Dinner Engagement

Rick's date with Shel is interrupted by someone from Rick's past.

6.

Dinner Engagement

 

It was still raining when Rick knocked on Shel’s door at nearly 6 o’clock.   The door flew open almost immediately and he uttered an exclamation of approval as his eyes fell on the Orc lady.

She wore a brilliant red corseted dress with gold trim that greatly complimented her green skin as well as her perfect hourglass shape.    She had her black hair neatly braided and hanging over her right shoulder.

“You look wonderful,”  He told her after staring approvingly at her for a few moments, “That dress makes you look like a princess.”

She beamed at his compliment, “This was what I was supposed to wear to meet my intended fiancé when I was brought by my parents to King’s Reach.   I’ve never worn it… until tonight.”

“I almost don’t feel proper taking you to the Muddy Boot dressed like that!   You should go to a royal ball or something formal.   I’m afraid I don’t have anything remotely as fancy as that.   We’ll look like a Queen and her coachman.”

“Hon, you look fine!   I see that you brought the rain proof cloaks.”

“Yeah, since it didn’t quit raining.   Oh, by the way, I told Tadd and Mutt about your offer of free breakfasts and they were thrilled to say the least.”

“What about Jevon?”

“I didn’t see him, but I’m sure he’ll love it too.”   Rick just crossed his arms and stared at Shel with a smile, “Wow, you look beautiful.”

“Oh stop!”  She giggled prettily and he gently placed the magic cloak across her shoulders.

“The hood will have to be up - it might mess up your hair.”

She shrugged, “No big deal.”

“It looks too nice to mess up.”

“My, but you are a charmer tonight!”  Her eyes sparkled in the dim light from the arcane street lamps as she fastened the clasp to the cloak around her neck.

Rick offered her his arm and she took it with a slight blush.

“Are you sure you want to be seen with an Orc?”  She asked him as they started down the street in the rain (though all water was deflected from them by their cloaks).

“I can’t wait for everybody to see how beautiful you look,“ He replied and she gently squeezed his arm as he escorted her to dinner.

 

***

All eyes turned to look at them as they entered the busy Inn and removed their cloaks.    Rick heard numerous surprised, but approving murmurs when they saw Shel.    He couldn’t keep his eyes off of her.    She was stunning to behold.    He led her over to a small table in the middle of the room.   As they passed, several patrons recognized her as one of the managers of Flapjacks and spoke to her.   She chatted briefly with each of them and they all commented on how regal she looked in her lovely red dress.

Even the barmaid who came to take their order complimented her on her dress.

“That is the prettiest dress I have ever seen!”  The girl exclaimed, “All you need is a crown and everyone in the room would be bowing down on one knee before you.”

Shel just smiled pleasantly.

“Well, they all have made me feel really special,”  She told him after the waitress had taken their order, “I’m so glad you thought of dressing up.”

“I am too; I’m a celebrity by just being your dinner date.   Shel, you are absolutely beautiful.”

She blushed and looked down at her hands, “There you go again - being charming.”

“No, I’m just being honest, Shel.   You look stunning.”

“Well, let’s talk about something else before I get the big head.    You said that you haven’t spoken to Jevon this afternoon?”

“He hadn’t returned from a job, but that’s not unusual.”

“Maybe he was visiting Ant.”

“Oh, I don’t know - she doesn’t seem to be the type who liked dating.”

Shel chuckled, “She likes him.”

“She does?   How could you tell?”

“Well, it is tough with her, but she found him interesting.”

Rick shook his head, “I sure didn’t see it.   She seemed rather cold to everyone.”

“That is part of her defenses.    She wears it like armor, but she seemed far more focused on him than anyone else.    Trust me, she is interested in him.”

“Well, that is good then, because he seems fascinated with her.   He didn’t say that he was, but he had that distracted look in his eyes when he’d mention her name.”

“He might melt some of her iciness.   I think they make a nice couple.”

Rick nodded, “Jevon has dated quite a bit; he is due up to have a serious relationship with someone.”

A female voice calling to him from across the tavern interrupted their conversation.

Rick turned to see a familiar face approaching their table.

It was Jain, the Losasidhe girl that he had met months before, who had sent him a letter stating that she couldn’t see him any more.

“I knew it was you!”  She said with a wide grin, “Surprise!   I was able to get away from my parents when Queen Synthaeia sent for her handmaidens to join her here.    So here I am!”

Rick just blankly stared at her, not knowing what to feel.   The elven girl looked at Shel, then back to him, “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”

“Uh…” Rick stammered.

