mettre les petits plats dans les grands

“Do I recognize a slight French accent?” Veronica said with a playful smile, having glanced in the direction he told her. “I used to visit the country often as a child, my parents loved it there. Do you miss it?” She grabbed herself a small appetizer plate as she waited on his answer, plating a few food items before taking a bite of the aforementioned salmon sandwich. 

Antoine raised his hands and smiled. “I’m uncovered,” He chuckled and followed the brunette towards the table, where he placed a couple more appetizers on his plate. “And you’re Spanish, are you? My parents and I used to go to Rosas often too. Funny, isn’t it? That we meet here instead of our countries.”

not letting go of antoine’s hand all the way to the venue, zoe smiled when they got out of the car. she was impressed by the decorations and all those beautifully dressed people. the brunette spent most of her time at home, in her favourite sweatpants, not caring the smallest bit about her appearance. every now and then, however, she enjoyed getting all dressed up, doing her hair and makeup and to be surrounded by people that made about the same effort as her before they arrived here. “sounds perfect!” she said, looking up at antoine with a wide smile still plastered on her face. the pair made their way over to the photo booth where there was a short line already. 

Antoine lead the way to the photo booth as he intertwined his fingers with Zoe’s, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb mindlessly. He couldn’t keep his eyes away from the brunette more than a couple of seconds, glancing at the queue now and then. When finally, it was their turn, he stepped in front of the white wall and looked at the photographer. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. A couple of pictures were taken, including one where he looked down at her. “Good, this flash is making me blind,” He joked, shaking his head playfully. “Are you okay? Not too cold?”

“Did she run off?” Sasha joked when he said he didn’t know where exactly his date was. truth be told, had she been straight she would have probably hit on him several times in the past. But as aesthetically pleasing as his looks were, to her they were just that. But she knew exactly that whatever woman actually managed to bag him would have really made a catch. “Oooor you could make me some of that fantastic pasta of yours and I’ll just let you spoil me,” she said with a teasing grin.

“Looks like it. She was probably blinded by your beauty. Even if she has nothing to envy you,” Antoine truly found Zoe beautiful. But even if this was a date, he didn’t want to be too clingy. She needed to talk to her own friends too, just like him. “I’m sure you would. And I will do it at some point, before Christmas. The best pasta you’ll ever eat. Whenever I have a night off, I will do it.”

“Oh, please, I can handle way more than two glasses of red wine. I’m no lightweight, meaning your nice outfit is safe. For now,” she added, playing along. “Very french. If the accent wasn’t giveaway enough, the name definitely is. Pleasure’s all mine, by the way.”

Antoine couldn’t help but smile at her words. “When I thought I had the perfect Londoner accent by now, I’m so disappointed,” He teased her, bitting his bottom lip. His accent was not as bad as it used to be, but some words gave it away, he knew that. “Did you come alone?”

“Oh no. I actually don’t own a house at all. I just wander the streets of London and sleep with the abundance of pigeons.” Bodhi joked, still laughing to herself as she watched him wander away. Surprisingly he didn’t take too long and when he returned she took the drink with a soft thank you. “Wow I’m sorry to be so much effort. And no cyanide? What kind of shit party is this?” She smiled at him and then sighed. “Are you always alone by the way?”

“Oh, now I understand the smell. No shower either it seems,” Antoine winked at her, obviously joking. He raised his drink to her before taking the first sip. “I don’t know, I didn’t know Londoner where so selfish, not giving me any cyanide and keeping it all to themselves. Just because I’m French...” He rolled his eyes dramatically, but his smirk remained on his lips all along. “Well, believe it or not, but I came with someone. It’s a girl, and I didn’t even have to pay her.”

“It took many years, but I have to admit, I have become very fond of this city,” the brunette replied cordially, words laced with a slightly faded Spanish accent. “Salmon sandwiches? Where did you FIND them? I’m starving.”

