Melt in Your Mouth (Closed for TomOPKs)

Tonight’s lesson in cooking class was on Cajun food. They were making an etouffee and Meredith Grey was about to burn her roux—she couldn’t concentrate. All she could think about was what Andre had just said to her. Recently divorced, childless, thirty-four years old, and insanely bored with her day job, Meredith had signed up for cooking classes thinking it would be fun to learn more about something she’d always enjoyed. It was fun. But she’d never expected to be so attracted to, or distracted by, her teacher.

Chef Andre Lafette was well known in the culinary world as one of the best of the best. Chefs of his caliber rarely wasted their valuable time teaching cooking classes to amateurs, but he was an exception. And the wait list for his group classes was very long. The price tag was also very high--but she'd decided she deserved the splurge. She’d lucked into this spot. A co-worker had been on the list for almost a year when she got the call that she could start the class, but she’d just taken a promotion and would be moving out of town. Sweetheart that she was, she offered the spot to her depressed, just divorced friend, Meredith.

Meredith loved the class. She’d made several new friends and learned more than she’d ever thought possible in a few weeks. She’d also become completely infatuated with Andre. He had a way of making everyone feel like they were the only one in class. Sometimes, she thought he might be flirting with her, but then she watched him with everyone else and convinced herself that it was just wishful thinking.

But he covered her hand with his when he worked with her on her knife skills, and he stood right behind her, pressing his front to her back. She could feel his warm breath on her neck when he did that. And sometimes he fed her bites of her own food, reminding her that she had to remember to taste throughout the cooking process to prevent disaster in the end. Once he wiped a bit of sauce from her bottom lip with his thumb, then licked that very thumb and held eye contact the whole time before smiling and walking away.

Tonight, while she’d been chopping her onion, celery, and bell pepper, he’d appeared behind her, put his hand on her waist and leaned in close, whispering in her ear. “Don’t disappear after class tonight, Meredith. I want to speak with you.”

Then she could have sworn she felt his hand pat the generous curve of her ass before he walked away.

Her head spun with crazy thoughts as she frantically stirred the roux, trying to get just the right light brown color. He wanted to speak with her… About what? And had he really touched her ass? She glanced at the large digital clock on the wall. The class would drag by now that she was so desperate to get to the end. What could he want?

OOC Andre is 39 5'10" 190# somewhat athletic sandy blond hair blue eyes
drives a 1967 MG midget royal blue convertible lives in a downtown loft taking up the complete top floor of the 8 story building

IC
Andre knew that not many chefs at his level would teach amateur cooking classes. However, he liked the change of pace and enjoyed teaching people often times with limited culinary skills how to cook. He intentionally kept his class size to twelve students to allow him the opportunity to give each one of them a fair amount of one on one instruction. As a rule there would always be one or two in each class that would show some real talent. As it so happened on more than one occasion the student that had that special gift for cooking actually changed their career path and gone on to become a great chef.

This particular class was no exception. For the most part his students were older often times retired. Most took this class because they had a genuine desire to learn how to cook. There was this one woman, Meredith Grey, that in just a few short weeks had shown a real knack for cooking. She appeared to be a few years younger than his own 39 years. From all indications she wasn’t married, well at least she didn’t wear a wedding ring. She was a very beautiful woman in an understated sort of way. She had a very nice figure with wonderful curves in all the right places. Since Andre was a professional it wouldn’t have been unfair to show her any kind of special attention but when around her he always liked to get close and smell her exquisite scent.

Andre was planning a party at his loft apartment for thirty or forty of his closest friends and associates. Now with his cooking skills it would be unthinkable for him to hire someone to cater this get together but he didn’t really have the time that he would need to do all the food prep for a successful party. That is when he thought of Meredith. She was his star pupil in his current cooking class and if she was available would do a fabulous job under his supervision of course. So at the next class he asked if she could stay after class for a moment that he wished to speak with her.

The class drug on and everyone this evening were preparing the same dish. It seemed that several students were having trouble keeping their roux, a sauce base, from burning. It was very easy to do and took special care to keep from burning it. Meredith’s roux was perfect as he had expected. One by one the students finished up their projects having Andre come over and taste their creation. Most were pretty good some just didn’t come out the way they should. Meredith was one of the last to finish up waiting around to be sure and be the last one left so that Andre could speak with her. She appeared anxious for some reason all smiles and a real friendly disposition.

