Monceau Majestic: The Apartment of Rafael Lamaroux

[Lets_Eat_Paste]

Username: Lets_Eat_Paste
Character name: Rafael Lamaroux
Character age: 28
Desired apartment:

[url= [http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd258/mrsnadirkhan/AlexanderandRafaelsapartment.jpg]Floor Plan[/url]

[Lets_Eat_Paste]

Rafael Lamaroux

Rafael played with the lighter in his hands, looking intently at two parallel candles he had placed. It was too much. It had to of been. What if Rafael knocked them over and caught her hair on fire? What if the wax melted too quickly and landed on her food? What if she just found candlelit dinners gaudy and over the top? And what about the mood lighting? Tonight was the night they took their relationship up a level. Rafael's fear of commitment was trickling away, even if the "L" word still glowered at him from the back of his memories, threatening to ruin any relationship he found worthy. After three years, they knew each other's minds, each other's souls, but intimate introductions was something they were yet to explore. Rafael used to be good at this, suave and gentle. But that was three and a half years ago-- and those hadn't meant anything. This was different. Rafael wanted to do this right-- candles and music and passion.

But what if in a fervid round of foreplay, they knocked over candles and burned the whole apartment building down? What as he tossed to the wayside the layers of clothes that shielded her from him, he threw them mindlessly on a candle?

Maybe he was just irrational and uncharacteristically nervous, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Rafael tossed the lighter away and began working on his next project-- music. The delivery Chinese food was on it's way and it would take two seconds for Rafael to set it up to make it look like his creation. His attention could be spent on finishing his playlist of love songs that expressed in words and music what he couldn't say.

He had cleaned and the smell of Fabreze clung to everything. He jumped at every sound-- it could have been Jen walking up the stairs or rapping on the door. It could have been Jen's car pulling up outside or the elevator dinging to reveal her stop.

Rafael checked his breath for the ninth time that night and waited.

[Deleted]

Jennifer Hennings

Hair down and non-frizzy: check.

Dress all straight, not tucked into underwear or anything: check.

Dentyne Ice guaranteed to give sexy, minty-fresh breath: check.

Holy crap. When was the last time Jen had done this? And what exactly was this? Oh cheese and crackers. This was being a fricken girly-girl. She couldn't help feeling kinda' embarrassed at dressing up like this. Jen was usually the one scoffing and mocking those make-up heavy, all bling and fake-n-bake tan sort of girls. This wasn't exactly like that, but Jen kind of felt like it. It wasn't fancy-shmancy, but it wasn't how she usually dressed. Oh my God, if the guys at work saw me like this... They'd never ever let me live it down.

As Jen waited in the elevator, she couldn't stop smiling. A date. A date at Ray's place. It sounded so nice. Ray wouldn't tell her much about tonight. He wouldn't even tell her what dinner would be. It all helped with the suspense. God, she hated suspense. But suspense was awesome. The feeling of not knowing made her sick with excitement and anticipation. Did Ray even cook? He was no iron chef, but he could hold his own. So what would be at the dinner table? And then what? What were they going to do? The possibilities were mindblowingly endless and Jen had to keep herself from screaming with happiness. The elevator moved up as fast as a snail going backwards on a treadmill. It was like the elevator knew Jen was in a hurry and it was going slow just to eff with her. C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! My grandma can crawl faster than this.

Ding! Finally! Jen practically leapt through the elevator doors before they had completely opened. She looked down the hallway and breathed in, letting out a small breathy chuckle. There was so much pent-up energy, Jen didn't know what to do with it all. Just save it for later. Maybe you'll need it for later. Jen walked down the familiar hallway that she'd gone down a bazillion and two times. As she passed each door, her heart pounded harder and her legs were feeling jello-ish. What the heck was wrong with her? It was like she was a silly little teen going out on her first date or something! How ridiculous was that?!

She finally reached the door and inhaled and exhaled slowly. Here we go. Jen rapped her knuckles on the door three times. Here we go.

[Lets_Eat_Paste]

Rafael Lamaroux

Rafael jumped at the sound of three quick, distinct knocks on his door. It had to be Jen-- the Chinese delivery man had already dropped the food off. Rafael took a deep breath and slowly answered the door.

"Jennifer!" He said, his voice cracking with nerves. "Come in, baby!"

He let her walk ahead of him. He secretly looked her over, feeling his heart lep up to his throat. He tried to gulp it back down to no avail. He cleared his throat.

"You look nice tonight. I can't wait to see what you look like beneath that nice outfit."

Shoot. That was at all what he had wanted to say. He had written a script of lines he could use. He spent weeks memorising them. But the moment Jennifer stepped through his door, all of that was lost.