Antoine couldn’t help but smile at her words, but also at her accent. His own French accent was a lot less marked now, after a couple of years in the city. “Just over here, on the table next to the bar. There are dozens of them, I’m sure you’ll find what you want.”

“Oh shut up, this is like the hub of London for most people. I’m not that bad.” Bodhi chuckled as she eyed him with a curious expression. She really was interested how she just fell in to stranger’s lives sometimes but he seemed like a good man. For a man anyway. “Drinks equal fascination? And my choice of poison is probably cyanide but I like vodka and lemonade as a drink.” 

“Well, I needed to make sure. Hopefully, you’ll be able to find your house when you’ll leave from here,” He kept on teasing her a little longer, although he didn’t want to make her upset. “Vodka and lemonade with an hint of cyanide. I got you,” He chuckled and walked away towards the bar, coming back only a couple of minutes later. “God, getting you a drink was harder than expected. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any cyanide left.” He said, holding out her drink.

as soon as zoe opened the door and saw antoine stand in front of her with a bouquet of flowers in his hand and seemingly just as nervous as her, she immediately relaxed. though she couldn’t hide feeling flustered by his compliment. “finding a dress like this was a challenge but somehow the odds were in my favour this time” she said, trying to fill the silence. the brunette looked up at antoine’s eyes and a wide smile formed on her features. “shall we?” 

Antoine was usually good at hiding his emotions but for some reason, he wasn’t as good when he was around Zoe. He smiled at her words hand gave her the bouquet then held out his hand to the brunette. “Let’s go,” He lead the way out of her building where a cab was waiting for them. It drove them straight to the party where quite a lot of people were already gathered. “We should take a pre-event picture. What do you think?” He said once he was out of the car, standing just a couple of inches away from her.

“The champagne wouldn’t stain, what I’m really nervous about are all the tipsy looking women walking around with red wine,” she chuckled. Walking around with a red-stained white dress was way too Carrie-ish for this kind of evening. “I haven’t had any food yet, but I’ll take your word for it. I’m Isla, by the way.”

“Hopefully, you’re not one of them. We shouldn’t let women drink red wine after two drinks, it’s too dangerous for the clothes, right?” Antoine was joking, quite obviously. He would never say anything this misogynous seriously. “You should. And I’m Antoine. It’s nice meeting you.”

“I mean, it depends on how hangry I am I guess –– but yeah, if something’s that good, you want it all to yourself, don’t you? And if I order TWO, well then you really did something right. Just so you know if I ever happen to eat your food one of these days. Where do you work, by the way?” She clinked her glass with the male’s, following his glance towards a pretty brunette. “Good luck to you. I’m trying not to make a complete fool of myself, I think it’s going pretty well so far.” She chuckled. “Think you’ll dance? I’ve never been a huge dancer but …” She looked past a few people to look at her date with an adoring glimmer in her eye. “For her I might give it a go.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. And I work at Café Royal. It’s a restaurant on Regent Street. I’m the executive chef. And it would be a pleasure to see you there some day. Both of you, even,” Antoine smiled, referring to the brunette’s date. He chuckled at her words and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, same. I mean, we won’t make a fool of ourselves. If they thought it was possible, then they wouldn’t be with us tonight, right?” He shrugged at her next question. “I guess. I’m not a good dancer, I’ve never really done that before, even at thirty-three but... I guess that’s part of the deal. I think it will be the most embarrassing moment tonight.”

While Aiden indulged in traveling, she loved Greek food. Gyros were one of her favorite foods. Nix the tomato and heavy on the lamb and Tzatziki? She was in heaven. “There was this place I went back home that had Tzatziki that was almost as good as the stuff from the old country. I honestly would probably kill someone for some of that,” she divulged. “I think it’s an adventure, you know?”

