Nerdcam Pt. 06

"We've been seeing each other how long -- and you're still staring?"

"You're still beautiful." he gave a wry smile to show that he knew it was a corny, overly romantic thing to say, then added; "The look... Really suits you. I like your hair this way."

"Thanks, Ner- Er, Jack."

Their eyes met again and they shared a smile.

Jack opened the menu in front of him.

"Would you believe, I'm not so familiar with the menu here."

"No, really?"

"Pretty sure they don't serve turkey clubs. Actually, this is probably all French. Maybe you can help me out this time." he observed.

Anna opened her own menu.

"These are mostly, like, classics. With your fancy cooking skills, you must know some of these?"

"Some." Jack agreed. "Partly it just seemed like an opportunity to hear you speak French."

Anna rolled her eyes.

"Well, at least you're not trying to give me a foot job." Jack looked about to say something, so she headed him off; "Shht. Hush. Anyway, my French is terrible. But I can translate if you need it."

"Huh. Sorry Love." Jack said after scanning the menu.

Anna looked up with furrowed brow.

"Should I ask?"

Jack broke the news to her with a disappointed sigh.

"No pizza."

Anna let her head droop for a moment.

"You... Sous-merde."

"Hey, I got some French. Wait, pretty sure I know what merde is. What did you say?"

"Sous-merde." Anna leaned forward and spoke quietly, "Like, assistant- er, merde. Like extra insulting because you're not even qualified to be actual shit."

Jack's eyes drifted while a smile formed on his face.

"Huh, that's creative. Know any others?"

"You think we could order before you insist on any more degenerate behavior?"

"Well, now that I know you don't want me to give you a foot job, I guess..."

Just then a server approached. With a few words that were lost on Jack, he placed a couple of identical, small round dishes, one in front of either diner. With that done, he nodded, smiled, and left them.

"Uh, what was that?"

"'L'amuse gueule.' Like amuse bouch. Um, an hors d'oeuvre." Anna explained.

"Ah."

The items in question were rough orbs of made of threads of stretched crystallized sugar. The two glanced at each other, shrugged, and ate. The orbs turned out to contain a sort of soft fluffy cream. There were hints of nuts, chocolate, and coffee, but none of the flavors were overly rich. The sugar-threads added a sweet maple which slowly dissolved with the rest.

"Wow," Jack remarked, "Don't expect me to make that next time I cook for you."

"Mm. It's good, but I'll bet it's a lot of work for such a little thing." Anna acknowledged.

Sliding the little dishes to the side, they returned their attention to the menus.

After a moment Anna broke the relative quiet.

"Are you sure you c-"

"Uh-uh-uh. It's fine. Just enjoy. You can interrogate me about it later, when we get home."

She stared at him doubtfully for a beat, then shrugged.

"Then I'm gonna have the Salmon en papillote."

"Translation?"

"Means Salmon in foil or paper. They seal the fish, and maybe the veggies too, inside oiled paper and cook it so that it steams inside." she explained.

"Ah. Interesting. I think I'll try the chicken confit."

A waiter approached and asked about drinks. When they both looked uncertain, he offered to make a suggestion based on their choice of dishes. He ended up suggesting an oak aged chardonnay, which was supposedly suitable for both chicken and an oily fish like salmon.

They were served the wine, and the food arrived after a reasonable interval. Jack watched, intrigued, when Anna's food arrived still sealed in it's oiled paper pouch. Aside from commenting on how the food -- and the wine -- were excellent, they were quiet for a time while eating.

Before they had finished, Anna insisted that Jack should try the salmon, so they opted to trade plates. With both plates well cleaned, and wine glasses emptied, they agreed that both meals were delicious.

Before long, their server reappeared and asked if they would like to see the cheeseboard or order dessert. Asking about dessert, they were informed that there was an exquisite hazelnut dacquoise, or a choice between souffles -- au chocolat, or aux framboises. Anna again translated for Jack's benefit. The dacquoise was a quite decadent cake. The choices of souffle were chocolate or raspberry.

To Jack's amusement, Anna suggested he order a slice of the dacquoise, and she would just sample a bit of his. When, a short time later, the cake arrived, Jack slid the plate toward the middle of the table.

"Here, you take the first bite, see what you think."

Anna daintily cut away a small wedge and speared it with her fork and lifted it to her mouth.

"Mmmmm." her eyes closed as she savored the bite.

