1 comments/  39830 views/  6 favorites

Vietnamese Take-Out

By: moreau



"Yes, well, I'm actually calling to see how you'd like a little Vietnamese takeout." Trinh thought she had found a clever way to invite herself over to Peter's to prepare a meal for him. She was very impressed with his Thai cooking skill and wanted to reciprocate, but more than that, she just wanted to see him again...big time.

"To be honest, I'd rather take out a little Vietnamese."

"Do you have a little Vietnamese in mind?" Trinh giggled.

"Yes, I have a spicy little dish in mind."

"Is it Pho Ga?"

"Nope."

"Cha gio?"

"That isn't it either."

"Canh chua tom?"

"Sorry. What I have in mind is a lot hotter than that."

Trinh shifted from sitting cross-legged to lying on her back in her bed. She was calling from her room at her parents' San Jose home. While she enjoyed teasing Peter, she felt it would be wonderful is he came right out and said he wanted her. A little more bait for Peter, one more comment from her, and he'd grab the chance. She knew him that way.

"Like, those are some pretty spicy dishes. What could be hotter?" Trinh asked.

"The spicy dish I want is called Trinh Huynh."

"O-o-o-o-o-o-o-oooooo," Trinh laughed into the phone, but what she was thinking about was how she ended up being dessert at Peter's the last time they were together. He had used his tongue and mouth on her for half and hour, tasting her and savoring her like someone who really knew how to enjoy his dessert. Over and over again, helping after helping, Peter had licked her "plate" clean, making circles with his tireless tongue, lapping up every drop. And after Peter was done with his dessert, Trinh had sampled his Italian taste treat and ended up with his special sauce...everywhere. Trinh pulled her pillow down and pressed it between her legs.

"Am I a dish now? I thought I was dessert."

"Yeah, you've just been promoted to the main course."

Trinh laughed but pressed her legs together and felt a dampness beginning. How was she going to wait until she saw him again?

"Okay, Trinh, I don't think we're talking about food here anymore, or are we?"

"Well, actually, Peter, I'd like to cook a Vietnamese meal for you. What do you say about Saturday at your place? Really casual."

"You mean, cook a meal, watch a movie and keep it simple?"

"Well, yeah, that sounds like fun."

"That would be perfect for a fall Saturday. Lucky for you I'm not scheduled at the hospital, just on call. The forecast is for rain, so I'll pick a movie and you'll bring the ingredients you need."

Trinh was smiling broadly. She was glad Peter couldn't see her grinning like that, or writhing on her bed with her pillow. She was so excited but she still wanted to play it cool. Maybe he'd rent "Gladiator," one of the few movies Trinh had seen in the theatre. Me, Peter, and Brad Pitt's ass. Trinh's imagination was racing out of control, but she was composed enough to play it off.

"I'm hoping my job doesn't need me on Saturday, but I'll call you if anything changes. I'd like to come over at 7. That will give me enough time to cook." If her job called her, she'd tell them her liver fell out rather than miss this date.

"Okay, 7 it is."

Saturday couldn't arrive fast enough as far as Trinh was concerned. Now, what to wear? Trinh's closet, running almost the width of her room, was barely large enough to hold her wardrobe packed with cute junior's clothes she'd snagged on sale from almost every major department store. There was the temptation to put on her favorite baby blue velour sweats, the ones that caused Peter to ravish her on their first date, but no self-respecting clothes horse like Trinh would ever wear the same outfit twice. She eyed her favorite club jeans, the ones that looked tight but slid off very easily. A little white thong under those would do the trick. Maybe she would be dancing around the kitchen, and Peter would spy the top of her thong peaking out, then she'd end up being the appetizer and the main course. "Omigod, what am I thinking?" she said aloud. She wasn't even at his place yet and she was getting herself wound up. Besides, Peter's roommates were going to be around this time, so they were going to need to behave. Dinner and a movie, no fooling around beyond that.

When Peter's doorbell rang at 6:30 pm, he was just stepping out of the shower. "Shit," Peter said, now tracking wet footprints across the carpeted bathroom floor. "What kind of idiot would carpet a bathroom?" he added, knowing full well that his roommates, the married couple who owned the townhouse, were responsible for carpeting everything. Peter padded downstairs in a terrycloth robe, toweling his head.

It was Trinh! "Good one," Peter said when he opened the door. "Well, I thought I'd see what you looked like if I arrive a little early," Trinh laughed back at him. He smiled at her, letting her know that she was successful in her revenge for when he arrived an hour early for their last date.

"Here, let me get those for you." Peter reached for the two full shopping bags Trinh was carrying, and she let him take them out of her hands. But what she really wanted was a hug, or something.

Peter didn't disappoint. Instead of taking the bags and walking them to the kitchen, he put them down and embraced Trinh. She thought he smelled great, just stepping out of the shower, and his robe opened enough for her to see his smooth, developed chest.

Peter's lips were still moist from the shower. When their mouths connected, she felt steam from his body. She was slow to let her tongue into Peter's mouth, determined to both tease him and keep a little distance at their first embrace.

But it was Peter who separated first. "I'll get you all wet, Trinh."

"Right, I don't want to get wet first thing."

"And it's talking like that'll get you in trouble first thing."

"What did I say?" Trinh looked at Peter innocently, but when the other meaning of her words occurred to her, she gave Peter's arm a playful slap. "O-o-o-o-o-o-o, I think I'm scared now. Maybe I should leave before the trouble and you can cook up all these foods yourself."

Peter reached for Trinh's arm and started pulling her towards the kitchen. "Nah, I was promised a little Vietnamese, and that's what I'm gonna have tonight."

"Hey, your roommates..." Trinh protested.

"Well, I'm sorry to say, they went out of town for the weekend...

"And you're telling me we're all alone?"

