The week that followed my night staying at Amber's house was relatively routine. We worked on our projects, took breaks and spent most of our workdays together. We went out to lunch and continued to have a great friendship but something was weighing on both of us. Last weekend, Amber and I had planned a day together. We had an incredible time but when I dropped her off at her house, I ended up spending the night at her place, a first for either of us. When we woke up on Sunday, we messed around again before I made her breakfast. Something about the experience showed both of us that while we were completely and utterly satisfied with our intimacy, there was still something missing from our relationship.
When I finally had to leave, we promised to talk about it later in the week. A few days had passed but work had kept us too busy to sneak away for a long lunch or anything. We didn't even get to have our usual golf outing because of some uncooperative weather. So as the week turned over to Thursday, I made a point of stopping by Amber's desk when everyone else was out of the office. Walking up behind her office chair, I kissed her on the neck, eliciting a small whimper.
Sitting down in the other chair in her cubicle I said, "So hey, I've got an idea. Tomorrow after work... how about I make you dinner at my place?"
Clearly interested, Amber said, "Oh?"
With a smile, I said, "Yeah, I want to make you dinner."
Pretending to be debating the offer Amber asked, "What's on the menu?"
Leaning back in my chair with my hands behind my head, I said, "I was thinking Italian. How about chicken parm, some pasta and garlic bread?"
Now with a look of genuine excitement, Amber asked, "You know how to make all that?"
"Yeah," I said with a look of self-assurance. "Well, I might cheat on the garlic bread, and I'll use packaged pasta but the chicken parm is all mine."
With an impressed tone she said, "Still, putting all that together? Yes please. Ok, well, I'll bring the wine. So do you mind if I stop at my place first, get cleaned up and changed and then come over?"
With the office still empty, I stood, leaned across her desk and kissing her said, "Perfect, I'll do the same and that'll give me some time to get things started."
---
Friday was like any other day at work that week. We were busy all day but every time we made eye contact we smiled, knowing that each of us was looking forward to the evening that I had planned. As was the custom in our office on Fridays, all of us finished our work and tried to leave a little early. So as we headed to our cars, Amber looked at her watch and said, "How does 6:30 sound?"
"Perfect," I said as I got in my car and prepared for my short drive home. After we made the plans the day before, I had already gone to the store and gotten everything I needed. Arriving at my apartment, I walked inside and straightened up some of the remaining clutter. After surveying the room and being satisfied with its appearance, I made my way to the bedroom where I wasted no time in getting undressed, making sure that all of the clothes found their way into the hamper. With another cursory look around my bedroom to confirm that it was clean, I stepped into the bathroom and proceeded to take a quick but thorough shower.
After getting out and drying off, I made sure to hang up the towel and again confirmed that the cleanliness of the bathroom was worthy of having my girlfriend see it. Stepping back into the bathroom, I made maybe the hardest decision of the night: what was I going to wear? I pulled on a clean pair of black boxer briefs and chose a pair of casual khakis. Finally, I picked a white, long-sleeved, button-up linen shirt and laid it across my bed. For now, I threw on an old t-shirt. For now, I had some cooking to do and would change shirts later.
I still had an hour before Amber was to be at my apartment but I wanted to get most of the work done before she arrived so that my attention could be on her. I pounded out, breaded and fried the chicken breasts before wrapping them up and putting them in the refrigerator. I set the sauce out and portioned out the cheese that I would need. Then I made sure I had a box of thin spaghetti set aside and confirmed that the garlic bread was indeed in the refrigerator. I prepped a baking sheet with some aluminum foil and did the same with the smaller sheet that went in the toaster oven. Finally I put some water in a pot and set it on the stove for later.
Satisfied that I had prepped as much as possible for making dinner, I then turned my attention to the dinette table. I set out two placemats, putting them at opposite ends of the rectangular table. Then after setting out plates, napkins and silverware, I placed an empty wine glass at each place setting. I didn't have any candles but I turned down the dimmer on the lights over the table.
Looking at the clock, I realized that Amber would be arriving soon so I went back to my room. Changing shirts, I tossed the t-shirt into the hamper and then put on and rolled up the sleeves of my linen shirt. Stopping at the bathroom to reapply my deodorant, I was happy with my appearance in the mirror. No sooner had I walked out of the bathroom than I saw Amber's car pulling into the spot next to mine. I pretended to be busy in the kitchen but watched through the window as she got out of her car, made her way to the trunk, grabbed a few items and then walked up to my door and knocked.
