Masitda Restaurant, Baltimore, Wednesday Evening

[spin_kick_snap]

To tell the truth and shame the devil--a saying Kathy's mom had adored when she was alive--when Dante had suggested that they go out for Korean food, Kathy hadn't expected much. Dante didn't speak the language, didn't know the culture, and his only real introduction to the cuisine was what Kathy cooked at home and the hundred of weird bottle and jars of seasoning she kept in the door of the fridge, next to the more normal bottles of mayo and ketchup and relish. It wasn't that she was expecting it to be bad or anything, but she'd figured something middle-of-the-road, declaring its authenticity by blaring k-pop from the mid-2000s with two kinds of kimchi at most and a couple of sushi offerings to round out the 'Asianness' of the menu. All of which would have been perfectly fine and Kathy would have gone home, full and happy, and not given it another thought.

She realized she was wrong the moment they stepped into the restaurant. It smelled like home, evoking a sense of nostalgia and homesickness so sharp she rocked backwards on her heels for a moment. The table next to them had seven different banchan bowls on one side of it and over the shoulder of another patron, she could spot a menu page devoted entirely to different kinds of kimchi, several of which had seasonal warnings next to them. Apparently this place thought it wouldn't do to serve Yeolmu-kimchi in the middle of winter and you know what? They were goddamn right.

Kathy reached for Dante's hand, squeezing it tightly, letting her grip speak louder than she could right then about how pleased she was with his choice of restaurant for the evening.

[Not for broadcast and for that guy she's with!]

Comments

[rebelseekspizza]

"We're on a date," Dante said. "That's romantic, right?"

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"I mean, teasing the waiter with what he can't have is romantic by some definitions, I'm sure," Kathy said, fighting off a grin.

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante laughed softly. "If it helps," he said, "I'm not the only one getting checked out tonight."

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"Awww, you checkin' me out?" Kathy asked, preening a bit. And tugging her shirt down an inch or so to show off a little more tit.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Always," Dante said, grinning. "But so's the bartender."

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"Wait what?" Kathy asked, not whipping her head around to look by sheer will power alone. "Are you serious?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Oh yeah," Dante said. "Keeps sneaking looks this way, and he's definitely eyeing up you."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy had only vaguely realized there was a bartender. She was the worst at this.

On the other hand, it was hard noticing other guys when Dante was in the room.

"How long ago did you notice him?" she asked.

[rebelseekspizza]

"About a minute after we came in," Dante said, shrugging.

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"And you didn't say anything?" Kathy asked, giggling. "I could have been ordering dirty drinks this whole time!"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Hey, I figured you'd catch that yourself," Dante said, bringing up his glass to drink a little more.

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"I never think to look," Kathy confessed. "It just doesn't occur to me."

She knew she could be attention-grabbing hot, but that was when she put effort into it. Tonight, she hadn't been trying to be sexy, just...you know, enjoying her date with Dante.

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante smiled at her. "If you were a little more like me or Ez, you'd have been breakin' hearts for years," he said. "'s just a fact."

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"Oh man, I can't even imagine the three of us that way," Kathy said, shaking her head a little. "We'd've laid waste to wherever we went. Oh god, no one would have survived."

She did turn around to the bartender and wink, waggling her fingers at him in a flirty wave.

[rebelseekspizza]

The bartender grinned back at her, raising his eyebrows in response.

"Scorch and burn, huh?" Dante said. "I dunno, now I kinda like this mental image."

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Kathy had no idea what to do next, so she took Dante's thought to heart and blew him a kiss before turning back around.

"What, you mean the mental image of the three of us slow-walking away from a club full of people collapsing into puddles in our wake?" she asked.

[rebelseekspizza]

"I was goin' more with leaving a bunch of naked people in puddles on our fancy hotel room floor, but if you wanna get all PG about it..."

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Kathy chuckled, eyes dancing. "I mean, I guess we could always find out what my upper limit on sex at one time is," she told him. "But I'm selfish, I'd only fuck the guys you and Ez personally vetted as being worth the time."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Be fun figuring out how much more you can take," Dante said, smirking lazily as he took some meat off the grill.

[spin_kick_snap]

Hnnngh. Kathy's chapsticks went clattering to her plate.

"I--umm--ohhh," she said, flushed and not with embarrassment. "Now I'm just--" She bit her lip. "That's a lovely mental image there." Her voice dropped so would reach Dante and Dante only. "Me, on the bed, getting fucked by like three guys at once. I look over and you're just watching while someone pretty it kneeling in front of you--and we just keep up eye contact the whole time until one of us breaks and comes and--"

Forget the cup, Kathy was finishing the soju right from the bottle, her flush dipping down below her neckline. And Dante would be able to realize that she was very much not wearing a bra right about then.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Thought you'd like that," Dante said casually, sinking back in his seat.

He was looking pretty intently at her, at least until he got distracted by cutting up a slice of meat.

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"You know, I was doing really well at behaving this whole time," Kathy declared, shifting a bit in her seat. She picked up her chopsticks again, pushing her kimchi around one side of the bowl to the other.

[rebelseekspizza]

"It's us," Dante said, popping some meat into his mouth. Chewed, swallowed. "It's gonna get dirty in five seconds flat."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Well, we were here a lot longer than that before I have to start squirming around in my seat and trying to make sure that I don't get too wet," Kathy said trying to sound prim. "I'm not leaving a spot on Auntie's booth."

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante laughed softly.

"Hey, we can talk about different, serious shit if you want," he teased. "We know how this story ends, anyway."