Jain extended her hand to Shel, “Hi, I’m Jain!”

Shel shook the elf’s hand with a warm smile, “I’m Shel, and it’s nice to meet you.”

Jain looked back and forth between Rick and Shel with the hint of amusement on her face, “If I am disturbing something…”

“Not at all, have a seat, Jain,”  Shel offered, gesturing to the chair next to her.

Rick prayed that she would not take the offer, but to his dismay she sat down.

“So what do you want, Jain?”  Rick asked, somewhat coldly.

“I thought you’d be glad to see me again.”

“Why would you assume that after receiving your letter?”

Jain laughed it off, “The letter?    My father made me write that!   He didn’t like me to date humans.   But he’s not here now.”   She smiled somewhat suggestively.

Shel stood up, “Maybe I ought to leave you two alone.”

“No,”  Rick grabbed her hand, restraining her gently as he turned to speak to the Losasidhe girl.

“Jain, I’m not interested any more, okay?”

The girl’s eyes narrowed as the smile fled from her face, “So you are dating this… Orc?”

“Yes, I am; you see, I’ve finally decided to date women with more class.”

The insult wasn’t lost on her and the girl stood up with a fury, “Well you can have the pig then!”

With a swift movement, she grabbed Rick’s flagon of ale and splashed him in the face with it, then stormed off.

“Have I mentioned how much I hate elves?”   Rick said as the ale dripped from his nose.

Shel was on her feet in a flash and for a moment Rick feared that she would confront the Losasidhe girl.   But she simply rushed to the bar and returned with several towels.     

Ignoring the grins and chuckles of the other patrons, he accepted the offered towels from Shel and began mopping up the ale.

“Too bad you weren’t wearing your rain-proof cloak, hon,”  Shel commented as she wiped off the table in front of him.

“I am so sorry, Shel, that little… well, you know what she is!   She had no right saying anything rude to you.   I could simply strangle her!”

Shel put her finger to her lips, “Shh!   Don’t  say that, Rick.   If something happens to her, the city guard will think one of us killed her.”

“Or we could hire someone…”   Rick kidded.

“Rick, don’t let it bother you.”

“She ruined our evening.”

“No she didn’t!   She just got you all covered with ale… that’s all.”

“I can’t stand elves at this moment!”

“Ah, don’t blame elves, hon.   Jain is just a girl - a young woman in elven years, and barely that, I’d guess.”

“That doesn’t give her the right to insult someone.    They all act so superior.”

Shel shrugged, “Well, at least you told her off.   I’ll bet that you feel better.”

He blinked and thought about it - there was a definite satisfaction over putting her in her place.

“I guess I do…  But I’m covered in sticky ale.”

“How far is your apartment from here?”

“It’s not very close.   Maybe I should take you home.”

“No, take me to your home and change your clothes, then we’ll make our plans after that.”

“But it will make it too late to-“

“Hon, I don’t have parents waiting up for me; do you?”

“Well, no, but don’t you open up Flapjacks before dawn?”

“Usually, yes, but I traded my day off with another manager so I wouldn’t have to be watching the clock tonight.   I’m more concerned about you though - you have work tomorrow.”

“I’ll be alright… are you sure it’s okay?   It’s a hassle to walk across town in the rain just to change clothes.”

Shel just stood up and extended her hand, “Come on; I don’t want a sticky date.”

He took her hand and after dropping a gold coin on the table to pay for the meal that they’d ordered but not yet received, he let her lead him out of the busy inn.

 

***

 

“Well, here it is - it is rather small,”   Rick told Shel as he unlocked the door to the apartment that he rented.    Waving his hand in front of a glow cube near the door, he snapped his fingers twice and the magic cube began to glow with a soft white light.

“Oh, I like that!”   Shel exclaimed, “Does your Guild sell those?   I’d love to have one of them.”

“Sure, those are easy.   I’ll make you one.”

Shel grinned and looked around his apartment.    He hadn’t planned on company and the place was an utter disaster.

“Sorry, Shel; I wasn’t expecting company.”

“Don’t worry about it; go change your tunic and I’ll just snoop around.”

He nodded and hurried across the room and through the bedroom doorway (which was the only other room in the small apartment) to change clothes.

“So how long have you lived here, hon?”   Shel called out as he changed.

“Not quite a year, I guess; it’s small and rather expensive for its size, but the proximity to work makes it worth it to me.”

“Are your neighbors friendly?”  She asked, and he was surprised to hear her moving something around in the other room.   She wasn’t kidding about snooping, he said to himself.