"No. There's another couple who'll be here tonight."

Trinh looked at Peter with disappointment. If his roommates were out of town, it was kinda mean that he went ahead and invited more people over without first asking her. "Who are they?" she asked.

"Michael and Glenn will be joining us after dinner. We'll have a fire and then it'll be a foursome."

This was sounding too kinky all of a sudden. "Who's Michael and Glenn?"

"Michael Douglas and Glenn Close, the stars of 'Fatal Attraction,' that's the movie I rented for us after dinner."

Trinh punched Peter as hard as she could. "You are so bad. But I guess if I'm gonna share my evening with another couple, they'd be interesting company." Trinh loved "Fatal Attraction" -- she wondered if Peter knew how much. That scene in the elevator! Trinh liked the idea of this foursome.

Peter brought over the bulging grocery bags, then excused himself to finish drying off. This left Trinh with some time to swing open the kitchen cabinets and get herself oriented to the cooking utensils. There was already a wok on the stove with some virgin olive oil, a garlic press, and a few other utensils Peter had anticipated that Trinh would use. "That's sweet," she said.

"What's sweet?" Peter had surprised Trinh. Damn, she forgot how athletic he was, how much like a cat he moved. He suddenly was there, smelling really great -- make a mental note -- what's that he's wearing that smells so fresh? -- and Trinh was talking to herself in his kitchen.

"How about some goi cuon?" Trinh had these already prepared. It would be good to start with an appetizer, and then they could take their time preparing the ingredients and cooking the main course together. "I love spring rolls!" Peter said. Trinh paused for a second. Did Peter know Vietnamese, too, she wondered.

Everything was going along perfectly. Peter and Trinh had finished the spring rolls, dipping each in fish sauce. Together they were chopping up ingredients when Peter's cell phone started playing an unfortunate melody.

"Uh-oh," Trinh said. "Hello," Peter turned away from Trinh while answering. "Isn't there someone on duty..." he continued. "No, I understand you're calling for a reason, I'll be there. When? Half an hour..." When Peter snapped his cell phone shut, his voice was suddenly all business.

"Car accident victim."

"I see."

"Once I'm done with the film, I'll come back. Do you want to go home?"

Trinh was disappointed but not ready to quit the date. "Oh no, I'm not letting you off the hook that fast. All we have to do is cook this up, so I'll be here."

"Stay outta trouble." Peter winked and suddenly, he was out the door, leaving Trinh to cover the chopped ingredients with Saran Wrap she found in the cupboard.

"Hmmmmmmm, while the cat's away, the mice will play." Or, when she thought better about it, "Curiosity killed the cat." Trinh looked up the staircase, the empty staircase leading to the empty bedrooms upstairs, in the empty house that was just abandoned by her dinner date. "Oh, to hell with it...I'll only go through his room."

Peter's bedroom door wasn't even closed, removing half the fun of sneaking inside. The blue blinking light indicated that Peter's computer was in sleep mode, but a good place to start for a snooping, curious girl. With a jiggle of the mouse, the screen grew bright. "Okay, C drive, where are those dirty pictures," Trinh said to the monitor. She didn't have to look far before she found an "adult pix" folder. "Aha, let's see what kind of perv you are, my Peter."

The names of the files told the story: "hot_couple, les_licking1, mmf, asian_bj." Trinh had a sudden feeling of remorse. These were his fantasies, perhaps, but he was entitled to them. Plus, she hadn't seen such pictures before, and maybe she'd think less of Peter if she saw what he had downloaded off the Internet. Her index finger hovered over the "asian_bj" file. What was that about curiosity and the cat?

It was then that she noticed the web cam staring out at her. She had done chat rooms with some guys, so she knew how much fun the little cams could be. And sure enough, there was Logitech Image Studio under "Programs," software that would wake up that web cam and create a movie. Should she open the software and see what happens? She doubled-clicked and a green light on the web cam illuminated. "Oh goody, let's have some fun."

When the program opened, there were already some video files represented by thumbnails on the screen. One showed a smiling, tanned Peter with a tropical background. Trinh double-clicked the thumbnail, and a movie, complete with sound, began on the screen. Peter did this Hawaiian "hang loose" gesture and ran into the surf; he was obviously somewhere tropical, maybe even in Hawaii. He came out of the surf, water dripping off his dancer's physique, then plopped down on a beach towel. The movie had ended after two minutes. "Hey, this was getting good," Trinh complained. Trinh looked at the next thumbnail, Peter on the towel, and double-clicked it.

Peter wasn't asleep on the towel but propped up on his elbows. But he did the most amazing thing. Peter reached down to his swim trunks and began to wriggle them off. Who was filming him? It didn't matter as Trinh's eyes were fixed on the screen. The white skin of Peter's butt sharply contrasted with his very tanned back, almost as bronzed as Trinh's skin after a few sessions in the sun. Peter lifted his hips and began to push his trunks down further but the movie ended.

"This film better have a happy ending," Trinh complained. The next thumbnail on the menu showed water and a distant island, and Trinh hoped that there was something on the beach that might come into view once the movie began. She was right.

As the panoramic view slowed panned downward to the brilliant white sand, the camera came to focus on Peter's upper body, still propped up on his elbows. The white sand clung to the backs of his wet arms. In fact, he was wet all over. After pausing for a little on Peter's smiling face in profile, smiling as he looked out towards the surf, the camera pulled back gradually to reveal Peter's completely naked body. His dimpled butt would have made Brad Pitt jealous. "Damn," Trinh said aloud. Peter began to bend his leg facing the camera, lifting a little angle in his hip. Was that his thing she was beginning to see come into the light? Before Trinh could get a good look, the short movie ended. Trinh clicked the other thumbnails on the menu, but there was no continuation. Now what? It was just getting good. She replayed the movie five times.

