New York

Madison was shocked to find how nice this male was being to her. Most of the time the first person she ever seems to run into anywhere is a complete jerk. But she just smiled and watched as he called over some help to get the boxes out of her car. Well, if she knew about all of this, her moving would have been done by now. Though in a way she was glad that she hadn't noticed it or she might not have had the pleasure to meet Seth.

As she listened to him answering her question she nodded her head. She couldn't believe that he had spent four years living in an apartment. Honestly if this were up to her, she would never step foot into an apartment. Everyone just lives too close to each other and most of the time you hardly have any privacy. But it was something she was willing to deal with. Just to get out from underneath her parent's roof.

"Well, I just think it was a way for my parents to get rid of me. They always thought of me as being a down right pain in the ass. They paid for the apartment before telling me about it and practically kicked me out on my ass and yes, I've always lived in New York. Born and raised in Brooklyn."

Madison smiled as they made it to her apartment, she unlocked her door and pushed it open as she listened to Seth speaking to her. She turned her full attention to him as he finished. She couldn't help but feel a little flustered when he went to write his number on her hand. Though in a way she didn't mind it at all. This was a very nice guy and maybe they could form a great friendship. At times like this, she really needed some friends so it wouldn't be a bad thing.

She watched as Seth walked backwards, welcoming her to the building again. She waved at him just before he turned around and went on his way. She then sighed as she noticed the help bringing her the rest of her boxes. "Thanks, just leave them here and I can take care of the rest," she stated as she began bringing the boxes into her apartment.

Madison finally finished lugging her boxes inside and decided that it was time for a cigarette before starting to unpack everything. As she reached for her purse and slung it over her shoulder, she happened to glance down at her hand, finding Seth's number. She smiled and pulled her phone out of her purse and entered the number into her phone so she would be sure she truly had the number somewhere she wouldn't lose it. The brunette slid her phone back inside her purse and tucked her hair behind her ears as she stepped out of the apartment, locking the door behind her.

She stopped in front of the elevators and pressed one of the buttons, waiting on the doors to open. She crossed her arms in front of her chest as she waited. A few seconds later she stepped into the elevator and went on her way down to the lobby then out the doors. She pulled her pack of Marlboro Menthols out of her purse and lit one up as she leaned against the brick wall, taking a long drag from the cigarette.

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He knew that a question like this was maybe pushing the boundaries a bit, especially since they only met a few hours ago. He didn't know what to expect from her. Would she dodge the question? Would she slap him in he face? Or would she become red in the face of shyness or embarrassment? Ben started regretting asking just that question. Why the hell didn't I just ask her favourite movie or something? Whatever was gonna come, he was prepared for the worst because of his own stupid mistake.

Her reaction was surprising. "Hmm, what if I said nothing?"
Wow, that was certainly not what I expected. He got the feeling all the blood in his body was directed at his cheeks. Okay, my cheeks plus one other certain body part... Before Ben could reply Francesca smacked him on the knee and continued. "I'm only kidding...unless the power goes out and it's incredibly hot outside."
With that it seemed Ben started breathing again, which somehow had stopped after her first reaction. I could actually use a shot of Vodka right about now.

"Well I love lace, and I absolutely adore silk-satin. So anything from Victoria Secret that's made with Silk or Silk-Satin, and has some lace on there, I'm in love. Now in terms of a description, I hate to disappoint you but women don't go to sleep in teddy's or bra and thong sets every night - as much as you men might like us to. Typically I sleep in red silk-satin pj shorts with a tank, or a sleeveless sleep shirt....and nothing else."
Her second reaction was possibly way more sexy than the first suggestion. To be honest, anything Ben could imagine her in would be pretty awesome. His question actually turned out better than he could have hoped.

After acknowledging that he had been the lucky drinker he saw a glimpse of disappointment in her eyes. Did she already know what she wanted to ask? As he saw Francesca shuffling the last glasses he wished her a quick "Good luck."
Apparently neither his good luck wishes nor her crossed fingers helped, as she again chose the wrong glass. He felt a bit sorry that she was having all he bad luck in this game. Maybe he shouldn't go so hard on her this time. Francesca took two of the glasses away and gave him a 50% chance for his next shot, before he could even ask his question. "Okay only two next time, lets see how lucky you really are! But first, ask away....I'm ready."

"Okay, so maybe a bit more innocent... Name the one dish that you had once in your life, and always wanted again, but could never find." This question could never be too raunchy, it seemed appropriate enough and on top of that it was about one of the things he loves most, food.

Waiting for her answer he looked at the two remaining shots in front of him. He shuffled them with his eyes closed, but even before he opened them he already had a strong feeling the water was on the right side. He didn't know for a fact, but he ha a very strong feeling. He still felt bad that he had won the first two rounds. So he went with his instinct and chose the right glass. In one smooth movement he put the glass to his lips and swallowed the liquid in one quick second. He knew he was right when he felt the slight burning in the back of his throat. "You got me this time. Good Vodka by the way..., and you've been lucky enough to already have two of these. All of a sudden I have a feeling you were winning this game all this time."

He looked forward to his question. He was at a point in life where he was not so terribly ashamed any more that he didn't even finish high school. And as honest as she had been so far, he would do his best to answer her question as thoroughly as he could.

