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bloodsong1The Story So Far:
Candy, the best friend of Sher, heroine of the "First" series, has traveled to London, England with said best friend, who is now engaged to Rae, the handsome hero. Lucky stiff. The three friends shack up *snicker* with friends of Rae's mother, Gregory and Susan McCormick in a nice little northern suburb of London. On the flight over, Candy had ogled a young man's manga. The ogling led to a brief conversation, young man in question is Kenji. (I love that name. I'll tell you the meaning sometime)
Anyway, while in London, Candy manages to bump into Kenji again while shopping. Literally. She buys him replacement sweets (hence the title "Sweetshop"), they have another brief conversation. Two days later our intrepid trio head out to a pub that has open mike. There, Candy hops up on stage to sing with Kenji. He, in turn, sings with her later on in the evening. Sher slips Kenji Candy's phone number. He calls her the next day and after discovering they go to the same college back in the States, he invites her over to his house for cha-no-yu, a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. After much angst and agonizing over the kimono, Candy goes to the house.
Teatime:
Picks up where Sweetshop left off, from Kenji's perspective. Our new favorite couple have the ceremony and get to know one another better. Kenji's flatmates, hosts for his internship, are introduced: Brandon and Michael. Yes, they're gay. Hush.
Kenji and Candy's relationship develops further, with glimpses into Kenji's tragic past. *insert appropriate gasps here* Another outing is planned, this time with everyone. Much hijinks involved getting Sher into a dress, as well as some serious conversation over lattes. Sweetshop ends with everyone in a rented Jeep driving to the restaurant.
So, we have: Brandon and Michael up front, Sher and Rae in the middle and Candy and Kenji in the back, secretly holding hands.
And now,
Lacianni (kudos to Kyther for giving me a good name for the restaurant.)
Ok, I’ll be honest. I was floored. Totally and completely amazed. I’m talking goggle-eyed. Lacianni’s was beautiful. Tucked away in a corner location, the place looked totally unassuming on the outside, even with the short line of customers waiting. Brandon nudged his way to the front, said a few words to the attendant, then waved us in. I started to pull my hand out of Ken-ch, er, Kenji-san’s, but he squeezed my fingers and pulled me along. My heart tripped the light fantastic a few times, only to start a jungle beat when we got inside. Did I mention it was beautiful? Frescoed walls, lace curtains, intimate dining alcoves, ambient lighting and honest to god opera music playing on the sound system. A hostess showed us to our table and Kenji-san seated me. He seated me! I was so glad the lighting hid my blush.
“I really hope you like this. It’s one of my favorite places,” Brandon gushed. Discreet menus were passed out and I swallowed my dismay. I could never afford this! Ken-chan, just go with it Candy, leaned over.
“Don’t worry. We worked it out,” He whispered in my ear. I glanced at him.
“Are you sure?”
“Watch.”
“Can I get you something to drink? Perhaps a glass of our house red?” The waiter asked. I blinked at him, wondering when he had shown up.
“A bottle of your house red and your house white,” Michael said firmly. The waiter nodded and left before us Americans could protest.
“Michael…” Rae began. Michael waved his hand.
“This evening was at our invitation, ergo, we will cover this. You may pick up our cover and a round of drinks at the Rose and Sword (working title),” He said firmly. Rae and Sher exchanged glances, then looked at me. I nodded, keeping my face politely smiling. Oh, I was going to never going to hear the end of this!
“Only if everyone stands up tonight. Otherwise drinks will be dutch,” Sher said, eyes gleaming. Michael and Brandon glanced at each other and laughed.
“Agreed. Lucky for us we like to sing,” Brandon said, winking. “Now please, do not be shy.”
With that settled, I glanced at the menu again. Something bumped my shin. I looked up to see Sher staring at me.
“You owe me.” She mouthed. I reached for my water glass, when was THAT filled?, and sipped. Message received.
“Would you like some wine, Candy-san?” Ken-chan asked me. I frowned at the menu.
“Not yet, thanks. Everything sounds so delicious, I’m having a hard time deciding,” I said, eyeing the desserts. No, no. Not yet. The waiter appeared with a round loaf of bread and several saucers filled with herbed oil. Brandon did the honors of slicing.
