The Little Teashop in Tokyo by Julie Caplin Page 0,85
his hand sliding up the inside of her wrist to let her know he was there. For some reason, he couldn’t stop touching her or wanting to be near enough to smell that fresh apple scent. This is what happened, he told himself sternly, when you let yourself be led by less intelligent parts of your body.
***
Thankfully although the izakaya was buzzing when they arrived they managed to snag two seats opposite each other on the end of a crowded bench. He could finally stop thinking indecent thoughts about unpeeling Fiona out of the jumpsuit, the buttons of which were extremely tempting, as was the hint of blue lace underneath it.
‘I like it here,’ said Fiona, taking a sip of the Sapporo he’d fought his way through the bar to buy. The place was certainly lively and exactly what the doctor ordered. ‘Reminds me of a cross between a Wagamama and a London pub.’
Gabe took a long cooling slug of the cold beer and it hit the spot. He let out a satisfied sigh and Fiona grinned at him.
‘Difficult afternoon?’ she asked.
For a moment he stared at her, impressed by her intuition.
‘How did you guess?’
‘You’re all frowny. This afternoon when we were at the lookout spot at the pagoda, you seemed so much lighter.’
‘Just boring conversations on the phone with unenlightened people who have no artistic vision.’
She gave him a sympathetic smile. ‘I guess when they’re paying, they get to call the shots.’
‘Yes, but why pay for the best and not listen to advice? Pay for monkeys, get monkeys. Everyone’s so goddamned entitled these days.’
‘At least they’re paying you and you have work. I’m hoping I might get some work as a result of the exhibition but it’s a long shot. I’ll still be unknown.’
‘Basically, “Gabe stop moaning, you don’t know you’re born”.’
Fiona slapped a hand over her mouth and he laughed at her horror-struck face.
‘I didn’t mean that at all.’
‘I know,’ he said, ‘I was teasing but you …’ He shook his head. ‘You do have a point. I should suck it up.’
She dragged a fingertip through the condensation on her glass focusing all her attention on the golden liquid.
‘You have a delightful way of making me reassess things. Making me realise what a dick I am sometimes.’
‘I don’t mean to,’ she said with widened eyes.
He laughed again. ‘I know, that makes it doubly refreshing.’
‘You keep using those words,’ she said, frowning and sticking her chin up in that familiar pose, ‘refreshing, breath of fresh air … as if I’m some country bumpkin.’
‘Sorry. I don’t mean it like that. You have an amazing habit of making me look at things differently. In a good way. No one’s challenged me in a long time.’ He shot her a rueful smile. ‘I’ve been like a spoiled brat … a bit too used to getting my own way all the time. Or being able to throw my weight around.’ Both he and the publicist this afternoon had known that if he really wanted to get the actor to the zoo he could have won that battle but he hadn’t cared enough one way or another to really push for it.
‘I’ll take that.’ She gave him a sunny smile, as usual taking his words at face value. He was loathe to say it out loud again but she was so easy to be with, uncomplicated and honest.
‘What do you fancy eating?’ He’d picked up a couple of English menus from the bar.
They debated the pros and cons of varying dishes as it was tapas and they’d be sharing.
‘That sounds lovely and I know what it is,’ said Fiona pointing to the teriyaki beef. ‘And I’ve got to have the tempura-battered prawns. The ones in Tokyo were so amazing.’
It was nice to be with someone who was enthusiastic about food and wanted to try new things. Japanese food had stopped being a novelty a long time ago but he would always remember his first taste of crisp tempura batter and the sensation of it melting on his tongue, and now he’d always remember taking Fiona to the same place.
‘And I’m tempted by the yakitori skewers of chicken, even though I have no idea what yakitori is or what yuzu mayonnaise will taste like.’
‘Yakitori is a sweet, salty sauce, with soy sauce, sugar, ginger and mirin, which is a tangy rice wine. It’s absolutely delicious.’
‘I’m sold. And yuzu?’
‘Yuzu is a citrus fruit. The flavour’s unique. Some say a cross between a grapefruit and a lime.’