Good dumplings Who: Ro, JD What: Catch-up When: Saturday 21st Nov (Follow-on from this, before Thanksgiving) Where: Dim Sum Cafe -> JD's place Ratings: Suggestive and FTB
The case JD had been working on meant he didn’t get away from the precinct until nearly midnight, and was back on deck the next day. A murder victim had displayed some similar injuries to another unsolved case and he’d been going back over the details of the earlier case, comparing the photos to the injuries on the new arrival at the morgue. He’d sent Ro a text apologising, and suggested they catch up on Saturday night.
Something he’d learnt from his mother, and coach, was punctuality, and he was pushing the door open to the Dim Sum Cafe a few minutes before the time he’d suggested they meet. The staff greeted him by name, it was one of his favourite places to eat, and many a takeout had been collected from here.
After chatting to the owner for a few minutes he sat at a table, legs stretched out, leaning back in his chair and sipping from a beer. Again his mind wandered back to the week he and ‘July’ as she was to him back then, celebrated his 21st.
Ro wasn’t fussed about any delay. Any time was fine with her. Her life was casual so hang ups like a wait after saying he'd been in touch wasn't something she noticed or cared about.
JD had been interesting as a young man for reducing to lash out at her for her attempted theft. It suggested he might have devolved into a similarly intriguing man in his forties. Worth checking out. Also there'd be dim sum.
She took a seat across from JD. Ro was still showing effects from low feeding, pale and circles under her eyes. She smiled brightly though. "Hello, officer."
It had only been a few days but JD noticed the difference in Ro’s appearance. “Hey yourself,” he returned, smiling in return, but his eyes narrowing a little as he straightened up, tucking his legs back under his own chair as she sat down. “Hope you don’t mind, I’ve ordered some dishes to get us started, some pork dumplings and Kung Pao chicken, as it’s all prepared fresh. You can order more, or something else,” he offered.
"Hey, that's just food sooner but shumi and egg tarts are also good." She got settled at the table, placing her napkin in her lap and sipping from the water glass at her place. "How's it going? I didn't scare you off after what I said last time?"
JD signalled to the waiter who came over, carrying the dishes he’d ordered, and he ordered what Ro had suggested, and some jasmine tea for them both, with her agreement, to go with the food. Once the waiter left he shook his head. “It might’ve seemed like it, and sorry it’s taken up til now to catch up. Been a hectic few days,” he replied, “and still no further along than where I was when I saw you.” He drained the rest of the beer and the empty was quickly whisked away by a passing waiter. “But no, you didn’t scare me off.”
As he settled back in his chair he returned to studying her face, noticing the dark circles under her eyes and that they were not caused by badly applied makeup. It had been four days since he’d seen her for the first time in twenty years, and he noticed that even though she hadn’t aged, she was not looking as well as she had when they’d parted back then, her to head out of Vegas, him to start his new job with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
“How’s it been with you?”
There were times when Ro's makeup was a mess but it was never badly applied. Most of the time it was makeup half rubbed off from the night before. Right now circles under her eyes were standing out from skin a little too pale from lack of feeding. "Hey, I'm dandy." She didn't offer up more than that, curious what JD might ask instead.
“Y’ know you shouldn’t lie to a cop, don’t you?” he teased, eyes not leaving hers even when he joked. Even with the drawn look she was still one of the hottest women he’d ever met, and he’d met a few who claimed that tag here in Vegas. A couple of them had even been vampires, but not of the same variety as July, or Ro as she now was. They had also been in various states of ‘disrepair’, but he had to wonder how things worked for the woman seated opposite him.
Ro raised her eyebrows and gave JD a significant look. "I think we've established that's not a particular hang up of mine," she said teasingly. He grinned, eyeing her sideways and slowly nodding. “True.” He leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table. “So you say you’re living here now,” he started, tossing up which question to ask first, given he had a few. “How long’ve you been in town?” he asked, and added, “and what brought you back?”
Ro's brow wrinkled as she calculated. "Couple three months maybe? You'll be relieved to know that I got a job."
“Oh? Why’s that? And what’s the job?” he asked.
