Brave New World

"Thank you, I just assumed that was part of the job. I wanted to know about your entire operation so I could devise a plan that would work. Anyway, you have a lovely home."

Marge said, "Thanks, we like it. Now let me introduce you around, there are some people you need to meet."

I was introduced to several, State Government officials, a representative from the department of defense a couple of Congressmen and a US Senator. Next, they led me to where my parents were standing so the five of us talked for a little while. During this time a beautiful woman approached us. I couldn't help but stare, but got myself under control as Marge said, "Jason, this our daughter Kate. Kate this is Jason, the man I've been telling you about."

Kate smiled and said, "It's nice to meet the man who saved my mother's company."

She stuck out her right hand, so I took it in mine and said, "The pleasure is mine, though I think your mother has exaggerated a bit."

After a few minutes a polite banter, I was led off to meet a reporter who interviewed me for his business magazine. By the time he was finished, I was starving, so I hit the barbeque buffet and loaded up a plate. I was looking for my parents when I was grabbed by Kate Campbell.

"Would you mind sitting with me for a few minutes?"

"Not at all. I was just looking for my folks, but I can talk to them anytime."

"Good, I just wanted to get to know you a little better. My folks have been talking you up all week, so I just wanted to see the guy they're infatuated with."

I laughed and said, "I think infatuation may be a stretch. I did them a turn that any person with my skill set could have done."

She chuckled and said, "Humble as well." I was going to protest, but she cut me off and asked, "So, tell me about yourself. How you grew up, your schooling. I want to hear it all."

I could tell she wasn't going to let me off the hook, so I gave her an in-depth autobiography thinking she would get bored within a couple of minutes, but that wasn't the case at all. She listened with rapt attention and asked questions to clarify some things. I ended up sitting with her for over an hour talking until we were interrupted by Emily and her husband Pete.

Apparently, Kate and Emily were close friends as they squealed with delight at seeing each other while hugging. I greeted Pete and then the four of us sat and talked. I had lost track of time and noticed it was getting dark when my parents came over to tell me they were leaving. I apologized for not spending much time with them, but they said they understood. I introduced them to Emily and Pete and then they headed off.

After a while Emily and Pete left, so I thought I should probably head out as well. I told Kate that I enjoyed talking to her and looked forward to seeing her again and then I found Marge and Mark and thanked them for the party.

As I drove home my thoughts drifted to Kate and how easy it was to talk to her. I thought that if I had met and married her instead of June my life would have been very different. I said to myself, 'Oh well, you can't change the past and I have enough to think about with my new job, my divorce and having to testify at the trials of the three ne'er do wells.

At work on Monday, Emily sat with me early on to discuss the day and week ahead. I told her I wanted to establish weekly team meetings first thing on Wednesday mornings. She asked why Wednesday and I told her because everyone would be in the flow of the week therefore having more to talk about. She thought that made sense and said she would send out a memo to those affected.

When we had completed our business, Emily smiled at me and asked, "So, what did you think of Kate?"

I was a little taken aback at the question, but rallied to say, "She was nice. I enjoyed talking to her."

"She enjoyed talking to you as well," Emily stated. "I can give you her number if you'd like to call her and, perhaps, ask her out."

I smiled and said, "As nice as that would be, I don't think it would be very appropriate. I'm, technically, still married plus I have too much going on right now with my divorce and upcoming trials. But, thanks for the offer. Maybe one day."

Kate popped into my office on Wednesday and told me, not asking, told me she was taking me out to lunch. When we got to the restaurant, she stared at me for a few seconds and then asked, "Do I disgust you? I thought we hit it off pretty well at the party."

I was thrown for a loop with this question and replied, "Far from it, I think you are lovely and I did enjoy talking to you at the party. I just didn't think it was appropriate to date the daughter of my boss. Besides, I'm a bit gun shy after what my ex pulled."

She shook her head and then said, "My parents have absolutely no problem with you dating me. They think the world of you and when they compare you with all of my past boyfriends they really hope you'll act. As far as your ex is concerned, anyone who fell for that ass hat, Clyde Whatshisface has to be the moron of the century. So, now that we've cleared that up, where are you taking me this Saturday?"