“Meredith, you did very well this evening. I’m very proud of your work here in my class. I would have to say that for this particular class you are my star pupil. I am planning a party at my loft for several friends and associates and I am looking for someone that would come in for a day and help me prepare the hors d’oeuvres. If you were interested it would pay $500 for the job. I have a large professional kitchen fully equipped. It would also include serving the food during the party. You should know that that would entail wearing a little black serving dress with a white apron. The dress would have be low cut to show off quite a bit of cleavage and it would be short to about mid thigh. In the past I have always had the servers at my parties dressed in this manner and I’m sure my friends would be disappointed if that were to change. I would understand if you don’t think you would be comfortable wearing that kind of dress. However, I do think that you definitely have the body to pull it off quite nicely. There is one thing else you should know there might be several men at the party that might be inclined to hit on you. For them all I ask is you be polite in your refusal to go out with them.” With a joking laugh, “heck who knows I might even be hitting on you.” Just after those words came out of his mouth Andre knew he had made a mistake, “Meredith, I am so sorry I never should have said that. It was completely inappropriate for me to say anything like that to you even as a joke. I hope that you will forgive me.”

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She blinked several times and tried to think of what to say. She hadn’t known what to expect from Andre, but this had never occurred to her. It was flattering and odd and ridiculous all at once.

“Ummm…” She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “No, no don’t apologize. It’s perfectly all right.” Her cheeks had to be bright red, but it wasn’t because he’d mentioned that he might hit on her so much as because she was embarrassed for having hoped so hard that the reason he’d asked her to stay was so he could hit on her.

“I’m flattered. Really. I can’t believe you think I’m good enough at this to assist with food prep for one of your parties. I’ve never cooked for more than eight or ten people at a time. This seems like it would be out of my league and I wouldn’t want to disappoint you or create chaos at your party. And you’re way too kind with the comments about me getting hit on.” She rolled her eyes. “I really think that’s the least of my worries.”

She was past her prime. Her husband had traded her in for a newer model—someone younger, with a Barbie doll figure. The Barbie could wear the short serving dress. Meredith could not. While she’d never thought of herself as frumpy—at least not until the divorce—her body had shifted some after she turned thirty. Things weren’t quite as perky or toned or high as they used to be. Short and revealing just wasn’t her style. Not at 34.

“Surely there’s someone else better suited to working in your kitchen for something so important. Somebody better suited for the dress too.”

“Meredith, you underestimate yourself on two counts. First you have shown me that you are a very talented chef. Your attention to detail if phenomenal and your cooking skills match those of only a select few that I have had the honor to teach in my cooking classes. I would not have asked you if I didn’t have complete confidence in your abilities. I’m not going to just dump you in my kitchen, give you the menu and the ingredients and expect you to pull this off all by yourself. I will be there to guide you and make sure that you have a positive experience. That’s what a good teacher would do.

Secondly, you are a very beautiful and desirable woman. Something in your life has somehow made you doubt that. I am hear to tell you that this is true. And I don’t want you to think that I am saying this to just hit on you. When I said that I was half joking well at least the part about me anyway. I make it a practice to never get involved with a student. On the other hand there will be men at my party that would surely recognize what I see and as I said might actually hit on you. As for the dress, lets not make that a deal breaker. I’m sure there is an agreeable alternative. However, looking at you dear lady I have no doubt that you would look fantastic in the dress that I have in mind.

So lets accept the fact that you are qualified to perform the job that I have offered you and I wouldn’t have asked you if I wasn’t sure. It all boils down to whether you are available. I would really love for you to assist me and I’m sure that it would be a good learning experience for you. So what do you say will you accept my offer?” Andre looked the younger woman in the eye trying to figure out if she was willing. He knew from her first response that she was definitely interested.

He seemed to really want her to do this. It was a real boost to her confidence that he had this much respect for her cooking skills. Her grandmother, who'd taught Meredith the basics of cooking years and years ago, would be so proud.