“Yeah, they’re alright I guess - I don’t know many of them because they are like me - working class stiffs who aren’t home much.   When they are, it’s just to sleep, so you don’t get to know them well.”

“I always wanted a house with a garden,”  Shel said from the other room.   He heard the clank of something like pots and pans being moved about and he hurriedly slipped a shirt over his head and returned to the main room.  He found Shel bent over and peering into his tiny cooling chest at his scant provisions.

“Hungry?”  He jested.

“I was going to cook us something to eat, but you don’t have much here, do you?”

“No, I usually eat out.    Hey!   We’re supposed to have dinner together, remember?    You’re not going to cook - this was a time for you to relax.”

Shel pulled out half of a tube of smoked sausage and sniffed it.  

“I like cooking, hon, it relaxes me, believe it or not.   This sausage is still good - do you have any bread and cheese?”

“Yes, believe it or not, I do!   They’re in the back of the cooling chest.”

“I see them now -- you shouldn’t put bread in there though - it lasts longer left out.”

“Oh… okay.   But I’m not going to let you cook dinner; I wanted to take you out!”

“You did, and it didn’t go well.    Let’s try this instead, okay?”

Rick sighed and nodded, “My plans have really failed tonight.”

“I’ve learned to just roll with whatever happens, hon.”

“That is rather tough for me, I’m afraid.   I get easily frustrated when my plans fall apart.   It just doesn’t seem fair.”

“Life sometimes isn’t fair, hon.”

Rick sighed and rubbed his eyes, “I’m sorry, Shel, I guess I’m just exhausted from work and all the craziness of the last several weeks.”

“That’s understandable.”

“I just wish there was something I could do to help locate Muld and Syndi.”

“Maybe Queen Mathlyn and her sisters will help when they speak with the King.”

“But what if they don’t have any clues?   I’m not sure what will happen to the Practical Magician’s Guild if Muld doesn’t return.   We don’t know enough to keep it going.   I might be out of a job soon.”

Shel looked up from working on preparing dinner, “Well, you could come to work at Flapjacks - you could be our arcane equipment supervisor.”

Rick smiled, “It sounds like a fancy title.   Hopefully it won’t come to that.”

 

A sudden knock on the front door made both of them jump in surprise.

Rick opened the door just a sliver, then wider upon seeing Jevon standing there wearing a rain resistant cloak.

“Sorry to bother you, but I have to talk you for a minute if you don’t… Oh…I didn’t know you had company.”   Jevon stopped, halfway into the apartment as he nodded a greeting to Shel.

“It’s alright,”  Rick replied, ignoring the sly look that Jevon gave him.

“I won’t stay but a moment - I had to tell you tonight.”

“Tell me what?”

“I’m going to be leaving for Losahome tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?   But why?”

Rick gestured for Jevon to have a seat after he removed his cloak.

“I don’t think she’ll mind Shel knowing this, as she knows her,”   Jevon explained his meeting with the Changeling girl and his recruitment to assist in finding the Losasidhe spy that had helped Gelden kidnap Syndi’s parents.

“I’ll take care of some of our guild’s orders when I’m there, of course,”  He told Rick as he finished, “I know it is placing a huge burden on you, but the Dregs are very persuasive.”

Rick nodded, a weary look on his face as he considered the extra work, “We’ll find a way - don’t worry about it.”

“Maybe Allea or Mage Keith would be willing to fill in for me.   They could easily learn the spells.”

Rick shook his head, “I hate to ask them… don’t worry, Jevon; if customers have to wait, they’ll just have to accept it.   Hopefully we won’t lose too many of them.”

“I’ll return as quickly as I can.   I promise that.”

“Okay; just don’t get yourself killed chasing after a spy.”

“I don’t intend to.   Hey, I thought I’d let you know - Jain and Braellia are in town - Queen Synthaeia summoned her handmaidens to join her.”

Rick frowned, “Yeah, I’ve already ran into her at the Muddy Boot earlier this evening.”

“Oh,”  Jevon said nothing more, reading the emotion in his friend’s eyes.  He glanced over at Shel and smiled, “Shel, you look quite lovely this evening.   That is a beautiful dress!   Rick didn’t ask you to cook for him, did he?”

“This was my idea after we left the Muddy Boot,”  The Orc lady replied.

“Oh… I understand; sorry, I didn’t mean to be nosy,”   He turned back to Rick, “I’ll be going now - we’re leaving for Losahome on The Silver Pegasus at noon tomorrow, so if it is alright with you, I’ll not go in to work tomorrow morning.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“I picked up the orders for Losahome and I had some of the warehouse workers take the supplies over to The Silver Pegasus and load them in the hold, so I will actually be getting some work done while I’m up there.”

