Chapter 25 - Episode: Dinner Date

Eric opened up his fridge and looked at what he'd been gifted by his neighbors. The bounty of hydroponics helped spread food production across the population. Every child went through at least one semester a school year with a class on growing food in a hydroponic garden.

But Farms still carried the brunt of the food load. From convenience store goods, to Five Star restaurants, and grocery vendors across the City Districts and the Domes; there always was a demand. Eric took some of the peppers in hand and gave them a squeeze. He nodded at the feeling and the scent as he brought it up to his nose. Good feel, and just scent, he thought.  

He picked a yellow and orange bell pepper from the bag of peppers he'd received, and set them in a bowl on the counter before reaching into the fridge to grab a small plastic basket of mushrooms.

“Now these are interesting.” He sniffed at them, and checked them over. Again, quality. Who was the Green thumb on the Floor? Or maybe it was Belle herself?

Belle Peppers? Huh? Huh? Eric sighed as he pinched his nose and tried to kill the stupid pun. “Wow.” He sighed. “Okay.” He put the mushrooms beside the peppers and pulled a large mason jar out. It was filled with a red sauce flexed with herbs. When he twisted the seal, a rich aroma hinted with basil and parsley wafted up. “Very nice.” He sealed the jar and put it with the other ingredients.

He didn't see anything else in the fridge that caught his eye, but there was a small, dark bin in the pantry with some onions in it, yellow onions by the look of them. “Yeah, I think that can work.” He took them and put them with the rest of the vegetables he had laid out. 

“Needs something else...” He thought. “Meat,” He tapped his chin with his fingertip. There wasn't any in the fridge. He looked at the clock, plenty of time to jog down to the market and grab some chicken.

“Keep a watch on the place, Drip.” He said as he went into his room to grab a jacket. 

Wuurrrup! He heard Drip call out. Eric saw her rise up in her habitat, and puff out her front. He smirked and snapped to a salute back before leaving the room, and locking the apartment behind him.

The trip to the market was short, and he found a good place to pick up chicken. The butcher was a nice enough person, and Eric struck up a fun conversation between the two and another customer and the butcher. The butcher even threw in some fresh cooked bacon strips. He'd certainly be stopping by there again for more food.

But now he had what he needed for dinner. He put the chicken in the kitchen before looking in at Drip.

“Still here?” He asked, half worried that he'd missed all the tell signs of a break-in and she really was gone. Instead he saw her waiting in her habitat, and Eric smiled as he let her out for some exploring time, and he went to the living room. 

The first thing he did was check the kotatsu, the blanket layer was detachable, and he was able to roll it up and put it in a closet, which he found also had several chairs, and leg extensions for the table.

“Perfect.” Eric said with a smile. Soon the kotasu resembled a dining table and had a pair of chairs set up. Eric made sure that neither he nor Belle would be getting a glare from the sun, then got dishes and cutlery from the kitchen to set the table.

“Now for the entertainment,” He said and checked along the wall and found a small panel, near the thermostat. He pushed into it and slid it to the side, revealing a remote control. He removed it and hit a button near the top. A projector connected to the ceiling fan began to cast images on the wall.

Eric smiled as he started to look for something to queue up for after dinner. His browsing was halted, though, when an alert popped up. Terminal Account not Activated. Landlord Permission Required. Eric blinked and laughed. “I guess she'll help me set it up, after dinner?” He wondered aloud, and went into the kitchen.

He started by cubing up the chicken, it all came to a little over twelve ounces. He set that aside and with a different knife started cutting up the vegetables. He sliced up both the peppers, thin enough to cook quick without drying out or burning, and did the same to the mushrooms; slicing, not dicing. 

He measured out a cup of the sauce, swiped a taste from the lid, before cleaning it and sealing the jar. Given the taste, it probably had about half a tablespoon of basil in it, and maybe half a teaspoon of parsley. So it was already seasoned enough, Good. He might have added that much into the mix, otherwise. 

He washed his hands quickly and picked up his phone, texting Belle's number. “How's work going?” He sent a simple message.

“Almost done. Five minutes, tops.” She texted back. Eric smiled.

“Be up in twenty? Help me set up my projector?” He suggested, as he turned on the stove top and pulled a large frying pan from the cupboards and set it on the stove. He poured out three tablespoons of olive oil into the pan, and it quickly started to heat up.

