Prized Bottle

Jo strode into the bottle shop, her target clear in her mind. There was a certain bottle of Merlot she had to get to. As she approached her objective, a shape moved into her peripheral vision. A hand reached from her right side aiming for the last bottle of Chateaux Marsau.

“Wait, that’s my bottle! I have to have that one. Please….” Her imploring stopped short as she turned and looked directly into the bluest pair of eyes she had ever seen.

“Possession is nine tenths of the law,” the owner of the blue eyes pronounced, grasping the neck of the bottle proprietorially.

“Seriously, I have to have that particular bottle, couldn’t you pick something else? Jo pleaded.

“Ummm…nope.”

“Is there some way I could make it worth your while?”

“Don’t think so.”

“Come on, there must be something, some favour I could do for you?” She smiled in what she hoped was a persuasive fashion.

Mr Blue Eyes stared upwards as if contemplating the offer. Jo furtively studied his face. He really was quite attractive, what a shame he was being so stubborn about letting her have her wine.

“There’s only one thing I can think of, but there’s no way you’re going to agree.”

“Try me.”

“My plan for this wine is to bring it to a friend’s place. He is making dinner for me and this other friend, a woman. I like this woman but so does my friend. I was thinking if I could convince a second young lady to come along, my friend might be less inclined to compete with me over our mutual female friend. Do you understand what I mean?”

“A blind date?! You can’t be serious! Why would I do that? We’ve only just met. You could be a serial killer for all I know!” Jo declared.

“I’ll just be heading out with my wine then. Bye!”

“Wait, I have to have that bottle! The dinner is tonight?”

“On my way there now. Be seeing ya.”

“And there are going to be two other people there?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Ok, I’ll do it, as long as I get the Chateau Marsau. I’ll buy us something else to drink tonight.”

“Really? You’re going to do it? I didn’t believe you actually would.” His mouth curled into a smile. “Alright, I accept your conditions. I suppose we should introduce ourselves, I’m Nic and you are…?”

“Jo. Why don’t you text me the address? I’ll meet you there.”

“I’ll just hold on to this bottle as insurance and give it to you when you arrive.”

“Hmmm, how do I know you won’t give me a fake address and just disappear with my Merlot?”

“That really wouldn’t help me with my lady friend situation, now would it. I guess you’re just going to have to trust me.”

Fifteen minutes later, Jo parked her car outside the address Nic had texted her. True to his word, Nic was standing on the pathway just outside a tidy bungalow with a neatly trimmed lawn.

“I’ll have my wine now thanks,” demanded Jo.

“No problem,” Nic handed it over and Jo stored the prized bottle in her large tote bag.

“Let’s get this over with,” Jo sighed.

Nic knocked on the front door. A man around Nic’s age opened the door and pulled Nic into a bear hug.

“Hey man, thanks for coming. Who’s your charming companion?” he queried, looking past his friend at Jo.

“Jesse, great to see you, this is my new friend, Jo. Has Sara arrived yet?” Nic looked past Jesse, into the house.

“Yeah, she’s just getting the wine glasses, hope you didn’t forget to bring wine.”

“Now what kind of dinner guest would I be if I didn’t bring the wine?” laughed Nic, producing the substitute bottle Jo had purchased.

The group moved into the dining room, where the table had been beautifully set for four.

“Thanks for including Jo at such short notice,” Nic smiled gratefully.

“No problem, the more the merrier. Right Sara? Meet Jo. Jo, this is Sara.”

“Lovely to make your acquaintance, Jo.”

“Likewise, Sara.”

The night proceeded much as Nic had hoped. Jesse was quite taken with Jo, leaving Nic open to spend most of the night lavishing attention on Sara. Jo seemed to enjoy the food, complementing Jesse on his cooking skills. Sara agreed to see Nic again, just the two of them. It all appeared to be a great success.

Soon it was time for Jo to make her farewells.

“Thank you so much for a wonderful evening. It was lovely getting to know you all. I really enjoyed the food, Jesse. Thank you for welcoming me into your home.”

“The pleasure was all mine Jo. I hope we’ll be seeing more of you?”

“You never know,” smiled Jo, “you never know.”

Jo called her superior the moment she started her car.

“Boss, you are never going to believe how I spent my night. I was in the bottle shop retrieving the surveillance device when I was confronted by a known associate of our suspect. The next thing I know I’ve been invited to dinner in our suspect’s home! Not a bad meal either.”

“Well, detective, it seems your undercover training is about to prove useful.”