The Gypsy

Jordan smiled at her, "Yeah, we only saw a little of the park today. There's lots more to see yet."

"I'd like that Jordan. It's been a fun day. Thanks so much for taking me out again."

At dinner Molly told her mom about their trip to Stanley Park. She was more animated than usual, so much so that her mom and Jordan had to laugh. Her child-like enthusiasm for what she'd seen and done was infectious.

"It seems like you two had a wonderful afternoon!" Olivia said with a chuckle. "If it's okay with you maybe we could go on Sunday, I've never been there myself."

"Could we Jordan? I hardly ever get to do fun stuff with my mom. Please?" Molly said as she almost vibrated with excitement.

Jordan laughed, "I don't see why not, as a matter of fact I think they're having 'Shakespeare in the Park' on Sunday."

---

The following Sunday Molly, her mom and Jordan went back to Stanley Park. Molly's mother made a picnic lunch for them to take. Jordan decided to take them to parts of the park that he hadn't already taken Molly to. They found a quiet meadow to have their lunch in. There were a few families there and the small children were running around and enjoying the warm sun.

After lunch they went to where the play was going to be performed. They laid claim to a soft patch of grass and settled in for the show. The play being performed this particular week was 'Mac Beth'. There was no stage, sets or curtains. The actors moved and performed amongst the audience, stopping in place when they were not actually performing. The three of them thoroughly enjoyed the show and chatted about how nice a day they'd had as they walked back to the car.

When they returned home Olivia thanked Jordan and let herself into their unit with a smile at both of them, leaving Molly in the hall with Jordan.

"Thanks Jordan, I had a lot of fun with you and my mom today. We haven't done anything together in a long time." Molly said with a shy smile.

"I had fun too Molly, your mom's pretty cool. I'm glad I could take you guys out today." Jordan said as he returned Molly's smile.

Molly leaned toward Jordan, hesitated for just a moment then leaned the rest of the way and kissed him briefly on the lips. She stepped back and raised her eyes to meet his, her cheeks were flushed. "See ya Jordan."

Molly slipped into her apartment, leaving Jordan alone in the hallway. He stood there for a few moments, not sure exactly what had just happened. He turned to his apartment and went inside.

---

Over the next few weeks Molly and Jordan explored the city, going to Robson street to check out the shops and boutiques and generally finding new places to hang out together. Jordan thought it was amazing that whenever they went into a shop and Molly wanted to buy something, she haggled everyone down in price. He figured it was because of her experience in the markets and bazaars she'd been to growing up in so many different countries.

Molly was loving the fact that Jordan was spending so much time with her. What made it even better was the fact that as long as she let her mom know what she was doing everything was cool.

Jordan was the best friend she'd ever had, he was so cute and funny. She knew she'd surprised him when she kissed him, heck she had surprised herself! She hadn't kissed him since that first time but she sure wanted to again. She was afraid to though, because she didn't know how he would react if she kissed him again.

---

Jordan had a few minutes between cases so he decided to call Molly's mom and talk to her about a few things, "Hi Olivia? It's Jordan do you have a few minutes?"

"Sure Jordan, I was just going over a report and was going to take a break anyway. What can I do for you?"

"Well I wanted to talk to you about Molly."

"Is she being a bug? I'll talk to her and tell her that she needs to ease up a bit," Olivia replied.

Jordan laughed, "No she's been great, I like spending time with her. I just wanted to talk to you about something but I just wasn't sure how to approach you about it."

"Oh. Why do I get the feeling this might not be something good Jordan?"

"Well ahh, I'm not sure if it's good or bad. You see, when we got back from our trip to the park a few weeks ago Molly kissed me. I was so surprised I didn't know what to do. Don't worry it hasn't happened since, and I would never put Molly into a situation that she wouldn't feel comfortable in."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for just a moment, "Oh. Oh my, Molly's never done that before Jordan. This is something I hadn't expected. Jordan please be very careful with Molly. In many ways she's very mature for her age and in others she's not. I'm not sure what to make of this myself, but I'm guessing that she's more attached to you than we both anticipated."

"That's what I thought too Olivia," Jordan said. "I'll be mindful of that. I was wondering if I could maybe take Molly to a barbeque that some friends of mine are having on Saturday."

"That should be fine Jordan, just please keep in mind what we've talked about okay?"

"Sure Olivia, I understand. I should have her home no later than eleven o'clock."

---

Saturday was one of those rare perfect days where it was warm without being too hot, with just enough breeze to take the edge off of the sun.