All of a sudden, Trinh had a divine inspiration. If Peter could make a teasing film of his hot body, she could too. Trinh clicked the "Record a video button," and suddenly she saw herself on the monitor, the web cam recording her every move. She stopped the recording to adjust the settings. "Now, what I want to do should take about three minutes."

Not that Trinh Huynh would ever participate in a booty shake or thong dance night at her favorite college club -- they had them going on all the time! -- but there were a lot of boring nights at her parents' home when, with nothing better to do, Trinh would put on her favorite booty shake hip hop tunes and, well, strip. She kicked off her tennis shoes and began to cue up mentally one of her favorite "all the way" songs, "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot.

Trinh clicked the "Record" button and looked at the monitor, suddenly smiling a secret "I look pretty cute look," then began to gyrate her hips. She pulled her t-shirt halfway up her chest, and as she slowly spun around, she unsnapped her pants and pulled them down, but only enough to expose her thong riding over her hip. Trinh danced around with her pants undone and her shirt pulled up, exposing her yummy, flat belly and those alluring visible strings to her thong. She then crossed her arms and slowly removed her t-shirt, continuing with her body waves after tossing her shirt on the floor.

Now, to bring up the heat even more. Trinh shoved her pants down, way lower, and she put her hands on her thighs and began to thrust out her own tight, dimpled butt accented by her white thong. She bounced her ass to the song playing in her head, angled perfectly to the cam to catch all the best jiggling. This was a very hip thing to do, something she'd never do at her club. Well, that really wasn't true, she thought. She had done it, but not with her pants pushed down below her ass. It was just dancing, after all, and as long as the clothes stayed on, it was her duty to shake her booty.

As Trinh continued playing "Baby Got Back" in her mind, she reached behind and removed her bra, first keeping her hands covering her breasts in modesty. When she finally removed her bra and dropped her hands, she pushed her chest forward, her firm breasts perfectly suspended over her toned mid-section. Trinh reached up and squeezed her breasts, staring defiantly into the web cam, then smiling as if to say, "Look, how very naughty I am."

On automatic pilot, Trinh continued her dance, sliding her dance pants down and stepping out of them so quickly so as not to even lose the beat. Trinh gyrated her hips in a figure eight, another very hip move she had practiced for many hours, now being recorded for performance for the very first time. Trinh lost herself, not even sure when the web cam stopped filming her erotic striptease.

Trinh collected her clothes and redressed herself, not even checking the results of her web cam solo. "He can say whatever he wants," Trinh reminded herself, "but that was one of my best performances." She viewed the thumbnail, showing her smiling coyly at the web cam, now joining Peter's tropical vacation thumbnails. This would be an interesting surprise for Peter later, she thought, or if he didn't return, he could eat his heart out watching her dance, knowing that he missed a lot of fun by ditching her.

Like a curious cat, Trinh pawed her way through Peter's things. She opened his closet door and took out one of his business shirts. It smelled just like him! Trinh put the shirt on, way too big for her. Maybe she'd sneak the shirt out of his house -- what a souvenir! At the back of Peter's closet, Trinh couldn't resist a shelf of photo albums, one of them hidden behind the others and very fancy. She pulled that one.

Inside the album were wedding pictures, and worst of all, the groom was Peter! Trinh took the album out of the closet and turned out Peter's desk lamp. Maybe it wasn't him. Sure enough, under the blinding light of a 50-watt halogen bulb, there was Peter, a much younger Peter, posing in an idiotic blue tuxedo. The bride, a girl who looked quite a bit older, was standing with a little boy. Was it Peter's??? What the fuck is this about???? Is Peter one of those crazy guys who has a wife in each coast, neither one knowing about the other?? Trinh felt weak in the knees. And a freakin' kid!!!!?????

Maybe it was some consolation, but the pictures in the album showed a lot of people who were wearing very reserved smiles. Some may have been frowning a bit. People sitting around tables, red eyes glowing back at the camera, strange relations to Trinh but Peter's intimate and closest family. Well, curiosity had killed the cat. Now she understood what the phrase meant, not just some cutesie folk saying. Trinh would have to confront Peter with knowledge, or would he just become angry with her sneaking around? Well, if this is what it took to find out the truth. Trinh was suddenly very confused. She replaced the album as best as she could, then returned downstairs. Peter's bedroom had suddenly become a chamber of horrors for her.

When Peter returned home, the place was quiet, too quiet, and Trinh was lying on her side on the couch. The energy didn't feel right. "Honey, I'm home...we saved a life tonight...what's for dinner?" Peter was joking around but Trinh barely stirred. Maybe she was cold.

Peter opened the grate of the fireplace, struck a long match and lit the newspaper under the kindling and logs he had painstakingly arranged for a romantic fire. Trinh seemed to be sitting up now, rubbing her eyes with her hands. Yes, he'd been gone for two hours, but for some reason Peter thought Trinh would be dancing around the house like that girl in "Flashdance." Well, one cute thing -- Trinh was wearing one of his shirts. That meant she had been to his closet, and in his closet, uh-oh. Oh-boy. Yep, there were things in his closet that needed explanation if she had found them.

The look on Trinh's face told the story. Peter wanted to explain the embarrassing truth to Trinh, the truth he neglected to tell her up to this point, but he wanted them to be doing something together. Maybe he could work in his confession during a light conversation over dinner.

"I'm going to heat up the wok," he said, "so you just tell me what to throw on when, and I'll be the Vietnamese cook tonight."

"I'll do it. You're not Vietnamese, y'know, just an Italian guy from New Jerk, I mean, New York." Trinh lifted the wok and let it bang down on the stove.

Peter got some garlic ready for the garlic press, ignoring her comment.

"This enough?"

