#ninaxirene:001

[pctcrparker]

Nina was so nervous, she felt like her heart was gonna fall out of her ass. She hadn’t been this nervous in god knew how long. A person hadn’t made her so nervous in ages. Then here comes along this woman and she was doing absolutely nothing, but effortlessly making her palms sweat. Worse part was, that Irene had no idea. She was blissfully unaware of the kind of effect she had on the younger woman. She felt her heart leap when Irene teased her and called it a date. She gulped, almost comically loud, before letting out a nervous chuckle. Good thing the other woman didn’t know her well enough to realize that it was a nervous laugh. Nina swore she wasn’t normally like this. She really wasn’t. In fact, most people would say she was rather the opposite. There was just something about Irene that was turning her life upside down. “Th-thank you,” she said when Irene complimented her name. Which she was probably just doing just to be nice considering Nina had always thought her name was rather basic. There wasn’t even any special meaning behind her name. When she was a kid, her mother had told her that she picked the name ‘Nina’ simply because it was the first name she saw when the nurse asked her for a name. Suppose that would be the type of thing that would happen with a woman who got knocked up during a one night stand and kept the baby just because she felt like she had to. But for the first time, because Irene said it, she believed that perhaps her name was pretty. “I’ll be honest with you, I have no idea what that means - Cab—Cabinet Frank,” she laughed at herself, knowing full well she pronounced that wrong. “But you make it sound like the best thing in the world." Grabbing a slice of the pizza, she took a bite. The odd combo of flavors hit her like a truck and it took her a moment until the flavor settled down and it honestly was pretty good. "Okay, maybe you have a point."

It had been a moment since Irene last spoke to someone, or at least someone that wasn't involved or aware of her divorce. It was why she had moved back to her home town, Irene didn't want to deal with the fallout of her divorce. Everyone knew about it and it was all too much for Irene. She was tired of all the sympathetic looks she would get whenever she met with her friends and family because of her bastard husband cheating on her and revealing that his mistress was pregnant. It broke her. Absolutely broke her that his mistress managed to get pregnant with his baby despite nearly a decade of her and her husband trying. Running away to her hometown where she could live as a shut in seemed like the only logical choice at this point. Getting to have a casual conversation with someone without them pitying her just felt nice. Grinning and clapping her hands excitedly when the younger girl confirmed that she wanted to learn more about wine and what wines are best paired with what foods. It was exciting for Irene to be able to pass on her knowledge. "Consider it a date then," she teased and winked at the brunette. "Nina," Irene repeated. "It's a beautiful name." Watching with baited breath as Nina took a sip of the wine she had given her, Irene broke out into a grin and clapped once more. "Perfect! That is a Cabernet Franc. It's best with pepperoni and well, since anchovies are just as spicy, I figured this would be the best with pizza," Irene explained. Opening the pizza box, moaned as soon as the smell hit her nostrils. "God, there's nothing like warm pizza and wine." Grabbing a slice of pizza, she then motioned for Nina to take one as well. "Go ahead, have a bite."

[pctcrparker]

Nina rubbed her hands together nervously as she continued to walk through this woman’s house, feeling completely out of place here. She shouldn’t have agreed to come inside. Not because she was still on the clock and had to get back to work, but out of fear of completely embarrassing herself in front of this woman. As they stepped into the kitchen, Nina stood by against the kitchen island the woman had, watching Irene go and grab something after setting the box of pizza down. Of course a woman like her had wine with pizza. Not just any wine either, of course, but some fancy type of wine. Nina figured it was probably a bottle that she’d never be able to afford. She knew that Irene was probably just teasing her, but Nina couldn’t help the way that there was a kick in her gut as her chest fluttered when the older woman talked about Nina sticking around. It was more than likely just a joke, a tease, but just the thought of Irene wanting to see Nina again, even if it was just a delusion in the girl’s head, had her taking in a nervous shaky breath. The younger chuckled. “I like to learn,” she commented with a small smile. Thanking her, she took the glass of wine. She looked at the woman when her name was asked and she pulled open her sweater to reveal the name tag with her name slightly worn off. “It’s Nina.” She brought the wine glass up to her lips, took in the scent of it before taking a small sip. It even tasted expensive. Her eyes widened as Irene held her hand out. Nina stared at it for a few seconds before reaching over and shaking it. She felt a cliche shock go through her. Why she was feeling like this, she had no clue. It was like some obsessive school girl crush. She cleared her throat and took her hand back. “This wine is very good. I’m not much of a wine drinker, but this would change my mind.”