Jordan knocked on Molly's door, it opened momentarily and Molly came out wearing a pretty yellow sun dress and carrying a tote. She gave him one of her bright smiles and put her hand in his arm.

"Hi Jordan, I brought my swimsuit. You did say your friends had a pool right?"

"Yup, and don't feel nervous or anything, everyone's pretty laid back. I think you'll like Tyler and Nicole, they're a lot of fun. You'll be able to show off a bit too, Sasha's from Russia and Mandeep is Indian."

"Cool, I haven't spoken Russian or Hindi in ages! I hope your friends like me, it'd be a bummer if they didn't." Molly said.

Jordan laughed, "Don't worry Molly I think you'll be fine. But if you feel uncomfortable let me know and we'll come home okay?"

"Okay Jordan, thanks for letting me tag along."

"I wouldn't have asked your mom if it was okay if I didn't like hanging out with you Molly. Besides it'll give all of my friends a chance to meet you."

When they got to Tyler and Nicole's place Molly suddenly got a case of the jitters. "Jordan wait. What if your friends don't like me? What if I do something really stupid? Are you really okay with me coming along? Your friends are a lot older than me, will we even have anything to talk about?"

"Whoa whoa, hold on sweetie!" Jordan said with a chuckle, "First off, they'll love you. You're way too much fun for them not to. Second, we've all done something stupid in our lives and you're way too smart for that anyway. And yes I'm totally okay with you coming with me. Trust me you'll have lots to talk about with them, just be you're normal lovable self and you'll be fine."

Molly took three quick deep breaths and looked at Jordan. "Okay, I'm ready," with that she leaned over and gave Jordan another quick kiss then opened her door and got out of the car.

Jordan hesitated for just a second as his lips tingled again. 'She did it again!' he thought to himself as he got out too.

Jordan opened up the side gate and called out as they walked to the back of the house. "Halloo!"

"Jordan! My albino brutha from anutha mutha! What's the deal bro?" said a black man the size of a small building as he came up to them, giving Jordan a bear hug.

Jordan gasped as his spine and ribs creaked from his friend's assault. "Hey Ty, great to see you again bud."

Tyler looked at Molly and his eyes glinted with mischief, "Ooowee! This must be the girl that you bin telling Nikki about! Darlin' you'se all dat! BAM!"

"Oh Tyler behave! You grew up in Banff for crying out loud," a petite blonde woman said as she came up behind him. "Hi you must be Molly, I'm Nicole and this big idiot is Tyler. The two little chocolate otters in the pool are Kevin and Kori, the girl trying to drown them is Tania, she's Sasha and Anya's daughter. We're glad you could come."

"Hi Nicole, Tyler, it's nice to meet you." Molly said with a smile.

Tyler's hand engulfed Molly's when she shook his hand.

"Sorry if I surprised you Molly, I sometimes forget myself and go all street once in a while," Tyler rumbled.

Nicole rolled her eyes as she led Molly to meet everyone else, "Yeah 'street' in Banff means you have to buy a 'daily' lift ticket."

"I heard that woman!" Tyler shot back with a grin.

Molly giggled at their interplay. She knew she was going to have fun.

Nicole introduced Molly to Sasha and his wife Anya, and Mandeep. She greeted them in Russian and Hindi, impressing them all. She had a short conversation with them, switching between both languages seamlessly, explaining how she'd been to both countries as a child.

Sasha waved his hand at his daughter, catching her attention. "Tatiana! Tania! Come here for a minute!"

Tania swam over to the ladder and climbed out, walking over to her parents. She smiled and nodded at Molly, "What's up dad?"

"Tania this is Molly, Jordan's girlfriend. Molly this is our daughter Tania, I'm sure you'll have lots to talk about." He said with a smile.

"Hi Molly, please tell me you brought your bathing suit! I'm losing the dunking war."

Molly grinned and laughed, "Yeah I did, where do I change?"

Tania pointed to the small pump-house/cabana, "It's the door on the right, please hurry!" she giggled.

Molly trotted over and went inside to change. She put on her bikini and stepped back out on the deck. Her swimsuit wasn't really sexy or revealing, it was a simple red and yellow striped suit and pretty modest by most standards.

Tyler and Jordan were busy murdering burgers and franks on the barbecue when Ty noticed Molly out of the corner of his eye. He gave a low whistle and nodded, directing Jordan's attention to Molly.