“Please, don’t kill me,” Antoine raised his hands in defense despite the teasing smile on his lips. “But I have to admit that Greek food is incredible. And making Tzatziki is not that hard,” He shrugged. The smallest and easier things were often the best in the end. “I’m not really the adventurous type though. I might keep the colours I recognise.”

closed // @chefboyer​

zoe jumped up a little too quickly when she heard the doorbell. she being her had been ready an hour early, so she was sitting on her couch, trying to concentrate on a random movie she had put on. she had been checking the time every two minutes and couldn’t keep her legs still. cookie, who had been rolled up in her lap, had stood up at the some point and had retreated to his basket with a slightly annoyed look.  the brunette checked on herself in the mirror for one last time, took the handle in her hand, took a deep breath and opened the door with the wide smile. 

Antoine was a little bit nervous about this date -- because that’s what it was, right? He had invited Zoe out to a public event and God knew where it was going to lead them. He didn’t want to think to much about it though, he just wanted to have fun. He pressed the doorbell once in front of her apartment door and waited for her to open. He had a bouquet of wild flowers in his hand and he handed it to her once she was standing in the door frame. “Wow...” Antoine rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, you look beautiful.”

Aiden turned her head towards the mention of the Tzatziki sauce. “That’s the stuff they put on gyros, right? I love that stuff,” she enthused. She could easily picture the tangy sauce being good with the crispness of a cucumber sandwich. “Aiden.”

Antoine was surprised that the woman next to him knew what he was talking about. Greek food was not the most well-known food. “Yes, indeed. It’s so fresh and light, I love it so much too,” He smiled at her and grabbed another random sandwich. “I’m always a bit scared to find out what’s inside these if I’m completely honest.”

“Food can also tear people apart –– if anyone takes my food, things might get a little ugly. I could argue the same about my alcohol.” She chuckled before glancing in the direction she’d last seen Emory. “No, I came with someone. First date, actually. In hindsight, I should have realized a huge event like this puts on the pressure, but at least there’s FREE drinks, right?”

Antoine couldn’t help but chuckle at the brunette’s voice. “Isn’t it a little bit rude? I’m not judging, when people don’t want to share food, it means it’s good, right? I’m a chef and that’s the best compliment, really,” He smiled and looked at Zoe in the distance. “Same,” He held out his drink for her to clink her glass against his. “And good music. Could be worse.”

“Wow, you’re still as fascinating as ever.” Bodhi teased as she sidled up beside the familiar face and clapped him on the back. For a few long, questioning moments she looked to the sandwich he was holding in his hand and even his comments made her frown grow but she chose to ignore all of that. She could say a thousand things, question him quite quickly but she let it settle. “And still weird. I’m glad you’re having a good time though. It’s really quite amazing.”

“Oh yeah, I know. And I’m glad your sense of direction is doing a lot better and you found this place,” Antoine joked along and a smile on his face. He kept on eating his sandwich as she remained silent, observing her with his eyebrows raised. “Let me get you a drink, to show you how fascinating I am. What’s your poison?”

Eve had just gotten herself a glass of champagne and as she’d turned away from the bar, overheard the male’s remark. “I think it’s much easier to enjoy anyone’s company when you’ve had a few drinks,” she offered with a slight smirk, bringing the rim of her glass to her lips to take a sip. “But I have to agree, the food is MUCH better than I expected.”

Antoine couldn’t help but smirk at the brunette’s comment. She wasn’t wrong. He was a lot more extrovert when he had a few drinks, like at this moment. “Well, alcohol makes people closer, just like food,” He leaned against the bar, watching the crowd around them. “Did you come alone?”

Aiden had grown up attending events like these, but she could never get used to them. It was no longer her. Sipping wine, gossiping with people…she wasn’t used to it anymore. “I used to love it, but I’m all about these little cucumber thingies. They’re so damn good with white wine,” she remarked.

Antoine smirked when he heard the other’s words. He nodded and pointed at the buffet near them. “I definitely agree. You should try to dip them in some Tzatziki sauce, it’s even better. I think I saw some earlier,” He smiled at her and took the final sip of his drink. “I’m Antoine.”