Complete 18+ Private Untouched

[Yugam]

Valeria pointed to a blue sedan. And it had a Toyota emblem on the front. Ari checked his phone again to see if the driver had arrived, finding that he indeed had. "Yeah, looks like," Ari said before heading towards the car and opening the door for Val.

"Aristotle?" the driver, the older, muscular, dark-skinned man in the driver's seat asked they both slid into the car. The man was built like a bodybuilder, and looked as if he'd be more at home in a wrestling ring than driving people around, even if it was just as a side job.

"Yup, that's me," Ari responded with a smile towards the man.
"Like the philosopher?"
Ari couldn't help but chuckle. The number of times he'd been asked that same question through out his life were numerous. "Yeah, like the philosopher."
"Cool name. You guys buckled up back there?"
"Yeah, all good to go," the man replied as his seatbelt clicked into place. Once more his hand found it's way to rest on Valeria's thigh as the car began to roll down the street.

"First time to New York?" the Uber driver asked, engaging in some of that famous Big Apple taxi talk as he delivered his clients to their destination.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

Sweet, nailed it~

She couldn’t help but smile proudly as her guess turned out to be right, following behind Ari once the man had confirmed in his app that the blue sedan was indeed the car meant for the pair. He’d opened the back door for her, allowing the blonde to slide into the back seats first before following. Valeria had just settle down on her side, grabbing the seatbelt, when the driver’s inquiry had the girl pausing as she raised an eyebrow.

”Like the philosopher?”
"The Greek philosopher?"

She’d blurted out her own words at the same time as their driver, finally remembering to finish buckling up when the man did a quick check-in on the pair before the car began to move. Between all the excitement yesterday Valeria had forgotten to ask Ari more about his name, but now that she heard it the girl felt a bit silly at not figuring it out earlier.

"Yeah, first time for me at least." His hand reached towards her, settling on her thigh once more, and unconsciously her hand reached over to rest atop his own like it was the most natural thing in the world. "You’ve lived in the Big Apple for a while, I take it?"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"All my life," the man responded, tilting his head to the back and the side just slightly as he spoke, his eyes remaining on the road. "Tried moving away when I was a younger man, but ya know what they say. You can take the kid outta New York, but you can't take the New York outta the kid," he said with a slight chuckle.

"So how long are you two in town? Here for Summerfest?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I'm staying an extra day so I have a day to just chill out after being at the fest all week, but after that I'm off," Ari replied, a slight smile on his lips as he felt Valeria lay her hand atop his. He gave the girl's thigh a light squeeze in response.

"Well, for a couple of outta-towners, you guys sure know how to pick your bagels. Kossar's are some of the best around, I swear."

"Oh, yeah? What do you recommend there?"

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

Her eyebrows rose in light wonder as the driver mentioned having lived in New York all his life, from what little Valeria had already experienced of people in the big city most weren’t the talkative type… though Val supposed that came with the territory if one was an Uber driver. As the man asked if they were here for the summerfest the blonde nodded in response, letting Ari field that question instead.

She couldn’t help perking up when hearing that he would be staying an extra day after the festival ended, the girl having done the same when she had booked her flight and hotel room. The light squeeze he gave her thigh caused Val to giggle softly, the smile remaining on her lips as she turned her attention back to the conversation at hand.

”Hmm... I’d say anything of theirs that has their jalapeno-caper cream cheese. Pretty sure they mix that stuff in-store, and they sure don’t skimp out on the heat.”

"Any other places you'd recommend while we're in New York?"

Might as well take the opportunity and have a native point them to the good eating spots in the City That Never Sleeps, with some luck they might even discover something locally known but not widely advertised.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Hmm, let me see," the driver said thoughtfully as he turned a corner. "Well, you guys are staying at the Civilian. Dutch Fred's is pretty close. It's a little...bar? Diner? Honestly, not a hundred percent sure on that, but their food, put's my mama's to shame. And don't tell her I said that, she'd skin me alive," the man said, glancing at them in the rear view mirror with a humorous smile. "Uh, there's also Empanada Mama's if you like...well, empanadas. And then there's- fuck!"

The driver suddenly slammed on the brakes, jolting everyone forward in their seats as the car ahead of them suddenly flashed red, another car running a red light and nearly causing a three car collision. "Fucking idiots, I swear to God," the man grumbled before glancing at the pair in the back again. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "New York streets, ya know. Uh, where was I?" the man said as the car started moving again. "Right, if you like Chinese there's also the Dim Sum Palace off Forty Sixth. Lo mein is pretty damn good there, not gonna lie."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

She’d always had the small habit of keeping tabs of her surroundings whenever she was driving, and more so if the person behind the wheel was unknown to her. As such she had occasionally been glancing towards the road ahead while listening to the driver’s suggestions. She watched the light turn green for them, the car in front of them and their own renewing their motion, before a faint speeding blur to the right caused the blonde to gasp audibly.