Rick smiled slightly, “I wish you could take Jain back with you.   She spoiled my date with Shel tonight.”

His admission that it was indeed a date made Jevon grin, “She was probably terribly jealous when she saw Shel in that dress.”

“She wasn’t very nice when I told her that I wasn’t interested in seeing her again.”

“Well, she’ll be busy tomorrow attending Queen Synthaeia, so you won’t run into her again.”

“I hope so.”

“Well, I’ll be going - both of you have a good evening and I’ll see you when we get back.   Bye!”

With a nudge to Rick’s shoulder and a wink, Jevon slipped his cloak back on and hurried out into the rain.

“You told him that we were on a date!”   Shel said as Rick closed the door.

“Yeah, so?   Isn’t this a date?”

“Yes, but… are you sure you want him to know you are going out with an Orc?”

Rick went over to her, smiling, “I’m going out with a very charming, lovely woman and I am proud to be seen with her.”

Shel stopped stirring the frying pan, “Really?”

“Yes indeed.   Shel, you are a wonderful person, stop putting yourself down.”

“I’m not putting myself down, hon, I am just a realist.   People look down on Orcs and especially on humans who are interested in them.”

“It’s none of their business.   You have far more charm than Jain has and more class as well.”

Shel blushed and looked down at the food she was preparing, “Are you ready to eat?   I think it’s hot.”

“I’m starving; it smells wonderful, so let’s eat.”

 

He hurriedly cleared the small table as she prepared their plates and soon they were dining and chatting about a multitude of things.    She was incredibly easy to talk to and she seemed to share his views on a lot of things.  

They were so focused on their conversation together that it was quite some time before either one realized that the rain had ramped up into an autumn thunderstorm.   

A sudden loud boom of thunder finally broke through to their awareness, causing both of them to jump as the thunderclap shook the apartment.

“Wow, it is really storming outside!”    Shel said as she looked out through the door, “The wind is howling out there and it looks like it might be hailing.   I hope it lets up before I have to walk home.”

“Stay here tonight,”  Rick said, then realizing how that might come across to her, quickly added, “I won’t try anything; I’ll be a perfect gentleman.”

“Well, what fun is that?”  She joked as she closed the door and returned to her seat, “You don’t have room for a guest here, Rick.”

“You can have my room - I’ve slept on the couch numerous times so I don’t mind at all.”

“I’m not going to take your bed!   You can’t get a good night’s sleep on a couch and it looks like you are going to be really busy tomorrow with Jevon gone.”

“Well, I’m not going to let you go out into the storm, even with a magic cloak.   The couch is perfectly comfortable… honestly, it is!”

“Then let me take the couch.”

“You’d be more comfortable in the bed, Shel.”

“You just said the couch was perfectly comfortable.”

“I’m not going to let a woman sleep on the couch while I sleep in a big bed.    That would be rude.”

“I’m not going to take your bed, Rick.”

“I insist, Shel; sleeping on the couch is no big deal for me.”

“I think I have a solution to this dilemma.   You wash the dinner dishes and I’ll see if my plan will work.”   She jumped up from her chair and rushed off into his bedroom.

“What’s your plan?”   He called after her.

“Do the dishes first and I’ll show you,”  She yelled back.

 

With a shrug he did as she ordered and as he was drying the last plate, she called to him.

“Come here and see,”  She said from the bedroom.

Curious, he went to find out what she had done.

She stood by the bedside gesturing at the bed proudly, “The solution.”

Puzzled, he went closer.   She had taken two sets of sheets and folded them in half, side by side on his bed and then done the same with the blanket that he had on his bed and an extra quilt from the closet.   

“See?   I’ve divided the sleeping area into two.   With the sheets folded over like that, we will each be self-contained and so we both can sleep on the bed without getting too friendly with each other.”

Rick understood the set-up, but looked at her skeptically.   

“Trust me, it will work!   Your bed is large enough.   I won’t bother you, I promise!”

“It’s not you I’m worried about,”  He mumbled, blushing awkwardly.

“You won’t try anything,”  She said confidently, “If you do, I’ll poison your flapjacks the next time you come to eat.”

“It would be easier just to let you take the bed,”  He protested, but she shook her head.

“Nope, this will work - I’ve got it all set up.”

“I don’t know, Shel…”

“It’ll be fine.   Now, the next problem is sleeping apparel.   I don’t want to sleep in this dress; it’s not made for bed duty.”

