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"Adam, you owe me twenty bucks." Penny said smugly.

The paralegal glanced around, "Oh. Eh... You guys were betting on me being a lesbian? Really?"

"Office pool." Sora nodded, "I lost five bucks. I said you were bi."

"I thought you were straight. Sorry." Chai shrugged.

Jess laughed nervously, "It's not like I ever tried to make a secret of it or anything. I mean... I used to hit on you, Chai, until I found out you had a husband."

"Is that why you used to buy me coffee?" She said incredulously, "Oh, wow! I had no idea. I feel stupid."

"I drew lovehearts on the lid." Jess stated flatly.

Chai shrugged, "I assumed that was the barista hitting on you. You're a catch, Jess. On your way to being a full lawyer. Already working in the industry. And everyone is jealous of your hair."

"So. Jealous." Penny growled, "How the hell does it stay straight when it's raining!? Might makes me look like the Mad Hatter if it even threatens to rain."

Jess shrugged, "Not like I do anything special with it. I mostly ignore it."

"I ripped half my scalp out this morning." Sora said with irritation, "I need to brush my hair, like twice a day. It's ridiculous. Anyways... You still with the barista?"

"Not anymore." Jess shook her head, "I do have a girlfriend, though. Wanna see?"

The women crowded around the phone instantly. Sora glanced over her shoulder towards Adam, feeling sorry for the poor bloke, sitting dumbly in his seat and probably more than a little uncomfortable. He couldn't really join in fully without creeping everyone out.

"You know what?" Sora announced, "Who has time after work, today?"

Penny shrugged, "I already blew off my date. We're going to hit either overtime or exhaustion-land, by the time we're done."

"Screw that." Sora shook her head, "We're ending on time. As long as everyone is in. Let's go somewhere. Do something."

"Invite your boyfriend!" Penny said quickly, "That's the perfect opportunity! We can get you both a little tipsy, and then -"

"He stopped texting me after I said I had some wine." Sora complained, "He's not going to take advantage like that. He's a gentleman or something."

"What?" Penny was perplexed.

Chai laughed, "I'm in. I'll drag my husband along, sorry Jess. I'm going to make out with him in front of you. Even if he does resemble an ape."

"I didn't mean it... That way."

"I know. But I'm going to call him an ape from now on." Chai grinned, "It'll piss him off, so bad. I might even get spanked."

"TMI! TMI!" Jess yelled.

Penny glanced at the phone again, "What about you, Jess? That hottie in for an office party?"

"No way." Jess put her phone away, "Violet is... She's into group stuff. She'd probably try and convince me to bring Adam home with us. Sorry Adam, but no."

He shrugged, "Don't worry about it. Used to being the odd one out."

Sora glanced over at Penny, "Well, if Chai and I set the mood... Maybe you can actually get his attention."

Penny scoffed, "Seriously? I've been trying for a year. It's not going to happen."

"The whole year?"

She nodded, "Remember Valentine's? I left my panties in his drawer and he still didn't get the message."

"What message? And I thought you said not to tell anyone about that." Adam hissed at her.

Penny rolled her eyes. "See?"

"S'pose he assumed you took them off for someone else and forgot them after." Sora shrugged, "But we can help you out. Right, Chai?"

"I dunno. I think that one's pretty hopeless. Sorry, Adam."

"What the hell are you all talking about!?" He said in distress.

Sora burst out laughing, "Oh my god. Penny, you have the patience of a saint. Even if you do go on other dates."

Jess tapped a finger on the desk, "Um... Elephant in the room, before everyone gets too excited... If we're doing this... Do we invite... You know? Him?"

The women all suddenly looked deadly serious.

Sora shook her head slowly, "I think... Not. Uh... Party is a secret. No social media posts. Creep probably stalks all our accounts. Adam? Secret. Got it?"

"Crowley." He nodded, "Got it."

"Don't name him!" Penny said in exasperation, "It's like... A HR thing if we're intentionally excluding just him. So no names. But he's just... Handsy."

Jess nodded slowly, "Imagine with alcohol."

"Fuck." Chai said with a grossed-out shudder.

"I am so sorry to be male, right now." Adam winced, "Can I... Can I apologise on behalf of the species? Why are there so many damn creeps?"

"At least you're not creepy." Penny gave him a smile, "Heck, you could probably get away with being a little bit handsy. At least with me."

He shook his head, "I'd never do that."

Penny rolled her eyes.

Jess nodded at Sora, "I think you got a message, before. Wanna invite your boyfriend? Tell him the rest of us will be there. Public setting should make it easier."

"He's not..." Sora gave up, and checked her phone.