"You don't want to stink too much, do you?" Trinh asked, then under her breath, "you already stink in my book."

Peter's plan to wait until dinner for his announcement was no longer possible. Sure, he deserved to be dissed, but at least she'd know the whole story so she could be mad at him for the right reason. "Trinh, there's something that I've been meaning to tell you..."


Vietnamese Take-Out



"You knock off Laci Peterson and her unborn baby?"

"Not funny. No."

"Gina gonna come over and call me your suckee fuckee girl again?"

Sometimes to throw off another person's anger, it's important to take a breath, take a break, and disrupt the flow of that anger. Peter took such a break, staring down at the floor, avoiding Trinh's gaze and the fury that was building in her. When he was ready to confess, he'd just do it. "Trinh, many years ago I was married."

"Oh, that all. I thought it was something important."

"I was only 20 years old. It was a bad idea, a mistake." Peter looked over at Trinh and saw storm clouds in her face. "We were only together four months. It was annulled."

"So you knock up some girl then ditch her?"

"Okay, you found the pictures. You weren't supposed to. How's about I get a chance to tell my side, then get as mad as you want?"

Trinh was waving a long Hinkel knife at Peter now. "Maybe she shoulda done the Loreena Bobbitt on you before you moved out West. Or does she even know where you are?"

Peter raised his voice and waved his arms. "Great, I've already cut my own heart out trying to get over this mistake, now you're going to shove another knife in me ten years later. Go ahead."

Trinh put the knife down, now crying. Every time she saw this guy, there was always so much drama. Or was it that just cared so much for him that she desperately wanted things to work out. But he had a kid! This was worse than him giving her crabs. No, cancel that, crabs would be worse than a kid. Oh shit, shit, shit!

"Loretta was a bit older. The child you saw was because some other guy's condom broke. He split. I don't know what I was thinking, maybe 'Here's a ready-made family.' It was kind of cute playing with the little boy at first, but soon after we were married, Loretta told me 'Peter, little Howie will always come first in my life, and you should always remember that.'

"Little Howie?"

"Loretta spoiled that kid rotten. I thought he'd bond to me, but Loretta was always handing him Barney dolls and toys, and when she wasn't loading him up with junk like that, there were endless shopping sprees at 'Gap for Kids.'"

"But four months."

"I was bankrupt in two months! We had $12,000 in debt and I was still in college. When I told Loretta that the spending had to stop, she stopped having sex with me. She said, 'I'll put out when you put your money where your mouth is.'"

"Holy cow!" Trinh was slowly beginning to feel sorry for Peter. "What did you do? Like, what happened?"

"I came home one day, and little Howie was sitting in a miniature, motorized red Ferrari in our apartment. When I asked how much it was, Loretta said it was $3,500, and that she insisted I get money for a house down payment so little Howie could have a proper driveway to ride his Ferrari up and down. She was nuts."

"Do you owe her alimony or anything?"

"No, she came from money, Daddy's spoiled little rich girl, but it was no problem for her to bankrupt me. I walked away with ruined credit, and little Howie got the red Ferrari."

Trinh's tears had stopped, drying now in streaks on her face. "But why didn't you say so sooner?" She wiped her eyes. "That wasn't honest of you."

Peter looked down. She had talked him into a corner from which he couldn't escape, a humiliating mistake that he had hidden in his closet. Trinh had waved a knife at him, berated him for being a human being with a past, for making an error in judgment that he had regretted for 10 years. Peter's shoulders sagged under the weight.

"Ten years ago, I realized there'd be a different path for me. I'm not the same person now. My family had a union card already reserved for me as an electrician in a family full of electricians. Loretta was the final dead-end I needed to walk into before I could make my escape. Haven't you ever made a mistake?

"No." Trinh smiled. It was a lie because she'd wasted her time on guys who led her into dead-ends just like Peter's. She thought better of her answer. "Yes. But yours was a bigger mistake than any of mine."

Peter sat down at the kitchen table, hands folded. He was looking into his hands, studying them, maybe reading the lines of his own palm for a clue to his destiny with Trinh, a wonderful girl, someone who might just walk out of his place, walk out of his life forever. He didn't say a thing.

If there was one thing that attracted Trinh to Peter, it was his confidence. But here was a new twist. He was sensitive enough to admit his mistakes. She had forced him to own up to his failed marriage 10 years earlier, like she had picked at a scab on a wound that never healed. And he didn't say a word about how she had sneaked into his things to discover his secret, never tried to blame Trinh for being a snoop. He didn't demand that Trinh forgive him or even that she accept him for his flaws. He just sat there, agonizing in the truth that his poor judgment 10 years ago had invaded the present to hurt him once again. Trinh suddenly felt bad that she had confronted Peter so directly. She also felt even more attracted to him seeing his vulnerable side, like seeing a gem for the first time with many radiant, complicated facets.

"Well, if we're gonna have company, we better get this meal going." Trinh said.

"Company? What company?"

"Michael and Glenn. I'd really like to eat before they get here. I especially don't want Glenn to get near the pots. You don't have a little bunny, do you?"

Peter looked back up at Trinh. She had let him out of a corner, one that he had painted himself into so many years ago. He didn't offer any apology to Trinh for concealing his past, and she didn't ask him to make one to her. True love means never having to say you're sorry.

It had been two hours since they enjoyed Trinh's goi cuon, so they both had healthy appetites, a good sign after their argument. Trinh spent no time preparing the com ga nuong xa ot, steaming the rice as she prepared the spicy lemon grass chicken. Peter opened a bottle of wine, a celebratory gesture now that their lives seemed to be running on the same track again. When they sat down to dinner, Peter proposed the toast.

"To a wonderful meal prepared by a wonderful girl."