The car ahead of them quickly slammed the brakes to avoid a collision, causing their own driver to do the same as an expletive escaped his mouth, and Valeria had tensed in response as the car jolted everyone inside. Her free hand had gripped the side of her seat, the motion mimicked by the one resting atop Yu’s, before the girl had closed her eyes until the moment had finally passed.

"N-No, it’s okay," A faint smile was given to the driver as he checked on the pair through the rear view mirror. "Happens quite a bit in Puerto Rico too, so you’re good."

He’d mentioned some other food places, but by then Valeria hadn’t really been paying as much attention to the words as before.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

The sudden stop had shot Ari forward in his seat slightly, the man bringing up an arm to brace himself against the front passenger seat instinctively as he felt Valeria squeeze his hand tightly, his own hand squeezing her as if his grip on her would prevent physics from doing it's work. Good thing they were all wearing seatbelts.

Thankfully, the driver had stopped quickly enough to not cause an accident, and Ari cursed alongside him.

The car began to roll forward once more as the driver finished talking about the restaurants he recommended. Ari looked over at Valeria ensuring she was okay. She seemed completely zoned out now though, and the man gave her a concerned look as he gently squeezed her thigh again. "Hey, you okay?" he asked in a hushed voice, despite knowing that the driver would be able to hear them anyways.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

She could still feel the pounding in her chest, taking a quiet drawn out breath as the blonde tried to calm her nerves… thankful that their driver had been paying enough attention to avoid an unwanted collision. "Hey, you okay?" His words were softly whispered in her direction, Ari giving her thigh another gentle squeeze to accompany his voice. It caused the blonde to spot her expression in the rear view mirror of the Uber ride, her lips taught in a thin line as the color had drained from the woman’s face ever so slightly.

"Y-yeah, I’ll live," Valeria could see the concerned look in his face, a sheepish smile given back as the blonde tried to be a tiny bit humorous with her choice of words. "Just a bit startled, that’s all."

The last thing she wanted was to worry Ari, especially when nothing had happened in the end, or cause any discomfort to their Uber driver in the process.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"...Just a bit startled, that's all."

Ari gave Valeria another small nod and slight grin as he settled back into his seat. His thumb gently stroked the soft skin of her leg as it drew small circles. They were all safe, driver included. No need to worry about anything except whether or not the bialys and bagels would be any good.

It wouldn't be terribly long before the duo would find out either. The rest of the drive went on in relative silence, the driver only occasionally pointing out something he was familiar with, Ari responding when it suited him, but otherwise humming a sound of vague interest, if only to let the muscular man know that he'd heard him.

"And we've arrived," the driver said as he pulled up in front of the bagel shop. The man turned in his seat, holding onto the passenger seat as he did so. "Be sure to leave a tip," he grinned at the pair, though there was hint of nervousness behind his smile, probably worried that the near-accident might damage his earnings or reputation.

"Will do," Ari replied to the man as he opened the door, casting him a smile in an attempt to reassure the man. When both had gotten out of the car, Ari shut the door, before pulling out his phone and giving the man a nice tip. "Well that was an eventful drive," Ari said dryly, despite the fact he was trying to make a joke.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

His touch was comforting, the small circles he drew on her skin causing her skin to tingle softly as the girl smiled back. The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful, something the blonde welcomed, and soon enough their driver notified the pair that they had arrived at their destination. "Thanks for all the recommendations, hopefully we’ll be able to give most of them a try." A friendly smile was given to the man, hoping it’d be enough to reassure him that neither of them had a negative impression of him and his service, before Valeria stepped out of the car.

A faint chuckle escaped her throat at Ari’s comment, followed by a soft sigh. "I’d heard New York traffic could get wild, but who the fuck runs a red light in the middle of the day?" That wasn’t just reckless, at that point the driver was just begging for an accident.

"But hey, at least we made it in one piece, right?" A soft smile was given to the man as the girl stepped closer, her shoulder lightly bumping against his. "Here’s hoping the bialys are worth it~"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Happens in Philly too," Ari said as he stowed his phone away in his pocket. "People are stupid," the man shrugged. "Really makes a good argument for Darwinism if we're being honest." Ari was hardly ever worried about his own driving. He could handle a vehicle well-enough. He'd even thought about going into NASCAR or something when he'd first started driving. The thing he was most worried about when he was on the road was all the idiots around him. He had to keep his head on a swivel just because people were drunk, had their eyes on their phone, or just plain acting like grade A idiots. If overpopulation wasn't enough to convince people to start a selective breeding campaign, watching other people drive should.

