Umeda found it hard to believe that a guy he had never met before was going to come to his penthouse just to get his hands on pudding. Was it really that hard to find a super market? Or even a convenience store.
He glanced into his fridge. Sure enough, next to a bottle of Grey Goose and shoved behind a container of yesterday's take-out left overs was a case of butterscotch pudding. He didn't eat the stuff too often, but when he had gone shopping the other day the urge to buy some came up on him so fast that if he was a woman he would have thought himself to be having pregnant cravings.
Closing the fridge he walked out of the kitchen and into his living room. Sitting down he reached for his pack of cigarettes that were sitting on the table. Taking one out he lit it and took a drag.
Lloyd had to admit, this was significantly easier than going to the grocery store to pick up some pudding or digging around town for someplace that made something decent. Back home he had just sent an assistant to do the work for him; he didn't really like shopping for food, it took too much time away from work. This was sort of like a shortcut. There was already pudding here, and he could probably coax the man into telling him where it came from, if he liked it
( ... )
Hearing the knock on his door, Umeda got up from the couch and went to answer it. He wore a loose black shirt that ties up at the neck, but he left it untied and a pair of black jeans. When at home he usually walked about bare foot, seeing that slippers bothered him and Umeda didn't like having anyone walk around wearing shoes on his hardwood flooring.
His cigarette was resting between his lips as he had one hand in his pocket and opened the door with the other. The man standing in his front porch didn't look like someone who would come to a stranger's house just for pudding. A smirk touched the corner of his lips as he looked up at the slightly taller man. "You've got a heck of a thing for pudding, don't you?"
Lloyd shrugged easily, ignoring the other man's loose attire and his cigarette; he had quit smoking years ago, and it was something he tried very hard not to pick up. "It's my way of being lazy," he said. "Back home I'd send my assistant out for it, but she's not here, and I hate shopping. Why go through all the trouble searching for it myself if you have some readily available?"
He tilted his head a little and studied the other man critically. He didn't seem particularly dangerous to Lloyd, who was used to military men and thugs in uniform, as well as the other kind, the snakes in pretty clothing. Umeda didn't fit into either of those categories; Lloyd wasn't sure what to think of him just yet. "So are you going to let me in so we can talk terms, or are you going to leave me here standing in the hall?"
"By all means, come in," Umeda said, stepping aside, "Honestly, I think I'm just going to let you have the pudding."
Umeda walked into the kitchen, and over to the sink. He took the cigarette butt form between his lips, turned on the faucet and stuck the smoldering remains under the running water. He then tossed it into the garbage. Just because he smoked didn't mean he just left butts all over his apartment.
"Here," Umeda moved to his fridge, opened the door and took out the container of pudding and the bottle of Grey Goose. The container wasn't one of those little singles with the Jello brand name printed on the lid. It held about five cups of pudding, and Umeda snapped off the lid, grabbed a spoon from a drawer, stuck the spoon in the pudding and set it on the counter. "Knock yourself out." The doctor then turn and grabbed a small glass from a cupboard and poured himself a glass of the vodka.
Lloyd stuck a generous helping of the pudding in his mouth and almost sighed; it was soooooo good, as good as the kind he had Cecile special order at home. Laughing a little in delight, he leaned on the counter and began eating thoughtfully, taking in the sights, the obvious luxury of the penthouse.
"So I'm curious, Umeda," he said casually, pulling the spoon out of his mouth to gesture dramatically to the room around him. "What it is that you do that you could afford such a place as this."
Umeda watched Lloyd for a moment then took a sip of his vodka. "I'm a doctor," he said with a shrug, "a well paid doctor. I bought this place a few years ago when the money kinda went to my head, along with my car. But I no longer tend to flaunt it as much."
Watching Lloyd enjoy the pudding, Umeda grabbed a second spoon and stole a small scoop of the pudding and ate it. "I think I like the vanilla better," he said off handedly.
