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cleft of the mountainside, with
Manzanita trees flanking the back and side yards as the property
spread into the hills behind. In front, a large reflecting pool
cast shimmering gold swirls upon the flawless, white plaster
exterior of the large house. While they waited for the entry gate
to slowly swing open, Joe cleared his throat and spoke up to break
the silence.
    “Sarah, I was serious. This is a reprieve
from our little wager. Tonight is off limits from everything else
we've done so far. Understand?”
    Sarah nodded slowly as she took in his
intense, candid demeanor in the little car. “Uh, okay. A real truce
it is. Just like the Romans would do.”
    The gate finished it slow swing, and Joe
swung the car into the opening garage that spread like a cavern
under the house.
    “Like the Romans?” He asked with a smile, as
he came around to open her door. She swung her right leg out, and
had to give a demure smile of her own as he offered his hand to
help her out of the low slung car. She watched as Joe's wandering
gaze fell on her legs a little too long. She liked the attention,
but it still felt odd to be having dinner with the man who was
trying to best her at this dog-eat-dog competition.
    Sarah continued her explanation. “During the
battle of Troy, the soldiers would take breaks to gather their dead
and celebrate the day's victories. Then the next day, it was back
to slaughtering one another.” She said. Sarah followed him in
through the entryway to the main living room.
    She tried to take in the entire interior at
once, but it was difficult to say the least. Facing towards the
ocean was a wall of plate glass windows that stretched from the
floor level, all the way up to a loft-style library that was
accessed by an ornate spiral staircase. The opposite wall was
festooned with a mix of curio cabinets and large canvas paintings.
The paintings ranged from impressionist, all the way to garish
graphitti-style street art. A low-angled wall that jutted off
toward the entry way was decorated with photos that looked like the
ones from the sushi place.
    “So, what do you think?” Sarah was startled
out of her appraisal, as she whipped around to see that he was
standing behind her with a glass of wine.
    “Oh my God! You scared the daylights out of
me!” Where did you go?”
    “The kitchen. Remember, I'm cooking us
dinner? I'm sorry I scared you.” He said with a smirk, as he placed
his hand on her shoulder.
    Sarah felt his touch on her bare skin, as his
finger traced over the tiny spaghetti strap of her thin top. She
held the cool glass in her hand, while she angled her head to feel
his touch against her cheek as well. The silence was only broken
intermittently, as the crashing surf blasted against the distant
cliffs.
    “Oh! I have dinner to tend to!” Joe said with
a start.
    Sarah was jolted back to the present, while
he went to go tend to the delicious smells that were now emanating
from the kitchen. Her eyes fluttered back open as she followed
behind. “I'll come help too.”
    As they stood in his kitchen, she chopped
carrots and celery while he finished pan searing the fish. After
they plated everything, Joe led her out to an enclave that was
windowed in from the cold ocean breeze, but still allowed an
unfettered view of the entire coastline from his cliff side
property. While they quietly ate, Sarah tried to avoid craning her
head around to look at more of the house. She wanted to know so
much more about the enigmatic Joseph Blake, but being here was
really clouding her abilities to gather info on him.
    “I'll take you on a tour after dinner.” He
said with a chuckle. Sarah turned back around to see him gazing at
her with a warm smile.
    “I'm sorry, but I just don't know anything
about you. Ugh, frankly, nobody else does either.” She admitted
with a confessing sigh. She set her fork down and perched her face
in her hands as she watched him. “I mean nothing. I even checked
the newspaper archives. There was a