After her question he changed the rules of the game. He gave the shot glass filled with water back to the bartender while leaving the Vodka shot. "Okay, next game. I'll tell you 2 true and 1 false statement. If you can identify the false one, I drink. If you pick one of the true statements, you drink. We keep going until the false statement is identified." He nodded at her to make sure she understood the rules. "Okay, I'll start. Statement 1: I have 1 younger sister. Statement 2: I learned to play guitar from my father. Statement 3: my band chose the name 'the Indoor Kites' over my idea, 'the Electric Rubber Bands'." He was curious to see what her first guess would be.

Madison sighed as she died her cigarette out and dropped it into the trashcan as she noticed the sky beginning to drop little pellets of water down to the ground. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and stepped back into the building and headed over to the elevator. Madison pressed the button and stood there waiting for the doors to open and stepped inside. She pressed the button for her floor and stood in the elevator. She was never one very fond of elevators, but it was better than climbing about a hundred stairs just to get to her apartment. The elevator dinged before the doors opened, allowing her to step out into the hallway. She followed the hall down to her apartment door and dug in her purse, looking for her key. She found it in the bottom of her purse and unlocked her door before stepping inside, dropping her purse on top of one of the boxes.

Madison sighed as she plopped down on the couch. This was going to be a long night. Especially since she wanted to get all the packing done so she would at least be able to get her advice column done tomorrow before her deadline. She really wished she would have some help with everything. At that point she remembered Seth. She pulled out her phone, hoping he hadn't given her a wrong number or something. She sighed as she texted him, "Hey Seth, It's Madison. I know you're probably busy right now but I was wondering if you would be able to have some time to come over and help me unpack some time tonight. I have a lot to get done and it would be a great help," she typed before hitting send and standing to her feet.

The female tucked her bangs behind her ears and slid her phone into her pocket before reaching for her radio and plugging it in. She turned the radio on, being sure to keep it to a volume that wouldn't disturb her neighbors and started to unpack. As she did this, she danced around, trying to make it a little fun. As time passed she found herself beginning to get hungry and since she hadn't had any food in the apartment yet, she decided to order takeout. Madison pulled her phone back out of her pocket and dialed in the number to the pizza parlor and ordered a pizza with a couple bottles of soda and hung up before getting back to unpacking.

Seth somehow found himself whistling while waiting for the subway. He had a pretty good evening and a damned good morning behind him. He was in a good mood, and he could use it right now. After leaving the Connection he had to make his way to a shoot. He had worked with this particular model before, and it hadn't been a very nice experience. Working with models had given him a fair amount of patience through the years. He had seen the drunk, the over-confident, the perfectionists, the undeserving and the mentally unstable. The one he was going to deal with this day was a fresh combination of all of these with a double dosage of mentally unstable.

Half an hour later he walked on to the little set they were going to occupy for the next few hours. He wasn't the first to show up, but there were less than 5 people so far. The producer gave Seth a glimpse of the wish list of the model in question. Seth didn't even know blue Maltesers was a thing, but it was on there. Of course she had to be fashionably late and had to throw a fit for the first 10 minutes, but after that they were finally ready to start.

Seth knew the rest of the crew and had worked with all of them before. It had been a silent understanding that they all wanted this to be over as soon as possible. He winked at the make up artist who quickly and professionally prepared the model. In about 10 minutes Seth had taken about 100 pictures without interruption. After that, the model went with the hair stylist to set up for the second part of the shoot. Seth prepared his second camera for the second part of the shoot, while the producer was helping the set designer. After a mere 15 minutes they were all ready to go again. The model had very limited fits to through in this hurried shoot, and Seth was able to get some great photo's out of all of this.

An hour and a few set changes later the day work was done. Or at least the photo shoot itself. Seth still had to develop the pictures before sending them to the producer, the next day. For all the complaints he had about the model, she had been doing an outstanding job today. He thanked her with a quick hug and told her, "See you next time." He said goodbye to the rest of the crew and went on his way home. He actually had some time left, and the weather wasn't all too bad, so he decided to skip the subway and walk home.

Back in his apartment he threw his jacket over the couch and immediately stepped into his darkroom. He thought it was best to get the developing out of the way, maybe he could even bring by the photo's to the producer. He was about 10 minutes on the way when he felt the insides of his pocket vibrate slightly. He stepped out of the darkroom and took the phone out of his pocket. He didn't recognize the number, but realized who it was after reading the message.

Hey Seth, It's Madison. I know you're probably busy right now but I was wondering if you would be able to have some time to come over and help me unpack some time tonight. I have a lot to get done and it would be a great help,

He thought about it for a moment. The producer wasn't really expecting the photo's to be done tonight. If he just worked for half an hour longer he could leave the pictures to dry overnight. He texted her back.

Sure, I'll be there in 30 minutes :-)

In the next 15 minutes he finished most of the work he had left. The second batch would have to wait for tomorrow morning. He grabbed a quick shower and afterwards changed into something easy. He took a pair of jeans and a simple T-shirt. Unpacking in a suit wouldn't be very practical, now would it... When ready he left the apartment and took the elevator a few floors down. He knocked on the door he had left Madison at a couple of hours earlier. To his surprise he door opened upon his knock, it hadn't been properly closed. He stared into a mostly empty apartment. Some boxes here and there, and in the middle of it, Madison. She was dancing while unpacking one of the boxes. Seth knocked on the doorpost as to make his presence known. "I don't know if I should start unpacking or ask you to dance?"