Irene was completely unaware of the inner turmoil the young brunette was going through. Irene was just too excited and too happy to have the pizza in her hand and the smell was just getting to her. The saltiness and sweetness and savouriness of the pizza was causing her stomach to grumble already. "C'mon, c'mon!" Irene urged the woman, grabbing the pizza box and closing the door behind the brunette before then heading towards the kitchen, trusting that the younger woman was going to follow her. Placing the box on the island counter, Irene then grabbed two glasses of wine from one of the cabinets and grinned. "Thank you. I had it built over the summer," she explained, grabbing one of the bottles of wine from her wine fridge and opening it. "The best way to eat this is pair it with a lovely wine from Naples," Irene instructed as if it was the most obvious thing. "See if there is one thing I would like to pass onto the younger generation it is that you can almost always pair anything with wine, stick around and I'll even help you figure out the best foods to pair with wine," she teased, opening the box of pizza and moaning when the smell hit her. "God, it is incredible!" she exclaimed. Pouring herself a glass of wine and the other, she handed it to the other woman. "I never got your name. I feel silly now asking since you're in my kitchen, but I'm Irene." Irene gave the younger woman a friendly smile, handing her the glass of wine before holding out her hand for the other to shake. Now with all the excitement dying down, she was able to get a good look at the other girl and she was beautiful.

[pctcrparker]

The woman held a conversation so easily that it made Nina’s heart race. Not only was she drop dead gorgeous, but she was charismatic and charming and it all seemed like a deadly combination. Nina began to wonder if answering that phone last week had been a mistake. All it had taken back then was a frantic voice begging for a strange pizza order to be made and that had been enough for something to strike within Nina. Then seeing her and now this? How was she meant to keep Irene out of her thoughts after this? A small, quiet gasp left the girl’s lips when the taller woman suddenly brought her in for a hug. Her whole body became stiff, her breath getting caught in her throat. Was it silly for a girl her age to have such a crush on a complete stranger? When Irene let go, Nina looked down at her worn out work shoes to keep her blush hidden. “It’s okay. It would have been a waste to throw it all out anyway,” she commented in a timid voice. She usually wasn’t this mousy, but something about Irene made her so nervous. When the woman then asked her no—No, not ask her. When Irene told her to come inside her home to try the pizza, Nina’s head snapped back up and her eyes widened. She wasn’t even worried about the fact that she was still on shift, but what had her insides turning was getting to be inside Irene’s home. Maybe that wasn’t a good idea. What if her image of Irene is shattered by finding out the woman was married after all or that she had someone waiting for her upstairs or something. She parted her lips, ready to use work as an excuse before Irene quickly shut that down. Of course she knew Dave. “Oh,” was all Nina had been able to mutter. Her eyes darted between the space Irene had created for her to go in and Irene herself. She swallowed the nervous lump in her throat before deciding to take the plunge. Stepping in, she brushed beside Irene and walked into her home. It was grand and nice and far out of reach for someone like her. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked back at the woman. “Your home is… It’s the nicest place I’ve ever been in.”

