The Blue Ribbon

"Good try, old man," Joey commiserated. "For a second there I thought you had her on the line, but she spit the hook."

"Yeah," Jason grumbled. "My usual fisherman's luck."

"Well, you know the old saying, plenty of fish in the sea," Joey remarked. "And speaking of which, would you check that one out?"

Walking along the circle next to them was an absolutely beautiful woman. Late twenties or early thirties, short thick blonde hair, gorgeous tan, flawless figure prominently displayed in a snug yellow tank top and a short white skirt. Joey put his hands together in a prayerful pose.

"Oh, thank you, Jesus!"

"I know," Jason remarked with a laugh. "Just when I think I've seen every beautiful woman in the world, the good Lord blesses us once again."

They both watched as she moved around the circle and joined up with a tall dark handsome guy, obviously her husband. The guys chuckled, shook their heads, and then moved on to look over the rest of the European Classics in the circle they had been touring.

There was another group of closed American Classics that drew their attention, including a pair of cars owned by a mutual friend. Don Adams had the area's largest collection but was the nicest guy. He proudly showed off his Packard Twelve coupe and his Cadillac Sixteen sedan. They spent several minutes chatting with Don and his mechanic, looking over the cars more closely, and commenting about the show and the people who were filling up the field. They were just stepping over the rope that cordoned the cars off from the viewing public when Jason saw the two girls wandering past.

When the tall girl saw them, she quickly looked away and kept walking. When her friend saw them, she paused for a moment, looking at Jason intently, her eyebrows furrowed. Was it a disapproving look, you know, the kind that says get lost, or was she trying to find some trace of familiarity in his face? Then she flashed a faint polite smile and hurried to catch up with her friend who was walking away in the opposite direction. Jason blew it off. She obviously wasn't interested. Who could blame her? He and Joey were both probably twice their ages and besides they were looking for some friends. Lucky young bastards.

As Jason and Joey strolled around a circle of Italian sports cars, they met up with Ryan Thomas, who ran one of the areas best restoration shops. Jason had worked part time for Ryan several years back and was always interested in catching up with what Ryan had been working on.

"How's it going, Jace?" Ryan asked as they shook hands.

"Good. Great morning. Great field of cars. What could be better than this?" Jason said.

"Maybe if this all belonged to you," Ryan cracked. He turned to Joey. "I saw you brought a couple of my favorites. If you guys ever decide to do the right thing with the Duesenberg, be sure to let me know. Those valves sound a little noisy to me."

"Yeah, I know," Joey groaned. "It needs a few things here and there, but so long as it starts and drives, The Old Man doesn't want to touch it."

"It's his money, right?" Ryan cracked.

The guys stood around and commented on the cars around them. Ryan had a weakness for Italian cars, Maseratis actually, and was proud of having his own car on the field in addition to the half dozen others he had restored for the owners. When one of the other car owners approached Ryan with a question, the guys excused themselves and moved on. They had been facing one another, talking and not paying much attention to their surroundings. When Joey turned sharply around he ran smack into the tall dark-skinned girl, nearly knocking her over. She stood proudly upright, brushing her long black hair back over her shoulder. She had a definite dark exotic look about her that had obviously captured Joey's attention.

"I am so sorry," Joey said, reaching for her arm. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm all right," she said, pulling her slender arm away. She adjusted her white halter-top. "You oughta watch where you're going."

"I said I was sorry," Joey said.

"Don't blame her," chipped in her friend. "She's all pissed off."

"Why?"

"We were supposed to meet up with a friend of hers and his buddy, but they just called and said they aren't going to make it."

"My boy-friend," the tall girl added emphatically. She gave her friend a peeved look. "Why don't you like Johnny?"

"Cause he's a jerk. You can do sooo much better than him."

"Sorry. Didn't mean to start a war or anything," Joey said, holding up his hands with a mocking innocence.

Jason couldn't take his eyes off the shorter honey blonde girl as Joey tried to mediate the little dispute. Ashley. She had to be Ashley Lovett. He could see traces of her mother's good looks in her pretty face, the cute upturned nose and the dark blue eyes. Finally she noticed his close look and looked back at him.

"Do you have nose trouble or something, mister?" she asked.

Jason shook his head. "No. It's just that I could swear you're Big George's daughter."