Madison felt her phone vibrating in her pocket about a minute later and read over the text. Sure, I'll be there in 30 minutes :-) She smiled and just slid her phone back into her pocket and continued to unpack. By the time Seth actually arrived she wasn't even a third of the way finished. If it weren't for her parents buying her a bunch of stuff for her apartment that she didn't even really need, she would have been done by now and wouldn't need the help. But Madison just dealt with what her parents bought her and figured she mind as well kept it. They spent a lot of money on everything and it would upset them if she were to send everything back.

As Madison was dancing and unpacking, she was interrupted by a familiar voice asking, "I don't know if I should start unpacking or ask you to dance?" Madison jumped a bit, slightly started and turned towards the male, finding Seth standing there. She giggled a bit and shrugged her shoulders, "Both maybe?" she responded with a soft smirk. At that moment she spotted the delivery guy standing behind him. She retrieved the money from her purse and stepped over to the door, standing in front of Seth, "I have to pay for the pizza," she stated to him, waiting for him to move out the way enough for her to pay for the food and bring it back into the apartment.

She closed the door with her hip, this time being sure the door was closed all the way and set the food down on her coffee table. "Would you like something to eat?" she questioned as she pulled out the paper plates from a grocery bag and sat down on the couch. She opened the box and placed a couple pieces of the pizza on her plate and filled her cup with some Dr. Pepper. The aroma of the food made her stomach growl and all she could manage to do was laugh a bit.

Seth still stood smiling at the door when the pizza delivery guy came up behind him. He moved out of the way on Madison's request, and she paid him for the food. Seth noticed she double checked the door after closing it, making sure not to repeat the same mistake again. "Would you like something to eat?" she asked him.
He was not hungry in the slightest, but in order not to seem rude he grabbed one of the paper plates and took 2 slices for himself. As he sat down next to her on the couch he heard the grumbling stomach of Madison. He looked at her with a smile on his face and she laughed a bit. "Wow, it seems the food got here just in time." He stopped the sentence by giving her a quick wink. He instantly regretted it, as he thought it looked a bit corny.

Seth took two bites out of the pizza slice before putting the plate down. "Okay, this is as good a time to start as any I guess. First things first, is there a box you do not want me to open? Should I stay away from the box marked tools, perhaps?" While waiting for an answer he opened a box called kitchen stuff. Looking inside he immediately got the feeling this box was packed by a mother. Everything sufficiently wrapped to avoid any breaking, everything marked by name, and it wasn't just thrown in there. It was full and everything was supporting the other things in the box.

He took out the stack of plates, each separated by a paper kitchen towel. He took all the paper off, and loosely folded it on the table. He could still here his mother say what she said when Seth was moving out. You can still use these after you unwrap everything... When he moved he had thrown all of them away as soon as he had unwrapped his stuff. This time, however, it wasn't his stuff so he rather kept everything neat and tidy. The stack of plates itself he took to the kitchen and he put them in one of the cupboards. "So, this is a lot of stuff. How long have you've been saving to move out of your parents place?" Walking back to the box he started unwrapping the mugs and glasses carefully. "I also brought a lot of kitchen stuff, but I can assure you in the past 5 years 90% of it hasn't been used. There are just too many nice places around here to get something to eat." He walked back to his paper plate and took another bite of his pizza. With his mouth half full he spoke again to Madison. "Hey, do wu want me to waf all this fuff before I put wem in the cupfoards?" He ha the feeling that the pizza sauce was still on his chin when he asked his question.

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Ben thought about the dish she described. He was a chef for quite a few years, but he had never heard of Woodpile Cake before. If he would ever make her dinner, he would make sure he would learn how to make it. There must be a Moldavian person in New York willing to teach him. When Francesca asked her question it became clear to him that his second careful question had not made her forget his first question. "How and where do you like being touched the most? And why?"

Ben had his answer ready and already took a breath to utter it when Francesca continued. "Besides the obvious choice of course."
Air escaped from his mouth, but no words came with it. She had taken the words from his mouth, and he needed to think what option number 2 would be. Aside from being a risqué question it was also a difficult one. After 15 seconds he thought he had his most honest answer for her. "Being touched ... by girls ... aside from the very obvious place ... my favorite body part would be my neck." He looked her straight in the eyes while answering and noticed once again how beautiful her smile was.
"Oh, and as for the why. It's because it could equally be the most relaxing and the most sexual body part to be touched."

After Ben changed the rules of the game and stated his three options Francesca seemed to think hard about her answer. "Okay, number three seems too obvious, so I'm going to say you're lying about having a younger sister?"
Ben pushed the shot in Francesca's direction with a smile on his face. "Sorry, my sister Penny is definitely real. You were right about the band name though, those bastards chose for something as lame as the Indoor Kites. It almost made me quit the band, I was heart broken. The false statement was me learning guitar from my father, it was actually my grandfather. I did make it a bit difficult, so to make it up I'll take a shot as well."
He poured another shot glass of Vodka and downed it straight away. He noticed the bottle was running empty fast.