Trinh looked at Peter, her eyes welling up slightly. She always felt so emotional around him, and the dramas that always unfolded around him. Would he ever see her as his one and only?

Peter loved the meal. When he had finished everything Trinh had set out, he asked her "Can you make more?" Trinh covered her mouth and laughed. "We don't want you to just sit there with a big belly all night."

"Oh, that's right. We're going to get some exercise by, um, moving over here to the, um, couch to watch a movie."

"Yeah," Trinh said, "the couch potato exercise routine. Can I work the remote to build up my arm muscles?"

After piling the dishes in the sink, Peter started washing them. Trinh joined him at the sink, lifting the dish towel to dry. "You don't have to do that, Trinh." "So, do I get a tip?" she smiled and dried the wok. "You really want a tip from me tonight, I can tell," Peter answered.

"Well, if you really liked my cooking..."

"I suppose you want a big tip..."

"Yes."

"You really want to get your hands on a big tip?"

Trinh suddenly realized that Peter might have been talking about something else. "I suppose if I got my hands on a big tip, I'd be happy."

Peter now seemed to be in a hurry to finish the dishes, and in his haste, he splashed Trinh with some soapy water.

"Hey, you're getting me wet over here."

"If you want to get that big tip, you shouldn't complain about getting wet."

"Oh, my, God," Trinh said, emphasizing each word, "I can't believe you say this." She shook her head, looking away from Peter in embarrassment. Peter put on a completely innocent, puzzled face. When he turned his attention back to the dishes, he grinned wickedly. Trinh thought Peter had a lot of character in him to talk to her that way. He was funny and sexy at the same time.

When the last fork landed in the drying rack, Peter announced, "I'm going to microwave some popcorn, put on my movie clothes, and be right back...don't go away." He bounded up the stairs. Trinh heard Peter rummaging around in his room, then heard him vaulting back down the staircase, now wearing some gray sweatpants and a torn sweatshirt that read "Brooklyn." He jumped over the back of the couch and landed with his legs straight out, then lowered them onto the coffee table.

"Oh, almost forgot..." Peter jumped up again, went to the fireplace and struck a match to light the papers that would act as kindling and begin a roaring blaze. He turned off the lights in the living room, leaving only the lamp on next to the couch.

Trinh came from the kitchen with two glasses of wine and a bowl full of popcorn. On her way over, she turned off the lights in the kitchen, which adjoined the almost-darkened living room. She sat about two feet from Peter on the couch, cross-legged with her white socks feet showing. "Oh goody," she said. "Lights, camera, ACTION!" Peter called out. He started the movie and turned out the lamp. The room was dark except for the glow beginning to spread from the catching fire.

Peter and Trinh munched popcorn and sipped their wine, commenting occasionally at the movie. During the seduction scene in the elevator, Peter and Trinh watched in absolute silence. Then, Peter and Trinh reached for the popcorn at the same time. "Don't hog," Trinh warned.

"I'm not one for counting, but you've eaten ten times as much as me."

"I'm sure. Ten times? Oh yeah, well, you snooze, you lose."

"Let me help you." Peter threw a popcorn at Trinh's mouth.

"Hey," Trinh protested, picking up the popped kernel and throwing it back at Peter's mouth.

Peter escalated the conflict by picking up a small handful of popcorn and throwing it at Trinh.

Now, Trinh was never one to back down from a fight, so the popcorn war was on. She picked up a handful and threw it at Peter, who now opened his mouth to receive some, but she also took a handful, yanked Peter's sweatshirt away from his chest, and threw the corn down his shirt. "Let me help you with that," Trinh added, rubbing her hand against Peter's chest where the popcorn rested.

Peter grabbed Trinh's wrist. "No," she called out, but it was too late. Peter pushed Trinh over and onto her back on the couch. "This isn't the movie, Peter," Trinh wanted to protest more, but her legs were splayed out with Peter between them. He could have done anything to her at that point. In fact, Trinh felt a growing presence in Peter's sweatpants, the material being so thin. More than his rapidly growing Italian sausage, Trinh felt a heat developing where both their crotches were pressed against each other.

"Lemme up!" Trinh commanded, and with such force that Peter immediately got up. Her hair was a mess and she had bits of popcorn on her face and in her clothes. "I want to do something more quiet."

"Like what?"

"Okay, how about a card game? You got cards here, don't you?"

Trinh thought a break from the couch where things were getting out of control too fast would be a good idea. Peter was getting turned on by the heat building in the room both from the fireplace and the aphrodisiac action of the Vietnamese spices in their food.

"Let's go to my room. We can use my bed as a card table."

Rather than resist the suggestion, a dangerous place for a modest Vietnamese girl and a turned-on Italian guy, Trinh went along. Peter's room was tidy for a single guy. He had a queen sized bed, a lot bigger than the little bed she'd been sleeping on her whole life. They both sat cross-legged on Peter's bed, Peter shuffling the cards.

"What shall it be?" Peter asked, still the gentleman.

"Let's play poker."

Trinh knew the basic rules of poker, but she was much better at playing traditional Vietnamese card games. She'd fake it.

Peter and Trinh played a few hands, Trinh winning almost every one. "You have beginner's luck, that's for sure," Peter said. Trinh laughed. "Yeah, let's rush to Vegas and win a pile." Peter had another idea though. "Well, maybe you should start wagering and see if your luck holds out."

Wager? Trinh didn't want to start playing Peter for money. When her relatives did that at home, she always excused herself as they played into the night, often gambling away paychecks they hadn't even seen. "Well, I bet I'd win, but I didn't bring my pennies with me."

"We could play for something else?"

"Yeah, what?"

"Clothes."

"I'd have to have a buzz going before I'd agree to that."