When he saw a red lip emoji reply to his last message, he started to feel the heat himself. Once the oil was ready, he started to throw in the ingredients, except for the sauce. He stirred them around and cooked them through until the meat was tender and the veggies were nice and cooked. It took about ten minutes for that, at the high temp, and when Eric added the sauce and heated that up too. Five minutes of stirring and soon everything was cooked up nice and sure. He threw a pinch of pepper on it, for taste, and stole a bite of a smaller chunk of chicken.  

He grinned at the taste, turned off the heat, and covered the pan to let it stay warm. He quickly dashed into his room to change into, well something nicer. He had a few shirts in the suitcase he brought with him, and he remembered he still was waiting on the dry cleaner for the rest of his wardrobe.

“How much of it will I need though?” He sighed. SHE wouldn't be dragging him out to any fancy parties with HER friends anymore, would she?

No, SHE would not be doing that. He gritted his teeth as he found a good button up and some sleek black pants he'd folded up just in case he had something formal to do. He belted his pants and looked sharp, or at least casually sharp, when there was a knock on his door.

Eric smiled as he walked to the door and opened it up. The door swung inward and unveiled Belle, standing there and looking damn fine. He exhaled a warm breath as his gaze traveled across her body. Her blouse clung to her skin slightly, the warm air of the afternoon had given her skin a healthy shine. Belle's breasts were contained by a bra, and she'd unbuttoned it enough for him to see the red lace that matched the dress she was wearing. 

She was balanced on one foot, and blushed as Eric caught her in the middle of slipping off her work shoes. He noticed how her strong legs effortlessly kept her steady and how, leaning forward, those breasts were contained by what must have been an industrial grade bra. 

It must be carbon fibre in there, because she's hot enough to bend steel beams! He blinked hard and looked into her eyes as she straightened out, her own cheeks flushed as well.

“Sorry.” She said, and held up the shoes. “Just needed to get out of these.” She shrugged.

“No problem. Make yourself at home.” Eric said and stepped aside to welcome her in. “I haven't gotten around to decorating, yet.” He joked, and Belle chuckled as she set her heels down beside Eric's shoes. She bent low, and gave Eric a clear view of how tightly the skirt clung to the curve of her ass. 

Steady, now. He told himself. Dinner, Movie, then... 

Wuurp! Drip cooed from a counter top, waggling to get Belle's attention, but not leaping up onto Belle, or making a mess, on the counter.

“Hey there, little girl.” Belle greeted the blue slime and stroked her hand over Drip's surface. “Such a good girl.” She cooed, as Eric closed the door and joined Belle where she was, just at the entrance to the kitchen. As Eric stepped beside her, close but not too close, she straighted up. Her smile was bright as she took a deep breath. “That smells great.” She nodded toward the covered plate.

“It's not much, but I think you'll like it.” Eric moved into the living room, and pulled out a chair for Belle. “Your seat, Madam.” He said with a slight bow.

“Why, thank you, Sir.” She said with a giggle. As Eric pushed in her chair, she ran her hands along her thighs to straighten her skirt, but Eric also got another look over her shoulder. He swallowed as his eyes caught a single bead of sweat running down into the soft shadows between her breasts. 

Belle turned her head and smiled into Eric's eyes, and he excused himself, taking her plate and his so he could dish out dinner. He dished out about a quarter of what was in the pan for each of them, making sure a balance of meat and veggies was on both plates. 

When he returned he set down the plates and sat down, but caught a flicker of a frown on her lips. “Something wrong?” He asked, hoping he hadn't made a mistake. 

“No, no.” She waved her hands. “Sorry, It's just been a long day.”

“Well, I only dished out this much, in case you didn't like it. There's enough for seconds.” He assured her, and she smiled.

“Ah, saving them for yourself?” She asked as she picked up her fork.

“Waste not,” Eric shrugged and took up his own. “Still, I hope you like it.” He added. Belle met his eyes, and the way she smiled, Eric wondered if she would have cared if he'd gotten take out.

Her first bite was a thoughtful hum. Eric cocked an eyebrow and took a bite himself. The chicken was good, and Eric had gotten some of the yellow pepper with the bite. Belle had another bite with some mushroom and a pepper and her smile grew wider. There we go. 

“Not bad,” She nodded, and took another bite, and then another. The two of them ate in a polite quiet, and cleared their plates without much more than Belle complimenting him on how he cooked the peppers, and Eric getting up to get her a refill on her water. 

The real talk began with the second helpings.

“So, Eric, what's happening in my lovely little apartment that has the Captain of the Local Precinct making house calls?” She punctuated her question by popping a saucy bit of chicken in her mouth. Eric blinked and started to explain what had developed with Drip. It didn't take long, and Belle was scowling after he'd gotten to his own conclusion. “Wonderful.” She said with bleak sarcasm. “The last thing this district needs is some scummy flesh peddlers or synth slavers moving in.”

