Vietnamese Beef Pho

Grace: I do too, but it's not local enough and I can't drive.

Kon: I know, I understand, I just can't help but wish you were the first person I saw when I got off the plane.

Grace: Even if I did meet you, I wouldn't be the first person you'd see anyway, what about the airport workers, and the other people there?

Kon: You know what I mean!

Grace: I know, I'm just teasing you.

Kon's estimated time of arrival was 10am GMT and that made her sad. She would be in work when he got there, but luckily, she'd planned ahead and had booked off time from work for the next 2 weeks. She wanted to use some of her holiday time, so she could see Kon whenever he was free. He wasn't moving to her city, which was slightly inconvenient but thankfully he'd moved to a neighbouring city that was only 30 miles away. Kon could drive and would be sorting out a car and everything else that came with it over the next few days.

Kon: I've finally landed! I'm going to collect my luggage then head to my apartment. The guy who owns the place said he'd meet me whenever I was ready, and then he'd hand over the keys, he works from home so that's lucky because I have no idea how long it's going to take to get there!

Grace: I'm so happy you've landed safely! I'm sorry I can't be there, but on the bright side, once I'm finished with work today, I'll be free to meet up with you whenever you want!

Kon: I'd like that! It'll probably take a few days to get myself settled in the apartment and to get a car sorted out, but I can catch a train to meet up with you tonight.

Grace: Are you sure you want to do that? I could catch a train and meet you instead, I know your city better than you do!

Kon: Of course, I'm sure! I want to see your city and I want to see you in your natural habitat. I'll look up the train times and stops, and I'll meet you at your preferred location.

Grace laughed.

Grace: Are you implying I'm some sort of animal to be observed and studied?

Kon: Well, you are different from a lot of people who I've met, I need to find out more about you.

Grace: That's sweet, but you're still insinuating that I'm an animal!

She laughed again, she knew he would want to apologise but would also know that she was joking.

Kon: Am I really?

He was playing her game and that always made her happy. He was one of the few people who kept up with her jokes and understood that she liked to tease him.

The day passed slowly, which was unusual when Grace was talking to Kon, it usually passed quickly thanks to his messages, but she was too eager to meet up with him. They'd decided on a location and a time that was suitable.

Throughout the day, Kon told Grace about his journey to his apartment, about the things that were different from America already and about the exciting things he'd seen. It made Grace happy to see how excited he was, it caused the butterflies to dance in her stomach again. Would he be that excited about meeting her? She knew she'd be that excited.

Eventually her work day came to an end, and after saying goodbye to a few of her colleagues, she ran out the door, bag swinging wildly and skidded to a stop at her bus stop. The early one was due. She usually missed that bus because she didn't want to run to the stop, but this time was different. The bus pulled up to the stop, she bounced aboard, found a sit and sent a message to Kon telling him that she was heading home. He told her that he would be heading for the train station in half an hour. It would take him an hour to get to their meeting spot.

When the bus pulled in at her stop, she thanked the driver, jumped off the bus and bounded down the road to her house. Fumbling with her keys, she clumsily opened the door and accidentally slammed it behind her. She silently berated herself, her next-door neighbours were elderly, and she didn't like to disturb them because they were nice, quiet people.

Walking upstairs, she started to unbutton her work shirt. Reaching her bedroom, she threw the shirt on the floor, then removed her trousers. Standing in front of the full-length mirror, she scrutinised her appearance. She looked tired, but nothing could be done about that, she had just spent a full day at work. Her hair was messy but that was an easy fix. She removed her bra and panties and stretched. Grace always felt shy being naked in front of partners in the past, and she'd been trying to work on that shyness by confronting her fears. Looking at her body in the mirror was supposed to help her in the long run, but she constantly focussed on the things she disliked about herself.

Grace had a short frame of 5'4", she was curvy with large breasts, small waist, large hips, thighs and butt. She hated her curves, she always wanted to be petite but there was little she could do about it. Even when she lost weight, she was still curvy, and she'd come to accept the fact that she wouldn't be able to change that.