I couldn't help but laugh, so I said, "Let me think about it. It should be somewhere special. Give me your number and I'll call you with the details." We exchanged numbers and enjoyed our lunch together.

When I got home that night, I began wracking my brain for a suitable date with Kate. The whole dinner and movie routine, seemed pretty cliché and then decided something fun would be appropriate since she has a pretty great sense of humor. Finally, I decided what we would do, so I called her and said, "Alright, I have our date worked out. The only things I can tell you is that I'll pick you up at 2pm and dress is very casual, like jeans or shorts and t-shirt casual. Okay?"

She chuckled and said, "You're not going to tell me what or where?"

"Nope, it's a surprise."

"Well, I look forward to it. I'm at my parent's house while I'm here so I'll see you at 2 the day after tomorrow."

The next morning after Emily and I had our morning meeting, she said, "I understand you're taking Kate out on Saturday." I told her I was, so she asked, "Where are you going? Somewhere romantic? A candlelight dinner perhaps and then tickets to the hottest show in town?"

I knew Emily was trying to weasel information out of me, so I smiled and said, "I'm not at liberty to say. And, tell Kate that her spy failed!"

Emily laughed and said, "Oh, pooh! She's really curious."

"Well, we don't want to ruin the surprise now, do we?"

Saturday morning, I got everything ready and loaded my car. The weather couldn't be more perfect as I drove to pick Kate up. I parked in front of the house on their semicircular driveway and then rang the bell at the front door. The same valet who let me in for the party, smiled and said, "Please come in Mr. Jackson, you are expected."

I was led into what I guessed was a sitting room to await Kate. However, before Kate arrived, Marge came into the room and greeted me with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I'm so glad that you are taking Kate out and I hope things work out between the two of you."

I could feel myself blush as I said, "Well, it's just a first date, so don't get your hopes up too much."

Finally, Kate came into the room looking just gorgeous. She had on a sleeveless blouse, some loose-fitting khaki shorts, white socks and a pair of white Chuck Taylor low tops. She bounded over to me and gave me a nice hug and asked, "Am I dressed alright?"

"You're dressed perfectly. We should get going."

We both bade her Mom goodbye and then I opened Kate's door for her as she got in the car. She was smiling brightly as I did this. As we drove off, she asked me where we were going, so I told her she would find out soon enough. As I turned into the parking lot of the nicest mini-golf course in town, she laughed and asked, "We're playing putt-putt golf? I love it!"

Being Saturday afternoon, the place was pretty crowded as we waited to get our clubs and balls. We were finally able to start and discovered we both totally sucked! But, because of that we had a wonderful time, laughing throughout the game. In the end, Kate beat me by 2 strokes and she lorded that over me as we got back to the car.

As I began driving, she asked, "What next? Trap shooting? A tetherball tournament?"

I laughed and said, "Maybe next time, but today we are going here!" We had just pulled into the parking lot of a bowling alley.

"Bowling? Wow, you sure know how to show a girl a good time! Seriously, I love bowling and I'm going to kick your ass!"

Again, we had a great time as we laughed while taunting one another during our 3 games. We had made a wager that the loser would have to choose our next date. I had managed to win by 11 pins, so it was incumbent upon Kate to arrange our next date. When we had turned in our shoes, Kate said, "I'm kind of hungry. Does this date have a meal in it?"

I smiled and said, "It sure does, but as you have probably surmised, it isn't anything fancy. I trust that is alright?"

Kate smiled her beautiful smile and replied, "I'm sure it will be great if the rest of the date is anything to go by."

Her response pleased me, because she sounded like she was really enjoying herself. As we drove to the next destination, she looked at me a little askance since we had left town and were out in the country. When we arrived at our destination, I pulled into a ranch property about 6 miles out of town and continued down a dirt road until we got to a grassy area overlooking the small river that was in our area. When I stopped, I announced, "We're here! I'm going to need your help for a little bit and then we can eat."

Kate looked around and asked, "What is this place? It's really beautiful here!"