Jordan followed Tyler's gaze and gaped. He'd known that Molly was a pretty girl from the day they'd met, but seeing her in a bikini...wow!

"How old did you say she was bro?" Ty asked with a low rumbling chuckle.

"Uhh, eighteen?" Jordan said quietly.

"Whoa, and her mom's okay with you two dating?"

"Ty we're not dating, we're just friends, really."

The big black man gave his friend a knowing look, "How often do you see her Jord? Honestly."

Jordan squinted up at his friend, "Every day I guess. But seriously we're just friends."

Tyler roared with laughter, drawing everyone's attention to them momentarily. "Jordan, buddy, you're dating. Get over it man," he murmured.

Once the food was ready everyone grabbed a plate and started eating. The two girls sat together at the far end of the pool with their feet in the water.

"So how long have you and Jordan been dating?" Tania asked with a conspiratorial grin.

Molly giggled, "We're not dating, we're just friends Tania."

"God I am so jealous of you Molly. My folks would totally freak out if I was dating a guy Jordan's age. So your mom's okay with you guys going out? She's not like, acting all weird about it?"

Molly grinned at Tania, "No, she's okay with it. Well I mean we go out, we just don't 'go out' you know?"

"Crap Molly, Jordan's totally hot. If my parents let me date a guy like him I'd jump at it!" Tania said with a giggle.

"Tania! It's not like that, he's my best friend!"

"Have you kissed him yet?"

Molly blushed and tried to suppress a grin as she thought about kissing him in the car earlier.

"Oh my god you did!" Tania squealed. "When? Where? I hate you so much!"

"Shh! God Tania! The first time..."

Tania choked on her pop and gasped for air. "Fuck, you've kissed him more than once?" she said once she caught her breath.

Now it was Molly's turn to giggle. She looked across the pool and noticed that Jordan was watching her, which made her blush. "The first time I kissed him was after he took me and my mom to Stanley Park a couple of weeks ago. Then I kissed him again just before we got out of the car today."

"Holy shit! Were they like those kisses in the movies where they slobber all over each other?" Tania asked with an excited gleam in her eyes.

"No, they were quick little kisses. He has really soft lips..." Molly said wistfully.

Tania grinned at Molly and gave her a hug, "God I so wish I was you Molly. Jordan is like the hottest guy I've ever met and you live right across the hall from him! I really, really hate you!"

---

Sasha saw Tania hug Molly and grinned at Jordan, "The girls they are getting along well, no?"

"Almost too well Sasha! I'm afraid to even guess what it is they're talking about."

"You really have to guess Jordan? Two teenaged girls whispering and giggling probably means they're talking about boys," Mandeep said.

"That's pretty much all I ever talked about," Nicole said.

"Me as well," replied Anya.

Mandeep chuckled, "I'd have to say we're unanimous on that topic ladies."

Anya gave Jordan a sly look, "From the way they keep looking at you, I think you are the boy they are talking about."

Jordan blushed as everyone laughed. Tyler gave him a gentle shove that almost knocked him out of his chair. "The ladies have got you there Jord, you definitely seem to be the main attraction today."

Everyone laughed at Jordan's discomfort, he even managed to laugh himself.

---

After Tyler and Nicole got the kids into bed everyone lounged around together on the deck. Tania and Molly were each allowed to have a daiquiri with the ladies as a special treat for helping with the younger kids.

"Jordan told us that you don't just know Russian and Hindi Molly," Sasha said. "You know, when we're out of the office we don't have anyone to help people if English isn't their first language. Would you be interested in working with us?"

Mandeep smiled at Molly, "Yes, having someone like you who is able to speak several languages would be a great asset to our team."

"We know you're doing your university, and don't want to interfere with that honey. The choice is yours," Nicole added.

Jordan chuckled, "It's only part-time right now Molly, but we could really use you. The barbecue was a bit of a set-up, everyone wanted to meet you before they made their decision. So what do you say?"

Molly sat for a moment, not sure if she should believe what the others had just told her. "Are you serious? You want me to come work with you?"

"Yes Molly we do," Mandeep said. "We think you'll fit in just fine and with your language skills you'd be a great help to us."

"Well, I'd like to talk it over with my mom first. Just to see if it's okay with her. Can I let you know on Monday?"

"That would be fine Molly. Out of curiosity exactly how many languages do you know?" Sasha asked.

Molly blushed and lowered her eyes, "I can speak, read and write eight, and I can speak six more in a pinch."