Lloyd laughed a little. "I think that must be a common phenomenon," he said. "Plenty of people I went through school with, when we got out and had high-paying jobs, blew it all on cars, houses, and women. Blowing your grant money and then not producing results? Quite a bad idea."
"Bread pudding is better," Lloyd snorted at Umeda's comment. "Thicker, and with better texture and richness of flavor. Unless the vanilla comes from real vanilla beans and not some of that extract foolishness."
"Well I'm lucky to be in a position where I am seeing results. I'm also not a moron with it comes to handling money," Umeda took another sip of his drink then set the glass down on the counter.
"Well, if I had know that a pudding connoisseur would be stopping by at least a day in advanced I would have had better pudding to offer," Umeda said, taking another spoonful of the pudding. "But I do agree that it has to be real vanilla. If I'm paying that much money for it had better be damned good."
"Oh? What do you practice, specifically?" He gave a wicked smile as he added: "Everybody is a moron about something; money could be the least of it, when you consider what other sorts of temptations there are in life."
"Had I known that there was going to be such a problem finding pudding in this city, I would have arranged things beforehand," he sighed, toying moodily with the spoon. "Spanner neglected to mention things like that, and I miscalculated when I didn't ask him for more clarifications before coming." He gestured with the spoon at the pudding tub. "But this is quite good; mind telling me where it came from?"
"I'm a surgeon, as well as doubling as a family doctor when I can," Umeda said, "but I will admit to being a slave to a few temptations. But so far they haven't gotten me in too much trouble." Umeda failed to mention his knack for pissing off a few people by flirting with their boyfriends, but that was none of Lloyd's business.
"There's a market not too far from here. They have a rather impressive wive selection as well as good pudding. Their bakery probably has a rather good bread pudding."
"A surgeon?" he raised an eyebrow. "You're rather young to have graduated medical school already, aren't you?" Then again, he should be no stranger to youthful geniuses, considering his own impressive record in school and out of it. But it's not like he was just going to admit to extensive military contracts back in Britain.
"I'll have to look into that, as soon as my car gets shipped here and I don't have to take a cab or walk everywhere."
"I sort of breezed through medical school. My family has that traditional Japanese feel to it, as in I started school early and finished even earlier," as he talked, Umeda rinsed his spoon off in the sink and then dropped it into the dish washer.
"Enjoying your pudding?" he asked as he hoisted himself up to sit on the counter. "We're you actually expecting to have to do something in return for it?"
Lloyd had to smile a little at that. "I was the abnormality; I graduated early from everything, contrary to all expectations and belief, which was unusual given that it was British boarding school and things of that nature weren't typically allowed."
"Of course I was," he said breezily. "You pay for what you get; equal action and reaction and all of that. You're giving me pudding, so you'd have been well within your right to ask something in return. I'm not so naive as all that to think that I'd get away with something free."
"I was debating asking for something a little racy in return, but I think I'm just enjoying talking to someone who doesn't either grate my nerves or is just trying to get in my pants," Umeda said with a shrug, "If they're not irritating the hell out of me or looking to get laid, they're whining about something. This is a refreshing change."
He picked up his glass and took another sip. "Care for a drink?"
Lloyd couldn't help it; he burst out laughing, burying his face into the crook of one arm as he pressed his hand to his stomach aching from the force of it, shoulders shaking with mirth. "Are you serious?" he chuckled when he had calmed down a little, taking off his glasses to wipe at his eyes. "You were going to solicit me? That's a new one. You have a very high opinion of yourself, Umeda, and your pudding, or else a very poor opinion of me. But it's not every day I get to hold intelligent conversation either, so I think I'll let it pass."
"Um..." He considered this for a moment, the safety of drinking with someone who had been willing to demand sex for pudding. Well...Lloyd had never quite grasped all the complications of the human heart and sex...and Umeda had just admitted (or almost admitted) that he had passed on the idea of asking for it, so he was probably safe. "Yeah, sure, why not?"