% How does one apply to be your assistant?

% I'm just going to come out and say it.

% Feel free to tell me to fuck off...

% You're crazy sexy.

%...

% Okay, your turn to do words.

She blushed furiously, and then realised she'd been talking whilst he had probably been scared that she was about to ghost him.

$ Office is organising a party.

$ Because today sucks.

$ Um... I've only ever asked once before...

$ So...

$ Can you be my date?

$ Shit.

$ Wanna be my date?

$ Is that better?

$ Two other girls with dates.

$... Who might be... Trying to hook us up?

$ Sorry. You don't have to come.

Bloop!

% Stop!

$ They saw your photo and just kinda... Yeah.

Bloop!

% I can't type that fast!

% Relax, Sora.

% Sounds fun.

% A safe space to meet the weird coffee guy.

% So... Deets?

She looked up with a sheepish grin, "Um... He's in? So... What do we want to do? I don't like clubs. But having a beer or something might be nice."

"I want something nice to eat. Not like steak or anything, but like, something you won't regret eating the next morning." Penny shrugged.

Chai shrugged, "I usually cook at home. I basically never eat out."

"Oh, I know!" Adam said confidently, surprising all of them. He hesitated when they reacted, and just sort of mumbled, "There's a teppanyaki place around the corner... And it's... Kinda nice."

"Love it." Penny grinned at him, "And we even have a guy to get the perfect grill."

"Stereotype." Sora rolled her eyes.

Chai shrugged, "I'm down for that. Just let me call my husband before we lock anything more down. Can you check for reservations or something, Adam?"

"Oh. Sure." He said, pulling out his phone, "For seven? Or six?"

Jess rubbed her chin, "I would like to meet this coffee nut... He sounds kinda like fun. Also, have to make sure he's good enough for the boss, right? But, I've been late home every day this week..."

"Go home. Romance your girlfriend." Sora said with a smile, "We're fine. We can have some fun, another time."

"At least one of us should get laid." Penny teased, making Jess glare at her.

She glanced back at her phone.

$ Organising things.

$ Do you happen to like Japanese?

$ Teppanyaki?

Bloop!

% Do you mean the place near your work?

% I practically live there.

% Just a second...

Sora turned to Adam, who had just dialled a number and was calling. "Hang on second... I think Liam has something up his sleeve. He knows them, or something?"

Adam hung up and shrugged, "Cool."

Bloop!

% Guy with Beard (TM) is flexing.

% Actually, Kaito's just in my class.

% He'll let us have the top floor to ourselves.

% Private chef.

%...

% That was way too much of a brag, wasn't it?

Sora laughed, "Liam knows the chef, I think. He just booked us the top floor. And now he's being cute and nervous that he showed off too much."

"I want to steal your boyfriend." Penny said jealously.

Sora rolled her eyes, "Focus on getting yours, first? Ooh. Talk to me after. I know the perfect excuse you can use to get him to talk to you in private. Just be a little... Open minded. Non-judgemental."

Her eyes lit up, "You know a secret, don't you?"

"Yup."

%4%C%6%9%6%1%6%D%4%C%6%F%7%

The problem with going straight from work to the restaurant was that Sora couldn't get dressed for a date. She couldn't gussy up. Her deodorant for work was mostly smell-eliminating, not any kind of nice perfume. Penny had some, but it was some sickly sweet cherry-flavoured thing, and Sora wasn't that desperate.

Her shirt pits were sweaty, from long and stressful phone calls all afternoon. Her hair was frazzled and defiant to all efforts to brush it. Her fringe had a kink, and half her ponytail wanted to live like it was in the wind... Even if there wasn't any.

No eyeliner or anything subtle she could do to make her eyes more attractive and less bag-ridden. The only thing she'd managed was a little bit of foundation so her skin didn't seem quite as flawed as it actually was.

Penny had happened to have some lipstick on her, but that wasn't something that Sora liked wearing. She found it made guys want to avoid a kiss, and she really wanted to build up the courage to plant one on her date. Give him something to aim for more.

That was what Sora had decided was the goal for the night, if she and Liam could get over their awkwardness. A kiss goodnight, and a promise of more. If he turned out to be a half-decent date.

At least she still had her heels. She adored what her heels did to her butt. Whilst she wasn't well-endowed around her chest, she knew that with her heels that most guys couldn't resist taking a peek at her ass. Openly staring, she minded. Trying to resist and still ending up looking... That made her feel good.

Liam seemed the sort to resist.

