aim log Who: Malka Levy and Elijah Goldstein What: Washington D.C. Visit When: Monday Evening Where: Elijah's House Status: Incomplete
10:56:11 PM Malka: Though Malka was ultimately terrified at the idea of flying all the way out to DC to stay with a man she barely knew that had sent her flowers but still seemed ultimately out of her reach in the romantic sense- the day had gone on quite smoothly. Their awkward moments were fewer and farther between (and frankly, anything was going to be better than another day in the Levy household). She’d learned a lot just hanging around the office at the Daily Show, met a lot of great people, walked through Georgetown and had a great dinner at Sequoia before finally heading home. This was the part that she was most nervous about. The one thing about your house burning down was that she had very little luggage. One shoulder bag out of the car and she was all set. “This is really nice,” she said, not really knowing what to say as she crossed the threshold. “Oh, thanks so much for dinner by the way- did I say that? And letting me crash your work, and … your place. You know. I had a good time today, is what I mean.”
11:21:06 PM Elijah: People, for the most part, tended to see Elijah’s zip code and automatically assume he lived in some multi-million dollar row house, complete with a garage and a garden. It would have fit his job, after all, but the truth was between his bills and supporting an ex-wife that didn’t have a full-time job, he really didn’t have the money for that sort of thing. Besides, why would he want it? He had been to homes like that, with 7 bedrooms and furniture that children would only ruin. No, Elijah’s home was just on the boundary of the trendy neighborhood. It was across the street from a park, and Georgetown Day School was only a short walk away. Still, it was a second floor walkup in a townhouse that could have been maintained better. The walls of the living room had crayon on them in spots, the kitchen was cramped, and while it had three bedrooms, the guest and Max’s were small. There was only one bathroom. Eventually, Elijah knew he would have to give Sara her own room (for the moment, she still slept in a crib in the Master) and buy a sleeper sofa, or move up completely.
He couldn’t imagine two teenagers living there; it would simply be too crowded, but it was fine for two small children that only stayed on occasion and a grown man that didn’t do much entertaining. Unfortunately, Elijah didn’t do much cleaning, either. When he opened the door at the top of the stairs, it was to a living room with toys scattered about it. The kitchen had dishes in the sink; there were take-out containers on the table. He hadn’t lied about getting clean sheets in the guest room, that much had been done, but he hadn’t had time for much else and it showed. For a moment, he was ashamed. “Sorry about the mess. I…You didn’t give me enough time, damn it.” With a slight blush coloring his face a pale pink, Elijah kicked aside a toy truck and dropped the book bag he used to cart around his work things in on the floor inside the door. “You, though, need to just slow down.” With a soft laugh, he finally turned to face her, a smile remaining even the laugh faded. “You’re welcome, but if you thank me for one more thing, I’m kicking you out.
Here, I’ll give you the tour.” Which wasn’t a tour at all, but instead him loosening the tie around his neck as he headed away from the living/dining/kitchen area and to the back hallway that housed the guest and Max’s room on one side, and the bathroom and master bedroom on the other. It was simple, easy. The door to the bathroom was nudged open with his foot. It wasn’t a mess, but there was laundry in the hamper and a bucket of children’s bath toys on the floor. The tub itself sported a rubber ducky, sitting alone in the middle of the white plastic. “Bathroom.” And, with a simple reach across the hall, he pushed open the modest but clean guest room. “Your room.” With a shrug, he took a step back, hands going into his pockets and eyes to his feet while he allowed her to put her things in the room if she so wished.