The brunette who delivered her pizza was rather cute. She was girlish and noticed how tiny she was, it made Irene wonder if it was safe for such a young girl such as herself to be delivering pizza to random people's homes. "Well, it may seem stranger, but when I was a teenager, eighty years ago," she joked and took the pizza from the young brunette. "This was on the menu at Dave's and I was hooked ever since. It even carried me through college cravings." Stepping to the side and placing her pizza on the side table, Irene then grabbed her wallet and pulled out a bit of cash to tip the young woman. "Well, you're not alone on that one. I happen to really enjoy pineapple on my pizza as well. Something about the sweetness in a savoury dish that makes it all the more appealing. Though I might be weird because I do also enjoy fruits in my salad." Gasping when the brunette explained that she kept the ingredient just in case she ordered again, Irene couldn't help but grin at the kind gesture from the young woman. "Oh God, you're so sweet," she said, unable to help herself as she pulled the other woman into a hug. "Thank you, I really needed that." After a rather rough divorce and being forced to move back to her hometown to be close to family, Irene needed that kind gesture, even if small."Now you have to try it. Come, come in!" Irene opened the door wider, ushering the woman in. "Don't worry, I'll tell Dave I have kidnapped you. He's a family friend of my father's, he won't mind when I tell him that I invited you. Come so you can have a taste." Grabbing her pizza, she waited for the other woman to decide what she was going to do next.

[pctcrparker]

The door swung open and Nina swore she could breathe again because apparently she’d been holding it in this entire time. And there she was, the absolutely most beautiful woman that Nina had ever seen. Last week, she had come and gone fast, she wasn’t even sure if she had taken any tip. That didn’t stop Nina from still thinking about this mysterious woman all week. Well, not so mysterious. She did know her name given the fact that she gave it over the phone. Irene. It was a beautiful, sophisticated name. It suited her. While Irene went on about thanking her for this oddly specific pizza, all Nina could focus on was the way the woman’s hair fell along her shoulders and the faded red lipstick on her lips. Her eyes then took a quick glance inside the woman’s home when the door was opened a little wider. It seemed so clean and tidy in there, but more importantly, she couldn’t see any signs of anyone else. Granted, this was only a very limited view from here, but that was enough. Her attention was brought back to Irene and Nina gave her a small smile. “No, no. I can’t…” She cleared her throat, trying not to sound as nervous as she was. “I can’t say that I have. It’s… strange.” Nina chuckled after handing the warm pizza box off to the woman in front of her. “But I like pineapple on my pizza, so I guess I’m not one to talk. That’s always been a controversial topic.” She felt herself ease up a little more, being able to joke in hopes of getting to spend just a little more time here at her doorstep. “You ordered it again. I mean, you ordered it last week. So you must have really missed it. I kept the ingredients at the pizza place… Just in case. I mean, like, I don’t know. Not like I was waiting for you to call again. But just in case someone else may also have the same strange craving.”

As of late, Irene had a very specific craving that only Dave's Pizza could satiate, but it wasn't just Dave's Pizza, it was an old pizza that used to be on the menu. God, Irene didn't even want to think about how old she was. The specific pizza had to have been gone for at least a decade now. When she called Dave's Pizza last week, she was shocked when the woman finally obliged her order, not expecting for her to actually agree to it. Though she did bribe the woman, saying that she would pay a hefty tip. So here Irene was, waiting for her order, hoping that it would be just as amazing as she remembered it. Absentmindedly watching some Netflix show she had on, Irene glanced at the grandfather clock that had been in her family for what seemed like generations now, she waited rather impatiently for her pizza. Grabbing her phone, she was about to check the app to see where her pizza was now before she heard someone ring her doorbell. Grinning, Irene practically jumped out of her couch and practically ran to her door. Opening it, Irene was soon greeted with the smell of the pizza she ordered. "Oh my god!" she gushed. "You are a Godsend," she stated. "Thank you for making my pizza. I lived off of this as a teenager. I can't believe that Dave got rid of the anchovies and parm pizza," Irene explained and shook her head. "Have you ever tried it? I hope you snuck a taste."