Nicole laughed, "Holy shit! We thought Jordan was just pulling our legs when he told us that!"

"Well it could be more if Ty's up to teaching me some of his bad-ass Banff street slang. You never know when a snow-bunny might need legal aid." Molly said as she flashed one of her bright smiles.

---

As promised Jordan had Molly home by eleven, they were actually standing outside of their units at ten-thirty.

Molly gave Jordan a shy little smile and looked into his eyes, "Thanks a lot Jordan, I had a great time today. I really hope my mom says it's okay for me to work with you guys."

"I do too Molly," Jordan replied with a smile. "I'm glad you had fun. You and Tania got along well eh?"

"Yeah, we're going shopping tomorrow. She's pretty cool, I like her."

"That's great Molly, maybe you can teach her some of your shopping tricks. Well I should let you go, I don't want you to get in trouble."

"Oh, okay." Molly replied with a disappointed look on her face.

Jordan went to go into his unit and put his key in the lock.

"Jordan?"

"Yes?" He replied as he turned back to face her.

"Are you my boyfriend?" She asked shyly.

"Well, hum, ahh I'm not sure. Why?"

"When Sasha introduced me to Tania he said I was your girlfriend. I was wondering if I was your girlfriend now.

"Molly things are a bit more complex than people just saying that we're boyfriend and girlfriend," Jordan said as he tried to think of how to handle the turn of conversation. "This is something that we both want to happen sweetie."

Molly blushed a deep crimson, "Do you want to be my boyfriend?" She asked as she held his gaze.

"I promised your mom I'd take care of you and not put you in an awkward situation Molly," Jordan said as he touched her cheek. "I really do like you sweetie, but I think we should check with your mom before we decide okay? I don't want to do anything behind her back."

"Okay," Molly said with an impish grin as she gave him another quick kiss and pulled him into her unit.

Olivia looked up from her laptop and smiled when they came in, "Hi guys, did you have a good time?"

"Yeah it was great mom, Jordan and his friends want me to go and work with them! I made a new friend too, her name's Tania! Oh, and is it okay if Jordan's my boyfriend now?"

"That's great sweetie! I'm glad you made a...Whoa now wait a minute Missy! When exactly did you two decide this?" Olivia said with a concerned glance at Jordan.

"Well I like Jordan, and he said he likes me. But he said he didn't want to go behind your back, so I'm just letting you know he's my boyfriend now, so we don't have to worry about hiding from you."

Olivia shook her head. She was pretty sure that Jordan had been bulldozed into this by her daughter. She knew that Molly could be impulsive and tended to be a bit flighty and carefree as well, although Molly had settled down some, and was acting more responsibly since she'd met Jordan.

"Okay let's start with the job, Jordan what will Molly be doing at your office?"

"She'll be answering phones, greeting clients, typing up letters and briefs, translating when we need it, stuff like that. It's part-time right now Olivia."

Olivia thought for a moment before addressing her daughter, "Do you think you can handle this Molly?"

"Yeah mom," Molly said with a big grin. "It sounds like it could be fun, and I get to spend more time with Jordan too!"

"Molly about this whole boyfriend thing. You can't just decide that someone is your boyfriend without finding out if they feel the same way about you too."

"But mom! I really like Jordan and he said he really likes me too."

"Olivia I think Molly and I may have already been dating for a few weeks now, and to be honest I'm okay with it. That is, if you're okay with it too of course."

"Well okay I guess this will be fine. I expect you to act professionally at work Molly. That means no monkey business at all when you're at the office. I mean it."

Molly flashed one of her bright smiles and grabbed Jordan, kissing him. "Yay! Thanks mom, I promise I won't do anything at work."

"Well I'm off to bed. Don't stay up too late and try to behave you two."

"We'll be good mom."

"Don't worry Olivia, we won't get into any mischief. Good night."

Once her mom had gone Molly gave Jordan a tight hug. "Uhm Jordan? What exactly do boyfriends and girlfriends do? I mean I know what they do, but you're...well you're my first boyfriend."

"Well pretty much what we've already been doing Molly. Going out on dates, cuddling, kissing, and other stuff." He said as he hugged her back.

"You mean like sex right?" Molly asked with a giggle.

Jordan blushed and chuckled, "Yes, like sex. But we're going to take things slow okay? No pushing too hard or fast Molly. Your mom expects me to take care of you and I will."

Molly gave Jordan a cute little pout then grinned, "Can you at least feel me up?"