11:46:22 PM Malka: Malka loved children. She had done a fairly good job of keeping this love under wraps in front of Elijah, but now that she knew he had little ones himself and their toys were strewn about the house, it was going to be particularly difficult. To top this off, she was a thirty year old woman going on forty five. Her biological clock was ticking, and she’d just returned from her parents’ household where the first and last question is “when am I getting more grandchildren?” She tried to shake these reminders and spend less time staring at the toys and more time scanning the furniture, and now the bedding the guest room. Malka was mildly uncomfortable when he complained about not having enough time- but chose to attribute it to stress- and not because he didn’t want her there. She had asked, after all. He accepted. Nothing to worry about. Setting her bag against the nightstand by the bed, she tried not to let any more awkwardness slip in. But they were in a bedroom. And the sun was going down. And -
“This is great. Really. Thank you.” She paused. “Oh, crap! I’m sorry- it’s just a reflex, with all the hospitality. Please don't kick me out, I'm homeless, and if you don't let me grab my purse on the way I will actually have to sleep on the streets- Oh my gosh, you really got new sheets?” she was suddenly distracted by the crisp white peeking out beneath the comforter and sat down to touch them. “Nice…” she murmured, before she realized what a bizarre picture it was. Malka stood abruptly and smiled, biting her lip slightly. “So… is that the end of the tour? Do you have an early morning tomorrow? Should we… rent a movie, or… “
11:57:23 PM Elijah: He watched her from the doorway, hands leaving his pockets as his arms crossed over his chest and his weight was shifted into the jamb. It was almost entertaining, really, to see the way she worked. She seemed both conscious and unconscious of everything she did, which was an interesting combination, and when she finally leaned down to touch the sheets, Elijah chuckled softly. “I’ll spare you this one time, and I didn’t go out and buy new sheets. I just actually washed them.” Hence the reason they probably smelled of vanilla and lavender. The softener was supposed to be stress-relieving. Elijah just thought it made him smell like a woman in the morning. “But actually, why don’t we do that?” There was no real reason to answer the question about the tour. He was already pushing off the doorframe, walking back towards the living room. “On Demand. You want a glass of wine?” For a moment, Elijah was occupied with the task of finding the remote. The floor was checked, the side-tables. It was finally found squished between cushions in the couch, left there from the night before when he had accidently fallen asleep after Spin City.
When he finally did find it, however, he turned on the TV and turned over the remote. The button to pull up movies was pointed out (it had ON DEMAND printed on it in large, bold letters), and finally, he abandoned the living room all together to duck into the kitchen. It was open to the living room and small dining area, a simple square of linoleum tile with appliances and a sliver of laminate countertop on one side, a rolling butcher block workspace against the adjoining wall and an island (or was it a peninsula?) separating the kitchen and eating area. It was stereotypical and probably needed a good scrub, but the wine glasses he pulled down from the cabinet were clean and there was already a bottle of red open and waiting on the counter.
12:16:31 AM Malka: It was nice to see Elijah in his element, comfortable in his own home, and that comfortable energy started to slowly rub off on Malka. She focused on a few careful breaths and felt relieved when her suggestion was received as a good idea. When he suggested wine, however, she jumped at the opportunity. “Yes, please!” she said, figuring that a little bit of alcohol could only add on to the comfort. She took the remote that he handed her, studying the screen for a moment and flipping through different genres. “So is this where you were when you watched your Spin City marathon?” she called, propping her feet on the coffee table to try and recreate the image in her head. “Just… sittin’ here with your laptop talking to me and watching Michael J?”
The idea made her laugh, and it was quite fascinating to finally put a location to the instant message. She found herself perusing the romance and romantic comedy section without even realizing it- Malka was a true girly girl at heart, and came across When Harry Met Sally. “Do you have a film preference? Genre? Oldie but a goodie? Something new with lots of explosions?”
12:28:48 AM Elijah: When she approved of the wine, Elijah poured them each a glass before heading into the living room. He smirked at her reenactment, her glass handed over before he plopped down next to her and carefully used his foot to slide the business end of a power chord out from its hiding place under the sofa. “See, I even plug in.” The laptop itself was still in the backpack, but minor details. It wasn’t as if she actually wanted to see that much. “I was in my boxers and a Penn State tee shirt, just in case you want the complete mental image, but any movie works for me. We could really be Jewtastic and watch that.”
With a nod towards the TV and her current selection, Elijah leaned back into the couch. When Harry Met Sally. Actually, he didn’t mind the movie. While Elijah tended to scowl at chick flicks in general, he was also guilty of laying out and watching Saturday morning TBS movie marathons, so he really couldn’t talk, and while he liked blood and guts and action as much as the next man, he had been married long enough to get used to not always having it. If she wanted chick flick, he could handle chick flick. Besides, Die Hard 3 just wasn’t the same when you were drinking wine. It was too much juxtaposition, too odd. With something like When Harry Met Sally, all you had to worry about was the awkward deli scene. With some action thriller, you had to worry about offending someone’s sensibilities. Elijah set his wine glass down on the coffee table for a moment, untucking the tails of his shirt before he picked his wine glass back up and started to work on rolling his sleeves partway up his muscled forearms.