She smiled at Andre and almost sighed out loud. He’d just said he never got involved with students. She respected him for that, and while it made her schoolgirl crush on him seem silly, he still made her heart flip. A girl could dream, right? Besides, her attraction to him had always been a fantasy. And fantasies didn't come true. She was a realist and wasn't going to get all broken hearted just because she'd read too much into his kindness. And knowing he wasn't going to touch didn't mean she couldn't look. Something about those blue eyes just drew her in. She honestly thought she could look at this man forever and never get tired of the view.

Taking him up on this offer would give her an opportunity to be close to him, even if it was in a professional sense. Plus, she’d learn more about cooking, which was why she was here in the first place, so why was she dragging her feet? He’d even said they could find an alternative to the dress.

“Okay, I’ll do it. Just tell me when and where.”

Andre stood there as Meredith contemplated his offer wondering what he had gotten himself into. He knew what he had said about not getting involved with a student or someone he worked with but that was going to be very difficult with Meredith. Up until now the women that he had been around in the work or classroom setting had been either married, lesbian or frankly not all that attractive. Here was Meredith who didn’t appear to be married, and didn’t seem to object when he had gotten close to her in the classroom and was a very beautiful and desirable woman. He was really going to have to watch himself because working closely with her was going to be very exciting.

His thoughts were interrupted when she very enthusiastically said “Okay, I’ll do it. Just tell me when and where.” Andre was so excited that she had said yes that he put his arms around her hugging her, kissing her on the cheek, “wonderful I’m so looking forward to working with you.” One hand went to her back as he hugged her and the other hand went to her lower back and partially down on her ass. He held her for maybe just a bit longer than was appropriate for a friendly hug but he loved the feeling of her body against his. He released her from the hug and stepped back not wanting to look her directly in the eyes.

“My party is next weekend. If you like you could come over early and I could prepare a nice breakfast for the two of us before getting started. Or if you would rather just come over to my place at say around 9:30 or 10. That should give us enough time to prepare for the party. I have hired someone to do the decorating and bartend so all we have to do is concentrate on the food. I have a guest bedroom with it’s own bathroom that you are welcome to use to clean up and change clothes. If it gets too late from the party and you aren’t comfortable driving home at that time of night you are welcome to stay the night in the guestroom of course."

The hug left her confused again. His hand had strayed awfully close to her ass, and that seemed intimate for what he’d just said could only be a professional relationship. Apparently Andre was a toucher, and she shouldn’t take it personally. That or she was imagining where she felt his hands.

She jotted down the date, time, and address of the party in her planner and said her goodbyes. On the drive home, second thoughts assailed her. Always an overthinker, she analyzed everything to death. That was the reason she was such a good CPA, but it was also the reason she was stressed all the time. She couldn’t let things go. They replayed over and over in her head as she looked for every possible meaning and angle.

Andre was an incredibly successful chef. Regardless of whether he hugged her or hired her to help prepare and serve food at his parties, the two of them weren’t in the same social sphere. With his money and status he could have any woman he wanted. Any young, beautiful, Babie doll type woman. Thinking he was interested in her was only setting herself up for disappointment. She knew that.

So she resolved to keep her feelings in check and focus only on the food when she arrived on Saturday. Surely she could do that. She would have to.

For the most part, she succeeded in not dwelling on the party for the rest of the week. Her workload at the office was bigger than normal and she stayed late several nights in a row to catch up. Being busy kept her from thinking too much about anything besides taxes and financial accounts, but on Friday night thoughts of Andre set in.

She barely slept as she kept replaying cooking lessons and conversations in her head. She worried about everything—how he would act toward her, how she would handle the food prep, how she would look in the dress he had for her and whether she’d wear it, how good she’d be as a server. She’d never, in her 34 years, worked in food service. What if she dropped a tray or spilled drinks on guests?

Those very thoughts haunted her dreams when she finally fell into a restless sleep. It was a relief when the alarm clock went off, even though she was still tired. She got ready and covered the dark circles beneath her eyes with makeup. Then she set out for Andre’s. Breakfast was guaranteed to be wonderful. The rest of the day she wasn’t so sure about.