Without having to be asked twice, Peter jumped off the bed and ran out of the room. Trinh knew what he was up to. She got off the bed and went to Peter's closet, putting on a vest, a sports jacket, a hat, and a pair of Peter's shoes which made her shuffle along the floor. Peter returned with wine glasses and a bottle of port. "This will do it...holy smokes, what happened to you!"

Trinh laughed loudly. "Well, I need a little insurance, so here I am."

Peter laughed at Trinh, though he also felt excited because Trinh had readied herself to play strip poker with him. He couldn't conceal his excitement, his sweatshirt just not coming down far enough to hide the growing tent in his sweatpants.

"So you lose a hand, you lose an article of clothing. We'll play with what you have on, Trinh, because I don't think your beginner's luck is gonna hold out."

"We'll see."

Peter poured the port, and they both downed it quickly. Trinh was in a hurry to get that buzz, and Peter was happy to pour for her. She swallowed her second glass almost as fast as the first. "I'm definitely feeling it now." Peter refilled her.

Trinh lost the first hand, her two pair falling to Peter's three-of-a-kind. But in the second hand, Peter lost. He took off his sweatshirt, revealing a sexy black muscle shirt. At the next hand, Trinh decided to be a little forward. "I want to up the stakes," she said. "I'm wagering three pieces of clothing." Peter stared into her eyes and Trinh returned his look, wondering if Peter could see that she was bluffing. "I'll call." Trinh had junk cards just as Peter suspected.

Trinh stripped off the sports jacket, vest, and hat, tossing her head to show off her beautiful mane of deep chestnut hair. Actually, she was back to wearing just her own clothes at this point. In the next hand, Peter lost to Trinh's ace high. "What's gonna go this time?" Trinh teased Peter. He looked down at his sweatpants strings which he pulled, undoing the knot. Trinh licked her lips, and Peter noticed her anticipation. "Don't you wish, I'm taking off a sock."

"No, no, no, socks count as one item. They both come off." Trinh pulled on Peter's sock, yanking it off his foot. "Oh, so if you get to collect what I've lost, then I get to collect what you lose."

Peter didn't have to wait long. Trinh had a lousy pair of eights the next hand, losing handily to Peter's two pair. And he didn't wait at all on collecting, pulling Trinh's socks off right after showing her his winning hand. Now, both were barefoot, with Peter in a muscle shirt and Trinh fully clothed. She got a little arrogant being head.

With the cards dealt, Trinh suddenly wagered two items of clothing. "And I'll play these cards, thanks." Peter pulled one from the deck. "Okay, let's see Ms. Big Shot." Trinh showed two pair. "You lose sucker..." But Peter interrupted, "read 'em and weep, a full house." Trinh shrieked.

Peter eyed Trinh. "What should go?" he wondered aloud. "No, no, no, you can't pull off my pants and panties." "Hey, I'm a gentleman, but you've lost the hand." Peter leaned over to Trinh, hooking his fingers under her t-shirt and pulling it over her head. Trinh rearranged her hair. "Now what?"

As if to answer, Peter stared down at Trinh's pants. "Those." He reached over and unbuttoned her fly, then unzipped her. Trinh leaned back and Peter was amazed at how easily the tight pants slid off her. But it was the white thong under the pants that now riveted Peter's focus. Trinh knelt on the bed, now only in her white bra and thong, while Peter was still, well, dressed.

Both knew that the next hand could have interesting consequences. What would happen when one of them had completely lost the game? Would there be another hand for the loser to win back his or her clothes? Would the ultimate loser have to do something to please the winner to get back the clothes?

Trinh dealt the cards and said a little prayer before looking at her cards. Peter wore his poker face, but suddenly announced that his wager was two articles of clothing. Well, that would mean, that would make Trinh nude if she lost! But if she didn't call the bet, she'd lose anyhow.

"Okay, mister, I'll see that bet. What do you want?" Peter asked for two cards, and Trinh pulled two. This was the deciding moment of the game, as every poker or card game had such a moment. Both laid down their cards at the same time. Trinh had three deuces, and Peter had kings and tens. Trinh had won!

Trinh pumped her fist in the air. "Who's sorry now?" she teased. "I guess you could say I'm ready for Vegas." Peter started to pull off his t-shirt. "Not so fast, buddy, I get to collect." Peter thought it very exciting that Trinh insisted on undressing him. Pulling the t-shirt was easy, exposing Peter's broad shoulders and sexy chest. But what to do about that tent pushing up his sweatpants? Trinh smiled. Here comes her tip. She grabbed his sweatpants at his hips and began to yank them down. When Peter's sweats cleared the tent, Trinh was rewarded with a very well-outlined, semi-erect cock pushing sideways in his bikini brief. What a mouthful that would be, oops, did that thought just cross her mind? She slid his sweats completely off.

Trinh felt that both of them sitting in their underwear was a good place to end the game. It was a draw, after all. "Hey Peter, let's just say I won and do something else."

"Scared to finish?" he said.

"Well, I am wearing one more article of clothing, so, actually, I've won."

"Just end like that?"

"Hey, your computer is on. You got any fun game on there we could do?" Trinh walked over to the computer, now giving Peter a rear view her spectacular ass with its thong barely protecting her modesty. "Let's see."

Trinh liked the idea that she was controlling the action, at least for now. She knew that he was already turned on from their popcorn foreplay on the couch, but after the strip poker with her, she was sure he would soon become less of a gentleman with her, hopefully much less of a gentleman.

Trinh wiggled the mouse and the monitor came to life. "You just take over, don't you?" Peter asked.

"Oh, look at this, a web cam. This how you pick up girls?"

"More for conference calls."

Trinh double-clicked on the Logitech Image Studio program she had opened earlier, causing the web cam light to come on. Peter saw that she had opened up the web cam recording studio. Trinh had a plan to that would just about drive him crazy with desire. 