Grace yawned, grabbed a towel and headed off to the bathroom. She was relieved that she'd have enough time clean herself up before meeting Kon, she didn't want to look a mess when they met for the first time.

Turning on the shower, she held her hand underneath the water to make sure it reached the right temperature. When it did, she hung her towel on the hook of the door and stepped into the shower. The hot water felt good on her tired body, showers always rejuvenated her. Her long hair stuck to her back as she just let the water do its thing, as it ran down from her head all the way to her feet, creating mini rivers as it trickled down her curves.

Lathering up soap on a body sponge, Grace started to gently rub her body with the soapy lather. Starting with her neck and shoulders, she slowly moved down to her chest and breasts, they still had their youthful round shape, but as they were so large, she still had to raise them one at a time to clean herself properly. As the sponge grazed her nipples, she felt them harden and she was painfully aware of the fact that she was getting ready to meet Kon. She was adamant that their friendship was just that, a friendship, but she couldn't help herself sometimes. The pictures he'd sent her were burnt in her memory and she loved it. Not only was he a funny guy who cared about her, he was handsome, and she found herself thinking about his arms again. She imagined him picking her up and pressing her against the wall as his body held her in place.

Without thinking about it, her hand was stroking her pussy lips lightly. She dropped the sponge and focussed more on what she was doing. The water was still running down her body and the warm trails made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Her body was starting to feel like it was on fire and she needed a release.

"Maybe it will help me calm down when I meet him" she thought.

Pushing slightly harder with her explorative fingers, they slipped inside her pussy lips and immediately found her hot, swollen clit. It was desperate to be touched, crying out for a release. Grace's fingers gently stroked over the nub, electric shot through her body and she flinched slightly. A quiet sigh slipped from her mouth as she bit her bottom lip. She was thinking about Kon, trying to imagine what he would look like in person, and how he would react when they finally met. The feeling of the butterflies in her stomach mixed with the electricity she was creating whilst stroking her clit was amazing, and she was desperate to cum, she needed the release. With her free hand, she gently slid a finger into her hot, wet pussy. Quickly followed by a second finger. She stopped the movement of both hands as she got used to the feeling of her fingers inside of her. It wasn't a new experience, she just enjoyed feeling her muscles clench as they explored the invading objects and then relax. She bent her fingers up to find her G-spot. She couldn't orgasm from that alone, but it still felt wonderful for it to be stroked. With her other hand she continued playing with her clit, this time rubbing it harder.

Grace lent forward so that her torso was pressed against the shower wall, she spread her legs slightly wider, giving her better access to her pussy. Sliding her fingers back and forth, hitting that G-spot whilst rubbing her clit would send her over the edge soon and she was loving it. She imagined Kon was fucking her from behind and she swayed her hips as though her fingers were really a cock buried deep inside her.

She rubbed her clit furiously, her other hand moving in a wiggling motion now, synchronising the pace of both hands. Her face began to feel hot and her legs began to shake. The orgasm was building as she fucked herself hard, she held her breath as the feeling was becoming more and more intense and then suddenly there it was. Her pussy muscles clenched tightly, and the orgasm swept over her body, her juices coated her fingers and her clit tingled powerfully. A moan escaped her mouth as she exhaled, and she smiled to herself. When the orgasm had ceased, she straightened up, stepped under the shower and cleaned herself quickly. She wasn't sure how long she'd been fucking herself, but she was certain that she needed to get out of the shower soon and get ready to go.

She finished washing herself and stepped out of the shower. Wrapping herself in the towel, she walked back into her bedroom, dried herself off thoroughly and picked out a nice outfit. It was casual but nice looking. She was a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, so she could only look so good without going into full smart-work-clothes mode. She put on a matching black lace panty and bra set first, then slide on a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a black, long-sleeve band t-shirt. Sometimes she wished she would dress a little more girly, but she didn't know how to. She was a tomboy and these kinds of clothes felt more natural to her.