When Meredith arrived at Andre’s loft she pressed the button by his name and she was buzzed in. He had told her to take the elevator to the top floor. When the elevator door opened Andre was there to meet her. Giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek, “oh I’m so glad that you are here. This is going to be a wonderful party and I am so lucky to have you by my side to prepare the food. Won‘t you come in and let me show you around before I fix breakfast”

The elevator opened out into a very large living space. Off to the right there was a huge kitchen with two double ovens and two refrigerator freezers. There were windows everywhere. Behind the kitchen was a half bath. Then down a hall was a door to the right which opened to the guest bedroom with a full bathroom. On the left was a door that opened into the master suite. It was decorated out of a like out of a fancy magazine. There was a king sized four poster bed with windows on either side. The bath was exceptionally large also, including a shower large enough for several people with two shower heads on the wall and a hand held head mounted on a bracket. There was also a bidet and stool. The Jacuzzi tub was oversized large enough to accommodate at least two adults.

“There you have had the compete tour. Be sure and put your bag in the guest bedroom. Well what will it be for breakfast? We could have eggs and bacon with some hash browns and toast or I could fix French toast or pancakes which ever you would prefer. As you might guess I really like breakfast. It is my most favorite meal to cook.” He led her back to the kitchen and pulled out a stool from under the bar that was part of the island. “Here you may have a seat and while I’m fixing breakfast maybe you would like to make some fresh squeezed orange juice.” Andre got a bag of oranges from the refridgerator and pulled an electric juicing machine from a lower cabinet.

Meredith made the juice while Andre prepared bacon and eggs. His home was incredible. State of the art everything. She was a little jealous of the spaciousness. Okay, a lot jealous. After her divorce, she’d moved into a small apartment. Most of the time she didn’t mind it, but it always felt so crowded, even for just one person. The kitchen was especially small with practically no workspace. That was the main thing she missed from the house she’d shared with her ex-husband, a large kitchen. Not that the kitchen she’d had came close to Andre’s. The massive cabinets and granite countertops Andre had were gorgeous. She could get used to cooking in here very quickly.

She could also get used to watching him work. With the aid of the juicer, she was done with her task in a matter of minutes, so she sat back and observed. The man made cooking sexy.

“That smells heavenly,” she said as the aroma of frying bacon filled the room. “But isn’t there anything else I can do to help you? Put the toast in or set the table or something?” As much as she’d like to just sit back and watch, she felt like she should be doing something, at least learning where a few things were in the kitchen since things were bound to get hectic by the afternoon.

As Meredith was squeezing the oranges Andre was behind her. It was as if he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Her blond hair falling gently on her shoulders. “Well Meredith since we are going to be working together all day preparing hors d’oeuvres for the party maybe it would be best if you made yourself familiar with the kitchen. Most all of the most used utensils are in the drawers here on the island. Cooking sheets are in the vertical drawer there at the end of the cabinet. Just feel free to look around and figure out where everything is. If you would like to set the table there silver ware is in the drawer by the dishwasher and the plates and glasses are in the cabinet above and to the right of the dishwasher. While you are finding your way around the kitchen why don’t you tell me a little about yourself. About all I know about you is your name, that you know how to cook and you are very beautiful. Oh by the way how would you like your eggs cooked?”

Andre loved cooking in his own kitchen. Every thing he could possible need was here. He pulled down a medium skillet from the rack above the island and set it on the cook top ready to make cook the eggs. The bacon was done and in the warming drawer and the griddle was just warmed up nicely for pancakes. His cook top was all gas with 6 burners and a dedicated griddle. It was not difficult to be cooking the pancakes at the same time as the eggs. As they were finished he would simply put them in the warming drawer till everything was finished then he would serve everything piping hot. “Meredith if you wouldn’t mind would you get the butter and the syrup out of the refrigerator and if you would hit the syrup in the microwave to warm it up a bit. Nothing worse than putting cold syrup on fresh hot pancakes.”

Meredith acquainted herself with the kitchen and heated the syrup. “I’m not sure we’ll be able to cook after eating all this,” she joked. “I’ll be too full to move.”

When the food was finished, she helped him carry it to the table and they sat down together. She’d dodged his early question about telling him more about herself by commenting on his kitchen and well stocked pantry, but avoidance wasn’t the best way to get to know someone.

“I’m recently divorced,” she said after taking a sip of juice. Without going into all the gory and emotional details she summed up the basics of her marriage while they ate. She’d given thirteen years of her life to a man who’d left her for a younger woman. She hoped she sounded nonchalant about the whole thing. “I’ve moved on though.” She shrugged. “And I’m trying new things. Like cooking. And eating. My god, these pancakes are decadent.” She could barely eat half of the short stack, as delicious as they were, she’d be useless for the rest of the day if she started out on that much rich food. "I think you're trying to make me fat," she said with a wink.