“Have you decided?” The waiter asked.
“I’ll have the shrimp linguini with a salad, thousand island dressing,” Michael said, handing over his menu.
“I’d like the veal parmeigan with rice pilaf and a salad with ranch dressing,” Brandon said.
“I’ll take the lasagna. What’s today’s soup?” Rae asked.
“Minestrone and potato bacon.”
“Minestrone, please.”
“I’ll have lasagna as well, with potato bacon soup,” Sher said, giving two menus back.
“I’ll have the eggplant parmeigan, with vegetables and a salad, balsamic vinaigrette,” Ken-chan said and grinned at me.
“I’ll have the spinach and cheese ricotta and a salad, no dressing, please.” I handed my menu to the waiter, who smiled and disappeared. The wait staff must be magic or something. Ken-chan poured me a half glass of white wine, grinning at my shocked expression.
“You decided. White works best with spinach,” He said. I looked around and noticed everyone’s glasses had similar levels of wine, white or red according to the food ordered. I sighed, feeling horribly gauche, and reached for the closest saucer of oil. Carefully spooning some onto my bread plate, at least I knew which one!, I dipped my slice of bread in and munched. My eyes went wide.
“Wonderful, isn’t it?” Brandon said, toasting me with his slice. I nodded, savoring the flavors on my tongue. Ken-chan gave me an odd look.
“Daijobu?” I asked once my mouth was clear.
“Daijobu,” He said on a sigh. I bit my lip, wondering what was wrong. He sipped his wine, a faint color on his cheeks. Realization hit me in time to Sher’s toe digging into my shin. I glanced at her, she was laughing at something. She calmed down and winked at me, making me want to slide down in my chair. Can’t she see how hard this is? For both of us? I mean, Ken-chan looks good enough to eat! How am I supposed to concentrate when he’s sitting right next to me and smelling like cinnamon and…
I blinked a few times and turned my focus back on the conversation. No. I will NOT pull a shoujo manga here.
Candy, the best friend of Sher, heroine of the "First" series, has traveled to London, England with said best friend, who is now engaged to Rae, the handsome hero. Lucky stiff. The three friends shack up *snicker* with friends of Rae's mother, Gregory and Susan McCormick in a nice little northern suburb of London. On the flight over, Candy had ogled a young man's manga. The ogling led to a brief conversation, young man in question is Kenji. (I love that name. I'll tell you the meaning sometime)
Anyway, while in London, Candy manages to bump into Kenji again while shopping. Literally. She buys him replacement sweets (hence the title "Sweetshop"), they have another brief conversation. Two days later our intrepid trio head out to a pub that has open mike. There, Candy hops up on stage to sing with Kenji. He, in turn, sings with her later on in the evening. Sher slips Kenji Candy's phone number. He calls her the next day and after discovering they go to the same college back in the States, he invites her over to his house for cha-no-yu, a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. After much angst and agonizing over the kimono, Candy goes to the house.
Teatime:
Picks up where Sweetshop left off, from Kenji's perspective. Our new favorite couple have the ceremony and get to know one another better. Kenji's flatmates, hosts for his internship, are introduced: Brandon and Michael. Yes, they're gay. Hush.
Kenji and Candy's relationship develops further, with glimpses into Kenji's tragic past. *insert appropriate gasps here* Another outing is planned, this time with everyone. Much hijinks involved getting Sher into a dress, as well as some serious conversation over lattes. Sweetshop ends with everyone in a rented Jeep driving to the restaurant.
So, we have: Brandon and Michael up front, Sher and Rae in the middle and Candy and Kenji in the back, secretly holding hands.
And now,
Lacianni (kudos to Kyther for giving me a good name for the restaurant.)