"I mean..." he stepped to her and cupped her face in his hands. "This is what I mean." He kissed her full on the lips and brought her closely to him. His lips made a pathway down her neck and shoulders, his hands sliding into place on her volumptuous waist.

"If you know what I mean."

[Deleted]

Jennifer Hennings

Each knock on the door sent an electric shock up her arm and across her chest, even reaching her gut. It was such a weird feeling. Was she giddy? Hell no... Hell yes? She didn't know. She was confused. But why? Why the hell was she feeling like this? You'd think after dating a guy for three years, that she'd be over this silly little schoolgirl stuff. The butterfly in the stomach thing was for little teenagers with funky hormones and whacked out teenager brains. This wasn't Jen, was it? Pull it together, Jen, pull it together!

And then the door opened and Jen fell apart and snapped back together again in the same moment. "Jennifer!" The corners of her mouth shot the side in a wide smile. It was like a reflex, like kicking your leg out when you hit the knee. You'd think after three years, a girl would get used to the same guy saying her name. Well, most days, she didn't think a lot about it, but now... The smile on his face and the joy in his voice just made Jen feel even happier than before. That whole "cloud nine" thing. "Come in, baby!"

Jen stepped in, giving Ray a quick kiss on the cheek as she walked into the entrance way. It smelled really good in here. Usually, it smelled like - like just Ray, not that that was a bad smell. It just smelled extra good tonight. She smelled food and something kinda' perfumey. She wasn't any scent expert. All she knew was that overall, it smelled nice. Jen self-consciously smoothed out the side of her pink dress. Ugh, she was wearing a dress. She usually didn't like dresses because they felt too girly and open. It was too breezy sometimes, but tonight, she felt like dressing up just a little bit. It was a date, right? She and Ray had been dating for a while now, but it had been a long time since they'd had a "date" date or whatever it's called. Snuggling on his couch watching movies was great, but it didn't count.

Jen turned when Ray cleared his throat. "You look nice tonight. I can't wait to see what you look like beneath that nice outfit." She raised an eyebrow and her smile stretched even wider. What'd he just say? Rawr. A warm cloud spread out across her abdomen and wiggled its way down her legs. They'd been together three years... Three great years with ups and downs and ups... and downs. And yet, they'd never done it. Done it. No hanky panky, no rolling in the hay, no pop goes the weasel. It was so weird, but Jen had been okay with it. Heck, even now she was okay with it, but she always wondered when they would take that step. There was more to a relationship than sex, but that didn't stop Jen from wondering. God, they'd have great sex. Yeah, she wasn't ashamed of thinking about it, but when it came to that, she got a little scared. That schoolgirl feeling would come back and make her feel nervous and giddy and dumbstruck. She looked at Ray's face carefully, trying to read his mind. What did he have planned tonight? Jen was antsy, wanting to know so bad.

"I mean..." Jen laughed when he put his face in his hands and walked toward her. It was so cute when Ray stumbled like that. He was like a little boy and he made her feel like a little girl. It was strange, but it was cute and it made Jen feel wonderful. "This is what I mean." He kissed her and she closed her eyes, kissing him back. She wrapped her arms lazily around his neck. His mouth felt so good against hers. They seemed to fit together as they pressed against each other softly. It was hard to concentrate. His mouth left hers and slid down to her neck. The touch of his lips made her skin tingle and her her abdomen tighten. It drove her crazy. The sensitive skin of her neck was on fire, followed by her exposed shoulders. He made a mindblowing trail of kisses across her skin and she lightly squeezed her hands against the back of his neck and head. His hands had settled on her waist. They were warm through the fabric. Actually, they seemed to burn through the fabric, making her feel naked, so deliciously naked. If only...

"If you know what I mean." Her eyes still closed, she let out a little breathy laugh. Oh, she knew what he meant. Oh boy, did she know. She wanted it. She let out a little "hm" sound that vibrated in her throat. "A little dessert," her fingers caressed his neck and trailed down his arm, "after dinner, Tiger." She placed her hands on either side of his face and brought it up so that she could look into his eyes. She winked playfully with a lopsided smile. "Dinner first, Romeo." Why? Hell, they could scramble into a room right now and get started, clothes off, into the bed, etc, etc... But no. That wouldn't feel right. Would it? Maybe it would. What was she doing? Was she scared? No. Yeah? Maybe. But it wouldn't be right to just rush it. She almost laughed at that. Waiting three years was not rushing it. The inner-romantic in her, however, wanted to take it slow tonight. As cliche as it sounded, she wanted it to be, well, special.

Jen kissed him quickly on the lips and slid her hand into his, squeezing it lovingly.

[Lets_Eat_Paste]

Rafael Lamaroux

"A little dessert," her fingers caressed his neck and trailed down his arm, "after dinner, Tiger." She placed her hands on either side of his face and brought it up so that she could look into his eyes. She winked playfully with a lopsided smile. "Dinner first, Romeo."