They chit-chatted about her accounting job and her pets for the rest of the meal. When she stood to clear the table, she said, “Well, breakfast was all about me. When do I get to hear about you?”

Andre stood up reaching out taking the dishes from her hands and putting them back down on the table. He put his hands on her shoulders and guided her back down to her chair, “you sit, let me clear the dishes your going to be on your feet plenty today.” Once seated his hand moved across her back as his touch lingered just a bit too long. He began to clear the dishes, “your husband must have been a very insecure man to leave such a beautiful sexy woman. It won’t take him long to figure out that he has made the biggest mistake of his life.”

Once the dishes were cleared and the kitchen cleaned up Andre decided to show Meredith what all he had planned for the day. “Okay let me show you around.” He opened the largest of the two refrigerators and while standing showing her where everything was he had his hand on her hip very lightly caressing her. He went on around the kitchen talking about the plan enjoying the opportunity to get close to her. There was something about this woman that Andre could almost not resist. When she wasn’t looking his eyes roamed over her body. He found himself daydreaming about kissing her and holding her in a passionate embrace. One such moment he was brought out of his daze when he heard Meredith asking him a question.

They got to work both of them bustling around the kitchen working together in what sometimes felt like close quarters. Occasionally Andre would show Meredith how to hold a knife my taking her hand in his and demonstrating a particular method. When he did this he would be leaning down next to her almost whispering his instructions in her ear Even though he had the heat turned way down it seamed to be getting very warm in the kitchen. Andre unbuttoned his shirt a bit trying to cool off, “Meredith are you warm? I might have to open a window or turn on the AC. Maybe it is just me.”

Meredith kept telling herself that the way Andre’s body brushed against hers didn’t mean anything, that the way he covered her hand with his while she sliced through some vegetables was strictly for instructional purposes. She wouldn’t let her imagination run away with her. She’d done that in class the other night and then had faced the disappointment when he only wanted her help at his party.

Her silly school girl crush was nothing more than that, and she wouldn’t read too much into anything today. She just had to keep telling herself that—every time he stood next to her—because his nearness made her forget everything except the way he smelled. Soapy, spicy. She could always make out his unique scent, even through the heady kitchen aromas during class. It was like a drug to her. She couldn’t get enough.

She turned from the cutting board to see him unbuttoning his shirt. Her heart rate kicked up several notches and her gaze was glued to his strong fingers working the buttons.

“Meredith are you warm? I might have to open a window or turn on the AC. Maybe it is just me.”

She blinked. She was always warm around him. She’d just gotten used to it.

“It might be a little warm. I’m sure it will heat up once we crank up the ovens, so go ahead and turn on the ac if you like. I won’t be cold.”

If she got chilly she could always just look at him and let her imagination take a dirty turn. That would heat her up in seconds. In fact, her face was heating right now. Damn it. She was trying to be professional. “Ummm…” she glanced at her cutting board. “I’m finished with this. What next, Boss?”

She needed a laundry list of things to do so she could stay focused and keep her mind from wandering. If not, she’d be fighting daydreams of Andre unbuttoning the rest of his shirt—of him unbuttoning her shirt—for the rest of the day.

They had been working diligently for about an hour and Andre was thinking that it might be a good time for a break. “Meredith how about we take a quick break. If you like you can use the ladies room and I can get you a cold drink. Would you like a glass of wine?” He enjoyed having a glass of wine or two when he was cooking in his own kitchen. It just made the work go so much smoother. He got out two of his special wine glasses and poured two glasses. He handed a glass to her and their hands touched for a moment as she took the glass in hers. Andre looked into her eyes and raised his glass. “to a most exciting day in the kitchen.”

Andre was enjoying his time working with Meredith. It was so exciting being so close to a beautiful woman. He was able to touch her hand with the pretext of showing her how to handle a knife knowing that she needed very little instruction. He could lean over her and smell her hair, such an intoxicating scent. Andre just hoped that he wasn’t being too obvious as he wouldn’t want to upset her. He thought about later this evening when the party was going full swing wondering if Meredith would agree to wearing the dress that he had selected knowing that it was very short and very revealing. As he sat there daydreaming he started to get excited and he felt his cock stir starting to form a bulge in the front of his pants.