"That good, huh?"

Anna nodded.

"You should probably take the rest far away from me. It's way too good to be good for you." she said, even as she reached forth to cut another little sliver.

"That's okay. We'll just have to get in some exercise later." Jack smiled, drawing the plate back his way after she stole her second little bite.

Anna tapped her lower lip with the tines of her fork, thinking.

"I went to the gym yesterday, but that's probably not what you meant, right?"

Jack was nodding as he finished his first bite of cake.

"Mm, that is good. And yeah -- that wasn't what I meant."

Anna set her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands.

"And did you have things in mind, Jacky-boy?"

"I had a few ideas. But I'm open to suggestions, too."

"Hmm. Different topic. You know how I told my parents about you?"

Jack paused with his fork hovering over the cake.

"Yeah?"

"And they said to drag up there to meet them next time I visited."

"I recall hearing that, yes."

"Well... What about your family? I mean, hypothetically... When do I meet them?"

Jack poked noncommittally at the cake a couple of times.

"According to my master plan? At my funeral, I guess." he grumbled.

"Jack."

"Sweetie, I don't wanna meet my family. Why on Earth would I subject you to them?"

"Sweetie?"

Jack widened his eyes in exasperation before subsiding a bit.

"Don't like that one?" he asked.

"Actually, I kinda do, but... I mean, it' be nice if the context was less, you know, argue-y."

Jack nodded.

"Look, if you keep asking, I'll eventually set something up. But I want it in writing that I tried to talk you out of it."

"Are they that bad?"

He seemed to give it some actual thought. Then shrugged expansively.

"They're not the devil. They're just petty. Narrow minded? Like, they've got their idea of how life is, but it's a tiny bubble. And they don't know or care -- or want to know -- about anything else. If they'd been put in charge of the world's scientific research and development, we'd still be living in log cabins without electric light or air conditioning. Riding horses and dying of bad teeth and... Sure, I like log cabins, but that's not the point. If-"

He noticed Anna's expression. He frowned and cleared his throat.

"Okay." Anna said.

"Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay. I'll ask you about it again some other time. I think I understand a little bit more about why you're not crazy about the idea. That's enough for now."

Jack nodded slowly, then cut himself another bite of cake.

"I think that's the most worked up I've heard you get about anything since I've known you." Anna observed.

"Yeah, sorry. They just... frustrate me."

Anna smiled.

"It's fine. In a weird way, it's nice to know you can get upset about something. You're always so easy going."

"Just don't take most things too seriously." Jack admitted.

"Which is good. Generally."

"There are a few things I take very seriously." he asserted between bites.

Anna gave a thoughtful 'Hmm.'

Jack set the fork down on the plate and slid it, and the last few bites of cake, toward Anna.

"Wouldn't want more than a slice at a time. Good, but a little rich. Why don't you finish the last bit while I text Robert?"

"You're supposed to be helping me resist temptation," Anna pouted, "But... Can't let it go to waste."

Some fifteen minutes later they were on their way out, Jack having taken care of the check. As they stepped away from the entrance, breaths clouding in the cold, he removed his coat and slipped it over Anna's shoulders. She walked alongside him, intentionally bumping against his arm until he put it around her and gave her a squeeze.

They made their way a block down to a parking lot where Robert was turning the limo around after having gone and taken care of some unknown personal business. He welcomed them aboard, happily asking about their meals. After which he largely kept up both ends of the ensuing 'conversation.'

This suited his passengers just fine. After listening to Robert talk for a couple of minutes, and sharing a knowing look, the two smiled and cuddled up and made out for the better part of the ride.

When they slowed to a stop at the hotel, Robert turned and reached back through the window between the cab and passenger section.

"Here. My business card. Has my number. I know it won't do any good to give it to him. If you hear about any good parties or art shows -- or you wanna throw one -- give me a call. And see if you can drag him out once in a while. I don't want the next time I hear from him to be when you need a babysitter."

Anna took the card and secreted it away in a pocket.

"Thanks, Robert. I will. And I'm trying. Thanks for the ride."

"My pleasure." Robert settled back in his seat. "And Jack, remember what I said, eh? Don't wait-"

"Yeah, yeah. I remember." Jack smiled. "Thanks for the ride. Don't call me, I'll call you."

"Fuck off." Robert laughed. "I'll see you 'round."