"And if I was," she said, "why would it matter? It's not like I go for real old guys."

"What do you mean?"

"You've got to be what, thirty-five or forty? You're a little old for me, don't you think?"

"Age is irrelevant," Jason remarked. "But maturity isn't."

"So you're saying that you're an immature old fart?" the girl giggled.

"No, I'm saying that ..." Jason paused in mid-sentence. What was he saying? That he recognized her, that he thought she was a beautiful, sexy young woman, and that he felt this strange tingling in his belly and thighs every time he looked at her? Hell, he couldn't say all that. She wouldn't understand. This was impossible. "Oh, hell. I give up," Jason said. "Didn't mean to break into your own little trip. Sorry." He turned away.

"So you're going to give up that easy?" she shot back.

Jason heard just a hint of a laugh. It was a nice laugh.

"Give up? Who says I'm giving up?" he said, turning back to face her. Joey and the other girl had stopped to watch this little face off. "Maybe I'm just playing hard to get."

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe I'm the one playing hard to get?" she said, petulantly.

Jason was ready to make a nasty wise crack when he noticed a grin flirting around at the corners of her mouth.

"Wait a minute," he said instead. She was toying with him and he was letting her. He could play this game and call her out on it. "You are Ashley Lovett and you do remember me."

"I never said that I wasn't," she answered. "But still doesn't mean that you can feel free to hit on me or anything."

"The only hitting I might do is to put you over my knee and paddle your butt," Jason said.

She laughed. "Oh, now you're talking," she said, playfully running her hand down over her ass. "That might actually be fun."

"So you do remember me," Jason said caught off guard by her comment.

"Yes, I remember you. Let's see. You're Jason Lang, right? You used to hang with my Dad a long time ago. With Greg and Ray and what's his name."

"Donny."

"Yeah, Donny," she said. "Of course I would remember you. You were one of my Dad's favorite friends."

"Um, Ashley, right?" Jason asked tentatively.

She nodded. Joey and Jason exchanged a knowing tip of their heads. Of all the beautiful women he had seen on the field, Jason had surprisingly connected with one, a very sweet and sexy girl, who sent tingles down his back each time he looked at her and heard her voice.

"Hello, Ashley," Jason said, extending his hand politely. Ashley rested her hand in his. It was warm and soft and very feminine. "Wow! It's been a long time and you've really grown up ... a lot ... but it's great to see you again!"

"I'm kinda surprised that you remember me," Ashley replied. "I was such a punk back then."

"Well, I can see that you aren't anymore," Jason said. "Say, this is my buddy, Joey. This is Ashley Lovett and her friend ..."

"Dona. My name is Donatella," said the other girl, slow to warm up to the intrusion of these two strange guys. But despite her cool demeanor, Jason could see that she was a strikingly beautiful girl, perhaps African-Italian heritage.

"Nice to meet you," Joey replied. "Really nice."

It had been so many years since Jason had last seen Ashley but how she had grown. His eyes swept down over her body again, taking in a healthy glimpse of her full breasts floating underneath the light silky fabric of her camisole, and enjoying a lingering taste of her narrow waist and the subtle flair of her hips. Some sparkling little charms dangled from the belly ring that dangled in her navel. He made sure to bring his eyes quickly back up to meet hers. And what beautiful eyes they were, large and dark blue, almost violet, and sparkling in the late morning sunshine.

"After all these years, I can't believe I've run into you ... and here of all places," Jason said. "I would have never guessed."

"I know," Ashley said. "Me either. But one of the guys at work was telling me about this show, and I talked Donatella into coming with me. I seem to remember that you were kind if a car guy ... do you have a car here?"

"Yes, but it doesn't belong to me. I helped Joey bring it."

"So you have a car here?" Donatella asked Joey, sounding as if her interest in someone other than her boyfriend was growing just a bit.

"Cars, actually. We brought four cars here today," Joey said, and the girls looked incredibly impressed. "But they belong to my boss." His words came quick. It took a moment for the message to register, but the girls still seemed impressed.

"Wow! Four cars! How neat is that?" Ashley said, lightly smacking her friend's arm. "Which ones?"

As Joey recounted the entries, Jason observed the girls. Donatella was actually listening carefully to Joey and nodding as he pointed here and there around the show field with a subtle flirtatious grin. Ashley was listening but still keeping an eye on Jason.