He was brought out of his daydream by Meredith when she asked what’s next. Andre started in showing Meredith several of the different dishes that he had planned, stuffed mushrooms and little mini pizzas about 2” in diameter as well as hand cut relishes. At one point he was instructing her how to cut the radishes to make them look like flowers. He had his arms around her holding her hands in his while he showed her a special technique. It was then that he got a whiff of her perfume and couldn’t resist nuzzling her neck kissing her just below her ear. “Oh my I am so sorry Meredith, I don’t know what came over me your perfume smells so wonderful. I just got carried away I hope that you will forgive me for this slight indiscretion.”

Meredith had almost refused the wine. One glass shouldn’t have much of an effect on her, but Andre’s nearness already had her brain a little muddled. She wasn’t sure she could stay focused with alcohol added to the mix. But he pressed it into her hand, rubbing his fingers against hers. Her body reacted instantly to his touch, her nerves waking up and tingling, so she raised the glass to her lips to break the physical contact with him.

Sure enough, the wine inched up her sexual awareness of him. She’d always gotten horny when she was tipsy. She was no where near tipsy, but she’d already been horny, so the alcohol enhanced it.

It was all she could do to focus on the way he cut the radishes. He was practically holding her in his arms. If she just leaned back the slightest bit to rest against him… She tried not to think about it. To think about radishes. Or anything other than touching, kissing, sex.

And then she felt it. His nose and mouth and breath. She released the air from her lungs in a whoosh as his lips gently moved over the sensitive slope of her neck. It was just the slightest friction, but her scalp prickled and her nipples hardened.

In another tenth of a second, she would have sagged against him, turned in his arms, and kissed him back. But before she could, he stepped back and gushed an apology. What was she supposed to say to that? Everything about this whole situation was so mixed up. He kept saying he wasn’t interested in her, but he paid her compliments constantly. He kept touching her. Now he’d kissed her, but he kept apologizing and implying it was inappropriate.

She’d been out of the dating scene for years and years. She didn’t know how this was all supposed to work. She didn’t even have the confidence to flirt. Laying her knife on the counter, she stepped away from him, needing some space.

“It’s fine,” she mumbled, nervously touching her cheeks, which were red hot against her fingers—a mixture of embarrassment and arousal. “Please…just…stop apologizing. I don’t… I don’t really understand what you want from me. And I just need a minute.”

She walked around him and made her way to the bathroom. The first things she noticed when she looked at her reflection were the hard protrusions her nipples made through her bra and thin blouse. Andre would have to be blind to have missed that. How humiliating. She frantically pressed on her nipples through her clothes in a fruitless attempt to make them recede, but her attentions only made them harder.

She groaned in frustration. How could she do this? Get through the whole day? Sexual frustration wasn’t new to her. For a few years before the divorce, sex with her husband was infrequent and less than satisfying. She’d taken to satisfying herself every once in a while. Since she’d started the cooking class she’d done so after every lesson, lying in bed and thinking about Andre.

But that wasn’t an option right now. Not in his bathroom. She wrapped her arms around her waist and leaned against the counter. This would be so much easier if she understood how he felt. If he wanted to keep things professional, then that was fine. But why say that and then keep touching her? If he wasn’t interested in her sexually or romantically or whatever, then that was fine too. But why kiss her neck in his kitchen?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Who was he to play mind games with her? When she turned to face the mirror again, her nipples had softened into submission and the color in her cheeks was from a different emotion than arousal. She and Andre needed to have a talk. Now, if she could just hold this determination all the way to the kitchen, she’d have reason to really be proud.

But as it turned out, she didn’t have to go that far, because a soft knock sounded on the door.

Andre realized that he had made a tremendous blunder. He had two choices either stay away from Meredith with the touching and close body contact that was exciting the heck out of him and keep their situation together on a purely professional level or tell her how he felt and hope that she might just actually feel the same way toward him. Instead he had crossed the line from just mild flirtation by kissing her on the neck and then backing off and making an apology. He had to admit that this was so new to him, being infatuated with a woman that he considered a colleague.