“I don’t have any women’s clothing for you to wear.”

Shel laughed, “Well, I hope not!    What about lightweight tunics - do you have one made of cotton?”

“Yeah, but-“

“Let me have one of those.”

“But-“

“You’re wasting time, Rick;  you have a busy day tomorrow.   Find me a tunic, please.”

He went to his dresser and offered her a choice of three of his better summer shirts.   She selected one and then shooed him out of the room so she could change clothes.

“You can change out there… what do you usually sleep in?”

“Um… well, I don’t usually wear much, except in the winter months.”

“Well consider it the depth of winter tonight!”

He scooped up a tunic and pants and left her in the room.

 

“This is crazy!”  He mumbled to himself, debating lying down on the sofa and feigning being asleep.    But before he could do this, she yelled for him and a bit hesitantly he went to her.

She had taken her fancy red dress off and it was neatly folded across his bedroom chair.   She wore only his shirt and she managed to look incredibly sexy as she adjusted the split sleeping areas.    The shirt fell only a few inches down from her butt and displayed the delightful curves of her long legs.   She had taken her long black hair out of the braids and it flowed down to her waist.   

He looked away when she turned around so he wouldn’t see anything more that would entice him.

“Ready for bed?”   She asked over a loud clap of thunder and the rattle of hail or sleet on the roof.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep,” He admitted, but she thought he referred to the storm.

“It’ll die down in a bit.”

“Shel, I really should take the couch-“

“Rick, you get your butt in bed right now or so help me I’ll head off in the storm!”

Though she tried to look forceful, her ‘determined’ expression was more charming than threatening.   He meekly complied, slipping into the folded over sheets on one side.

“That’s better,”  She said, “How do you deactivate your glow torch.”

“Torch; off!”   He spoke loudly and the room’s magic lighting immediately faded.

“I need one of those for my bedroom,”  She said as she slid into the bed next to him, though separated by the doubled over sheets, “See, hon?   This set-up should work.”  

“Yeah, until I roll over in the night; then you’ll probably punch me in the nose.”

“What if I roll over?”

“You’ll still punch me in the nose.”

“Just keep your hands and legs to yourself and nobody will get punched.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t budge.”

“Okay,”  She replied and for a while they listened to the sleet hit the roof and the thunder.   The wind began to fiercely blow as a cold front blew into Westmark.    Then the temperature began to drop and even wound up in his blanket, Rick was getting cold.    But he was too scared to move, for he didn’t want Shel to think he was trying to ‘get friendly’ with her.   

He laid there shivering for a few minutes, until suddenly Shel turned over and began fiddling with the sheets.

“What are you doing?”  He asked.

“We’re freezing to death; I can feel you shivering.   We need to combine our coverings to stay warm.”

“But the set-up-“

“Change in plans; untuck your sheet.”

“But-“

“We’ll be cold all night if you don’t.”

“Yes, but-“

“Rick-“  She said in an almost motherly voice.

“Alright, just a minute.”   He pulled the tucked over sheet lose and Shel took the end and pulled it across her, then threw the quilt over both of them.

“Now put your blanket on top.”  She ordered and he complied.

“There!   That’s better.”

But she wasn’t done, for a moment later she wiggled in close to him until she was pressing against him.

“Uh… Shel, you’re… um… ‘getting friendly…”

“Yes, and you’d better ‘get friendly’ back and keep me warm or I’m going to climb on top of you.”

“Uh-“

“For your body heat, Rick!   You obviously never lived with any brothers or sisters!    This is what they call a ‘three-dog night’ and since we don’t have any dogs here to keep us warm, we’ll have to do it ourselves.    Now roll over close to me and share your body heat.”

“On the first date…” 

“Don’t get any ideas, hon.    It is too cold to fool around and if we don’t get to sleep you won’t be worth anything at work tomorrow.   Right now we just need to stay warm.”

“Shel, I’m afraid this will give me some naughty thoughts.”

“Well that is all they are going to be, because I’m not interested in anything but staying warm right now.”

“Okay, but this isn’t the evening I had in mind for us, when I asked you out.”   He rolled over to face her and she slid in closer to him, until their faces were only an inch apart.   In the flashes of lightning, he caught glimpses of her and each time was very pleased by her face.

“You’re very understanding, hon,”  She said after a while and hugged him, then reached in and gave him a quick kiss on his lips before dropping her head back onto her pillow and closing her eyes with a yawn.

A few moments later she was asleep, but it was a long time before Rick joined her in slumber.