Once outside with their luggage, the two lingered to wave as Robert pulled away. With a mischievous expression, Jack turned and bent to gather snow from the edge of the walkway. He began to pack a snowball.

"Ah, shit!" he ducked and shook when Anna beat him to the punch, settling for an unpacked handful crammed down the back of his shirt.

Jack danced a bit, then straightened up and weighed his snowball in hand. He approached, smiling.

"Hey," Anna held up her hands, "let's talk about this."

Jack waited, pressing close and looping an arm around her. Anna readily reached her hands up behind his neck and met his kiss. As they parted again, Jack stepped back just enough to drop his frosty missile on her foot.

Anna gasped, looked down, then back up at him.

"You shit."

"Uhp, that's sous-merde, remember."

"Don't you correct my insults, smartass. And that was totally cheating." she grinned.

"Yeah, you can punish me when we get inside. Come on. And watch that ice."

Inside, Jack checked in at the front desk and accepted the keycards for their room while Anna tapped lingering slush off of her shoe. While they rode up to the sixth floor in the elevator, Jack handed Anna a keycard and took her luggage for her.

"You're being very gentlemanly." Anna commented.

Jack shrugged.

"It's nice to act classy once in a while. And spoil you a bit. Of course, I might've stopped the elevator and ravished you, but I'm getting a tiny bit possessive. At least enough so I don't like the idea of you on cam unless it's with me." he pointed up at a little camera bubble in the ceiling of the elevator car.

"Ah. Okay. Good call." she admired his profile. "Thanks for spoiling me. Nerd."

"My pleasure." he tipped his chin up as the elevator doors opened. "42C. Get the door?"

Once inside the room, Jack set their luggage near the bed on their respective sides -- Anna on the left and he on the right. With that done, he removed his waistcoat and tossed it on the nightstand. Anna, meanwhile, lay Jack's coat on the bed and sat to remove her shoes.

Jack followed suit, then looked up when Anna spoke.

"Oooh. You found a room with shag carpeting? Hard to believe that could be a coincidence."

Jack smiled and finished removing his shoes.

"Yeah, had to call around a few places for that. Maximum comfort. Oh, And that door over there should be a little balcony."

Anna rose and padded over to draw aside a long curtain. Unlocking and sliding open a glass door, she stepped out into a quite small, recessed balcony. She gave the bronze-painted iron railing an untrusting test nudge before leaning on it and looking out at the lights of the city. She smiled, almost laughed, though the cold of the air and the tiles underfoot raised goosebumps on her arms and legs.

She noticed Jack join her when his warm hands slid down her arms. He leaned close to look out over her shoulder. She crossed her forearms to put her hands over his, and they stood for a little while in silence.

Eventually Jack fished something from a hip pocket and held it out in front of them. It looked like a slightly mangled sprig of leaves with some tiny white berries.

"What is it?" Anna asked.

"Mistletoe, naturally."

"I thought that was-"

"You're thinking of holly."

"Oh yeah. People always say mistletoe, but..."

"Traditionally they go together. The Romans decorated with holly for Saturnalia. When the Christians took over, they absorbed the tradition, along with mistletoe, which the Norse, Greeks, and Romans all associated with peace." Jack explained.

"Huh. Went down a Christmas rabbit hole at some point?"

"I was doing some Christmas themed stuff in the webcomic last year and realized -- like you just did -- about a lot of people using just holly but always calling it mistletoe. And, yeah... Rabbit hole."

"And you carried that in your pocket?"

"Well, I was hoping I wouldn't need a special excuse to kiss you, but I also thought it wouldn't hurt to get in a few touches of Christmas spirit."

"Hmm. Very thoughtful." Anna turned about in his arms and tipped her head to look up at him expectantly.

With a faint smile, he lifted his hand up over their heads, dangling the spring between thumb and forefinger. He tipped his head down as Anna rose on the balls of her feet to kiss him.

Jack lowered his arm.

"Should I hold onto this, in case-" He started to ask when they had broken the kiss.

Anna held his eyes with her own and shook her head slowly. He would have described the smile she wore as a little bit evil.

"You won't need it." she assured him.

"Mm," Jack zoned out for a moment, lost in her eyes, then blinked, "Er, presents first."

Anna looked doubtful.

"You sure?"

Jack gave her another quick kiss.

"Trust me."