Ok, I’ll be honest. I was floored. Totally and completely amazed. I’m talking goggle-eyed. Lacianni’s was beautiful. Tucked away in a corner location, the place looked totally unassuming on the outside, even with the short line of customers waiting. Brandon nudged his way to the front, said a few words to the attendant, then waved us in. I started to pull my hand out of Ken-ch, er, Kenji-san’s, but he squeezed my fingers and pulled me along. My heart tripped the light fantastic a few times, only to start a jungle beat when we got inside. Did I mention it was beautiful? Frescoed walls, lace curtains, intimate dining alcoves, ambient lighting and honest to god opera music playing on the sound system. A hostess showed us to our table and Kenji-san seated me. He seated me! I was so glad the lighting hid my blush.
“I really hope you like this. It’s one of my favorite places,” Brandon gushed. Discreet menus were passed out and I swallowed my dismay. I could never afford this! Ken-chan, just go with it Candy, leaned over.
“Don’t worry. We worked it out,” He whispered in my ear. I glanced at him.
“Are you sure?”
“Watch.”
“Can I get you something to drink? Perhaps a glass of our house red?” The waiter asked. I blinked at him, wondering when he had shown up.
“A bottle of your house red and your house white,” Michael said firmly. The waiter nodded and left before us Americans could protest.
“Michael…” Rae began. Michael waved his hand.
“This evening was at our invitation, ergo, we will cover this. You may pick up our cover and a round of drinks at the Rose and Sword (working title),” He said firmly. Rae and Sher exchanged glances, then looked at me. I nodded, keeping my face politely smiling. Oh, I was going to never going to hear the end of this!
“Only if everyone stands up tonight. Otherwise drinks will be dutch,” Sher said, eyes gleaming. Michael and Brandon glanced at each other and laughed.
“Agreed. Lucky for us we like to sing,” Brandon said, winking. “Now please, do not be shy.”
With that settled, I glanced at the menu again. Something bumped my shin. I looked up to see Sher staring at me.
“You owe me.” She mouthed. I reached for my water glass, when was THAT filled?, and sipped. Message received.
“Would you like some wine, Candy-san?” Ken-chan asked me. I frowned at the menu.
“Not yet, thanks. Everything sounds so delicious, I’m having a hard time deciding,” I said, eyeing the desserts. No, no. Not yet. The waiter appeared with a round loaf of bread and several saucers filled with herbed oil. Brandon did the honors of slicing.
“Have you decided?” The waiter asked.
“I’ll have the shrimp linguini with a salad, thousand island dressing,” Michael said, handing over his menu.
“I’d like the veal parmeigan with rice pilaf and a salad with ranch dressing,” Brandon said.
“I’ll take the lasagna. What’s today’s soup?” Rae asked.
“Minestrone and potato bacon.”
“Minestrone, please.”
“I’ll have lasagna as well, with potato bacon soup,” Sher said, giving two menus back.
“I’ll have the eggplant parmeigan, with vegetables and a salad, balsamic vinaigrette,” Ken-chan said and grinned at me.
“I’ll have the spinach and cheese ricotta and a salad, no dressing, please.” I handed my menu to the waiter, who smiled and disappeared. The wait staff must be magic or something. Ken-chan poured me a half glass of white wine, grinning at my shocked expression.
“You decided. White works best with spinach,” He said. I looked around and noticed everyone’s glasses had similar levels of wine, white or red according to the food ordered. I sighed, feeling horribly gauche, and reached for the closest saucer of oil. Carefully spooning some onto my bread plate, at least I knew which one!, I dipped my slice of bread in and munched. My eyes went wide.
“Wonderful, isn’t it?” Brandon said, toasting me with his slice. I nodded, savoring the flavors on my tongue. Ken-chan gave me an odd look.
“Daijobu?” I asked once my mouth was clear.
“Daijobu,” He said on a sigh. I bit my lip, wondering what was wrong. He sipped his wine, a faint color on his cheeks. Realization hit me in time to Sher’s toe digging into my shin. I glanced at her, she was laughing at something. She calmed down and winked at me, making me want to slide down in my chair. Can’t she see how hard this is? For both of us? I mean, Ken-chan looks good enough to eat! How am I supposed to concentrate when he’s sitting right next to me and smelling like cinnamon and…
I blinked a few times and turned my focus back on the conversation. No. I will NOT pull a shoujo manga here.