"Hey, come off your bed, lazy. Let's do this fun thing and record ourselves."

"What's that?"

"When I was younger, my girlfriend would stand behind me, really close, and put their arm out where my arms would be, and I'd put my arms behind me. Then they'd pretend to talk with their hands while I'd make up silly stuff to say." Trinh pulled the desk chair away and knelt on the floor in front of the computer monitor. Peter got off the bed, his semi-erect cock plainly outlined. It was so easy to read a guy's mind, Trinh thought, but best not to stare too long at the desired result.

Peter knelt down behind Trinh, reaching under her arms. Trinh put her arms behind her, locking her arms around Peter's triceps. "You're Italian, you should be good at talking with your hands," Trinh said. "I'm going to make up a story of how I locked my car keys inside my running car, okay?"




Vietnamese Take-Out



Trinh began her story, loving the heat from Peter's chest against her back, his expressive hands dancing in the air to match her ridiculous tale. "Oh wait," she said, "let's record this." After clicking the record button, Trinh retold her story, Peter now gesturing this way and that, a perfect complement to her silliness. He was also becoming more excited by the second, kneeling behind Trinh, her butt pushed back against him. After two minutes, Trinh stopped recording and they reviewed their work.

"You look really good on the cam," Peter commented. Trinh had a great big surprise for Peter coming right up. "Well, it's your turn. Let's switch."

Trinh got up and knelt behind Peter. She put her arms under his, and Peter locked his arms behind her. It was a reverse hug, but it wasn't clear who was enjoying the skin-on-skin contact more. Trinh's long, olive-skinned hands were ready in front of him. "I'm gonna pretend someone just banged into my car in the parking lot," Peter said. "How about the headlights," Trinh said, innocently. Peter thought of her breasts. "No, just a little bang, can't think about the headlights."

As Peter made up his story, Trinh's hands danced for the camera. Peter became angry in his story, telling off the imaginary driver, and Trinh flipped a double bird at the cam. This caused Peter to laugh and stop the recording. After reviewing the movie, they both agreed that Trinh's beautiful arms didn't quite match Peter's sinewy body.

"Your turn now." Trinh got up and resumed her seat in front of Peter, this time pressing into him even more so. She could feel the heat of his groin, and she wiggled up against his firmness, ready to surprise him with a movie of her own.

"Hey, look at this." Trinh pretended to be surprised to see her thumbnail on the gallery menu. "How did that get there...what is this?" Peter asked. "Just watch," Trinh smiled, full of bubbling energy.

Trinh double-clicked her thumbnail and the striptease she recorded earlier began to play. She leaned back into Peter, her head tilted far back into his neck. As soon as her clothes began to fall in the video, Trinh felt an incredible stiffening presence growing against her body. When she did her figure eight hip gyrations in the video, Peter began to slowly massage his rock-hard tool against her. When she bounced her butt in the video, she slowly rose up against Peter, now reaching behind his neck with both her arms.

Peter began kissing Trinh's neck, barely able to control his passion. He licked her neck, familiar with her erogenous zones, kissing her with increased energy. Trinh did nothing but let the movie loop over and over, leaving her hands behind Peter's head as if to say, "I surrender, I surrender, take me."

Trinh turned her head and suddenly Peter's tongue was probing her mouth. She seemed slow to respond, part of her plan to drive Peter a little crazy with desire. As Peter's tongue entered her mouth, his hands began to caress her breasts, tweaking her nipples through her bra. Trinh moaned.

"You like my movie?" Trinh said, sighing as Peter now undid her bra.

"It's the coolest."

"You think my moves are hip?"

"Hip? You are definitely hip."

Peter looked at the video as it continued to loop. "Oh -- my- God!" was all he could say, watching Trinh put on a private, recorded striptease for him, over and over again. As near as she could tell, he liked the part most where she slid her pants below her butt and bounced. Trinh definitely could feel that big tip coming up, the one she had asked for earlier.

Peter cupped his hands around Trinh's pert breasts, her nipples hardening into bullets. Trinh dropped her hands, and Peter turned her so that she was facing him. In fact, she was now straddling Peter, just her tiny thong separating her from Peter's pulsing hardness. Trinh rode up in Peter's lap, giving him a chance to slowly circle her breasts with his tongue, gradually working towards the center, her sensitive nipples.

Suddenly, Trinh slid back down and off Peter's lap. "God, look at the time, it's 1 am and I need to get going. How could I have lost track of time so much?"

Peter lucked puzzled, but he reached for her, trying to bring her back into him, her warmth suddenly removed and leaving a cool spot that he missed. "You're kidding."

"Yes, my sister will be worried." It was a total lie.

"You gotta go? Now????"

"It's a Vietnamese thing. I'll explain it another time." Trinh pulled her t-shirt on, neglecting to put on her bra and nearly jumped into her tight pants. She scooped her socks and bra and headed down the stairs, leaving Peter kneeling on the floor, his big disappointment pointed towards the ceiling.

In fact, Trinh had planned all along to drive Peter wild with a series of stimulating encounters, each progressively more intimate and each ending abruptly. The break from making out on the couch, the sudden end to their strip poker, the sudden end to their web cam foreplaying, all deliberate acts on Trinh's part. She wanted Peter to stop her from leaving, to take her in his strong arms, to do whatever it took to take control from her and make her melt against his sexy body.

Trinh was down the stairs, walking towards the kitchen when Peter caught up to her, still only wearing his briefs. Well, the path she had taken towards the kitchen was right past the couch, now all aglow from a raging fireplace. "Hold on." Peter grabbed Trinh's arm and turned her. "A good night kiss before you go."