Grace dried her hair off with her hairdryer and brushed through it. She quickly applied some eye-liner, which was the only make-up she wore and looked at herself in the mirror again. She was happier in clothes than she was out of them, but she was still aware of the curves that bugged her slightly. Inhaling deeply, she told herself that it didn't even matter what she looked like, Kon had already seen her in photos where she had no make-up on, or where she was pulling silly faces, he had already seen the ugly versions of her.

Picking up her phone, she sent a message to Kon telling him that she was about to leave the house and that she would be at the meeting spot soon enough. She put on a loose, oversized hoodie, left it unzipped, grabbed the belongings she'd need for the night, gulped and headed out.

She arrived at the train station and waited nervously. It wouldn't take long to get to the city centre at all, but she knew that this part would feel like an eternity. She was feeling nauseous from the nerves and her instincts were telling her to run. She didn't want to, but a voice in the back of her brain kept telling her to turn around and go home.

Feeling slightly panicky, she opened her texts and sent a message to her best friend.

Grace: Hey, I'm going out for the night and figured it'd be wise to let someone know where I was going.

In the text she gave her friend the full details; where she was going, who she was meeting, and she also told her friend that if she didn't text by 10am in the morning, then something possibly went wrong. Grace trusted Kon and knew he wouldn't hurt her, but she spent a lot of time watching spooky videos online and she knew that it would be stupid not to tell someone where she was.

An announcement over the speakers told her that the train was approaching the station, she stood up and clung tightly to her bag. She was still in flight mode and she wanted to back out of the meeting but she reminded herself that Kon had flown over 4000 miles to be there tonight.

The train pulled in at the station. Fighting her panic, Grace walked across the platform and boarded the train.

"Stop being silly," she chided herself.

Finding a seat near the window, Grace sat down and tried to relax. She knew it was silly to worry this much.

Fiddling with the handle of her bag, she stared out of the window trying to imagine what she was going to say when they finally met. They'd made jokes about what they'd say, and she tried to pick something that would make them both laugh.

Eventually the train pulled in to her stop and she disembarked. Inhaling deeply, then exhaling slowly, she walked towards the escalators that would take her out of the train station, joined the queue and ascended slowly.

Stepping off the escalator, she looked at the big clock hanging above the departure screens and noticed that she was 15 minutes early. She left the station and headed across the road to a small bar. The bar was busy, but not too busy. It was where they had arranged to meet, mainly because it was close to the train station and easy to find.

Entering the building, she ordered a drink and sat at a table. Sipping the drink, her eyes kept landing on the entrance and then flitting off elsewhere. She didn't want Kon to come in and see her eyeing the door nervously, but she wanted to spot him before he spotted her.

Kon's presence filled the doorway. His eyes scanned the room and immediately fell on Grace. She stood up and Kon grinned a smile that naturally put a smile on her face. He walked over to her table and before she could say anything, he pulled her gently towards him and embraced her.

Grace didn't have time to say anything but let him pull her into the hug, his arms and chest felt incredible and it was the warmest hug she'd ever had. She wrapped her arms around him, returning the hug. His cologne filled her nostrils and she sighed contentedly.

"Hey," Kon said simply. He was never a one-word man, but Grace was too content to think about it. She sighed happily again then caught herself and mumbled a "Hi" back.

After what felt like a few hours of hugging, but was only a minute at the most, Kon and Grace pulled back and sat down at the table. She smiled nervously and fingered the rim of her glass. She kept her eyes down most of the time but occasionally looked up to see Kon looking at her, they'd smile nervously.

"So how was the journey here?" Grace internally rolled her eyes at her own question, it felt like pointless small talk and she didn't want that. She wanted to talk to him the way they spoke in their private messages. She wanted to just laugh and joke and continue the way that they often did.