It was obvious when Meredith left the room that she was upset. All Andre could do was ponder what exactly he should do to clear the air and make his feelings known to her. There was always the chance that she would reject his advances and have no desire to have any kind of relationship with him. Maybe today wasn’t the best of times to have kissed her what with the party and all. There was just something about her that just made him want to take her in his arms and hold her close. Whether it was the right or wrong time he had in fact kissed her and the excitement of just that little kiss had sent tingles all over his body.

Finally he decided what he had to do so he went to the bathroom door and knocked softly calling out her name, “Meredith are you all right? Please open the door.” She opened the door and Andre said, “I just want to let you know that I’m really not sorry that I kissed you.” Throwing caution to the wind he reached out and took her hands pulling her close to him. He put his arms around her and lowered his lips to hers pressing them against hers in a soft but some what passionate kiss. It didn’t last that long and when he pulled away, “I have been wanting to do that all morning. I can’t explain it but I get this wonderfully excited feeling when ever I am close to you and I‘m really hoping that you might feel the same way.”

Still reeling from the kiss, Andre’s words left her speechless for several long seconds. He hoped she felt the same way? Of course she felt the same way.

“I… I… I do…” She was stammering like an idiot. “But I thought you didn’t. I mean, you said we were just going to work together…”

She pressed nervous fingers to her lips, lips that still burned from his kiss, and stared at him questioningly. “Do you still want me to help you with the party?” she finally asked.

When he’d asked her to do this, he’d been so adamant about inappropriate behavior. Now where did this leave her? Them? She honestly didn’t know.

“Meredith, I have always held a policy of being a professional and not mixing business with pleasure that was until I met you. I can’t explain it but I just want to be near you. Having you in my class has been so unbelievable that I wasn’t able to touch you to hold you. I would very much love for you to help with the party. I’m so sorry that I have more than likely confused you with my actions. It was never my intention but then I never thought that I would fall for you.”

Andre wished now that he didn’t have the party to contend with. He would have rather had more time to hold her and kiss her exploring the possibilities of a relationship and frankly just exploring her body. He pulled her to him and again kissed her pressing his lips to hers this time with a bit more passion. His tongue snuck out and started to search for hers. His arms were around her one hand dropping to the small of her back and even to the top of her nicely rounded ass. He knew that they would have to end this shortly or he would get so turned on and want more. There was still the party to contend with.

Once back in the kitchen there was a whole new air about it. Andre felt very comfortable touching his shapely assistant often times patting her on the ass, “you are doing wonderfully, Meredith.” They worked together like a well oiled machine and soon all the food was prepared and there was still about an hour before anyone was to arrive. “Well we did it all is ready,. I couldn’t have done it with out you. I hope you forgive me for my difficulties in expressing my feelings for you. If you would like you are welcome to take a freshening up shower. Then comes the question of the little black dress. Have you decided that you can wear it for the party? I think you would look awesome in it.”

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The heated kiss in the bathroom had left her breathless and aroused, but it also calmed her, oddly enough. Now that she knew Andre was attracted to her and wasn’t going to keep sending her mixed signals, she could focus on food prep.

They worked together amazingly well, and she grinned all afternoon. In the large kitchen, it was completely unnecessary for him to pass so closely behind her, but she soon found herself craving the light touches on her ass and whispers of praise in her ear.

They were finished with all the food prep in plenty of time, and his offer of a shower sounded wonderful. But then he mentioned the dress again.

“I don’t know, Andre. Short and low cut really isn’t my style. I’m not twenty-one anymore, and I definitely don’t have a college aged body. Let me take my shower and then I’ll look at the dress. No promises though.”

Meredith had gone into the spare bedroom saying that she was going to take a shower then she would take a look at the dress. Andre thought that maybe he would shower also going into his room he stripped off his clothes and headed for the shower. As he got into the shower he was thinking about her across the hall from his room showering soaping up her sexy body. His thoughts caused his cock to stir. Andre was so in hopes that she would choose to wear the dress that he had picked out knowing that she would look awsome in it. He considered the time wondering wheter he should hurry his shower deciding there was still plenty of time before the first guest arrived.

He washed off and then stood under the hot spray of the shower making him feel all relaxed. When done he got out and dried off. Then splashing on just a bit of cologne he got dressed for the party. He had decided to wear a white silk shirt with a colorful ascot a blue sport coat with kahki pants. Once dressed he wandered back to the main room and waited for Meredith. When she came out he said, "well how do I look? This ascot doesn't make me look gay does it?"