Rafael couldn't help but find the irony of her statement. He really did have a desert in the refrigerator for after dinner. But he supposed that one could wait until after the desert Jennifer had in mind.

He smiled and led her to the dinning room. He pulled the chair out from under the table and allowed her to sit. He kissed her gently on the mouth and disappeared into the kitchen. He piled the delivery Chinese food high on both their plates, not sure if he should use his fingers to organise it the way he saw on the chefs on the Food Network do, or if he should just leave it as is in fear of making it look bad.

He set it gently before her. "Bon appetite, my dear," he said, settling himself into a chair opposite her. In truth, he never used this room. He almost always ate in the living room because it was made to be lived in and eating was part of living. Plus it had a TV in it. He didn't see the point in having a dining room until tonight.

"So, um... Dig in. I hope you like it..."

Rafael had had girlfriends before, he'd had dates, but never had he made a big show of a night in. Never had he wanted to make something like this extra special, and if he had, it had been too long ago to recall what he did right or wrong. It would explain why he was so nervous and unsure.

[Deleted]

Jennifer Hennings

The warmth of his hand, followed by his smile was more than enough to make her day. Her heart was still beating irregularly from the little preview Ray gave for what was to come after dinner. There was no question. It was going to happen tonight. It was going to happen... tonight. She had to restrain herself from jumping on him. It wasn't out of "lady-like ettiquette" or anything like that. Hell, Jen was far from being a proper "lady" and that was okay with her. Being a lady had never been in Jen's agenda.

Jen followed Ray into the dining room, which was set up really nicely, especially by Ray's standards. He pulled out her chair and she beamed up at him before she took her seat. Jen might not have been a lady, but Ray was being a class A gentleman. This was nice. This was really nice. She lifted her head as he kissed her sweetly and then he went into the kitchen. The anticipation was maddening. She was so excited and so Godd*mn giddy, it was crazy. She was happy she was sitting down. It was easier to hide the fact that she was so excited. Her legs shook up and down in her excitement and she tried to keep her hands still in her lap. It was mostly, sort of working.

Jen immediately brightened when Ray was back. "Bon appetite, my dear," Wow, Ray really was going all out. The food smelled fantastic and it looked just as, if not more, amazing. What was this? Chinese food?... Jen smiled when Ray set the dish down in front of her. She was trying not to laugh. Ray... The upside of knowing someone for three years was that you practically knew everything about them... Like the fact that Ray wasn't a fantastic cook. He didn't even like cooking, did he? So this plate of food... It was a good bet that Ray hadn't slaved over this meal in the kitchen. But that was all right with Jen. It didn't matter that he didn't cook this. Other girlfriends might have felt gipped, but not Jen. The fact that he set this whole night up was way more than enough for her. She was so, explosively happy right now.

"So, um... Dig in. I hope you like it..."

Jen smiled at him across the table and heartily picked up her silverware and dug in. Well, it was a bit toned down from "digging in." Jen wasn't a lady, but she was a dirty animal. She had manners. So, she more like, just ate her food like a normal person. The fact that she was analyzing her eating style was evidence of how nervous she was. Yeah, she was happy. Heck yeah, she was excited. But she was also anxious and nervous. It felt like "first date" kind of stuff, this whole uncertainty thing. Whatever, just go with the flow, Jen.

The food was really good, which further proved to her that Ray hadn't made it. "Mmm, this is really good, Ray. You find a way to surprise me everyday," she said with a smile before putting another forkful of food in her mouth. She swallowed her food. "I'll have to think of a way to thank you for this." She winked and gave a little laugh.

[Lets_Eat_Paste]

Rafael Lamaroux

Jen took a bite and Rafael took a breath. He wanted this night to be perfect, down to the last noodle.

"Mmm, this is really good, Ray. You find a way to surprise me everyday," Jen said, making the smile on Rafael's lips curl up to his ears. "I'll have to think of a way to thank you for this."

"I can think of a few ways..." Rafael couldn't stop himself from saying, his voice low, a sultry contrast to the salty food. "But!" he said, chipper and happy. "Tonight is on me. So don't worry about that. Relationships aren't about repayment anyway." That was possibly the deepest thing he had said all week.

Rafael hardly touched his meal. He wasn't hungry. He watched Jennifer eat. Usually, mastication and the secretion of saliva to break down foods grossed him out. But he could watch this woman eat until she was full up, and some more. She was so beautiful, the way her jaw made baby circles as she groud about the food in her mouth.

"I wanted to thank you again for meeting my family with me. I know they can be a little... overwhelming." It was true. His family was a little hodge-podge of people. Things were missing with them, but somehow, they all completed each other, and now, with Jen in the picture, things looked like an even more beautiful mess.