{"id":659,"date":"2011-10-18T06:00:40","date_gmt":"2011-10-17T19:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=659"},"modified":"2013-09-27T17:16:28","modified_gmt":"2013-09-28T00:16:28","slug":"unintentional-tension-with-chicken-and-gin-pate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=659","title":{"rendered":"Season 4: Episode 7"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Mia put the finishing touches to her make-up and stood back so she could get a look at her whole reflection in her bedroom mirror.<\/p>\n

Wow<\/em>, she thought. That can\u2019t be me<\/em>.<\/p>\n

She wasn\u2019t one to big note herself, but she looked good. Damn good. Her firm body was clad in tight fitting jeans and a black top that slung down low at the back. Her dark hair, which usually sat in a neat bob, was slicked back off her face and her full lips were painted crimson red.<\/p>\n

A knock on her bedroom door startled her and she sprung back, embarrassed that some one might have seen her surveying her own reflection.<\/p>\n

The door opened and Willow walked in. \u201cHey Mia, what do you\u2026.\u201d She stopped mid sentence and her mouth dropped open. \u201cWow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s too much, isn\u2019t it,\u201d said Mia, automatically grabbing a tissue and rubbing at the lipstick. \u201cI look like an idiot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo way!\u201d said Willow breathlessly. \u201cYou look\u2026 amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

In all the years that they had lived together, she had never seen Mia looking so outright sexy. She often looked elegant or pretty, but this was something else all together: This was cartoon super-hero hot.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what\u2019s the occasion?\u201d Willow asked, flopping down on the bed, the question she had come in to ask, forgotten.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing for a drink,\u201d Mia mumbled self-consciously.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh? And who is the lucky drinking partner?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust John.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust John?\u201d Willow raised an eyebrow. \u201cPoor guy isn\u2019t going to know what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean,\u201d said Mia. \u201cDo with what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith you of course,\u201d teased Willow. \u201cHe\u2019s not going to be able to concentrate on a word you say, all he\u2019ll be thinking about is getting you home and ripping your jeans off you so he can\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWillow!\u201d Mia cut her off. \u201cThat\u2019s ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Mia thought about it though, most of the times they went out did end up with them together, him ripping her clothes off so that he could\u2026 you know\u2026.<\/p>\n

She blushed a charming shade of fire-engine as Willow giggled at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI should go,\u201d she said, leaving Willow lying on her bed. \u201cI\u2019m running late.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHave fuuuuuun,\u201d called Willow, her giggles following Mia down the hall.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Mia pushed open the door to the dimly lit bar and peered in. She couldn\u2019t see John here yet so she slunk in to find a seat. As she settled at a small table towards the back of the bar, she felt as though every pair of eyes in the small establishment were on her. I must have something on my face, she groaned inwardly, shrinking into the chair and using the drinks menu to hide behind as she brushed her face off in case there was something there.<\/p>\n

\u201cExcuse me,\u201d the barman was standing next to her. \u201cGin and chicken pate with maple pear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mia looked at the plate that was being proffered: Small, delectable medallions of bread finely covered in creamy pate with a sliver of poached pear adorning each one.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t order that,\u201d stammered Mia, wishing she had.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe ordered it for you,\u201d said the barman, pointing towards a man sitting at the bar.<\/p>\n

Mia peered across the room. It can\u2019t be<\/em>, she thought. Not again. The two dates I\u2019ve been on in the last year and Johnny has to turn up to each of them<\/em>?<\/p>\n

She smiled and waved at him and he walked over to her table. Her hands started shaking and she clutched the edge of the table. God, he was gorgeous.<\/p>\n

\u201cMay I?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure,\u201d she said, her steady voice no indication of how she was really feeling.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really good to see you Mia,\u201d Johnny said softly, gazing shyly at her. \u201cYou look\u2026 incredible. Beautiful. Incredibly beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d she said, her heart hammering against her chest. \u201cAnd thanks for these.\u201d She indicated to the platter in front of them. She picked one up and bit into the chewy bread, allowing the sweet pear and spicy pate to surprise her taste buds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been wanting to call you since Ana\u2019s wedding,\u201d Johnny began, lowering his voice and leading in towards her. \u201cBut I didn\u2019t know if you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