Penny elbowed her, "Is that him?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah." Sora gave a small smile and waved to the guy standing outside the restaurant. Liam was wearing the same outfit as this morning. Simple jeans, a grey jacket with epaulettes, and a t-shirt that she hadn't really noticed because she'd been either staring at the ground, his eyes, or the braid.

It was a simple and black t-shirt, almost tight enough to see his chest, but not quite. However, Sora went bright red as she saw that in the middle of it, there was a nyan cat. She couldn't help but remember that she'd sent him a photo of her with catears. Had she really been tipsy? It was the only excuse she could make for herself.

"Oh my god. He's freaking hot." Penny whispered to her, "You snagged this guy? By accident? How the... Someone up there, loves you."

Sora glared, "He's not snagged yet, so don't you dare do anything to fuck this up for me. No flirting, no calling him my boyfriend. Okay?"

"Yes boss." Penny grinned, "I'll be on my best behaviour. Well... With him, anyway."

Sora smiled, "Oh. Got a plan for your boy?"

"Already text him that I know about his hobby." Penny glanced behind them to where Adam and Chai were walking, "Blackmailing him into talking to me was not something I would have come up with. Do you think he'll be too nervous to notice I really want a freaking date?"

She shrugged, "With Adam? Who the hell knows? One minute he's completely on the ball, the next he's the dumbest ox you've ever met. I'd tell you just to kiss him, but he'd probably assume you want a one night stand."

"I might settle for that, at this point." Penny grumbled. "I took off my fucking panties and gave them to him. How stupid do you get?"

"He thought you screwed someone else on the desk." Sora rolled her eyes, "Even though the idiot should have known you can't do that in our office without Crowley catching you. Just have to persuade him... I'd tell him. That the panties were for him."

Penny flushed, "I mean... I know I should... But it's... Embarrassing."

"You get... Shy?" Sora said incredulously.

The woman shrugged, "I'm still human. I like him. I'm allowed to get all quiet and shit."

"Wasn't poking fun." Sora said quickly, "I'd kill to have some of your confidence, Penny. I completely freaked out when I saw Liam this morning..."

She trailed off as they arrived, and gave a tight smile. There was another person next to Liam, wearing a similarly relaxed outfit. He smiled at the two of them, "Hey there."

"Um... Hi?" She replied, and waved, "This is Penny. That's Chai and Adam. Chai's husband shouldn't be far off, either. I'm Sora. Nice to meet you."

"Kaito. This is my dad's place." The man replied, "Obviously, you know Liam. I... Kinda told him he was crazy. Texting a girl back, out of the blue, like that... So... Guess both of you have a chaperone?"

Sora laughed and smiled, "Group date sounds fine. Adam was the one who recommended the restaurant, by the way."

"Hey, Adam." Kaito waved, "He eats here a bunch, too."

Adam smiled, "How's it been, Kaito? Sora, here, is my boss. Remember, the one I told you about? Oh, uh, nothing bad, Sora."

"Ah." Kaito grinned, "Evening. Chai, was it?"

She nodded, looking around, "You guys head in. I don't think my husband will be that long."

"We can wait."

Chai rolled her eyes, "Okay... But I want a minute. You guys should head in."

Sora snorted, and then realised she'd made a crazy unattractive sound in front of Liam, and hadn't even spoken to him yet. She went so red she was pretty sure he was going to mistake her for a tomato, and looked at him timidly.

Liam didn't seem to have noticed, but he was watching her. His green eyes burned into her, and she felt a small stir as her body decided he was the only thing it wanted, tonight. She'd never been so attracted to someone, before.

"I like your, um... Braid?"

He nodded, as the group turned and started filing into the restaurant, holding the door open for her. She felt him glancing at her ass as she went past, and smiled to herself.

"Not quite as cute as your ears. But I like to think it does something for me." He replied.

Sora fell into step with him as they headed through the restaurant and all the delicious smells for the stairs. "Oh god. Please don't remind me."

"They were cute." He reassured her, "Really cute. Not quite walk down the street, unless you're headed to comic or something, but cute."

She smiled weakly, and tried to gently redirect him a little, "Um... Being called cute is nice... But um..."

"Oh. You got a lot of that, huh?" He nodded, "Too much cute, and not enough beautiful or sexy? Because you're those as well, I just figured that it was a bit early for me to say that."

"You've seen me in my dressing gown." She mumbled, "You can get a pass on that."

"I promise not to abuse it."

Sora grinned, "Now, that's adorable. So... Is there a story with the braid? Or just because it looks nice?"

"Family thing?" He frowned, "Not normally a first date kinda thing... But we might be both a bit beyond and before that at the same time. My dad raised me in the old Norse religion. Odin, Thor, that kind of thing. I don't still believe it, but it's... Sentimental. And a bit metal. But mostly sentimental."

