{"id":623,"date":"2011-09-20T06:00:31","date_gmt":"2011-09-19T19:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=623"},"modified":"2013-09-27T16:58:59","modified_gmt":"2013-09-27T23:58:59","slug":"tom-impresses-with-brioche-pudding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=623","title":{"rendered":"Season 4: Episode 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Tom gave the dessert one last glance before covering it up again and hiding it in the back of the fridge. It looked incredible. He would have to remember to buy Sarah an extra large coffee and piece of cake for giving the recipe to him. Days ago, he\u2019d mentioned to her that he was stuck on finding the perfect special occasion dessert.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething that Ana will be amazed by, Willow will be jealous of and Mia won\u2019t want to eat, but will anyway\u201d he\u2019d said with a wink. \u201cBut they have to think that I\u2019ve thought of it all myself!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLeave it with me,\u201d Sarah said.<\/p>\n

Sure enough, a day later, she\u2019d slipped him a piece of paper.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s our little secret,\u201d Sarah whispered into his ear.<\/p>\n

Tom had been unsure initially – the dessert sounded a bit old fashioned and boring – but looking at it again this evening, he knew that Sarah had come through with the goods. She really was a good friend.<\/p>\n

Tonight, Tom and Ana were hosting their first dinner party as a married couple and he was both excited and nervous. He knew it was daggy – they\u2019d had people over for dinner plenty of times before they got married – but he was old fashioned like that. Even though marriage didn\u2019t change what he and Ana were, he felt as though their connection were stronger than ever; that they could face anything the world wanted to throw at them.<\/p>\n

He smiled as heard a key in the front door and Ana walked in, dressed in leggings and a singlet.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow was the gym,\u201d he said, walking over and kissing her lightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d she said smiling up and him. \u201cI\u2019m all sweaty though. I\u2019m going to have a quick shower.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana peeled off her sweat drenched singlet, dropping it in the laundry basket on the way to the bathroom. As always, Tom marvelled at the way her body was the perfect amount of muscle and softness. He loved nothing more than spending hours running his hands over her smooth curves, kissing every inch of her perfectness. He stood in the doorway of the bathroom and watched her strip down to her underwear.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d she said when she saw him standing there, arms crossed over his chest, a small smile playing on his lips.<\/p>\n

He walked into the bathroom and pulled her towards him. \u201cI was just thinking about the fact I have the hottest wife in the world,\u201d he whispered into her ear, gently nibbling the lobe.<\/p>\n

\u201cTom, I smell horrible,\u201d she protested. \u201cAnd they\u2019re going to be here soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou smell incredible,\u201d he said pulling her close again and nuzzling her hair. \u201cAnd they won\u2019t be here for 45 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

He ran his hand down the length of her spine and placed soft, strategic kisses across her shoulder and collarbones. She tasted sweet and salty. She tried to push him away, playfully, but he wrapped his arms around her tightly, pressing his body against hers.<\/p>\n

She kissed along the side of his neck and heard him utter a small moan. She gently prised herself loose of his arms and pulled his t-shirt over his head. Running her hands over his broad chest she moved down towards his belt, unbuckling it and and taking down his trousers. He wasn\u2019t wearing underwear.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on,\u201d she said, stepping into the shower and looking coyly over her shoulder. \u201cI need some help getting clean.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luckily Melbourne\u2019s water supplies had been recently replenished with a fair amount of rain, because the forty minute shower they had wasn\u2019t exactly environmentally responsible.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Ana was pulling on her favourite pair of blue jeans when the buzzer for the apartment sounded. They were by a Mexican label she had found at a small boutique on Sydney road – the only place in Australia that stocked them. Ana loved finding unique clothes that no one else she knew had.<\/p>\n

She gave Tom a conspiratorial grin as he grabbed a t-shirt, putting it on as he walked towards the intercom. Ana took a moment before the first person arrived to close her eyes and take a few breaths. The week was over, she was relaxed (Tom had made sure of that – several times!); she had the most wonderful husband in the world and tonight she and Tom were going to hang out with Mia and Willow and eat and drink themselves silly.<\/p>\n

Life was good.<\/p>\n

She heard Willow\u2019s voice in the kitchen, and the rustle of paper bags as wine bottles were removed and opened. Ana ran a brush quickly through her hair and dabbed on some lip gloss. That would have to do. They\u2019d all seen her looking a lot worse in the past.<\/p>\n