All of a sudden he heard a loud cheering from the dance floor, apparently the DJ had arrived. Being a bit distracted by the noise Francesca took the opportunity to give her 3 statements. "Mmkay, my turn. Number one, I absolutely adore Armin Van Buuren. Number two, I'd love to dance with New York's resident superhero. Or Number Three - I've been rather lucky with drinking games over the last 24 hours."
Ben started laughing. "Haha, or number 4, shut up Ben and come dance with me."
He took the last shot on the bar and grabbed her hand. While holding her hand he walked back to the stairs in order to get to the dance floor. Once there he let go of Francesca's hand and started moving towards the music. He was not much of a dancer, but at least the alcohol he had consumed so far made him confident enough to try his best. The smile on his face was a genuine one and he really enjoyed the music. It was fast, loud and at this moment exactly what he was looking for. Looking around he could only feel his smile widen, as he realized he was dancing with not only the prettiest girl, but also the most entertaining one. This turned out to be quite the night for him.

Madison couldn't help but to chuckle once more when she noticed him giving her a slight wink. She shook her head a bit and took another bite from the pizza as she listened to him speaking, "Okay, this is as good a time to start as any I guess. First things first, is there a box you do not want me to open? Should I stay away from the box marked tools, perhaps?" Madison just shook her head as she stood to her feet and continued to start unpacking again. "No, I have nothing to hide," she answered as she opened another box, finding that it had been a bunch of her books and sketch books. The female carried the box over to her bookshelf and started placing the books on the shelf as she heard him placing dishes in the kitchen.

She could hear him speaking to her from the kitchen. "So, this is a lot of stuff. How long have you've been saving to move out of your parents place?" Madison sighed after hearing the question, but figured she mind as well answered. "I didn't save this stuff up. I guess my parents just wanted to get me out from under their roof so they paid for my apartment and everything in it that I didn't have," she answered as she stood to her feet and turned around, finding that he had been standing in front of the box again starting to unwrap mugs. "I also brought a lot of kitchen stuff, but I can assure you in the past 5 years 90% of it hasn't been used. There are just too many nice places around here to get something to eat." Madison smiled and just nodded her head after hearing his last words.

The brunette went to open another box as she watched him take another bite from his pizza and started talking with his mouth half full, "Hey, do wu want me to waf all this fuff before I put wem in the cupfoards?" Shockingly she was able to understand what he was saying, seeing as how she had lots of practice when her cousins would talk with their mouths full. She laughed a bit as she stepped up to him, noticing the sauce on his face. She gently wiped it off with her thumb then just licked it off her thumb without thinking about it. Madison caught herself doing it and backed up a second, "Um, sorry about that," she started before quickly changing the subject. "Don't worry about washing them. If I use them I'll wash them before hand," she added as she finished off her slice of pizza and sipped from her drink.

Seth eyes looked surprised, but his mouth turned into a smile when Madison wiped the sauce of his face and put it in her mouth. He couldn't believe she was so comfortable with him after just knowing each other, what was essentially, a few hours. He took another bite of his pizza and continued with the box he had started already. Beneath the plates and the mugs there were pieces of silverware. They were neatly wrapped in paper towels and taped together in groups of 5. Breaking into Fort Knox is easier than unwrapping this stuff...

He picked up the conversation where it left off. "It certainly seems like your parents were well prepared then. This is a very efficient way of getting you out. What the hell did you do to them?" He could imagine a few things. Different parents were angered by different things, but he didn't want to assume too much. Not everyone had parents such as his, although he didn't know if he was blessed or not. He was wrestling the third packet of silverware and put them in one of the drawers in the kitchen. If he was honest he wasn't doing a bad job. He quickly finished the next three packages and found the box was empty.

He walked back to the rest of the boxes and fished out another one called kitchen. Opening it in the kitchen he once again saw the now familiar motive on the paper towels used to wrap them. The first two layers of the box were filled with storage boxes. Most of them had words explaining the content in nice pretty font. They looked like they were meant for display so he placed them on the counter. There was one for coffee, tea, sugar, rice and pasta. All in all it did look nice the way he had arranged him. It made the apartment look a little bit more homely. Lower in the box he found some standard spices, like salt and pepper. Wow, they even set her up with food products already, they must really want her gone...

The bottom of the box was filled with pans. Since there was little room left in the cupboards he opened the built in oven and stored them there, a little trick he used in his own apartment. Walking back he saw the amount of boxes was shrinking. When he picked up the next one he just knew it had to be books. It was heavier than the other boxes. He took the box and placed it next to the one Madison was emptying. The first thing he took out was a notebook. He couldn't help but go through it a bit and contradicting to his own notebooks, most pages were filled. He handed it to Madison to put it next to the books she had just put in the book case. "Wow, are you a writer?"

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It was truly astounding how fast an hour could go by if you had such a good time. The beats coming from the Dutch DJ were energizing and somehow gave an adrenaline rush greater than the one already in Ben's body. It was strange that they were able to get so close to the stage and still had some room to dance their hearts out. Besides body language their was not much conversation going on during the set. Basically there was one question from Francesca. Ben wanted to reply, but did not see any way to make his voice loud enough. Instead he decided to test her lip reading skills and mouthed: "fucking awesome!"