He glanced into his fridge. Sure enough, next to a bottle of Grey Goose and shoved behind a container of yesterday's take-out left overs was a case of butterscotch pudding. He didn't eat the stuff too often, but when he had gone shopping the other day the urge to buy some came up on him so fast that if he was a woman he would have thought himself to be having pregnant cravings.
Closing the fridge he walked out of the kitchen and into his living room. Sitting down he reached for his pack of cigarettes that were sitting on the table. Taking one out he lit it and took a drag.
Reply
Reply
His cigarette was resting between his lips as he had one hand in his pocket and opened the door with the other. The man standing in his front porch didn't look like someone who would come to a stranger's house just for pudding. A smirk touched the corner of his lips as he looked up at the slightly taller man. "You've got a heck of a thing for pudding, don't you?"
Reply
He tilted his head a little and studied the other man critically. He didn't seem particularly dangerous to Lloyd, who was used to military men and thugs in uniform, as well as the other kind, the snakes in pretty clothing. Umeda didn't fit into either of those categories; Lloyd wasn't sure what to think of him just yet. "So are you going to let me in so we can talk terms, or are you going to leave me here standing in the hall?"
Reply
Umeda walked into the kitchen, and over to the sink. He took the cigarette butt form between his lips, turned on the faucet and stuck the smoldering remains under the running water. He then tossed it into the garbage. Just because he smoked didn't mean he just left butts all over his apartment.
"Here," Umeda moved to his fridge, opened the door and took out the container of pudding and the bottle of Grey Goose. The container wasn't one of those little singles with the Jello brand name printed on the lid. It held about five cups of pudding, and Umeda snapped off the lid, grabbed a spoon from a drawer, stuck the spoon in the pudding and set it on the counter. "Knock yourself out." The doctor then turn and grabbed a small glass from a cupboard and poured himself a glass of the vodka.
Reply
"So I'm curious, Umeda," he said casually, pulling the spoon out of his mouth to gesture dramatically to the room around him. "What it is that you do that you could afford such a place as this."
Reply
Watching Lloyd enjoy the pudding, Umeda grabbed a second spoon and stole a small scoop of the pudding and ate it. "I think I like the vanilla better," he said off handedly.
Reply
"Bread pudding is better," Lloyd snorted at Umeda's comment. "Thicker, and with better texture and richness of flavor. Unless the vanilla comes from real vanilla beans and not some of that extract foolishness."
Reply
"Well, if I had know that a pudding connoisseur would be stopping by at least a day in advanced I would have had better pudding to offer," Umeda said, taking another spoonful of the pudding. "But I do agree that it has to be real vanilla. If I'm paying that much money for it had better be damned good."
Reply
"Had I known that there was going to be such a problem finding pudding in this city, I would have arranged things beforehand," he sighed, toying moodily with the spoon. "Spanner neglected to mention things like that, and I miscalculated when I didn't ask him for more clarifications before coming." He gestured with the spoon at the pudding tub. "But this is quite good; mind telling me where it came from?"
Reply
"There's a market not too far from here. They have a rather impressive wive selection as well as good pudding. Their bakery probably has a rather good bread pudding."
Reply
"I'll have to look into that, as soon as my car gets shipped here and I don't have to take a cab or walk everywhere."
Reply
"Enjoying your pudding?" he asked as he hoisted himself up to sit on the counter. "We're you actually expecting to have to do something in return for it?"
Reply
"Of course I was," he said breezily. "You pay for what you get; equal action and reaction and all of that. You're giving me pudding, so you'd have been well within your right to ask something in return. I'm not so naive as all that to think that I'd get away with something free."
Reply
He picked up his glass and took another sip. "Care for a drink?"
Reply
"Um..." He considered this for a moment, the safety of drinking with someone who had been willing to demand sex for pudding. Well...Lloyd had never quite grasped all the complications of the human heart and sex...and Umeda had just admitted (or almost admitted) that he had passed on the idea of asking for it, so he was probably safe. "Yeah, sure, why not?"
Reply
Leave a comment