In the kitchen, Tom was pouring a nice looking red into glasses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the wife!\u201d called Willow and Mia simultaneously as Ana walked out of the bedroom.<\/p>\n

She laughed. They were never going to get sick of that joke.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi Willow, Hi Mia,\u201d she said in a sing-song voice, kissing them both on the cheeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi Ana,\u201d a voice behind her said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh\u2026 Sarah. I didn\u2019t know you were coming.\u201d She gave Sarah a stilted kiss too, her good spirits dissipating somewhat.<\/p>\n

Sarah\u2019s face visibly dropped. \u201cOh.\u201d She looked from Tom to Mia to Willow. \u201cTom invited me. I thought it was OK…\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course it is,\u201d said Willow pointedly, putting her arm around Sarah and glaring at Ana. \u201cRight?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d Ana said lightly. \u201cIt must have slipped my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom handed a glass of wine to Sarah and glanced at Ana warily. Better not let slip where he’d got the recipe for dessert, he decided. It didn\u2019t take a genius to see that Ana wasn\u2019t hugely fond of Sarah. He had no idea why. Sarah was great; funny, smart and warm. In fact, she reminded Tom of Ana in a lot of ways.<\/p>\n

He knew enough to keep that one to himself though.<\/p>\n

Sarah peeled off her jacket and handed it to Tom with a warm smile, which he returned. The outfit was innocuous enough, but Ana choked on the sip of wine she had just taken. Sarah had on exactly the same blue jeans as Ana.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re my jeans,\u201d spat Ana, incredulously.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d Sarah began, looking around the room, her eyes wide. “I had no idea\u2026”<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a coincidence,\u201d said Willow cutting her off. She took Ana\u2019s hand and dragged her towards the living room. \u201cYou have to show me that thing, remember?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana couldn\u2019t shake the feeling that it wasn\u2019t a coincidence at all.<\/p>\n

In the living room, Willow turned to Ana. \u201cWhat is wrong with you? Why won\u2019t you give her a break?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana\u2019s eyes were bright and her cheeks were flushed. \u201cFirst the brooch and now she\u2019s dressing like me\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

She stopped mid sentence. Even as the words came out Ana wished she could retract them. She sounded like a raving lunatic.<\/p>\n

\u201cAna, even if she was trying to be like you, it\u2019s because she admires you. She\u2019s not a single white female type, OK?\u201d Willow said gently.<\/p>\n

Ana nodded and hung her head. The last thing she wanted was to get Willow off-side. Besides, she probably was being a paranoid freak.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Tom had outdone himself with the meal. Fresh fish, lightly fried and served on a bed of lemon infused silverbeet complimented by a warm lentil salad. But it was the dessert that made them all go gaga – brioche pudding, with fresh berries and mascarpone, served in individual tea cups.<\/p>\n

Willow almost cried with happiness when he bought them out. \u201cTom, I had no idea that anything could look that good.\u201d She closed her eyes and tasted it, letting the gooey, sweet bread and tart berries burst over her taste buds. \u201cWhere did you get this idea?\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom grinned, blushing slightly. \u201cAh-ha, that is my little secret\u201d he said slyly. \u201cCan\u2019t have you outdoing me, can I Willow?\u201d<\/p>\n

Only Ana noticed that he winked at Sarah and she shared a secret smile with him.<\/p>\n

When the final scrap of food had been consumed and the last drop of wine drunk, the three girls left to go home and sleep off the delicious feast. Ana and Tom started to clean up, stacking the dishwasher and rinsing wine glasses. Ana congratulated herself on being on her best behaviour all night, biting her tongue when Sarah\u2019s arm rested for a second too long on Tom\u2019s or when she shared an in-joke with Willow and Mia.<\/p>\n

But there was one thing that she just couldn\u2019t leave alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cTom,\u201d she said, in the most carefree tone she could muster. \u201cThat dessert was delicious. Where did you say you got the recipe from again?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just in an old cookbook,\u201d he said breezily, not making eye contact.<\/p>\n

Ana nodded.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t have the proof, but she was sure that Tom had just lied to her.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tom gave the dessert one last glance before covering it up again and hiding it in the back of the fridge. It looked incredible. He would have to remember to buy Sarah an extra large coffee and piece of cake for giving the recipe to him. Days ago, he\u2019d mentioned to her that he was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[200],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=623"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1247,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623\/revisions\/1247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}