I opened the hatchback on my SUV and said, "I'll answer your questions in a few minutes, but we need to move some stuff down to the river." I handed Kate a picnic basket and a blanket, while I grabbed an ice chest and large umbrella.

When Kate saw the basket, blanket and umbrella she squealed with delight and asked, "Are we having a picnic? I haven't had a picnic since I was a little girl! This is wonderful!"

We got everything arranged and then I opened the ice chest and pulled out a selection of cheeses, veggies, fruit and some cold cuts like prosciutto and salami. I also pulled out a bottle of a light white Portuguese wine. It was pretty obvious that Kate was very hungry because she forgot about the question she had about this place.

When we had finished eating, we both lay back on the blanket enjoying the shade from a big maple tree and the umbrella and listening to the sound of the river and the calls of the birds in the area. After about 15 minutes, Kate rolled onto her right side and propped her head on her right hand and said, "Jason, I have to tell you, this has been the most fantastic first date I have ever been on. It has been so romantic! Thank you." She then leaned over and kissed me for a couple of seconds and the propped her head back up.

I blushed a bit, smiled and said, "I just thought you would appreciate something different from the dinner and a show thing. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"So, tell me about this place."

I chuckled and replied, "I bought this several years ago. My plan was to build a house here when June and I were ready to have kids. But, as you know she blew that idea out of the water. I'd still like to build a house here because I really like the quiet, the woods and the river. I own 20 acres and plan to build right up there with the best view on the property." I had pointed to a place downstream a bit and on a bluff overlooking the river.

Kate smiled down on me and said, "What a wonderful idea. What an idyllic place to live. Any idea when you'll start building?"

"Nah, I don't have the time right now with getting acquainted with my new job, the trial of the ex and company, and so on. Someday though."

Kate lay back down as we were both wrapped up in our own thoughts. I think we both fell asleep for a short time until a very raucous bird woke us. We both laughed being startled awake. She then said, "I wish I had known we would be here because I would have brought a swimming suit."

"We can just swim in our clothes."

"Or," Kate said, "We can swim in our underwear. They cover as much as swimwear."

So that's what we did. We stripped off our top layers and then walked down to the little beach on the river. I tried my best not to stare at Kate but couldn't help myself as she looked really good as we waded into the water. It wasn't too cold, so we got used to it quickly. The current wasn't very strong here, so we were able to splash each other and float about.

The middle of the river was too deep for Kate to stand with her head above the water, so she glommed onto me wrapping her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck. I had my hands around her waist and was marveling about how good she felt in my arms. Her ample bosom was pressed in my chest as she hugged me tightly as if she was afraid I would let her go. She sighed a sigh of contentment as she closed her eyes.

After a few moments she opened her eyes, smiled and then pulled my head into a kiss...a passionate kiss! I felt her tongue at my lips, so I parted them and engaged her tongue with mine. It had been many months since I had been kissed like this and I was loving every second. I liked it so much, I began to get hard down below! I didn't want my erection to spoil the moment, so I moved my linked hands to Kate's tush and lifted her a little higher and away from my penis.

When we broke the kiss, we stared in each other's eyes for a moment until Kate said, "I've been dying to do that since the first moment we met!" I was a bit surprised by this statement and then pulled her in for another one! God, was it good.

We kept kissing for a while and then I turned and headed back for the blanket carrying Kate who was still wrapped around me. I knelt and set Kate down on the blanket and then stretched out next to her. We resumed our make out session and I made sure I didn't take undo advantage because I wanted her to trust me.

When we separated a bit, we stared into each other's eyes again, so I said, "Kate, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met. I've been wanting to tell you that since we first met."

She smiled brightly and said, "You're beautiful as well."

I chuckled and then said, "I hope this isn't too forward, but would you like to go steady with me?"

She couldn't help it and began guffawing loudly as she hugged me tightly. When her laughing ebbed, she said, "I'd love to go steady with you. I haven't gone steady with anyone since I was in high school."

"Good!" I pulled my college class ring from my right ring finger, sat up, took her right hand in mine and placed it on her right ring finger. I have very large hands since I'm about 6'4" tall, so the ring was way too big, but she held the ring and her hand to her chest and said, "Thank you. I think I remember the old yarn and tape method of sizing it for my finger."