The two withdrew into the room, sliding the door closed behind them, and went to their respective luggage. Anna found the wrapped package and set it on the bed. While Jack was doing the same on the other side of the bed, Anna got on her phone and looked up Carol of the Bells and set it to play on repeat at low volume. Dropping the phone on the bed, she took the gift and moved around to meet Jack at the foot of the bed.

While Anna held the one flattish rectangular package, Jack had two -- one about the size of two bricks put together, and another, square package which just about filled his other hand. They hesitated, then Jack held out the larger of his packages.

"Here. Start with this one."

Anna accepted the package, setting her own aside on the bed for the moment. She tore away the Christmas tree print wrapping paper, crumpled it into a ball, and flicked it to bounce from Jack's chest. The box beneath looked as if he had cut and folded it together from a larger piece of cardboard. Shearing through painter's tape with her nails, she opened the box and lifted out the contents.

First came a familiar style of bottle with a familiar label, containing a familiar viscous white substance.

"I figured, you can never have too much lube, right?" Jack explained.

"Yeah, that's a good call, Nerd," she flashed him that evil smile again, then rolled the bottle up the bed toward the pillows, "And it might come in handy pretty soon."

The second object was, similarly, pretty self explanatory. It was a small vibrating wand, still in the package.

"It's got a USB charging cord thing. It would've been one of the big ones, but it wasn't at the top of the priorities list, and after budgeting for..." he gestured vaguely at the room around them.

"After that meal and this," she mimicked his gesture, "you really didn't have to get me anything."

"Well, I wanted to. And those one's were just, you know, for fun. And, uh, then there's this."

He held out the smaller parcel.

Anna took up the box she had set down and pressed it on him before accepting his second gift. They glanced surreptitiously at each other while slowly working at wrapping paper.

Discarding paper and opening the box beneath, Jack found a hardcover sketchbook and an array of little plastic holders containing graphite sticks. They were the sort used in the lead-holders -- fancy drawing pencils -- that he sometimes used. Smiling, he set the plastic holders in the box and set it aside. He held onto the sketchbook, having noticed that the front cover seemed propped up a bit by something.

Opening the book, he found a key taped to the inside of the cover. His attention was pulled away, however, when he saw that the first page wasn't blank. Anna had written something -- no, drawn something. It was in ink. Gel pen, by the look of it. But there were some faint pencil marks beneath.

It was rough -- showing common issues that beginners often had, but it was recognizable. She had put in some real effort. The drawing was a rendering of Anna herself, wearing his big Pink Floyd shirt. There were a series of speech bubbles next to her, reading:

'This sucks, but you'll appreciate

the thought, right?

Thanks for being a pretty great

guy.

Merry X-mas, Nerd.'

Jack glanced up, grinning.

"That's not bad. And yeah, I appreciate the time and thought. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Anna said quietly, looking up from what she had uncovered. It looked like a slightly oversized ring box. She waited for him to mention the key.

He smiled down at the drawing for a few moments more before shifting his gaze. Peeling up one side of the tape there, he lifted away the key.

"This is... Your apartment key, right?"

"A copy." she answered.

"Oh. I don't think you're supposed to copy those."

Anna rolled her eyes and with one hand pantomimed jacking off.

"I um... Thought that since our apartments aren't that big and we're, like, used to living alone, maybe we shouldn't rush about mmm," her eyes were sliding shyly off to one side, "Ahem, about moving in... Together."

"So... This -- giving me my own key- is like, symbolically-" Jack put together.

Anna cleared her throat.

"Yeah, kinda. I guess I was sorta hoping you would bring it up first, but... And I thought about getting you another man-purse, uh, whaddaya call it-"

"Shaving kit?" Jack provided.

"Right. To keep at my place. But you're so good about being casual and not pushing anything and I didn't wanna seem like I was pushing things and just assuming that," she shrugged, "that you wanted to make that move."

"No, It's good. I'm good with it. Really. You know, you're cute when you're trying not to be shy."

Anna glowered, but only mildly.

"Open the box." Jack suggested.

"You're sure-"

"Trust me."

"You're saying that a lot lately."

"Don't make me do Brad Pitt from Seven." Jack threatened.

"Alright, alright." Anna conceded, shaking her head.

She forced back the lid of the black velvet box, which did that thing that ring boxes do -- where the lid hinges back with a little pop. Inside was what Anna gradually realized was a hair brooch with a slender white tine. The brooch itself was carved from similar white material, but much of it was colored black. Amidst the black recessed portions were tiny white stars and two little white dolphins.