"I got to drive the Mercury convertible," Jason interjected proudly when Joey mentioned it. "A really great ride!"

"Wow! That must be so much fun," Ashley exclaimed. "I love cars and these ones here are sooo beautiful!"

"Works of art really," Jason replied.

"You have to show us which ones," Ashley said. "I love them but I don't know that much about them."

"Well, sure. I'd be glad to," Jason remarked.

Thus, they began an impromptu little tour, Joey and Jason leading the way. The boys pointed out a few familiar cars along the way, sharing facts and stories about the cars and dropping a few names of the owners whom they knew through their various classic car club associations. They had been standing closest to the Locomobile and when they pulled up in front of it, both girls remarked how old-fashioned looking the car was. Tall and angular with huge wooden-spoked wheels, and tons of polished brass trim.

"Remember, that was a completely different era of motoring back then," Joey commented. "There weren't many paved roads anywhere outside of the biggest cities and cars had to be strong and durable. This was one of the finest of its time."

They soon wandered over to the Mercury convert was parked. Jason waved to the young marshal he had met earlier and then invited the girls to step over the rope. Jason opened the driver's door so that they could get a better look at the interior.

"Um, can I sit in it?" Ashley asked cautiously.

"Sure go ahead," Jason said, holding the door for her.

He enjoyed the view of Ashley slipping her ass onto the firm red and white leather. The short hem of her black skirt rode up affording him a great view of her long shapely legs. Ashley grasped the wheel excitedly.

"You look good behind the wheel, kid," Jason said.

"This is sooo cool!" Ashley said with a giggle. Then she looked up at Jason. "But in case you haven't noticed, I'm not a kid anymore."

"Oh, I've noticed," Jason replied checking out her shapely legs again. "That and a few other things."

He noticed that Joey had escorted Donatella around to the other side of the car and had helped her inside. The two young women were grinning broadly. Then Donatella reached into her purse.

"Can you get a picture of us?" she said pulling out a small digital camera.

"Of course," Joey said, taking the camera and backing away to get the best angle.

Both girls smiled and waved at the camera like a pair of beauty queens as Joey snapped off a couple of shots.

"Hey! The keys are in the ignition," Donatella said. "Let's make a run for it!"

Ashley laughed but gave her friend a chill look.

"So you want to see the other cars?" Joey asked.

"Sure," Ashley said. "As long as they are as sweet as this."

The Cadillac was a few circles away and as they strolled slowly over toward it, Jason took advantage to get up to date with his old friend's daughter. Joey spent the time chatting with Donatella, who seemed to have forgotten about meeting up with her so-called boyfriend.

"I was sorry to hear about your parents divorcing," Jason said to Ashley. "I haven't seen your dad too much since then."

"Thanks. Daddy's been busy putting his life back together. He's doing all right."

"So what have you been up to?" Jason asked Ashley. "It's been a long time since I've seen you."

"Well, let's see, high school, a couple years of college, a couple of shitty jobs, and now a really nice one. How about you?"

"I'm working now as a sales and marketing manager for a small electronics company," Jason said. "We sell stuff to the auto companies and suppliers and a lot of other industries too."

"Cool! So are you hiring?" Ashley asked.

"I thought you said you had a good job?" Jason replied.

"I do. But in this business climate a girl has to network every chance she can."

Jason laughed. He was quite taken by the easy, comfortable banter between them. It was almost like they were old familiar friends. That familiarity almost made him forget the difference in their ages. He had seen the well-to-do classic car owners who met and often married a beautiful young woman like Ashley. Up till now he hadn't thought about hooking up with someone this young. But her looks and personality were so charming, Jason jettisoned all those concerns and embraced this moment of new-found friendship.

"So ... million dollar question here," he asked. "Do you have a boyfriend?

"Not really," Ashley replied. "I'm sort of playing the field."

When she spoke Ashley looked up at Jason. He was intrigued by how his old friend's daughter had grown up. He was also intrigued by her open-ended comment and the fresh flirtatious look in her eyes. Could this pretty young woman possibly be as attracted to him as he was to her?

"Well, here we are," Joey announced loudly as they reached the circle of open topped classics where the Caddy was parked. "This is the 1941 Cadillac Convertible Sedan."