He stopped as he saw Mia\u2019s gaze shift to a man who had just walked in the door and was making a beeline for their table.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi Mia.\u201d John\u2019s voice was cautious as he looked between Mia and Johnny.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello John,\u201d said Mia, wishing the ground could swallow her as she reluctantly did the introductions. She couldn\u2019t think of a single situation that she would less rather be in that the one she was right now.<\/p>\n

The two men eyed each other up and down, like lions circling prey. They could sense that the other was encroaching on their territory but neither wanted to be the one to start the war. John leant down and kissed Mia hard on the lips, for much longer than was necessary, straightening up and giving Johnny a look as if to say ‘Back off. I got here first.’<\/p>\n

\u201cJohnny was keeping me company,\u201d she said quickly. \u201cWhile I was waiting for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA beautiful woman like Mia shouldn\u2019t have to wait alone,\u201d said Johnny cooly.<\/p>\n

\u201cLucky I\u2019m here now then, isn\u2019t it?\u201d replied John, with equal iciness.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to go to the bathroom,\u201d Mia stammered, tipping her chair over as she stood up.<\/p>\n

John and Johnny sat in silence for a couple of seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo how do you know Mia?\u201d said Johnny finally.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe met in Thailand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWasn\u2019t Mia in Thailand\u2026 months ago?\u201d<\/p>\n

John nodded. \u201cYeah, it was a while ago I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe never mentioned you,\u201d said Johnny.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s pretty secretive,\u201d John retorted. \u201cLikes to keep things to herself.\u201d<\/p>\n

No shit<\/em>, thought Johnny angrily. What, he thinks he knows her now or something<\/em>? Instead, he took a bit of pate and shrugged. \u201cI don\u2019t know, she\u2019s been pretty open with me over the years I\u2019ve known her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve known her for years?\u201d smirked John. \u201cFunny she never mentioned you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess you don\u2019t know each other that well,\u201d shot back Johnny.<\/p>\n

John raised an eyebrow. \u201cOh, we know each other pretty well. I came to Melbourne to be with her and she seems pretty keen for me to stick around\u2026\u201d he trailed off with a shrug. \u201cI\u2019d say that she\u2019s the most serious girlfriend I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Girlfriend? Johnny nearly choked on his pate. What the fuck? A date was one thing, but a serious partner? How did he not know about this?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m back,\u201d said Mia brightly. She had taken some deep breaths and given herself a pep talk in the bathroom. We\u2019re all grown-ups, she\u2019d reasoned. I\u2019m sure that we can have a very pleasant evening. The thunderous looks on the boys faces indicated that this might not be the case.<\/p>\n

The barman broke the stony silence as he came to the table and smiled congenially. \u201cWhat can I get you folks to drink?\u201d He looked from Johnny to John a number of times and scratched his head. \u201cAre you guys related?\u201d<\/p>\n

John and Johnny looked at each other.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m way better looking than him<\/em>, thought Johnny.<\/p>\n

This clown isn\u2019t a patch on me<\/em>, thought John.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo way,\u201d they said in horrified unison.<\/p>\n

The bartender, shook his head, bemused. \u201cI\u2019m sure you get that all the time,\u201d he said chuckling, \u201cbecause you could be twins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now<\/em>, thought Mia. The ground can open up and swallow me now<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mia put the finishing touches to her make-up and stood back so she could get a look at her whole reflection in her bedroom mirror. Wow, she thought. That can\u2019t be me. She wasn\u2019t one to big note herself, but she looked good. Damn good. Her firm body was clad in tight fitting jeans and […]<\/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":[17,56,97,98],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659"}],"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=659"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1258,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659\/revisions\/1258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}