"It feels like I've been travelling all day, but it's been worth it so far," Kon said with a smile, looking directly into Grace's eyes. His hazel eyes piercing her blue ones. Grace returned the look, feeling a little more confident.

"I'm glad you think so! Oh, I forgot to say, I would have ordered you a drink when I got here but I really didn't know what you'd want. I know you don't really drink fizzy drinks... er, soda that is".

"That's okay, I'll go and get something now, do you want anything?" Kon said as he stood up from the table.

Grace held her glass up and judged how much was left. "I'm okay, but thank you", she said with a smile.

"Are you sure?" Kon asked.

Grace nodded.

Kon walked away towards the bar, Grace's eyes followed him. It felt surreal to her that a person whom she'd been speaking to online was now here with her. It was exciting to be able to spend real time with the friend she'd come to care a lot about. Kon re-joined her at the table.

"What were you thinking while I was away?" He asked, taking a sip of his drink.

"I was just thinking about how weird it is that you're here now".

He frowned, "Weird?" He shifted slightly in his seat.

Grace shook her head frantically, "No, no! I mean that in a good way. I've been wanting to meet up with you for real for a long time now and it's finally happened. It's just weird to me that it actually happened, you came to the UK and better still, you came to my city!" she smiled, trying to reassure him.

Kon visibly relaxed, "I'm really happy I did it, it's nice being here. I haven't seen much of your hometown yet, but hopefully you'll show me all of it while I'm here!"

Grace and Kon finished their drink and decided to head out.

"So, what do you want to see first?" Grace asked.

Kon explained that he wanted to see anything and everything, which left Grace with the decision making. She decided to take him to her favourite communal garden, it was open to the public and it was a beautiful place to relax. They walked around the garden, talking and laughing. They repeated the things they'd talked about in their messages and Grace found herself feeling as comfortable as she did back then. She found him as easy to talk to and he made her feel good about herself. Every time he laughed at her jokes, or smiled at her, she felt more and more confident.

Kon's kindness, sense of humour and happy nature is what she really enjoyed. While they'd been talking in the social app, she'd come to realise that she loved his company and would happily talk to him all day, every day.

As the night went on, Grace had shown Kon a lot of different things and he told her that he loved her city. That made her happy, she was fond of the place she grew up.

Grace looked at her watch and made a comment about how it was getting late.

"Do you want to go home?" Kon asked, disappointed that Grace had been keeping an eye on the time.

"Not really," she replied, shrugging her shoulders.

Kon was relieved, he didn't want to go home. He knew he would have to go soon because his train stopped running fairly early, but he was reluctant to go.

"I'm not sure where else we could go, most of the good places will be closing soon and all that will be left will be the pubs and clubs. Honestly, I don't want to go to those, I'm not much of a drinker," Grace said, thinking hard about where they could go.

"That's fine, I don't drink much either," Kon said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Grace thought about her options, she could either try and find somewhere that stayed open late, admit defeat and offer to meet up again the following day, or she could invite him back to her place. She knew that if she did that, he would have to stay the night because the trains stopped running earlier than they needed, but she worried that saying he could stay the night might give him the wrong impression.

"You're frowning," Kon had been watching Grace while she was thinking. She didn't realise she'd been quite for a noticeable time.

"Oh," she replied, "I was?" she let her face relax. "I was just trying to think what we could do now, but I'm running out of ideas".

Kon looked sad, he didn't want the night to end.

"I did think of something, but I don't know what you'll think about it," Grace admitted, "You could always come back to mine. You won't need to worry about the trains, you could stay at mine and we could chill out and watch some films, and talk about stuff that won't be overheard by other people". She instantly regretted the last part, she thought it sounded provocative. "Don't worry, I'm not hitting on you" she blurted out.

Kon laughed and Grace blushed. "It's okay," he said, "I'd love to chill out and watch some films. I was worrying about the trains, so that sounds perfect".

The two of them headed off to the train station and caught the first train that arrived. Grace and Kon sat next to each other on the seats closest to the door. She yawned and stretched her arms.