She lit up, "I love those stories! Thor jumping over a table in a wedding dress yelling about his hammer is a favourite!"

"Gimme back my hammer!" Liam laughed.

Sora chuckled, "It's just... Thor's like a man's man. Big bushy beard. Big hammer, with a handle that's short for... I forget that one. It's kinda boring. But he's this big tough guy. And he pretends to be a chick just to get his hammer back. It's adorable."

"The chief of the giants was called Thrym. Do you know what that translates too?"

"Not a clue."

"Noisy. The guy was basically named jerk." Liam laughed.

Sora snorted, "The thunder killed the loud jerk."

Her face fell and she winced, "I uh... I do that sometimes. Please, please, don't comment on it. Even if you think it's cute."

"I really do. But I won't." He replied.

Penny was sitting next to Adam, close enough to be touching, but he looked extremely uncomfortable. Glancing at her fearfully. Maybe blackmail just to get his attention wasn't the best idea in the world.

"Um... Help us out, if you can." Sora whispered.

Liam chuckled, "Your... Friend? Adam? He has no idea that girl is crazy about him, does he?"

"Not a clue."

He nodded, "Don't worry about it. I can get through to him."

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, wouldn't bet on it. Oh. Um... Chai, outside? She kinda stole my phone earlier."

"To help with the photo? I did notice you weren't exactly holding the phone in it."

Sora blushed, "I asked for advice. She sent it before I even saw it! I... I kinda... Hated it?"

"Too bad. I'll see it in my dreams." Liam replied quickly, "Uh... Forget I said that? It sounded like too much."

She bit her lip, and then took his rough-feeling hand in hers, surprising herself. "I like you. Okay? That's what this means. We both get a pass, right? Nervous and stuff. But... I think you kinda like me, too? God. Texting is so much easier."

"Text me."

She looked at him, "Huh?"

"If there's something you want to say, but you're too nervous. Text me." Liam shrugged, and squeezed her hand, "Promise I won't think twice about it. So long as it goes both ways."

"Oh my god. How can you be so... Confident?" Sora asked him as they sat down, "I am totally jealous... And I... Like it."

He smiled, "Decent poker face goes a long way?"

"If you two start kissing, Sora won't be the only jealous one." Penny interjected, "So. Liam. All she told us was that you make coffee and study at uni. That's nowhere near enough. Drop it on us. Life story."

Sora shot a glare at her.

Liam shrugged, "Not a lot to tell."

"Bullshit." Kaito shook his head, "Liam's at uni because of me. Because dad wants the two of us to take over the restaurant. Me as head chef, Liam as the business brains. He got drunk last year, and offered unsolicited business advice, but dad actually listened. And we doubled our intake. Liam is awesome. Got a head for this kind of stuff."

Sora stared at him, "You might end up running a restaurant? That's... Cool. Sounds stressful. But very cool."

"Gotta get the degree, first." Liam replied.

Kaito passed out the menus, and started putting on a black apron with the logo of the restaurant on it. "Anyone want to order anything, whilst you're waiting for... What was the cool chick's name, again? Chai? Like the tea?"

"It actually means tea. Tea and chai are the same root word." She appeared on the stairs, hugging the arm of a giant. Her husband was well over six foot, and built like he punched trees for a living.

Sora realised she'd never heard his name, before. She'd never asked.

"Everyone, this is my sexy ape of a husband, Aridam." The man glared down at her, and she grinned back up at him, nose crinkling. "Everyone, Aridam."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Sora, this is Penny, Adam, Liam, and Kaito." She pointed everyone out, "Chai has told us nothing about you, at all. About the only thing we do know, is she adores you."

The man smiled weakly, embarrassed.

Liam patted a chair, "Come sit, you two. Kaito was just about to tell us that the menus are pointless, because he knows what tastes best. He's worked here since... Well, none of you are lawyers, are you?"

"Nearly had one. Jess went home."

Chai slid into a seat between Liam and her husband, and grinned at Kaito, "So, what's our chef say is the best on the menu?"

"Not on the menu. Not yet, anyways." He replied, putting his hands behind his back, "I've been working on three new things. So, if you don't mind, I'd like you to be my taste testers."

"I'm game." Penny said excitedly, "Taste testers for a real chef. I feel like I'm living in a drama. Isn't this cool, Adam?"

"Uh... Yeah."

Kaito laughed, "I test new things on Adam, all the time. He's actually tried one of these. It's a mustard-based sauce, with chicken and green herbs. A bit of coconut, garlic. Served with sprouts."