Through his alcoholic haze there was not much that Ben really noticed. Although he was able to see the constant smile on Francesca's face. Apparently he was not the only one having a great time. He kept his cool and kept on dancing even though the occasional arm around his neck made the blood rush to his face and to one other particular area. He thought she wouldn't notice, red cheeks were kind of mandatory when dancing with this ferocity. Ben did wonder if the arm around his neck had something to do with his answer to the question about where he liked to be touched.

The performance literally ended with a bang and some people unfamiliar to Ben went up the stage as the last song ended. Apparently the VIP status of Francesca entitled them to more than just the private bar. Moving towards the camera they both climbed the stage. The guard helping them out still didn't seem to like Ben very much. Where Francesca was helped onto the stage, Ben could whistle for it. Not a problem my unwilling friend... Ben had no trouble getting up the stage himself and was there about 5 seconds after his companion. She grabbed his hand again and pulled him towards the stars of the evening. Maybe it was because it wasn't his scene, but he had no clue who he was meeting at the moment. A blond girl with blue eyes and dark eyebrows was introduced to him as Cara. Easy on the eyes, although not as much his type as Francesca was.

When he shook the hand of the DJ, Ben shouted a "Thank you!" After all he had given them one hell of a performance. He felt Francesca's arm around his waist when they got ready for the picture. Ben could only think of his friends, and how they would not believe their eyes if they ever got to see this picture. After the group picture Ben did not feel confident enough to take a private picture with Armin. He probably wants to get out of here after working his butt off. He did not stay for long and after a few minutes Francesca dragged him back to the dance floor. Somehow it seemed that she was avoiding some social obligation, something Ben did not mind at all.

Francesca had his arm around his and it seemed she was leaning onto him heavily. Ben did not mind at all, the energy from the performance was still flowing through his body. And after a night like this he felt he could take on the world. Ben was used to the last song 'Closing time' to close of the evening. The club didn't play it, but the message of the man on stage was the same. Together they stumbled outside after she assured him that payment for the bottle of Vodka had been arranged.

"I might need you to walk me back to my place, if that's all right with you?" she giggled to him slightly as she said it. Ben looked at her with a smile on his face. "I'm sure that can be arranged." he told her with a wink.
They waited for the car service to show up after Francesca had requested it. It didn't even take 5 minutes before they showed up. Ben held open the car door and held Francesca's hand when she was getting into the car. After she got in, he got in himself. They set close together on the way home and before they knew it they drove right up to 'the Connection of life'. From right in front of the building Ben could see his apartment on the lowest floor. However he had promised to bring his date back home first.

A doorman he didn't know by name held open the door for them. Arm in arm they walked towards the elevators. Once inside they moved up to the highest floor. Ben never had any reason to come up this high before. There was not much more than the Penthouse on the floor where they got out. When they did they stood in front of the door of Francesca. On the other side Ben could hear a dog jumping up and down, sounding very excited to welcome Francesca back in her own apartment. As she stuck her key in the door Ben opened his mouth. "So, I guess this is where I drop you off..." He had decided even in the beginning of the evening he wouldn't pull a hit and run. He had done one night stands and he had become sick of one night stands. In addition to that he had enjoyed his night and his company so much that he wanted to get to know her better.

"I hope we can meet each other again. I don't want to push my luck, but would you like to go out for dinner tomorrow night?" He sincerely hoped for a yes. It had been a while since he had dated anyone, but in order to get back into it, he would love to start with her.

Madison was glad Seth had just dropped the subject that brought about the awkwardness within the room. She still couldn't seem to contemplate why she thought to do something like that to someone she had just met. For all she knew he could have some sort of diseases that could be transported through saliva. Though of course she had a feeling he hadn't any one of them, but there was still that possibility. She didn't really know much of anything about this man.

She sighed as she set her empty plate down on the table and made her way back over to her bookshelves and continued unpacking all of her books and nick-nacs that she found. Though when he mentioned her notebook, she flipped through it a bit, suddenly remembering that she was using it to try writing her first book. A while ago she found herself having writer's block so she quit writing it and never seemed to go back to it. She decided to keep it towards the front of the book shelf, thinking that maybe she would return to it some day.

"Oh, um, yeah. I started writing this story a couple years ago and ended up getting writer's block. Hadn't gone back to it since then. Though I am an advice columnist for the newspaper," she answered as she stood to her feet with an ashtray she found hidden in the bottom on one of her boxes and set it down on the coffee table.

At that moment she realized that she had completely ignored his question about her parents and decided to go ahead and answer that one too. "Well," she started as she walked over towards her purse and began digging through it for her cigarettes and pulled one out of her pack and lit it up. "They just got tired of my partying and coming home at late hours of the night all the time without giving them any idea of where I was, who I was with, ya know, the normal things parents like knowing. But I didn't see any point in it when they hardly showed any interest in me anyway. It's just a long story," she answered as she sat down on the couch with a sigh and took a drag from her cigarette.

"Oh, um, sorry I didn't ask this before. You don't mind me smoking around you, do you?" she questioned, feeling bad. Usually she had more sense than this. Madison just had a lot on her mind, maybe that's all it was.