"Because it's not what I was doing last time." She paused and then added, "Officer. I'm a pastry chef."
JD’s eyebrows rose and he nodded slowly. “That makes sense,” he replied. He remembered her cooking for him during that week, something he’d appreciated, particularly in the mornings after a fairly ‘active’ night. “Anywhere I know?” he asked.
"Why do people always ask me that?" Ro said in mock exasperation. "What is it people wanting to know where people work." She shook her head and shrugged. "You might as well know, everyone else does. I'm the pastry chef at Brasserie Le Breeze."
He was a little surprised but also bemused at her initial response, but silently shrugged it off. “I don’t know it,” he responded, one shoulder lifting slightly as he turned to see the waiter approaching with their dumplings and two plates. He sat back from the table as the items were set in front of them. “Where is it?”
"Henderson," Ro explained, picking up her chopsticks with practiced ease. "It's a brewery and hotel. Food is great."
"It sounds swish, having a full-on pastry chef." He helped himself to one of the pork buns from the steamer basket and bit into it as he looked at her thoughtfully, chewing as he continued to observe.
"It'd better be," Ro smirked. "I'm very good at what I do. And how is your...policing? Arrest anyone good? Or been recently robbed by someone you should have arrested?"
“I usually make a habit of only arresting the bad,” he replied, returning the smirk. “And no, haven’t had anyone try and steal from me since then.” His mother’s jewelry still sat in the tin on the top of his tall boy.
"Good job not getting robbed," Ro said cheerfully. "A plus policing."
"I appreciate the commendation," he drawled before serving himself some more food. After chewing thoughtfully for a moment he picked up the small porcelain tea cup. "So tell me about your predilection, and how essential it is for you?" He swallowed the contents of the cup and refilled it.
Ro busied herself with the same and when she answered, it was while holding a dumpling in the air between her chopsticks. "By predilection, you mean…?"
With the small delicate cup between his fingers JD leaned forward slightly after glancing around them to check for eavesdroppers. "Yeah, your need to feed on… a certain feeling?" he finished.
"Not really a predilection," Ro answered with a chastising raise of her eyebrows. "Anymore than your need to consume a certain number of calories could be called one." Although JD had nothing to compare it to other than whatever memory he had of her from twenty years ago, the effect of her need to feed and lack of it recently were still visible in the hollow of her eyes and paleness of her skin.
"Sorry, semi-sarcasm," JD replied, the sharpness in her answers and attitude starting to lend weight to his suspicion that something wasn't quite right with her. It certainly wasn't the same as last time, and even since the few days ago when he'd first run into her there was clearly a darkening of the shadows in her face. Given what she'd said, that it wasn't a 'habit' but a necessity he frowned as he asked the next question.
"How long's it been since you last… fed?"
Ro needed not to snap. It wasn’t JD's fault she was hungry and he didn't know better. "Longer than it should be. I guess you could say I'm a bit hangry."
He knew how that could be, his colleagues having learnt that when he was focused on a case he could become blinkered to his own needs. It wasn't uncommon for takeaway food to appear on his desk in those times he had become hangry.
He continued eating as he glanced at her. It was hard to imagine it would be hard for her to find a source of the energy she needed, but he knew next to nothing about it. "So can I help?" he asked. He held enough good memories from their week together that he knew it wasn't a challenge for him, but he wasn't sure what she needed.
Ro wasn’t surprised. She'd felt JD's attraction dancing around the edges of her subconscious, enough to keep her appetite up. Ro reached across the table and set a hand on his wrist. She pulled on that feeling to bring it forward in his mind. "Is that what you want?"
His eyes widened a little as he felt his desire rise and he looked down at where her fingers were laying on his wrist. He shifted in his seat and swallowed the mouthful of food he had been chewing. The sensation was just as he’d remembered from twenty years ago, and he’d never experienced it since - and now he knew why.
Clearing his throat he looked back up at her. “Definitely not going to say no.”
"You could if you wanted," Ro said carefully. "You understand that all I'm doing is bringing what you're already feeling forward in your attention? I can't override your will or make you do anything. You always have the choice."