Throughout her shower, Meredith was a flurry of nerves. Anxious about the crowd of people that would be at the party. Worried about the dress Andre wanted her to wear. Excited but confused about the attraction between her and Andre. She couldn’t calm down.

She was to be a server at the party, not a guest. And Andre had admitted he was attracted to her, but would he want to be open about that with his friends at the party? Or would she just be another girl with a serving tray until everyone left?

She touched up her make-up and spritzed on a little perfume before walking out to see Andre and face the dreaded dress.

"Well how do I look? This ascot doesn't make me look gay does it?" he asked.

She laughed and kissed him on the cheek. “You look colorful. But definitely not gay. Now show me the dress before I lose my nerve and just refuse to wear it sight unseen.”

As he was getting dressed Andre kept thinking about Meredith and the party. He was wishing that she could be his special guest at the party but he needed someone to serve. He had always had a woman serve at his holiday party dressed in a skimpy sexy black dress as a visual treat for his guests. But now he wasn’t so sure that he wanted her to be put in that position. Andre went to his closet and brought out the little black dress which featured a halter style silhouette with plunging neckline, scoop back, figure flattering ruched front with ring detail and sassy short a line skirt. “Meredith about the dress. I would rather you wear it and attend the party as my special friend. I would be the luckiest guy there with the most beautiful woman on his arm. But then I wouldn’t have anyone to serve. So I have come up with what I consider a workable solution. You wear the dress and I introduce you as my special friend and the two of us will serve the party guests as a couple.” Andre was so hoping that this was a solution to his dilemma that would be acceptable to Meredith. He was also hoping that she would agree to wear the dress. He just knew that she would look stunning in it.

Meredith barely registered that Andre wanted them to serve at the party together, as ‘special friends,’ whatever that meant. Her eyes were locked on the dress. Short. Very short. She wasn’t sure she’d worn skirts that short back when she was in college. There was no back, and there wasn’t much of a front. A bra was out of the question with that dress. Meredith didn’t go braless. She wasn’t a teenager anymore. Her breasts were real. They were full and plump, but she was 34 for god’s sake. When she was 24 they probably would have stayed in place with little to no help for a dress like this. But she didn’t see how it was possible now. If she had implants and the permanent perkiness that went with them, then she could. But she had a real, 34 year old body.

And staring at that dress made her realize just how lacking it was. Her husband had left her for a younger, firmer woman. A woman who could wear that dress. And now Andre seemed to think she had a 21 year old body under her clothes. He expected too much. And if he saw that she wasn’t what he expected, she’d have to face the rejection she’d felt when her husband had replaced her all over again.

Tears stung the backs of her eyes, but she blinked them away. Refusing to look Andre in the eye, she stammered, “I…I…I can’t. I’m sorry.”

Andre watched as she stared at the dress. He could tell that she wasn’t excited about the thought of wearing that dress by the look on her face. A look of saddness more than anything. He could see tears welling up in her eyes as she said, “I…I…I can’t. I’m sorry.” He felt terrible that he had caused her the pain that was obvious on her face. He took her into his arms, “Meredith, I am so sorry I didn’t mean to offend you by asking you to wear this dress. I know it is short and quite revealing but I thought you had the perfect body to show off your womanly curves. You would look so much better in a dress like this than the young girls now adays that are so thin and frankly don’t have the sexy shape that you do. I am not going to force you to wear the dress for the party but I do have one request. Would you try it on just for me? I would so love to see you in it regardless that you might think you are too old or not have the right body to wear such a dress. I don’t know exactly how old you are but I assure you that you are definitely not too old to wear something like this. What do you say would you try it on for me?”

Meredith was sure her distress was obvious, but she didn’t know how Andre knew she was self-conscious about her age. While it was partially comforting that he was trying to be understanding, it also made her even more paranoid than she was to begin with. Reluctantly, she agreed to try it on and took the dress into the bathroom to change.

It was short. And low. And revealing. And Meredith thought she looked a little like a hooker, maybe more than a little. But she braced herself and stepped out so Andre could see her. She could feel the heat rising up her neck and she couldn’t meet his gaze.

“I really don’t think this is me,” she whispered.