Peter embraced Trinh and their mouths met, both turning sideways into that perfect angle to allow lips to press against lips, opening to allow tongues to explore. Peter seemed especially eager to tango Trinh's tongue with his own. Each thought how delicious the other's mouth tasted. After Peter inhaled Trinh's tongue into his mouth, he followed Trinh's tongue back into her mouth, then pushed steadily down into her throat. She loved it when Peter did that, forcing his tongue deep inside her, and as she had figured out to breathe through her nose, she let him push into her throat, deeper and deeper, time and time again.

Trinh began to push against Peter's chest. "Don't," she protested rather weakly, though she gave his triceps a squeeze of encouragement at the same time. Peter pulled her back to him again. This time, Trinh pushed past Peter's lips and probed deep into his mouth with her tongue. But again, she pushed away and said "Stop," and this time she brought up her leg and began to hook it around Peter's hip. Peter not only lifted her leg higher, but slid his hand along her thigh towards her butt.

When she had bolted down from the bedroom, Trinh had never bothered to close the top button of her pants. This made it even easier for Peter to begin sliding her pants down, while Trinh protested again with another, even weaker, "please, don't." Trinh added, "I've got to go," but her hand dropped down and casually stroked the iron rod in Peter's briefs.

Peter's passion was inflamed when she brushed his manhood and he saw her thong, realizing that Trinh now wanted him, but was playing a sexy game with him. He tried to slide off Trinh's pants, while she complained "Don't," and "Stop," and as she said the two words over and over, Peter began to hear what she was really saying -- "Don't stop." Trinh wrapped her arms around Peter's neck and pulled sideways, both of them falling on the couch.

She really began to struggle as Peter continued to slide her pants down. And as she kicked feebly, she could feel herself become more and more excited as Peter stripped off her pants. Trinh continued to struggle against Peter when he grabbed the bottom of her t-shirt, and when Peter whipped her t-shirt over her head, leaving the both of them in nothing but sexy underwear, Trinh's juices really began to flow.

"I should leave," Trinh continued, actually making a motion to get off the couch. Peter grabbed her wrists and put her arms over her head. He kissed her hard, and she loved the feeling of his power. "Peter, you're losing control." Peter was suddenly kneeling on Trinh's chest. "Here's that tip you wanted to get your hands on," he said. And yes, she had wanted to wrap her hands around a big tip all evening. Here it was, as promised. He moved forward. She knew what Peter enjoyed, and she looked up into his eyes as she savored him. Tonight she wouldn't say it to him, but she thought to herself, "God, I love doing this."

The heat of the fire and their passion caused both of them to sweat, but that special musky sweat that permeates the air when all the sex glands are fired up. The smell of that sweat, an animal perfume that only passionate lovers know, caused Peter to lose even more control after Trinh's teasing games. Trinh had completely stopped her protesting, now having pulled Peter into her, faster and faster, even slapping his ass to bring him to a rhythm that would get her off. "Faster, Faster, FASTER!!" she said. Their bodies slapped together, lubricated by perspiration and uncontrollable desire. Trinh came hard and fast. She bucked against him, convulsing as she skimmed through several orgasms. "It's beautiful, beautiful, oh, oh, OH, OH! Peter!" she cried out fiercely.

As her climax slowly subsided, she realized that Peter's power was still at full force, though he had throttled back some. "Peter, just don't turn me over, I want to look at you..."

But Trinh's helpless request gave Peter his next move, just as she planned. Grabbing Trinh's hips, Peter flipped Trinh onto her stomach. Instead of lying there, Trinh started to move, to escape, heading towards the end of the wide-armed couch.

Peter pounced on her like a tiger would pounce on a gazelle. He pushed her against the thick arm cushion of the couch, and Trinh braced her arms. Peter entered Trinh easily as her ass was lifted high in the air, but Trinh began her fake whine, "Oh, no, not from behind," except she had reached between her own legs to stroke Peter's ball sack. The sensation was wonderful as Trinh reached even further back, tickling Peter's perineum. Peter hardly needed more stimulation. In fact, if she continued to stroke him, he would explode.

Peter pulled back and then dragged Trinh back roughly to the middle of the couch. He reached over her head and grabbed the thick arm cushion, then lifted Trinh's hips and shoved the cushion under her. "Oh, no," she protested. With Trinh's hips perfectly angled to receive him, Peter slid his slippery, rock-hard tool all the way into her. His slow rhythm was reinforced by the sound of his body slapping against her.

"You wanted to be hip, now show me what you got," Peter challenged.

With all those years of dancing and bike training, Trinh was able to bounce against Peter almost as hard as he was thrusting into her. Peter reached forward and combed his fingers through Trinh's shiny hair and pulled back, forcing her to arch her back and Peter to comment, "That is one sexy arch." Trinh responded to Peter's compliment, especially since she was so filled with his power that she climaxed again. Her spontaneous orgasm provided Peter the final massage he needed, and when he went off, Peter saw stars.

Though he was spent, Peter got up off the couch right away. Trinh felt herself glowing, almost more intensely than the fireplace blaze that still warmed her face. Peter returned with a flannel sheet and covered Trinh, curled up on the couch. "Sweet," she said.

He threw another two logs on the fire, then climbed behind Trinh and spooned her. She slid her leg back, rubbing her foot up and down his shin. She was resting, not getting ready to sleep. He nuzzled her neck and she purred. Peter knew it would be just a matter of time before his power returned, but for now he just inhaled the fragrance of their mingled sweat and sex and held Trinh close.

This Vietnamese takeout was very hot stuff, Peter thought, and he was going to have to get a second helping, real soon. As the new logs caught and the fire began to build towards an inferno, Trinh turned towards Peter. Without saying a word, she put her arms around his neck, pulling him gently towards her. The second entrée of the evening was about to be served, and Peter slid into Trinh, becoming one with her as their passions consumed them both.

END