JD listened and nodded. “Kinda wish there were a few blokes who had that kinda ethical streak,” he half-joked. There were some perps he considered not worthy of introducing into the state’s legal system to ensure justice was meted out. He shook his head, easily clearing those thoughts out of his head as his mind enjoyed the build-up of what he’d felt all that time ago.
“I understand,” he continued as his eyes returned to hers.
"So there you go," Ro said with a smile. "I remember you used to be all hands. We'll have to see what's changed."
His smile widened into a grin at her comment, and he arched an eyebrow. “Happy to demonstrate,” he replied, “as much as you need,” he added as he glanced down at her fingers again. His hand rolled and his fingers gently curled around her wrist, lightly brushing against her skin. He knew what he was feeling, the changes it made for him, but he was still completely ignorant as to what it did for her.
“How does it work? Do we need to… you know,” he asked, one half of his mind now seeking out any other changes, the other remembering how much she’d encouraged him to eat previously. He loaded his chopsticks with some more Kung Poh chicken and quickly lifted it from the bowl into his mouth.
"You mean is it required that we," Ro pressed her palms together and twisted her hands, grinding her palms together with a smirk. "Not technically. But that kind of feeling is hard to sustain long enough without it. I also have to be touching you and that also can be difficult outside that particular activity."
Again he nodded, and a few more pieces of his memory ignited and fell into place. He wouldn’t tell her, but that week had changed his life, and while he knew it was a challenge to find a life partner in his profession, many of his colleagues having had their marriages end in divorce, or at least separations, he’d not found anyone who’d made him feel the way she had - and now he knew why. He didn’t begrudge her that, and sure as hell didn’t expect anything of her, but he also knew he was pretty keen to help her out again.
“Or it’s a lot easier to have a lot more contact,” he suggested. “Can I ask, how does it feel for you?” He knew how damned good she’d made it feel for him, but was intrigued to know if it was as pleasurable for her, or just simply a ‘good feed’ type of comfort.
Ro's eyebrows came up again. "Oh amazing. Fountains and fireworks everytime and out of everyone, you were the best." Her tone was light and teasing, clearly poking fun at the male ego. She laughed and then shrugged. "Same as everyone else, I think. Some times are better than others."
Huffing a laugh JD rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Ok, point taken," he replied with a wry smile. "Nice to know I rocked your world, even if only in my imagination," he added with a mock sly wink. The other dishes ordered arrived and JD picked up one of the tarts and inspected it. "Nothing quite like a good tart," he sighed before taking a bite and savouring it as he chewed.
The corners of Ro's mouth turned up at the innuendo. "I always thought so."
They went to JD's townhouse after dinner. Ro waited until she heard JD click the lock in the door before slinking up to him, head tilted. "Should we see what we've learned in twenty years?" she asked, pressing against him and again pulling JD's attraction forward.
It was just like it had been twenty years ago, that tugging on his libido that heightened the sensations. He exhaled a long slow breath he hadn’t even realised he’d been holding as she pressed up against him, his eyes lowering to the line of her shoulder and following it up to where it curved upon meeting her neck. He lowered his head and traced along that line, from shoulder to curve of neck, to the lobe of her ear.
“If you’re willing, I’m definitely able,” he growled softly, his jacket being discarded without any interruption.
Ro sighed and she reached up to twist her fingers in his hair. She let her hips roll against his. "You understand I'm going to take your energy for myself. I'm hungry and I need it. It may be exhausting. But in return, if there's something you want," another roll of her hips, "I'm sure something can be done."
“Breakfast?” he replied with a grin, remembering how she had always encouraged him to eat, and had had him finish all the food they had ordered at dinner. He knew he wasn’t twenty one any more, but aside from the pain in his right shoulder and knee when he overdid a chase he was able to keep up with most of the younger perps of the day. And ‘street smarts’ helped.
Ro raised her eyebrows and grinned. "That sounds fair but I hope you haven't undershot."
“Only one way to find out,” he returned, his hands running down her sides to her hips, drawing them closer against him. “I hope you enjoy what’s on the menu,” he added, sliding his hands around to cup the curves that fitted nicely in his hands. Already he could feel that sensation intensifying, the pleasant rising warmth that heralded what was on its way.