"This is beautiful," Ashley said with a rolling appreciation as they again stepped over the rope and took a closer look at the car.

This time, Joey helped Donatella behind the wheel and Jason showed Ashley to the passenger's door. The dark blue metallic paint was sparkling in the brilliant sunshine and the maroon leather was warm to the touch. The girls insisted on another picture and Joey was only too glad to oblige them.

"So what was the other car?" Ashley asked.

"Duesenberg Town Car," Jason replied as he lent her a hand getting out of the Cadillac.

Again he feasted on the sight of her firm young body slipping off the seat and standing beside him. The light silky fabric of her camisole had shifted down and revealed a little more of her gorgeous breasts. Even the gentle breeze had cooperated with enough of a chill to make her nipples appear. Although Ashley was aware of his appreciative glance, she made no particular effort to rearrange her top, as if letting him feast on her beauty on purpose, not that he was going to complain.

It was a short walk to the Duesey and the dark green limousine with the white leatherette top was gleaming in the early afternoon sunshine. When they neared the circle of fine old closed-top classics, Jason put his hand on the small of her back, guiding her over the rope to where the Duesey sat. Her body felt warm and supple underneath the soft silk of her top. Her dark eyes flashed at him briefly as they walked up to the long limousine.

"So this is a Duesenberg?" Ashley asked. "Is it like a German car?"

"No, not German, although the designers were," Jason said. "Built in Indianapolis. Model J Duesenbergs are considered to be the ultimate in American Classic cars. A supreme combination of high performance and exquisite luxury."

"It's ... it's ... it's beautiful!" Ashley exclaimed as her eyes took in the long hood with the gently curving louvers, the tall heavily chromed radiator shell, and the long curving fenders that swept back along the side of the car.

Jason looked around for Billie Sue or Dave Bob but didn't see them anywhere around. Joey had already opened the door to the rear compartment and was helping Donatella inside. Jason did the same for Ashley on the other side. Jason had to chuckle at the expressions of the girls as they took a seat and ran their hands over the plush soft cloth and the finely polished woodwork on the doors and around the windows.

"What's this thing?" Donatella asked, picking up the mouthpiece for the voice tube.

"That's to talk to the driver," Joey said.

"Cool!" Donatella giggled. Then in a very solemn voice she said, "Home, James."

Ashley took the mouthpiece from her friend. "James. Could you please stop the car and come back here. I seem to have a run in my stocking."

The girls giggled and the guys chuckled along with them. Joey's walkie-talkie suddenly buzzed. He spoke into it and looked instantly concerned as Dave Bob's voice crackled over the line. When he buzzed off, Joey stuffed the black box back into its holster on his belt.

"Shit!" Joey said. "They're having problems with the Locomobile starting. They need it for one of the preliminary drive throughs and it won't start. I've got to go like right now. Are you guys going to be okay?"

"Sure, I think so," Jason said with a casual shrug, checking the expressions on the faces of the girls. They sort of shrugged and looked at each other, and then Donatella took a step toward Joey.

"Hey, Joey. Can I like go with you?" Donatella asked, her sudden interest surprising Joey a bit.

"Sure, if you want" Joey answered. "But we've got to hurry."

Donatella climbed out from the back seat of the Duesenberg and followed closely after Joey, her long black hair trailing past her shoulders. Jason watched as they disappeared into the gathering crowd.

"That was kind of a surprise," Ashley remarked from the back seat, scooting over closer to where Jason stood beside the open door.

"What do you mean?" Jason asked.

"Your friend is a nice guy and Donatella kind of took to him right away. She never likes any guy right off, especially nice guys. She has a thing for bad boys."

"Well, Joey is a nice guy who has a thing for girls who like bad boys."

"Maybe there's hope for him after all."

"Hopefully," Jason replied with a wishful sigh.

Ashley began to climb from the back seat of the Duesenberg and the hem of her skirt rode up nearly to her hips. In the gleaming bright sunshine Jason caught a momentary glimpse of her skimpy black panties. For that moment he felt another stronger twinge right where it counted. Then she was upright and standing beside the car, straightening her skirt. Jason caught another whiff of her perfume, very sweet and feminine but not frilly.

"So, here we are," he announced. "What do you feel like doing?"

"I dunno. What else is there to do here?" Ashley asked.

"Look at some cars. And when we're done, we can look at some more cars."