With the few glimpses I caught of her through the blinds as she walked to my door, I could already tell that Amber was looking amazing but I was completely unprepared for what I saw when I opened the door to greet her. Opening the door, I saw her standing before me in a maroon, knee-length casual dress. The cut of the dress perfectly accentuated her curvy figure and her large breasts seemed to be barely held back by the thin straps going over each bare shoulder. Her legs looked amazing and she wore dressy sandals, her toes painted to match her dress.
After taking appraisal of the woman in front of me I said, "Amber, you look absolutely beautiful." With a smile, she reached down beside her and handed me two bottles of red wine, which I took and showed her in. Before entering though, she leaned down once more and grabbed a bag and set it inside my door. Stepping in and closing the door behind her, Amber gave me a long hug and then a brief kiss before saying, "You look great too. Thank you for this."
After we hugged, Amber could see that my attention was on the other bag she had placed inside my door. With a shy smile she looked at the bag and then back to me and said, "Just a little something extra I brought."
She kissed me again and I showed her into my apartment. "So yeah, sorry but there's not much to it. Here's the living area; I've got a couch, TV, and my computer is usually set up on the coffee table." As she turned to look at the rest of the room, I quietly closed the blinds behind me to give us privacy. "Then here's my kitchen; I've got a little dinette set." Then leading her back I showed her my bedroom and the attached bathroom.
Amber commented on the bedroom and bathroom with its surprisingly large, glass enclosed shower, "Nice, so this is where those famous stories have happened?"
With a slight blush I said, "Yyyyyeah, I guess so."
With a wink, Amber said, "Don't worry; we'll make new ones together."
I smiled and lead her back out to the kitchen and invited her to sit down. Amber complimented me that dinner was already smelling good and asked if there was anything she could do to help. I asked her to pour us a drink while I finished getting things ready. I turned on the oven to preheat and was putting the chicken on the large baking sheet when she walked up beside me and placed a glass of red wine on the counter next to me. Stopping to clang our glasses together, we toasted "To us," and took a sip; it was perfect.
I continued to prepare the chicken with sauce and a mixture of cheeses before placing them into the oven to bake. Then turning on the burner, I began heating the pot of water. With all of this in motion, I settled back against the counter and drank my wine as Amber sat in her chair at the table and watched. She broke the silence when she said, "You know, of all the things we've done and all the things you've done to me, watching you cook might be the sexiest thing you do."
I didn't have a response, I simply humbly shrugged and took another sip of my wine. Returning to the food, I placed the garlic bread into the toaster oven and noticing the water begin to boil, poured out enough spaghetti for the two of us and placed it into the water. As I grabbed a colander from the cupboard and placed it in my freshly-washed sink, I checked the timer and saw that I had a few minutes still left on the chicken; everything was coming together perfectly. After another few sips of wine, the pasta was done and I poured it out into the sink to be strained. Then removing the now-toasted garlic bread, I flipped on the broiler for a minute to get the cheese completely melted and crusted on the chicken.
When I finally removed them from the oven and set them on the stove to cool, Amber said, "Holy shit, seriously, this all smells amazing." I looked over my shoulder at her and smiled. Realizing a small flaw in my set-up, I asked her if she would bring me the plates from the table. When she set them on the counter next to me she gave me a kiss on the cheek and I encouraged her to go sit and wait as I got to work preparing the most perfect plates I could muster. With a chicken parm on each plate, I placed a small mound of thin spaghetti next to it and delicately covered it with sauce before placing a piece of garlic bread on the plate to balance it out in appearance.
Satisfied with my work, I picked up a plate in each hand and carried them to the table. Placing one in front of Amber and then one at my place setting, I turned and flipped off the lights in the kitchen. The room was now lit only by a dim table-top lamp in the far corner of the living room and the already-dimmed lights over the dinette. The warm glow of the lights was just the ambiance I was hoping for.
As we sat at opposite ends of the table, we looked at each other through the steam still rising from our plates. Amber looked at me with a loving look I don't remember ever seeing from her and she simply said, "Thank you." The combination of the way she was looking at me and the feeling in her voice brought forth a profound feeling in return for her and I could only reply, "I'd do anything for you, Amber."
I noticed that she had taken the opportunity while I was plating the food to refill our drinks. With another sip of wine, we each picked up our silverware and took a bite. I was immediately pretty proud of how it had turned out. Looking across the table, Amber's eyes met mine, widened, and she said, "This is maybe the best thing I've ever eaten. No, I'm not kidding; this is amazing!"
I smiled and reminded her, "I told you I would surprise you."