“I doubt Captain Rachel will let this go without seeing the culprits brought to light and made to face Justice Tyrina.”

“It's been a while since she actually got to 'swing' her gavel.” Belle commented.

“She's an educator first, so teaching others is her preferred occupation.” Eric shrugged. 

“She does classes at Landry's school, doesn't she?” Belle asked, conversationally.

“Ethics classes, mostly, but she stops in on the Techs to give them a few puzzlers.” He blushed, “That is, when they're 'full of themselves, having read all the answers from the backs of the books,' usually.” He added, and Belle smiled.

“Were you a naughty boy in school?” She asked.

“I was a naughty man when I was in school,” Eric corrected her, “Never with a Teacher,” he assured her, “or a TA,” he added hurriedly. “I did however add to the mayhem that comes with a university class full of students meddling with the latest technology and a government education grant.”

“Did you make a death ray?” She asked with a deadpan. Eric laughed.

“No, but I did make a flying drone, that shot whipped cream all over... certain classmates.” He grinned at the memory. 

“That made you a lot of friends with the guys, I bet.” Belle chuckled.

“The ladies liked it too.” Eric assured her. “One of them even made an upgraded version that shot cherries as a followup.” He frowned. “She never told me how she got the syrup to keep from clogging the ejectors, though.” He chuckled.

“More old flames?” She asked, not prodding too hard.

“A good one,” Eric nodded, “One I might look up when I visit the campus.” He scratched his chin. 

I am going to be checking in on the Mechanics, wait. I'm talking about a different woman than the one I'm having dinner with! RED ALERT! SERVE!

“But, that's not here or now.” He looked Belle in the eye, and saw a grin that made him blush. “Do you teach that grin to all the ladies on this floor?” Now that he thought of it, they all did have that soft sort of smile to them.

“Well,” She grinned, “I've gotten a smile out of all of them, at least once.” There was something about the way she said smile that made Eric's heart race, and his pants tighten.

All of them? Eric thought, Even -wait don't-

“Even Julia and Amanda?” Eric asked. Shit. His tone was a little colder than it had been.

“And Jack and Alex.” Belle's smile widened, “Together,” She wagged her eyebrows.

Holy shit. Eric's jaw dropped, and he was glad he'd swallowed the last bite of food completely. Actually, as his fork tried to find some food to fill his mouth with, -if only to shut himself up- he found his plate cleared. “Looks like dinner's over.” Belle said with a smile, and Eric shut his mouth as he noticed her plate was empty too. “I'll set up your projector connection while you clean up?” She offered, and Eric silently nodded. This is going to take a minute to process.

He picked up his plate and cutlery and Belle's, then he went into the kitchen and started washing. Okay, let's take this into pieces. That Belle's had a tumble with some, all, of the ladies on this floor, not so crazy. But damn Jack and Alex too? Did she mean like, all four of them at once, with her? Or just the Amberlies and just the Andrews? 

Eric had scrubbed the dinnerware clean, put the leftovers into a container, and cleaned up all the cooking implements by the time Belle called into the Kitchen. “What's taking so long? Are you okay in there?”

“Yes!” Eric called back, a little too loud. He saw Drip, relaxing in a sunny spot where the afternoon light reached the kitchen. She'd been watching the entire time, but had kept herself distant. “Might want to put you in your habitat,” He said to her, and she cooed softly.

Wuuurp.

He smiled as he scooped up the slime and walked into the living room, toward his bedroom. Belle had turned the table back into its relaxed kotatsu form and had some cushions arranged for easy relaxing. 

“Is she okay?” She asked, and Eric smiled at her genuine concern.

“It's been a long day for her.” Eric explained, as he went into his room and put Drip into her habitat. He'd made his bed earlier and was glad for it. “For me too,” He added, as he walked back. Belle had pulled the curtains closed, and dimmed the lights. Eric turned his head and took a look at what was projected. “Oh,” It was a thriller; not one of Eric's favorite genres.

“Scared?” Belle asked, and Eric saw her scoot under the comforter and pat the cushion beside her. Eric smiled and slipped in beside her. “I'll keep you nice and safe.” She whispered into his ear. Her left arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him close. With her right she used the remote to start the movie, before setting the remote on the table. “Safe and warm,” She whispered, as she slipped her hand down his pants.


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As always, thanks to my Editors: Aeronator, and Skiratas
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