Seth listened to Madison telling about her unfinished book and her job as an advice columnist. While listening he grabbed a few more books out of the box and put them on the shelf. He didn't put them in any particular order, he thought she would probably do that on her own later on. At least it's in the right place... She continued with answering his earlier question. It sounded like Madison and her parents were a bad match. If it would have been a relationship it would have been long over, so Madison and her parents splitting up sounded like an excellent choice. All three were probably better off like this.

Seth had never been big on family, so he was happy to meet a like-minded person. A tradition of obligations and sorrow inherited at birth, a journey leading nowhere. "Sounds like the relationship with your parents would be enough to write a trilogy about." As an advice columnist she is probably able to use a lot of her personal life in her columns. She sat down on the couch and lit up a cigarette. "Oh, um, sorry I didn't ask this before. You don't mind me smoking around you, do you?" Seth sat down next to her and lit one of his own. "Not a problem at all." He took a drag and enjoyed the little break. While smoking he simultaneously ate another piece of pizza. Before he started unpacking a new box he wiped his mouth with the napkin provided by the pizza delivery man.

The next box had a number of little statues and photo frames. They all seemed to be display items, so he just took the box and placed stuff around the room. The frames looked very nice on the mantel piece. Most of them depicted Madison at different ages. One looked like a 10 year old Madison in a leotard, while another showed a 16 year old Madison with a big smile on her face. "Some nice childhood pictures over here," he said holding the one of the 10 year old, "tell me, gymnast or dancer?" Whatever he answer, both were correct in his opinion. They provided a certain level of flexibility he surely appreciated.

He thought back to her job. "So...," he started slowly, "if you would get a letter asking for advise with this situation." The smile on his lips grew as he started his story. "Dear Maddie, I have a problem I could really use your advise on. I've met this girl only a few hours ago, and we seem to click. I want to ask her out on a date, but I really don't know how, her looks are a bit intimidating as well." He read it from the pretend letter he was holding in his hand. "Thank you for the advice. PS: I would like to kiss her at the end of the night, but don't feel much for the possible slap that follows." He put the pretend letter back in the pretend envelope. "Wow, you get to deal with some nut cases, don't you?"

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As the door opened a giant dog came storming out. Now Ben was not particularly scared of dogs, he even used to have one when he was younger. But this elephant of a dog was a bit more than he was used to. Thank goodness the dog seemed to like him, sniffing frantically around his feet. Before Ben actually got his first dog he had been scared of them. Up to a point where he was even bitten by this little monster of a creature. His grandfather than told him that all the dog wanted to do was to smell his hands and that the dog only bit him since Ben wouldn't let him smell his hands. Being reminded of that scary feeling now, Ben held his hands out for her dog to sniff them. He felt the wet nose of the dog on his hand not a second later. Apparently approving the dog let go and left him alone.

Ben's hands were actually a bit shaky after asking Francesca on a date for the very next evening. This evening had been a success for him and it really looked like she was having fun as well. In order not to let her show his shaking hands he put them in his pockets and hoped for the answer he'd been waiting for. When he heard the resounding "No!" his heart sank so far he was about to shit it out. Although he had given the 'no' option about a 30% chance, he had not expected her to shout it out quite like that. As his jaw dropped Francesca sprinted towards to elevator.

Ben was a bit confused, but after a few seconds he understood what was going on. Francesca looked a bit fuzzed getting the dog back in the apartment as soon she could, but after a short while she appeared back at the front door of her apartment apologizing for the dog's behaviour. Together with the unneeded apology came the answer he had been waiting for. "I meant to respond with a yes, I'd love to." It was about all he could do to not start floating in the air and clicking his heels together. A good thing however, that he didn't. Francesca leaned in and kissed him softly on the cheek and whispered in his ear. It was the most sensual thing she could have done at the moment. It filled him up with an energy, adrenaline rush, that he couldn't seem to get rid off.

For a moment Francesca went inside. Ben used the time to jump up and down a few times trying to shake the energy off of him. When she came back he tried to act like he hadn't and she handed him a piece of paper. Must be a successful evening, one girl actually gave me two phone numbers... "My home and my cell." Ben grabbed the piece of paper and put it in his back pocket. "You can expect a call tomorrow. I'll confirm with you tomorrow, but pick you up at 7?" Not turning his back towards Francesca he walked backwards to the elevator and got in. With a sheepish smile he gave a slight wave just before the doors closed. After they did he leaned back into the wall and waited till the doors opened on the right floor.

Quite a few floors down the doors opened again. Moving out he turned to the left and walked up to his apartment. He decided to leave the mess in the kitchen for what it was and go to bed. He had to get up early for his shift the next morning, no matter how late it was now. He sat his alarm, undressed and crept beneath the warm sheets. With a big smile on his face he fell asleep.

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It only seemed minutes later when the alarm started to bug Ben. He was ever so tempted to press the snooze button, but he knew it would mean certain death if he did. He grunted while getting up although there was no one around to hear it. A smile was brought to his face when he thought about the previous night and tonight's date. He quickly jumped under a cold shower in order to try and wake up. When he got out he got dressed in some easy clothes. He smelled the coffee from the machine that went on by itself. A little preparation goes a very long way... He grabbed a to go mug from the cupboard and filled it with coffee. In the corner of the room he also found his already prepared bag with working clothes and so he jumped out of the door not even 10 minutes after waking up.