12:49:50 AM Malka: Malka let out a little squee of delight when he approved of the movie the remote selection hovered on- glad he was willing to embrace their respective Jewishness rather than scoff. She’d had other dates who would scoff and insist on Terminator. She selected the film and the music started for the opening of the opening (with all of the flashy production companies) and took a quick sip of the wine. She loved wine. “Well if this is a boxers and Penn State kind of couch, I’m going to jump into my pajamas, do you mind? This dress is from my closet at home and I haven’t worn it since Junior year of college. And yay for me that it still fits- but- it doesn’t really fit. And I’m starting to cramp.
Sure, it was probably too much information for a second date (was it a second date?) but Malka seemed unaware, which was a rarity. She disappeared back down the hall where they’d just left and began digging through her bag. It was only then that she began to over think the decision. What kind of message did pajamas send? Was her tank top too much? Were the shorts too short? In the end, she realized, it didn’t much matter since it was the only pair of PJs she owned. “Sorry about that- did I miss anything?” she asked upon her return, prancing as quickly and quietly as she could to the other side of the couch so’s not to disturb anything and also grab a blanket to cover her bare legs. Malka dove back for her wine as soon as she could.
12:25:01 AM Elijah: “That’s actually really impressive.” It was an excuse to look her over, and Elijah was never one to miss an opportunity. With half of a smirk pulling at his lips, he did a quick once over on her as she moved out of the room. It was indeed a pajamas sort of couch, and yet he made no real move to change out of his suit. His jacket was shrugged out of, his tie already loosened, but why do anything else? Getting up just seemed like too much effort so Elijah gave in to the laziness and instead slipped off his shoes as he took a long sip from his wine. As it were, her pajamas were fine. He had been married, after all. He had seen everything from see-thru nighties to flannel and at this point in his life, both could be equally sexy. It really just depended on the person in them.
He tried not to think too much about that as he kicked his feet onto the coffee table and set aside his wine. “I don’t know, you tell me.” She had probably seen the movie before, after all. Never mind that he had probably caught it at least a dozen times between now and the eighties, it was a minor detail. You tell me just sounded snarkier, more confident. A quick attempt at a smile was thrown in her direction, before one hand slipped behind his head and he relaxed back into the couch.
12:43:47 AM Malka: She was getting more and more accustomed to his sense of humor and merely narrowed her eyes at him, before glancing at the screen to find they were still enjoying the opening credits. Smarty pants. She shot another reluctant smile his way, annoyed with herself that she couldn't even feign annoyance in his presence. There was something about his effortless confidence that she found alluring. Intoxicating, even. A quality Malka herself wouldn't mind having. She sipped quietly on her wine as the movie began to truck along, just as she remembered, and she smiled fondly at each scene- unconsciously mouthing several of the lines. Every so often she would glance back at Elijah, studying his body language. She only just noticed the way he was stretched out, arms behind his head. "Are you sure you're not totally exhausted? You don't have to stay up just for me if- not that I don't want you to stay up. That's not what I'm saying. You know for the record. I would love for you to stay up. I'm just saying that if you don't want to, I won't be offended... is all I'm saying."
12:52:22 AM Elijah: “If I didn’t want to stay up…” Goddamn yawn. Elijah had tried to stifle it, but it came anyway, curling off his tongue like a cat’s. His body sprawled out, too. It wasn’t as if she had missed the yawn, after all, and there was no point in stifling anything else if he had already been caught. Hands laced together as his arms went skyward, and for a moment his toes curled back towards his legs. For a moment, Elijah contemplated getting involved in yoga considering how good the stretch felt. Before the thought could truly form, though, his brain was moving on and he was finishing his sentence. “I’d just fall asleep here. I snore, by the way. Feel free to poke me if I start.” God, why did he have to say it? But it was a habit, something started in college when his then girlfriend had complained about it. Why not just tell everyone? That way, they wouldn’t be able to complain afterwards. Now, he said it without thinking, giving away parts of himself that probably shouldn’t have been given away in the first place. In an attempt to steal away some of her blanket, Elijah’s hand grazed her leg and for a moment, he could see the action going much further. Still, he stopped himself.
They hadn’t even properly kissed yet, after all. It would be rude to make a move on her so suddenly, to invite her over and then appear to only want to take her to bed. Truthfully, the thought had crossed his mind, but as he had mentioned to her earlier, he really had been raised quite a bit better than his manners sometimes portrayed. He wasn’t the sort of person to just…Be so damn blatant about that sort of thing, and thus, instead of feeling up her leg like he could have, he simply reached for his glass and drained it, before finally unwinding himself and standing. “Want s’more?” A finger was pointed towards her glass, his hand already going for it. He was already in the kitchen with both glasses before she’d have a chance to answer.