"Oh god, I hope," the man chuckled at the mention of the bialys. "We almost lost our lives for this stuff. It better be good. Wanna head in?"
"Mhmm, yeah let's go in—I'm starving~"
Ari was happy to oblige, walking over to the bagel shop and opening the door. A bell rang from within as the glass door swung open, and warm, inviting smell of fresh baked bread wafted out. Ari's stomach began to growl immediately, since he hadn't eaten since they'd had dinner the night before. "After you," he said with a smile, despite his grumbling stomach.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Oh that’s terrible," She couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped when Ari provided his hot take for the topic—one she wholeheartedly agreed with, mainly because it had crossed her mind on more than one occasion while driving. "Here I’d hoped we’d contained that disease to just the island."

She’d quickly learned to drive while being aware of not just herself, but also most of the cars in a nearby radius to her own. One useful trick she had learned early on was keeping an eye on the tires of nearby cars whenever possible, since if they did any unexpected turns that’s the first place where she’d be able to notice it. A deep exhale left the blonde, before she decided to push the topic out of her mind for good. After all they had finally reached Kossar’s Bagels & Bialys, no need to sour their moods further before they had even stepped through the front door of the store.

Ari was the first to reach the entrance, pulling the door open and causing a tiny bell to chime within the establishment. His stomach rumbled, audible enough for Valeria’s ears to catch, but before the girl could think of teasing him her own had echoed the sentiment. "Look at us, perfect synch~" A soft giggle left her lips as the girl entered the store, instantly comforted by the scent of freshly made bagels, before she took a spot behind the two customers already present in the small line.

"So… Classic and Big Orchard then? Or did the suggestions of our Uber driver change your mind?"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Ari actually felt a bit relieved when Valeria had joked alongside him. For a moment he'd worried that he'd said too much, made himself look like an ass, for lack of a better term. But, thankfully the girl's sense of humor was either more closely aligned with his own than he thought, or she just understood the immense lack of intelligence in the world. Or both. Ari could only hope that it was both.

"Mm, I think we can stick to our original plan still," Ari replied as he followed the girl into the shop, the door swinging shut and ringing the hanging bell again as it did so. "We can always toss that cream cheese on either or both," Ari added, not seeing why that should stop them.

"Should we get coffees too?" he asked, although knowing he was at least going to get a coffee for himself. Either it was a withdrawal symptom from his crippling caffeine addiction, or it was the leftovers of the hangover, but his head still gently throbbed, and the two braincells in Ari's head insisted that caffeine was the only cure.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Oh that’s a good idea," A port of her was surprised that the thought hadn’t crossed her mind until Ari mentioned it, chalking it to her brain still being slow on the uptake after their drinking the night before. Besides, one of their choices already had cream cheese in it anyways. "Here’s hoping they won’t mind us customizing their Classic just a smidge then~"

Behind the counter a man waved the next customer over, it would be their turn to order after and that thought alone made the girl excited. Already the shop smelled absolutely delicious within, usually a good sign on what to expect when the food was finally within their grasp.

"Not a coffee lover, ‘member? Doubt they would just let you make your own blend here, so I’ll skip on it this time around~" She gave him a wink along with her smile, her shoulder bumping against his before she scanned the menu hanging above the counter for beverages. "Thankfully the black iced tea I like is in stock, so I’ll get my caffeine dose from "

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

The two stood in line patiently, waiting to give their orders to the men and woman behind the counter serving up New York's afternoon breakfast goers, much like themselves. The man nearly facepalmed though when Valeria reminded him that she wasn't all that into coffee. "Right, sorry," he apologized. "Still hung over." With any luck though, the food and caffeine would change that, and soon.

Thankfully, due to the late hour for breakfast, the line was short and moved swiftly, and soon enough the pair were greeted by a teenager who them a tired, but pleasant smile. "Hey, what can I get you guys?" he asked them.
"Hi, uh, could we have a Classic and an Orchard with the jalapeno-caper cream cheese and on bialys?" the man answered. "Sure, what type of bialys?"
"Uh, what are our options?" Ari asked. The boy moved them slightly down the line before pointing to four different bialy-shaped breads. "We got plain, onion, garlic, and sesame," the man said.
Ari looked over at Valeria, "You good with garlic for the Classic? Whatcha want for your Orchard?"

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"No apology needed, so long as you keep up your end of the bargain at some point."

Granted, that would probably be a hard thing to do given the circumstances… but if that Philly roadtrip ever happened then perhaps she’d get to try out Ari’s take on coffee as a result. Before they knew it their turn had come up next, the pair walked up to the teenager as Ari began giving them the order.