...

The morning rush was a busy one today. And although most chefs are known for having a bit of a temper, he was the sunshine of the kitchen that morning. Around 11 he turned to one of the kitchen assistants. "Hey Detlev, aren't you from the Ukraine?" Upon his positive answer Ben continued: "Do you perhaps know anyone from Moldavia? Preferably female and preferably old." The request for old and female showed to be an awkward request. Seeing the look on Detlev's face pushed Ben to explain it a bit more. After explaining, the kitchen assistant wrote down an address for Ben to visit.

With the continues happy look on his face he finished his shift without any hassles. When his shift was finally over he handed everything to the head chef for the dinner shift. He stuffed his work clothes in his locker fr the next day. Coming outside he looked at the address that was given to him, he noticed the Harlem part and prepared for the journey ahead. First things first he called Francesca to confirm for tonight. He called her cell phone number which was already stored in his. He asked her if she would still be available at 7. He would pick her up at her door.

After the conversation he stepped into the metro towards Harlem. It took him about an hour to find the place, but when he was there he was welcomed like family. The old lady grabbed him by the cheeks and gave a big kiss on either side. Apparently her son had already told her that he was coming and what he was coming for. At least that's what he seemed to gather from her very basic English. Over the net hour she showed him how to make the dish and even gave him the Woodpile cake, or Guguta's hat as she called it, they made together. With another two kisses, and with a baking tray in his hands, he left the cosy apartment that reminded him of his grandmothers room. On his way home he dropped off the Guguta's hat with his friend, who would be the chef for the dinner tonight. His friend was clever enough to demand a slice for himself as being the chef to serve it. "That's fine Steve, as long as you take off your slice after you take off ours. If you like it, I'll make you five of these cakes so you can use it as your next Saturday night dessert special." The offer interested Steve as made apparent by his face. "Oh and of course, I'll only do it if our dinner for tonight is absolutely perfect." With a wave he left his friends kitchen. "Oh and thanks for the awesome wine paring for tonight."

It took another half hour to get home, which made it 6 already. He jumped in the shower to wash off the smells of the day. He dressed up nicely, although he was not wearing the glasses Francesca had given him the day before. He stood in front of Francesca's door about two minutes early, but he didn't knock until it was 7 on the dot. He was curious to see what drop dead gorgeous dress Francesca would be wearing tonight.

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He knocked on the door gently. As he was waiting he was bouncing on the balls of his feet. The more times he went up and down the more nervous he got. Ben put his head closer to the door, but as he listened he could not hear a sound on the other side of the door. If he would lean in any closer it would be considered spying, so instead Ben knocked again.

Again he waited, although a bit more impatient than after the first knock. He checked the time on his phone to make sure he wasn’t early. I did say I would pick her up at 7, right? He was getting very confused. He could not convince himself that he didn’t make a mistake; it must have been his error.

Trying one last time he knocked again, a bit louder than the times he knocked before. If I knock any louder my hand will be through the door… He was beginning to feel stalk-ish, almost like a door-to-door salesman. But after a few seconds he could hear the dog barking on the other side of the door. Well, at least someone’s home… Only a few seconds later Ben heard the thumping of light feet and the door opened. In a second Ben understood that she must have been sleeping. The rollers were still in her hair and her eyes were still small after waking up so suddenly. ”Hey, please, come in,” she said with an apologetic smile on her face. As she closed the door behind him she continued with an unnecessary apology. ”Don’t worry about it. I understand, after all afternoon naps are awesome.”

He saw her walking off to, what he assumed was, the bedroom. She had told him to sit and maybe watch some TV, but he did not feel comfortable enough yet. Somehow he always needed some time to get used to a place and especially a place as nice as this one. He walked over to the window where he looked over the city and the park. He was amazed by the view, even more so since he was used to his own, quite limited, view. Francesca’s dog came to stand next to him and Ben’s hand automatically came to pet the dog’s head.

The sun was setting and Ben saw the street lights pop on. As he turned around he took in the rest of the apartment. He was surprised at how much bigger it was than his own. He always knew there were better apartments in the building, but this was something else. He figured the nightclub promoter’s business was well off. ”Your place looks amazing!” he said loudly. It appeared she was not yet ready as no response came from her room. Even though he had been a bit impatient when he was standing outside, now knowing that she was here and almost ready he felt more at ease. He finally took the seat she had offered when he came in. His eyes were on the TV, but nothing displayed actually came through to him. Like a child waiting for a new toy he was sitting on the edge of his seat. He was excited about the dinner, the food of course, but the company much more than that.

When the door to the bedroom opened again his date once again looked amazing. She walked towards the couch with the same apologetic smile on her face as when she opened the door before. She apologized again and complimented his clothes. Ben didn't really know what to say to her. He knew what he wanted to say, but it felt like someone had taken his voice away. His mouth was open but there was no sound coming out. Afraid he looked stupid he quickly closed it and stumbled. ”You look stunning...” Doing his best to find his vocal abilities he found himself able to continue. ”Are you all ready to go?” She turned off the TV, took care of the dogs supplies for the evening and replied:”Lead the way, handsome.”

