happy.

She composed herself and brushed down her dress again.

Foolishly I said to her, "I love your dress and your stay up stockings. But most of all I just love those knickers. They look so natural." I wanted to chuckle, but I realized what an ass I had just made of myself.

"I'll take a double whatever," she said as she stepped forward, "Oouw!". She shook her right ankle as she led onto the counter.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked, my face still flushed, I'm sure.

"I'm fine," she replied, "I just twisted my ankle a bit."

"Well then hobble on over to the living room, I've a fire going. What do you want? Scotch, vodka, gin, you name it."

"Scotch and some ice."

"I brought her a cut crystal tumbler of Johnnie Walker black with ice and a sealed plastic baggie with ice in it wrapped in a tea towel.

"Thanks," she said as I handed her the glass and wrapped the cold compress around her ankle. Her leg felt extraordinarily warm to my touch.

"Aren't you having a drink?" She asked. I whipped off to the kitchen and picked up my already started glass of merlot.

"Thanks for having me over," she said sipping the scotch.

"Cheers." I sipped at my wine.

"Something smells very good here," she said as a smile crept back onto her face.

"Something looks very good here," I answered as I sat down beside her on the couch. I reached out and touched her shoulder, "Are you certain that you are alright?"

"Except for the em-bare-ass-ment, yes. I'm fine." She smiled her bright smile, a little strained I thought and reached for my lapel. "You look very handsome tonight and I saw the table that you set. Very romantic. You've gone to a lot of effort."

"Well I do have a hot date tonight." I put my drink down on the low coffee table in front of us.

"Practice date," she corrected me. "And Jim, you're absolutely right. If that happened on a real date...my god," she shook her head.

"You see this is all working out just fine. Had it been a real date, I'd probably be slapped by now for saying the things I just did. Deservingly." I added.

She gazed at me with a questioning eye.

"I'm just making this up as we go along." I said.

She took a sip of her scotch, tinkling the ice.

"Tell me Julie," I asked, "would you have gone on a real first date not wearing panties?"

"I don't know Jim, I'm making this up as we go along too," she sipped her scotch again. "Is a modern girl supposed to wait until the four or fifth date to have sex, or is that passé now."

"I've no idea."

We stared at each other but said nothing. Was she expecting to have sex with me? Between the missing panties and what she had just said, I'd say yes. It dawned on me, I had no idea how to go about it. I hadn't thought that part through. Should I play along with the charade and suggest practice sex on a practice date? What am I a fucking teenager?

"Seriously Julie, how's your ankle?"

"It'll be fine."

"Did you bump your head or anything else?"

"No. I'm fine." She paused for a moment, then added, "The ice is helping."

I said, "It's melting fast, on my hot date." Her eyes had a kind of bewilderment to them.

"You can slap me if you want."

She smiled, then sipped her scotch again. "That music is lovely, very odd, but very lovely. What is it?"

"Erik Satie...Six Gnossiennes."

She had a very blank look in her face. I wished I could read her mind. I seriously wondered where this evening was going to go.

"We have Mulligatawny to eat." I said optimistically.

"Yes we have," she answered sitting up, smiling. "I can't wait, I'm starved." With that she downed the rest of her double scotch, leaving a few cubes of ice tinkling in the glass.

"Right," I said getting up, picking up my wine glass.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Julie, you just have to sit there and look pretty."

"Last time you said that I wasn't wearing a top."

"This time, you're not wearing underwear." I shouldn't have fucking said that.

There was a bit of a silence. I wondered if I was going to get slapped.

"I guess I gave the game away a little," she said in a low voice as she stood up too.

"Just a little," I said trying to hide my grin, lucky that I didn't get slapped.

"Don't be so sure of yourself Jim."

"Julie, you've not had the soup yet," again trying to be up-beat, "one sip of that soup and you are mine." Why did I say that? What the fuck's wrong with me?

"Oh, is there a secret ingredient you slipped in while I wasn't looking? An aphrodisiac?" she stated, rather than asked. She was grinning at me, which was a big positive.

"Yeah, it's known as a panty-remover, I guess I didn't need to put it in."

We both had a good laugh at that, which we both needed. I dodged a big one.

"You can open some wine" I said, "Would you prefer red or white? Or both?"

"Red please, how about you?

"Red." I handed her a bottle of Amarone.

"Oooo...very nice," she said with a smile.

Julie was opening the bottle in the kitchen as I ladled the soup into bowls. As I reached for the microwave to pull out the naan, I gently swiped my hand across her firm bum, half expecting a swift slap.

"You look very sexy Julie."

"Mmmm," she gently moaned, turning her head to me, smiling. She didn't see the grin on my face.

In the dining room I held her chair out for her. She slipped in, smiled at me and said, "Thank you." Clearly she was impressed with the slight gesture. I was delighted with myself for doing that. I brought the wine and the soup to the table and sat down.

I poured the wine. "To our hot practice date."

We toasted with our glasses, while grinning at each other like teenagers.

"Mmmm...this soup is exquisite."

"And so is my company," I replied with a smile.

"Seriously Jim, I don't think I've ever been treated as romantically as this. You've gone out of your way to make me feel special. I could get used to this attention."

"See Julie, I told you, one sip of soup and you're mine."

"I can't wait to see what comes next," she said.

The comeback would have been too easy and too crude. I looked into Julie's eyes with as blank an expression as I could muster. I bit my tongue and said nothing. Julie blushed and took another sip of soup.

"This soup really is something else Jim. It's spicy, but not raw. The flavors are exotic, yet comforting. It's rich but not heavy. You are a fantastic cook," she said with a blank look in her face.

"The culinary arts, my dear Julie," I said with as straight a face as I could manage, "are just one small facet of basic sorcery."

"So there is a magic potion in the soup?" she asked with mock surprise in her eyes.

"No magic potion, no incantations, no spells. It's just cause and effect. Basic sorcery."

"Whatever it is," she said with a grin while holding her spoon up, "I'm feeling enchanted." She sipped her soup, "Mmmm."

I lifted the silver platter with the bread, "Would you like some naan, Ma'am?"

"Naan-maam?"

"Yes Ma'am, naan." I couldn't help but giggle.

She dropped her spoon into the soup bowl splashing soup everywhere, "Damn!"

"Damn - Ma'am -- naan?" my eyes like saucers my back stiffened up. She burst out laughing. I started howling too. There were tears in her eyes as she tried to regain her composure.

"I'm sorry about that," she said picking up her napkin trying to contain the red damage on the white tablecloth.

"This soup is having funny affects on you, isn't it Ma'am-naan?"

"Stop it Jim!" she gasped clutching her side.

"What? This is sorcery one-oh-one," I said holding my hands out to the side, trying to keep a straight face.

After calming herself down a little she fished her spoon out of the bowl, cleaning it off in her napkin, "You are funny Jim."

"And you are lovely Julie, especially sprawled on the kitchen floor with your legs wide open."

She dropped her spoon into the bowl again and burst out laughing. This time there was a cackle and a gasp for air to her laugh. The ice had broken. Her hand slammed down onto the table catching the edge of the bowl with her wrist. The bowl flipped up dumping whatever was left in it onto her hand and the tablecloth while jettisoning the spoon clear off the table.

Her face was red as she struggled for breath between cackles. Of course I was almost off my chair in a hysterical fit of laughter.