15 Days - Chapter 14 - Day 12 -- LFN Storyboard 1

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Date Posted: 01:27:11 06/06/11 Mon
Author: asiacheetah
Author Host/IP: ppp-71-128-195-9.dsl.sndg02.pacbell.net / 71.128.195.9
Subject: 15 Days - Chapter 14 - Day 12
In reply to: asiacheetah 's message, "15 Days" on 00:00:02 06/02/11 Thu

Chapter 14 � Day 12

Nikita settled back in her seat with a sigh of contentment. She surveyed the destruction on the table in front of her with a twinge of remorse at her own gluttony. She had been unable to choose what she wanted to eat and had ordered one of everything on the menu. In the wreckage in front of her were the remains of seafood gumbo, Crawfish Ettouffee, Andouille sausage Jambalaya, oysters on a half shell, Muffalatta sandwich, shrimp po-boy sandwich, bread pudding, and banana fosters.

She rubbed her extended belly with a groan, feeling guilty that so much of it has been left. Of course, she might have made more of a dent in the smorgasbord if her dinner companion had helped her out more. She looked over at Michael who gazed back at her with amusement. He had tasted a little bit of everything before settling back at watching her attempt to eat her own weight in food.

�Has anyone ever told you, you eat like a bird?�

He replied dryly: �It�s hard to run quickly on a full stomach.�

She asked archly: �Going somewhere?�

�You never know.�

She shook her head at his inability to break a habit. She looked up as her waitress returned and asked if to go boxes were needed. She looked inquisitively at Michael who shook his head. She apologized to the waitress who laughed off the apology. They paid the bill and Nikita waddled out of the restaurant into the narrow streets of the French Quarter.

They had arrived that morning and found a quaint hotel close to the French Quarter in New Orleans. After checking in, they had walked along the waterfront along Lake Pontchartrain for a while before they made their way to the French Quarter. First they stopped for beignets and iced coffees at Caf� Dumond, after which Nikita had dragged Michael into every knick knack store within a mile radius. He had obligingly held her various purchases without complaint, but had refused point blank when she insisted on getting him a souvenir t-shirt.

The more loaded down with purchase, the more he looked the part of a long suffering boyfriend. This was a very good thing, due to the amount of outrageous flirting that was thrown his way from people of either gender. It was still early in the day so the amounts of drunken cat calls were kept to a minimum. The few who attempted to approach her were warned off by a well placed look from Michael. Apparently her glares of warning were insufficient to ward off the bevy of attention toward Michael. Thankfully, no one dared to actually put a hand on Michael since their trip to the city might have been cut short.

�Now what?� She looked inquisitively over at Michael. He shrugged in response. She looked speculatively at him and teased: �If I hadn�t eaten all that food, I�d suggest we go back to the hotel.�

He looked at her for a moment and smirked: �It�s hard to do a lot of things on a full stomach.�

�Oh you! If I wasn�t so full I�d smack you.�

He just grinned in response. They walked companionably for a few more minutes until they passed a mostly empty bar. She noticed a piano against a wall and grabbed Michael�s arm and led him inside. She went up to the bartender and got permission to use the piano. She turned back expectantly toward Michael.

�I haven�t played in a long time, Nikita.�

�Please Michael? You told me you would play for me.�

He heaved a sigh, but gave in to her request and sat down in front of the keyboard. She sat down at a table perpendicular to the piano so that she could see him in profile. He lightly touched the keys, like a caress of an old treasured friend. He slowly played the scales, picking up speed as the notes get higher.

He stopped playing and looked down at his hands on his lap before placing them on the keyboard again. Then he started playing a slow sweet tune, drawing her in with the melody, the notes clear and bittersweet. As the last tender note fades away she clapped enthusiastically.

He looked up and smiled slightly at her before starting another song at a breathtaking pace. His fingers were a blur against the keys as they raced to the tune. She watched with mouth open, watching a piano virtuoso take over.

�He�s quite good.�

Nikita turned around to find a few customers had trickled in. The bartender who had given the okay to use the piano was standing to her right watching Michael play. At a particularly difficult bridge, the bartender amended his statement: �He�s REALLY good. Does he play for an orchestra?�

�Um no, just recreationally.�

�Wow! Tell him he can use it as long as he wants.�

�Thanks I�ll tell him that.�

Michael finished the piece with flourish and looked up in surprise as several sets of applause joined Nikita. He nodded in thanks and stood up to join Nikita at the table.

�What are you doing? Keep playing if you want.�

�That�s okay.�

She looked at him closely before asking in astonishment: �Michael, are you shy?�

He blinked in surprise at her question before refuting: �Of course not.�

�You totally are! You�re blushing!�

He narrowed his eyes at her: �No I�m not.�

�Okay you�re not really blushing, but that doesn�t mean I�m wrong.�

�I just don�t feel like playing anymore.�

�Why not?�

He paused for a moment before replying: �It brings back memories.�

�Good memories or bad ones?�

�What�s the difference? The past is still the past.�

She smiled sadly at him. �Okay, do you want to leave?�

�If you want.�

She waved her thanks to the bartender and they left. She wrapped her arm around his and leaned against him, enjoying the closeness physically and emotionally.

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Replies:

15 Days - Chapter 15 - Day 13 -- asiacheetah, 23:04:17 06/07/11 Tue