After an alarm distracted Rachel from telling yet another grand story of a battle mage called Hesinda and the redhead dashed off with a comment "Hold that thought!". Giselle left the redhead to deal with her cooking and went back to the two men. She had been worried at the beginning. Ian was not good at conversations about sports. Throwing them a few glances later had calmed her down since they had found something to casually chat about.

When she walked up to them. Ian was just explaining how they had turned bits and pieces in their own apartment into a phone-controlled masterpiece. Remote controlled lighting, heating and electric devices.

She rolled her eyes, but decided to let Ian have his moment. Most of these enterprises they had undergone together, her contributions just as high as his.

It was just that she didn't feel like joining in at all. Instead she strolled back to Rachel. The kitchen felt like a humid, warm, tropical island. The wide open windows didn't offer relief, so she gasped, "Oh fuck, this is warm! How can you work like this!". The redhead put the pan aside and lifted her apron to reveal.... Giselle gasped again. For a moment she expected the woman to wear only the apron and a tee. Turns out it was a summer dress, short enough to reveal all of the thighs. Giselle blushed and glanced away. Her thoughts revolved around scolding herself for even thinking someone would receive guests in their underwear!

When a hand touched her arm, she turned her head. "Did you really think I was naked? You're naughty!", Rachel giggled cutely and wobbled back to her tasks by bouncing playfully over her tiptoes. Giselle just stared at the woman, suddenly getting the feeling their age was further apart than she originally imagined. Her hand scratched her head through her curls, that she tamed into two buns near the back of her head. "Hehe, maybe. Guess sometimes my mind plays tricks on me", she admitted and was about to leave the kitchen when the hostess asked a question, "How long have you two been together?".

"Wha? Roughly eight years. Why?", Giselle wondered as she answered. "No reason in particular. Just feels a little odd how you two behave, but I guess eight years is a long time....", the woman sighed and took a pile of plates from a drawer. The brunette took them dutifully to the table and asked Ian to tag along for help. Kamal got up and started, "You don't...". Both guests cut him off and Ian said, "We won't sit around while you do _all_ the work!".

In the kitchen, Ian quickly sorted the things he could carry and balanced a tower of pots and bowls outside. Kamal just stared. Then he pointed behind him with a thumb, "Does he wait tables for a living?". Shaking her head, Giselle declined and carried the cutlery to the table.

Stolen novel; please report.

Two minutes later, all relevant food and utensils were delivered and spread out on the large, wooden table. The four participants sat down and Kamal explained the different dishes, "This is roasted chicken with a mango chutney. Over here we have a mixed salad in a sweet mango sauce. Then as side dishes we have croquettes and brown rice. Unless you want something non-alcoholic, this is a slightly bitter, but full red wine from southern France. We hope you'll enjoy it". Giselle and Ian followed the explanation with big eyes and made multiple Oh and Ah sounds. "Thank you for the invitation. You shouldn't have cooked though", Giselle smiled and her husband nodded. Rachel waved off, "Nonsense! Enjoy the food!".

For a while they filled their plates, ate, filled more onto the plates and ate again. Chatter was strictly logistics. When everyone had enough on the plate, a full glass of wine and the initial praises were said, Kamal asked, "How long have you been living here?". Giselle glanced over at Ian who didn't notice. He chewed his bite and answered, "Couple of years now. We bought the place when the construction finished, just as many others did. How about you? Did you buy the place or rent it?".

Rachel chimed in with her singsang voice, "We are in rent here. We couldn't afford this place even if we wanted to, I guess". An uncertain laughter followed as if she had said something she shouldn't have. Giselle noticed that and quickly picked up the slack, as usual, "I work a clerk-job in a clothing store downtown and Ian has a middle management position across town at a large consultancy. How about you two?". This time Kamal said, "Guess I'll go first. I am a part-time trainer at a fitness studio. The Bit-Fit downtown, if you know it. I recently got the job. Occasionally I help out in schools or firms with sports things". "Did you study this, or go through apprenticeship?", the brunette said while chewing down a bite of salad. He shook his head, "None of that, I went the military path".

His partner took over and said, "I work at McDonald's... and I sell some of my creations online. But none of this pays much". Rachel sounded sad when she put it like that. When Kamal took her hand, she smiled at him. He used this encourage her, "Rachel's stuff is high quality and she knows about leather working, tailoring and wood working. She's brilliant! It's just that no one pays what the items are actually worth". He sighed and pressed his large lips together as he glanced at her. Giselle realized that he was supporting her dream and she felt bad for it.

She changed the topic into something casual, "You met a lot of the neighbours, haven't you? So what's your impression?". The host rumbled a laugh and his partner giggled a response, "Interesting people. Definitely interesting people. You're friends with your neighbour, right? Annie was her name? She said she lived alone, but there is this beautiful woman, I've seen her with. They were holding hands. I don't want to say anything wrong, but that's not her sister, is it?".

Ian grunted a "No" and had an annoyed expression on his face and Giselle felt a grimace flash across her face when her heart ached all of a sudden.