Normally he would let the lady go first, but he realized she would have to lock her door, so he walked out in front of her. As he heard the door being locked he pressed the button to ask for the elevator to come up. When it arrived Ben offered Francesca to go in first. As the elevator was going down he asked Francesca: ”So, what's the name of your dog?” Coming to the ground floor the doors opened again and the dating parties both stepped out. Coming out he asked: ”Do you mind if we walk to the restaurant? It's only about 15 minutes from here.” Ben was a big fan of walking through the city, at home there was never that much to see, but here there was a possible spectacle around every corner. Even after being here for a few years it never seized to amaze him.

He had expected to feel more nervous than he was at the moment. Yesterday had been a lot of fun, but there had been enough alcohol in his body to drown out the nerves. As they were walking he did notice that they stood out from the rest of the crowd. People looked their way and commented to the people they were walking with. Now, he wasn't very unsure of his own looks and clothes, he did think that most of the looks were concentrated on his date for the night. ”So how was your day? I'll be honest, when I woke up it felt like my whole body had dry-mouth.”The air was still warm in the early evening, although it would get colder soon. They should definitely be in the restaurant before that would happen, but as luck and a bit of planning would have it the restaurant was only two blocks away.

As they arrived he saw a girl standing in the door opening. In fact it was one of his friends, Sandy was the hostess of the restaurant. Seeing what he was wearing and the person he was with her eyes widened. Normally she wasn't used to seeing him in something like this, it was quite different from his usual jeans and band shirts. With a voice of approval she spoke: ”Good evening Mr. Masters.” In his mind he could here her continue looking goohood... She walked out in front of them to the table they would have tonight. The round table was neatly set and the two chairs were standing next to each other rather than on opposite sides of the table. Sandy stood next to the able and let Francesca pass her to her seat. When Francesca passed she was no longer able to see Sandy's face, which Sandy cleverly used. She opened her eyes wide and hinted with her head and hands that Ben should help Francesca with her seat, as if she was the older sister teaching him manners.

Stumbling half over his feet he quickly manoeuvred himself behind Francesca's chair and pulled it back. As she sat down he slowly moved it forward. Looking at Sandy for some sign of approval he received a small thumbs up. Ben sat down himself and Sandy continued: ”Your waiter will be with you shortly.” As she walked away Ben turned towards Francesca. ”Are you comfortable? Oh, before I forget, are you perhaps allergic to anything?” He wanted her to be comfortable, but he had to admit to himself that she had impressed him yesterday. The club had been a great idea, and the way she handled herself showed she was good at what she did. He felt the pressure to equally impress her and since food was his business, dinner was the best choice. ”What would you like to drink?”

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Ben fell back in his chair when Francesca told him about his allergies. Shit, she won't be able to eat anything. Could she have had the drinks yesterday if she was allergic to water? The disappointment on his face was clearly seen by her as she quickly said: "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I've yet to have an allergic reaction to any type of food, and I've eaten quite a bit in my life." Ben let out a sigh of relief when he heard that. He turned to Sandy who was looking their way from her hostess desk. He gave a small sign that there were no allergies, and the starter could come through.

Her decision of drink was a very pleasant one. He hated always being the one to order Heineken when no one else did. "Oh nice, I will take one of those as well." After his response he saw her phone in the air giving of a flash of light. "Ah, you might wanna check the picture before posting it. I think there are 10 pictures in total in this world where my eyes are not closed." After that the waiter stopped by their table, a guy Ben had not seen before. "Ah, hi, can we have two Heineken from the tap, Heineken Ice Cold if you have it." The waiter nodded and went on his way again.

"So tell me, after you got that dry-mouth off of you what were you up to today?" He thought about his not very exciting day. In fact the nice thing about today was his date right now. "Well, I'm afraid it wasn't nearly as exciting as yours. And I think my dry-mouth will come off when that beer is coming our way." He shot up a look to see if the waiter was on his way, but so far no luck. "I left the house at 7 to get to my job. Then cracked a whole lot of eggs and turned them into perfectly prepared treasures that turned grumpy mornings into amazing ones. Lunch shift was a bit dull, but t went by quick enough. After that I went home to get ready to meet you." He hoped she didn't think there was something wrong with him, it sounded like all he ever does is work.

A moment later Ben saw the waiter coming out of the kitchen with two plates in his hand. Like a ballerina he went passed and in between the other tables to come to theirs. In the proper manner he served Francesca before he did Ben. "Would you like to try the wine pairing, or would you like me to bring over your beers?" Ben had thought about the wine pairing before, but when Francesca suggested the beer, he had been quite excited about it. "If you could bring over the beer, that would be awesome, thanks." He looked as the waiter went to the other side of the room and quickly came back with two glasses. Ben thanked him again and then pointed his eyes towards the starter. "Oh wow, the chestnut risotto looks awesome. Enjoy!"

Ben grabbed the spoon that was provided for the dish and was ready to attack. Then he suddenly remembered his manners. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I never do it, so I forgot. Do you want to pray before we start eating?" He waited for her to answer before he asked another question. "In any case I think the evening deserves a toast." He raised his glass. "Do you want to do the honours?"