"Yeah, garlic is fine for the Classic… we can do a plain bialys for the Orchard—oh, and make it a Big Orchard please?"
”Oh yeah, totally… alright so one Classic, jalapeño cream cheese sub, on garlic bialys; and one Big Orchard, plain bialys. Anything to drink?”
"I’ll take a bottle of Harney and Sons black sweet tea."
”Got it, and for you?”

The teen then turned towards Yugam, waiting for his drink order so he could submit the ticket for the kitchen to handle.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Uh, do you guys have any alternative milks?" Ari would ask as the teen looked towards him for his drink.
"Yeah, we got soy and almond."
"Cool, I'll do an iced mocha with almond milk then," the dark-haired man answered. "Alright, sounds good, it'll be just a minute."

The boy began to put together their orders with practiced speed and accuracy, while one of the other works got to quick work on their coffees. The pair moved on to the cash register to pay while their order were made.

"Alrighty, so we got one Classic on a garlic bialy with jalapeno-caper spread, one Big Orchard on a plain bialy, also with jalapeno-caper, a black sweet tea, and an iced mocha."
"Yup, sounds about right."
"Alright then, that'll be forty-four even."
Ari pulled out his credit card and handed it to the woman who charged him and handed him both the card and a receipt back before taking their wrapped sandwhiches and putting them into a brown paper bag and handing them both the bag and their drinks.
"Have a good one,"
"You too, thanks."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"I’ll go save us a space," She’d grabbed both of their drinks while Ari settled the bill, the blonde sparing him an argument considering this had been their agreement the night before. Her eyes scanned the inside of the store which offered few seating arrangements, but thankfully a two person table against the wall was available. "We can enjoy the a/c a little bit longer that way."

After all Central Park didn’t offer that commodity, something they had learned the day before, so it only felt right to enjoy the crisp and cool temperatures inside the shop while they could. She managed to reach the table without incident, settling down the coffee on the table before Valeria took one of the seats. She carefully swirled the lidded cup containing her iced tea around a few times, before it too was placed down as the girl opened her straw. She couldn’t help the content sigh as she took a sip, enjoying the blend and very mild sweetness that the brand was known for.

"They really make good tea…"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

After having paid for their breakfast (the price of which shocked him, those damn New York prices), Ari joined Luthien at the table she'd picked out for the, sitting down across from her as she gently swirled around her tea before taking a sip.

"I've never had that brand before," the man replied, before taking a sip of his own coffee. There wasn't exactly anything special about his own drink. It wasn't bad thought, just the right amount of sweetness for his own tastes.

The man opened up the brown bag, the paper rustling loudly as he pulled out the two wrapped sandwiches, and looking at the Sharpied letter on each. "Alright, I think this one is the Orchard," Ari said, placing the one marked with a big 'O' in front of Val. "And I think this one is the Classic." He started carefully unwrapping the sandwich, only tearing the paper when the sticky tape they'd used to seal the corner refused to come away. Just as he'd expected, the Classic, fish, capers, onions, cream cheese, all between two halves of slightly toasted bialy. Ari reached into his back pocket before opening up and popping two small white pills again, taking a sip of his coffee again. "How is it?"

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Really? You have to try it then," There was little hesitation from the girl as she placed her drink close to Ari, the universal offer that he was free to take a sip from it. "I really like them since they don’t sugar bomb their blends like other brands, so you can still enjoy the actual tea."

She took the sandwich marked with a large ‘O’ as Ari started divvying up the contents of the paper bag, carefully unwrapping while appreciating the construction. Egg salad, greens, tomato, jalapeño cream cheese, salt & pepper and, most importantly, the very generous helping of smoked salmon present—it was everything she’d wanted, and then a little bit more.

Thankfully the staff had the forethought to cut their sandwiches down the middle, her hands carefully picking up one of the halves before taking a bite out of the corner. "Mmm!" Valeria couldn’t help when her eyes widened slightly, the blend of flavors and textures from the Big Orchard a welcomed surprised.

She was glad they had chosen to add the jalapeño cream cheese to it as well, the heat from the spread actually complementing the rest of the flavors present and bringing everything together. It was then she spotted Ari pop two familiar white pills, remembering that he was lactose intolerant, before she frowned lightly in response.

"Ari, you should’ve reminded me," The words were uttered after the girl had properly swallowed, her hand reaching for her drink before taking a sip. "We should’ve ordered one of them without cream cheese." A sigh escaped her lips before he asked her opinion on her selection, allowing a smile to cross her lips before she responded. "Ten outta ten, it’s really good."

@Yugam