Chapter 10: CLUB KAT

"Yes. I paid online." Lee responded. He gave his name and she slid two tickets to them. Tory retrieved them and then led them down a short flight of stairs. The music was already loud before they had even entered the room and the beat was thumping! She liked it already.

The club was popular, that was evident. Even at barely six thirty there were a lot of people on the dance floor. It was a mix of all kinds of people; black, Latin, whites and there was no specific age. She saw younger college age men and woman just as she saw more mature couples. The one constant is that they loved moving their bodies wildly to the Reggaeton beat. She led him to a small round table that wouldn't be large enough to hold her elbow.

He sat down and briefly placed his hands on both sides of the round table before leaning towards her and speaking over the loud music. "Do you want a drink?"

She didn't drink much since she didn't do much socializing and drinking alone was no fun.

"A wine cooler would be nice."

"Do you like sweet wine?"

"Yeah. I guess I'm not a wine connoisseur or anything. But I would like something sweet and fruity." He nodded. "Is there a waitress or just a bartender?"

"Both." She looked around and waved a waitress over. "One is heading our way now."

"I'm going to order you something good. Trust me." The waitress was young and cute wearing an extra short tube skirt and a tan that could not be natural.

"Would you like to order drinks? Tapas are complimentary with a drink order." She had an accent...not quite like Lee who only had an accent when speaking Portuguese, and Tory could sense a different dialect.

"Sangria for the lady and cerveja for me."

"Cerveja? Você é Português?"

"Portuguese, yes."

"Ahh." She gave him a lingering look and Tory crossed her feet under the table in annoyance. No this woman was not flirting with her date right in front of her?! The waitress smiled at Lee. "Any particular brand of beer?"

"Do you have Super Bock?"

"But of course." She paused and when no one responded she spoke in a rush. "I'll be right back with your drinks and two complimentary tapas." Tory hid a smirk. Lee would not be giving that one any secret looks.

"Do you care if I move my chair next to yours? I feel like I'm on the other side of the world."

"The other side of the world with this little table? Our knees are practically touching."

He moved his leg back and forth against her knee. "I know. But more of us can touch if I'm sitting next to you."

Again she was at a loss for words. "That would be nice." He brought his chair around so that they both were facing the dancers and stage where the band would later appear. When he was settled he put his arm around the back of her chair and spoke next to her ear. "This is better. Now I can talk to you without screaming."

Chills traveled up her body as the slight puffs of air from his mouth touched her skin, and not to mention the way the sound of his low voice reverberated through her body. She nodded, knowing that he was close enough that he would feel even her slightest tremble. Feeling adventurous, she suddenly turned and placed her lips next to his ear to whisper.

"This is much nicer than sitting across from each other. Good idea." She enjoyed feeling his hard body right next to hers. His arm draped over her chair allowed his hand to rest lightly against her shoulder and she decided that she loved touching and being touched by him.

Lee's body was moving to the beat of the music. She could tell that he longed to be out on the floor dancing. Her body began to sway unconsciously along with his.

He put his hand on her arm and leaned in to whisper to her again. "I am going to teach you how to dance the way we do back home."

"Oh...kay." Was her nervous response.

"Don't be afraid. Trust me."

The waitress returned then when they were whispering to each other. She slid two plates onto the table.

"I trust you." Tory whispered back.

"Good, because I want you to have fun."

"Um..." The waitress spoke. "It's happy hour. Your beer is on the international menu so it doesn't normally count for one dollar but I can hook you up." She winked at him. He was smiling as he turned his gaze to the waitress.

"Thank you. One dollar beer and free tapas? Great deal, isn't it, bela?"

"It is." She snuggled against him and smirked at the waitress. "We'll definitely have to come back.

"The waitress gave her a confused look. It said, 'here I am with my tiny waistline and I'm available'...well that's what Tory read into her look.

"Sorry," the waitress spoke in a clipped tone. "Your drink wasn't on special. That will be six dollars please."

Lee reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He thumbed through several bills and when he reached the last; a ten, he gave it to her. "Can you bring us two glasses of ice water? We're about to work up a big sweat. And keep the change please." She took the money and left.

"Mmm, smells good. What is it?" He asked.

"Um...mine is a plate of potato chips. Yours is wontons and a dipping sauce."

Lee reached for one of her chips and placed it in his mouth. His brow went up. "No, not just potato chips; HOMEMADE potato chips. This place is known for their handmade chips deep fried in duck butter and there should be a shaving of white truffles over it."

She gave him an openmouthed look. "Computer research, or are you just that good?"

He chuckled. "I research pretty much everything. Try it. It's good."

She put a potato chip in her mouth. "Mmm." She chewed, savoring the taste. It was warm from the fryer, crispy yet moist and the duck oil added a hint of flavor that was hard to place. And white truffles? "This is free?"

"Yep." He said after chewing another chip. "The white truffle adds a hint of salt."

"Is that the white truffle? I wasn't sure. Wow, that's good."

He drank some of his beer and she picked up her glass of sangria and took a short drink. Then she took a longer one.

He gave her a steady, expectant look. "Do you like it?"

"It's good. Not too strong, and fruity...just what I wanted." He nodded.

"Shall we try the wontons...um, when I did the research I read that these are probably deep fried mushroom ravioli and the sauce is a mayonnaise aioli."

She chuckled. "That sounds a lot more appetizing then potato chips and wontons." The waitress returned with their ice water. She placed it on the table and disappeared without a word. They drank, and munched and just when her cheeks began to feel flushed from the liquor and her feet kept tapping to the rhythm of the music, Lee stood and took of his jacket, placing it neatly behind his chair.

She was so busy looking at the outline of his muscles through the shortsleeved shirt and the definition of his chest muscles that she didn't immediately notice that his hand was held out to her.