Kiss Me Cate Pt. 02

"So file my last will and testament, and bring an engagement ring. Got it."

She bust out laughing at that. "I've made them sound positively antiquated. That's a total fabrication. Da wouldn't be happy at all, but he'd purse his lips and offer you a drink and put out of his mind what we may have been doing. Mum would be feeding you like you were a starving wayfarer in off the road, to be honest."

"Bring a good bottle of whiskey and an appetite. Got it."

"That's right." She said laughing.

"So you're the favorite daughter, so there's another like you at home?"

"Two similar, but not completely alike. My older sister Sinead is married with a little boy, works as an office administrator in some firm in the city. Her husband is a bit..." Cate wrinkled her nose. "He's a bit of a nit, nice enough but about as exciting as a pudding. My younger sister, Shannon, is the rock star. She plays guitar, fiddle, sings, and generally drives Mum & Da crazy." She said grinning.

"Got it, Sinead the suit, Shannon the party girl." She laughed at my generalizations of her family.

"Shannon is classically trained violinist and is trying to get into the philharmonic, so it's not all laser lights, fog machines and raves."

"Three girls? Does your father remember what the inside of his bathroom looks like?" I should've been better prepared for the kick, I fell over laughing.

"So much for being a sensitive, supportive and caring male companion. I shouldn't have bought into your game so easily you chancer." She responded in mock offense, she lifted her chin and turned away from me. When I sat up she proffered the other leg for similar treatment and I began working my way up her calf from ankle to knee. "Well that's the short form for me. What about your family. The ones you so quickly abandoned to run off with some girl you barely know."

"I wouldn't say I barely know her." I said smiling but didn't look up. "She's one of three girls from Dublin, father is a copper, mother is a retired teacher. She's strong, very strong, despite what weaknesses she may think she has. She's also very caring, open and I know it sounds dated, but she's very sweet. A lady as well as a woman. She has the most... intoxicating blue eyes, a fiendishly quick smile and a wicked sense of humor. She's absolutely gorgeous, though she acts like she doesn't know it. I don't believe she's acting, she's totally clueless to the fact actually. She's tall, slender, has nice curves where they count, and moves with the grace of a swan." I chuckled as I saw another kick coming my way, but she pulled it back in. "She talks with her hands, but I love that, she has such long fingers." I looked up to see her looking at her hand flipping it back and forth. "Her birthday is the fourth of October. I knew it at the time, but thought it may have been awkward to mention it as I was just the hired and completely underpaid help."

"I don't know. The benefits package seems pretty good."

"There is that." I said wiggling my eyebrows at her. The light had faded to twilight outside, the only light in the room was the fireplace.

She cocked her head to the side. "Dylan, you don't think..."

"No. No. I do not believe for a moment you are capable of quid pro quo. I'm fairly certain that since fate threw us back together, time would have led to this eventuality, whether sooner or later. At least I'd like to hope so. The old saying goes, fate is a cruel mistress, so it made you one of my professors."

"Of a course you could have easily taught." She added.

"I'd like to think we would have started off with dinner, maybe a movie, I know it sounds cliché. I would have decimated you at mini golf. We might have enjoyed a hike or two, tried line dancing." She wrinkled her nose at that. "I have eventual hopes of getting you to a beach and seeing you in a bikini." I laughed.

"Have you ever seen an Irish girl in daylight? We're whiter than a glass of milk! It's a wonder that we don't immediately burst into flames from the brightness."

I laughed. "I have noticed, but I'd say you're more lustrous than white, like a pearl, not a glass of milk."

"Flatterer." She smiled.

"The biggest obstacle we have at this point is keeping Chad off your case. Hopefully you've scared him enough to give up."

"I hope so, if I'm going to make a go at this teaching thing I don't need something like that derailing me before I get out of the damn station." The crease was back, her eyes had darkened.

"You're beautiful when you're angry." I said laughing, the crease disappearing being replaced by a smile. "Are you hungry?"