I then asked, "So, what are your plans after your vacation?"

"Well, I'm not sure now. My parents want me to come work for them in our legal department. I think they want to groom me as their successor for when they retire. But, I just made junior partner at the firm I've been working for in New York, so they've made a commitment to me. What do you think?"

I shook my head and said, "My opinion is entirely self-serving, so it shouldn't be considered. You need to do what's in your best interest, not in someone else's."

Kate stared at me for quite a while, so I thought maybe I said the wrong thing, but then her smile slowly grew until she said, "Now I know why my parents love you so much. I had a boyfriend, well actually, he was my fiancé at the time. I had just received a job offer from the firm I'm working for now. It's is one of the biggest and most prestigious in New York. Several of the partners were cabinet members for several presidents. Anyway, my fiancé had a job all lined up in Chicago and demanded I move to Chicago to be with him. I don't think he liked the idea that I'd be making more money than him, so he broke our engagement without even discussing what our choices were!

"After my initial anger, I decided I dodged a major bullet with him. I realize we've just gone steady, but you have already surpassed him in my estimation, so thank you."

I blushed and said, "Well, everyone has the right to self-determination as long as they take care that they know the consequences for others in their lives. My ex didn't understand that and broke her commitment to me in the worst possible way. Cheating the way she did was shameful and trying to ambush me like she did was disgusting. If she had just come out and said, 'I don't love you anymore and I think I may have found someone else', well, I could live with that."

She smiled and said, "Wow, you are more of a man than anyone I know." Kate stretched and then said, "Maybe we should head back now, okay?"

When we got back to her parent's place, I walked her to the door. She turned, walked into my arms and hugged me as she said, "This has been the absolute best first date I have ever been on. Thank you so much for that, though you have made topping this really difficult, though I'll think of something."

I chuckled and said, "Well, I look forward to it." I then bent down and gave her another passion filled kiss before I left.

On Monday, I met with Emily first thing like we usually do. I brought her coffee and then we sat down to discuss the coming day and week. When our business talk was done, she said, "You really nailed it with your date with Kate. She called me Saturday evening and wouldn't shut up about how great you are. Personally, I think she's in love with you."

I laughed and said, "Oh, come on! It was just one date. She's smarter than to fall in love that quickly."

It was Emily's turn to laugh, "It doesn't take smarts to fall in love. Sometimes the simplest actions are all it takes."

I thought to myself that, I was falling in love with her as well, but she'd be leaving in the near future. So, I smiled at Emily and said, "Besides she'll be leaving back to New York soon, so..."

Emily got wistful and said, "Yeah, there is that. Maybe you can convince her to stay, I know her parents want her to work for the company."

"She and I had that discussion and I told her to do what's best for her."

On Tuesday, Kate popped into my office again and asked, "Are you doing anything tomorrow evening?" I told her I wasn't, so she said, "Good, I'll pick you up at 6:30 and be prepared to be amazed! Dress is casual again." With that she turned and left my office as quickly as she came in. I did see her walking out with her Mom around lunch time.

The next evening at 6:30 sharp, Kate pulled up in a Mercedes coupe and tooted her horn. I bounded out and jumped into the passenger side, leaned over, gave Kate a kiss and then buckled my seatbelt. As we drove to our destination, I asked, "Who's car is this?"

She smiled at me quickly and then replied, "It's mine. It was my high school graduation gift from my folks. I didn't need it at school nor do I need it in New York, so it camps out in my parents' garage. My Mom drives it on occasion, so it doesn't fall apart from neglect. I love this car."

I grinned and said, "It's a nice one. So, I trust our destination is a surprise?" She nodded as we headed in towards downtown.

When we pulled into a parking garage across from the baseball stadium, I grinned and asked, "A ballgame?"

"Yeah is that okay? I guessed that you may like baseball."

I laughed and replied, "I love baseball, who are the Mighty Pretzels playing tonight?" Our team was the AAA squad for the Milwaukee Brewers and the owners decided that pretzels go with beer, ergo the name. "I'm not sure I think Bradford."