1:11:05 AM Malka: She smiled fondly at him when he yawned, reminded briefly of all the times as a kid she'd insist to her Mother that she wasn't tired on New Year's. Of course every year, no matter how hard she tried, she'd fall asleep before the clock would strike twelve. Malka appreciated Elijah's willingness admit that he, too, might be susceptible to such an ending. "Oh, me too," she said, "like a freight train. Or... so I've been told. So...we’ll make some beautiful music together, I’m sure.”
The connotations of that phrase didn’t really occur to her until after the words were out of her mouth. And then it was followed by an accidental leg graze. Or was it intentional? Her breath caught in her throat and she froze, unsure if she was supposed to reciprocate. Or stop him. Or if she was reading completely too into an attempt to grab some of the blanket or- oh. Wine. Yes. That’s a good idea. He was gone before she could say ‘yes’ but she was grateful for the speed with which he returned. She probably drank a little too much on the first sip when he handed it over. “Thank you.” She said softly, before setting it down. A silence settled between them for a moment before she had probably the most mortifying case of word vomit yet. “Would you like to kiss me?”
1:27:41 AM Elijah: Elijah almost snorted when she mentioned that they’d make beautiful music together. It wasn’t so much that it was such a bizarre comment, it was just that, well, it sounded a bit like something Hallmark would put on a card. As if that wasn’t a bizarre enough thought, he had to deal with the further thought of them actually being together. God, he had to get that out of his head. Just because a girl was in his apartment didn’t mean…and wasn’t that the whole point of the movie they were watching? That a guy and a girl couldn’t just be friends? And didn’t, in a way, the movie prove that? They ended up sleeping together in the end (well, then they got in a fight, and a whole string of other things happened, but that was beside the point), so did that mean that would be their fate as well? And where did she stand on that, anyway? He knew the old standby, that you could attempt a move after three dates, but what was the modern thinking? Could you on the first? Was it better to wait? And God, what if she was the sort of person that wanted to wait for marriage?
Mind you, being Jewish meant that probably wasn’t as strong (he had never gotten that, but now wasn’t the time to contemplate it), at least not religiously, but who knew? He too took too large of sip when he sat back down, the fresh wine warming his stomach and his face. A glass and a sip in, yet he could already feel the warmth radiating outwards. Funny to think they had finished two bottles between them the other day. Luckily, though, he didn’t have a mouthful of the stuff when she mentioned kissing her. He couldn’t help it: Elijah laughed. “Do I…Did…Did you really just ask that?” The laughter continued for almost a full minute after, until he had to lean over from the pain in his stomach and wipe away the tears from the corners of his eyes. “Sorry, I just. I didn’t know people asked that. But…” Oh, wow. With a deep breath, he finally pulled himself together. “But yes, I would love to kiss you.” And it was that easy. He put down his wine glass and turned in the same motion, his now free hand going to her cheek as he leaned in and did just as he said. He kissed her, pure and simple.
1:44:12 AM Malka: Malka wasn’t easy, per se, but she was never one to really hold out on physical intimacy if she liked the guy. It also stemmed from some insecurity- after she broke off her engagement with her fiancé she had a tendency to sleep with men in hopes of snagging them for a full on relationship. More often than not, when they got what they wanted, they bailed. She didn’t really know this about herself, however, and was more or less utilizing the same hopeful techniques on Elijah. When he laughed at her, however, she was convinced it had been the wrong move.
And he kept laughing. Her heart was sinking into the pit of her stomach, her cheeks were turning a violent shade of pink and she was now burying her face in her hands. She let out a few quick prayers in Hebrew before finally sitting up and managing to speak. “I’m sorry, I just thought- and you sent flowers, and you said if you- I just assumed that you invited me because you- this is so humiliating I can’t believe I eve-“
Her babbling was suddenly cut off by a very gentle and sudden kiss. It took her a moment to realize what was really happening, and for her lips to finally start responding. Once they did, however, it was nice - but ended as quickly as it had started. Malka gasped when they parted. Her mind was going a mile a minute- wondering what he was thinking, if it was a pity kiss, but all she could manage was a pitiful. “Okay then.”