Adventuring with Lurker and Lady, Part the Third; Or, A Delicately Seasoned Evening

Upon returning to the boarding house, Lurker prepared for the evening while I contacted my parents since I had missed them earlier in the day. When I finished my conversation, Lurker announced that he had a surprise for me, a special dinner guest. Charming, another friend from Lurker and Lady's academy, planned to join us for dinner.

I had seen Charming a couple of times when I visited Lurker and Lady in the past, usually just passing him on the street as he exchanged greetings with Lady. It was never difficult to notice Charming since he is a very attractive man. I assumed that he must be intelligent as well since he attends the academy, so I was excited to have him as a dining companion. I was also nervous, very nervous. Nothing intimidates me more than attractive, intelligent men.

The weather turned increasingly cold and windy throughout the day, so we debated whether we wanted to walk all twenty blocks back to Kabul, the Afghani restaurant, or try to find something closer to the boarding house. Since we already had a table reserved at Kabul, we decided to hire a hansom cab to transport us there.

We were a little late arriving at Kabul, but our table was ready and waiting for us. Lurker arranged the reservation in person earlier in the day as we walked through town, but the staff did not recognize him without his hat. As soon as they figured out who he was, the head waiter graciously escorted us to our table. We laughed because throughout the evening the staff always reacted to whatever Lurker wanted or suggested, as though they had some special affection for him that the rest of us had not yet earned.

I was excited to dine at Kabul since I last ate there exactly one year earlier. Going back again on the same day made this the beginning of a tradition.

The establishment does not serve alcohol, but patrons are welcome to bring bottles (or boxes) of wine with them if they wish. We started out with a white wine before moving along to a bottle of red. We were disappointed when all of the red disappeared ... until Lurker pulled a second bottle of red out of his magic bag! We had no idea that he was holding out on us, that he had another bottle hidden away.

Lurker and Lady had not previously eaten at an Afghani restaurant. Charming had eaten at the other Afghani restaurant on the same block, but Kabul was new to him. We decided to start with sambosas for all, some stuffed with meat and others stuffed with pumpkin. We also ordered three dishes to share, two with chicken and one with lamb. We were all amused that so many of the items on the menu were described as "delicately seasoned" that the phrase became our motto for the evening.

Charming turned out to be more than just incredibly attractice and intelligent. He was also a nice guy. He spent a lot of time talking to Lurker and Laura about people they all knew at the academy, but he took the time to note that we should change the topic so I would not be left out of the conversation. I assured him that I did not feel excluded; I had already met many of the people being discussed and I knew the backstory on many of the more interesting characters. Charming also turned out to be quite witty and funny.

Of course, when I am in close proximity to a man who happens to be attractive, intelligent, and nice with a sense of humor then there is only one possible reaction for me: studiously ignore that man, ignore that man to the point of snubbing him and seeming cold and unfriendly. After all, I would not want to seem too eager in any way. I have no problem going up to a stranger in a tavern and flirting shamelessly, but sit me down at a table with a good man and I lose both my tongue and my nerve. Sigh.

Of course, that did not keep me from looking. Charming wore a pair of jeans and a very sporty shirt, the perfect outfit for going dancing later in the evening. I was envious of his hair: short, dark, and full. I may not have been talking too much, especially not to him, but I know that he caught me gazing intently at him more than once. Again, that made me even more shy since I feared that he already thought I was drooling over him. Why compound that by actually talking with him?!

Well, dinner was quite satisfying. We managed to catch another hansom just outside the restaurant. Lurker instructed the driver to take us to Woody's for some dancing. We had a couple of ales in the downstairs tavern before heading upstairs. We chatted for a while, though it was usually two of us chatting together while the other two chatted. By now, dear townsfolk, you know that I always chatted with either Lurker or Lady, never with Charming.

Once I had enough ale in me, I decided it was time to dance. Lady joined me on the dance floor. Lurker does not dance, so Charming kept him company. (Lurker's barkeep was working and would have been more than happy to keep him company, I am certain!) Lady complimented me on my dancing, especially how I move my hips, making her the second person to make a similar comment in the last month. Alas, no princess dancing ever took place. I was just a little too reserved, or a little too sober.

Charming eventually joined us on the dance floor, then Lurker and Lady went back downstairs. It seems that somebody grabbed Lurker's ass in the privy, so I can hardly blame him for wanting to move to another part of the tavern with more lighting. Ironically enough, somebody else grabbed his ass again downstairs. Meanwhile, Charming and I danced some, though another guy appraoched and started a conversation with him. The interloper finally figured out that Charming was not especially interested, so he moved along.

We did not dance for long before deciding to check on Lurker and Lady. As we stood at the bar talking with them, Chraming discovered that he had misplaced his coat check tag. Charming and Lady went back upstairs to look for it while Lurker and I talked at the downstairs bar. Their search did not yield the desired results, but Charming sweet-talked the staff into giving him his coat.

As we headed back to the boarding house, Lurker and Charming appropriated a pylon and a traffic barrier from a work site. They dropped them off in creative places in one of the town squares, a small bit of harmless vandalism at the end of the evening.

After arriving back at the boarding house, we had another round of drinks and talked for more than an hour before Lady decided that she needed to get some sleep. Lurker walked her downstairs to her rooms and then decided that he would just stay down there, leaving Charming and me to our own devices in his rooms. We chatted for a while, but not too long, before Charming also decided it was late and he needed to walk to his own boarding house.

I walked him downstairs to the front door, pointing out the door to Sweet's rooms when we passed. He did not realize that she had moved into the building recently. We made a little bit of small talk before he kissed me on the cheek, very sweet, then headed down the road. He did ask how often I came to town to visit Lurker and Lady, but I am trying not to read too much into that. I told Lady the next morning that I felt just like a little schoolgirl, wanting her to be the go-between who finds out who likes whom and how much. Sadly, I was so flustered that I did not even think to ask for digits.

All in all, Lurker and Lady showed me a great day around town!