{"id":681,"date":"2011-11-08T06:00:37","date_gmt":"2011-11-07T19:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=681"},"modified":"2013-10-01T11:59:38","modified_gmt":"2013-10-01T18:59:38","slug":"dinner-for-four-with-coconut-and-lime-mousse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=681","title":{"rendered":"Season 4: Episode 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a> The dinner party had come about due to a phone conversation two days prior when Ana had accused Willow (in the nicest possible way, of course) of not properly introducing her to Robert. Ordinarily Willow would have waited weeks longer before she allowed a man she was interested in to meet any of her inner circle. She liked to be very certain that they (the men – not her friends) were not going to embarrass her by getting drunk and loudly singing the Fremantle Dockers anthem or asking her friends for a threesome (sadly, both of these mortifying incidents had occurred on more than one occasion). However, after only two weeks of \u2018properly dating\u2019, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that Robert would do neither of these, nor any of the other horrible things that a new boyfriend could potentially do (such as going off you when you started wearing your comfortable underwear again. A girl can only cope with so much lace!). Since that<\/em> night at his house, things had moved at a rather rapid pace. The last fortnight had been a whirlwind of \u2026well… sex, sex and more sex, if she was completely honest about it; a few fancy dinners thrown in for good measure. They just couldn\u2019t keep their hands off each other! And it wasn\u2019t just pants down, off you go<\/em> it was the proper, romantic, staring into each others soul rubbish that she had read about, but never actually experienced.<\/p>\n

Until now, that is.<\/p>\n

Ana had suggested dinner at their place. \u201cJust something casual,\u201d she said, \u201cwith the four of us, so Tom and I can get to know Robert. We can grab pizza or something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow had agreed. Something casual sounded perfect.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought you said this was going to be low key,\u201d Willow said, when they arrived at Ana and Tom’s beautiful apartment. The house was cleaner than she had ever seen it, and Ana looked quite the hostess in a beautiful black dress and twinkling diamond earrings. She was even wearing an apron. \u201cAnd since when do you own an apron?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, I got a bit carried away,\u201d Ana whispered. \u201cI was just so excited that you two finally got your shit together. I didn\u2019t want him to think your friends are losers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow rolled her eyes, but couldn\u2019t quite suppress a grin. Trust Ana to turn a pizza night into the event of the week.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow make yourself at home,\u201d Ana said breezily, taking Robert\u2019s coat. \u201cI just have to pull the entree out of the oven and put the finishing touches to the coconut and lime mousse. Tom\u2019s made some cocktails so go ahead and relax in the dining room. Won\u2019t be a tick.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dining room had been transformed into an oasis of gorgeousness. Candles were scattered strategically around the room and amazing flower arrangements lined the centre of the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are incredible,\u201d Robert said, leaning down and admiring a glass bowl filled with plush, velvety orchids.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, those,\u201d said Tom, offhand. \u201cThey\u2019re all practice arrangements from this wedding Ana is organising. The bridezilla didn\u2019t like them and was going to throw them out.\u201d<\/p>\n

“It was such a waste,” said Ana, coming into the room with plates of delicious smelling entrees. “It’s not like she’s going to miss them. I just rescued them from the rubbish bin.”<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

The dinner was absolutely delicious and as soon as she\u2019d had a couple of glasses of wine, Ana calmed down and forgot that she was trying to impress.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it you do Robert? Willow never really told me,\u201d asked Ana, kicking her high heels off and scrunching her toes into the carpet.<\/p>\n

He laughed. \u201cI try not to bore Willow too much with the details.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, it\u2019s not boring,\u201d Willow said grinning cheekily, \u201cIt\u2019s just, well, more interesting for some than others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robert tickled her playfully on the waist and Willow giggled, batting his hand away. Ana and Tom looked at each other and tried to suppress their laughter. It was so obvious that these two were completely smitten with each other. Almost nauseatingly so.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe simple answer is that I buy companies that are in financial trouble and either help them get back on their feet or sell them off in pieces,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not glamourous, but I enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh. My. God,\u201d said Ana, her jaw dropping. \u201cYou\u2019re just like Richard Gere in Pretty Woman<\/em>. Except good Richard Gere from the end of the film when he helps the old guy get the shipping contracts.\u201d She turned towards Willow and squealed. \u201cAnd that makes you just like Julia Roberts! Except you\u2019re not a prostitute,\u201d she added as an afterthought.<\/p>\n

Robert laughed again. \u201cI haven\u2019t actually seen Pretty Woman<\/em>, but if you say so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNever seen Pretty Woman<\/em>?\u201d\u00a0 Ana and Willow said simultaneously.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven I\u2019ve seen that movie,\u201d said Tom.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that movie,\u201d sighed Willow. \u201cThat bit where she goes shopping on Rodeo drive\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd all the sales girls are total bitches\u2026\u201d Ana chimed in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen she walks back with all the bags and says\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBig mistake. Big. Huge. I have to go shopping now!\u201d They finished off in unison, bursting into fits of giggles.<\/p>\n

Tom gave Robert a knowing look. \u201cYou\u2019d better see it mate, or they\u2019ll just keep quoting at you. Trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Robert put his arm around Willow\u2019s shoulders and pulled her close as they walked slowly out to the main road to hail a cab. He kissed the top of her head, breathing in the elixir of shampoo and Willow. He\u2019d really enjoyed getting to know Willow\u2019s friends. They were good people. All in all, it had been a very fun evening. He ran his hand down her back, thinking of all the ways that they could possibly make the night even more fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you want to\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought you\u2019d never ask,\u201d said Willow, cutting him off mid sentence. She snuggled in to his body a bit closer. \u201cI do have one condition though.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to watch Pretty Woman<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robert laughed. \u201cWe\u2019ll download it as soon as we get home.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Hours later, after watching the film and then re-enacting and expanding upon a few of the more R rated scenes themselves, they lay in bed, exhausted. Robert gently stroked Willow\u2019s arm, her slow, regular breaths indicating that she had finally fallen asleep.<\/p>\n

Robert smiled to himself. Over the course of the evening a plan had been formulating in his mind. It was now crystal clear and he couldn\u2019t wait to put it into action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The dinner party had come about due to a phone conversation two days prior when Ana had accused Willow (in the nicest possible way, of course) of not properly introducing her to Robert. Ordinarily Willow would have waited weeks longer before she allowed a man she was interested in to meet any of her inner […]<\/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":[63,122],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681"}],"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=681"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1266,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681\/revisions\/1266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}