"Not really, maybe something light. Let's see what room service has to offer. I'm enjoying hearing what you'd do if things had worked out differently, and I'll take you down at mini golf my dear boy." We called down for a light dinner.

"An athlete are you?"

She laughed. "Not at all. I do like to whack a tennis ball around once in a while. I like playing with fuzzy balls." A huge grin split her face.

"Duly noted!" There was a knock on the door and a waiter wheeled in a small cart. Once we were alone, Cate plucked a cucumber slice from her salad.

"You're not off the hook. You've learned much more about me in the past few hours than I know about you. Out with it, I want the scoop."

"There isn't really much to it. Dad's an engineer, Mom is the lawyer I told you that I knew." I winked at Cate. "My brother James, who hates to be called Jim or Jimmy, so that prompts me to do it at every turn, that's just what brothers do, is a few years old than I am. He went into the family business of engineering, building stuff, skyscrapers, bridges. They call it civil, well they did before Jimmy got into it." I laughed.

"Oh you're not getting off the hook that easily. What were you like as a child?"

I laughed. "I wasn't a troublemaker, I was a quiet kid, reader, loved puzzles. I've dismantled my share of old clock radios and erected massive towers of building blocks. I tried sports, didn't like to play them much, but watching them was fun though. I was more of a discoverer, watching bugs crawl on twigs, making baking soda volcanoes for the science fair. I was a shy teenager, I wouldn't even think of talking to a girl unless she spoke to me first."

"So I was a first for you?" She said laughing.

"No, I'd overcome at least the basic shyness. I still wouldn't go out of my way to talk to a girl but I'd say 'hello' and such to a girl I knew without provocation."

"Look out Casanova, Dylan is on the loose."

"Okay, okay, though I don't picture you as the kind to start either. You seem too, uh, reserved to make the first move. Honestly I cannot be the first or only man who has told you that you're beautiful."

"You were the first that did so with such complete sincerity." Her smile was dazzling, even in the dim light. "I completely missed your meaning at first which was what made it so honest. You didn't flower it with excess flattery, you just blurted it out. I think it was the awkward delivery that kept me talking actually. A sort of awkward meets awkward bond."

I smiled. "Mom is the hero, champion of the underdog. She does civil cases, contracts, malpractice and that sort of thing. She's not an ambulance chaser. When she goes after someone or some company her defendant is the one that benefits. She says that I'm a lot like my dad and that he would never have gone out with her unless she'd been the one to ask him out."

"Sounds like you have a little more of her than she lets on." She said looking around at the room in general.

"Well sure. Things have changed in the past few decades. Guys don't meet girls at the local soda shop and ask them out to sock hops any more."

"We're the poorer for it." She added with complete seriousness.

"It's a power struggle now. There's so much questionable intent and innuendo. Asking a girl on a date isn't easy any more."

"I think you did alright."

"I asked for a date two months in advance! You think that's going to work in the corner coffee shop or the college library?" I laughed. "Gee Jenny, would you like to go out with me on Saturday night, in June, preferably the last week? I know it's March, but I want to make sure you're available. What do you mean you're washing your hair that night? It's three months from now!" At this point Cate had set aside her dinner and was laughing hysterically.

"Well the boys have to take some of the blame too! They don't know how to handle rejection without taking it too personally. They either want to throw themselves off of one of your dad's bridges or they end up stalking the girl and scaring the daylights out of her." She pointed her finger at me. "Pointedly I never told you I was actually from Dublin, and I never told you when my birthday was. I take into consideration the field you're studying and the class I teach, and know that you've probably read my resume and personnel file from the human resources department. By the way, that's a very serious crime and you know it."

"I was sorry to read that your family cat passed on. What was his name? Tigger?"

She gazed at me open-mouthed for a moment. I busted out laughing. "Do you realize that all of what I said was public knowledge, available freely on the internet if you know where to look? Honestly Cate, you teach IT security. Didn't you think anybody with half a brain might look you up on social media?"

She relaxed visibly. "I thought I had the security locked down on that. Those bastards keep changing the settings every time they do some sort of 'service improvement'."

"Family pet names and birthdates are common password roots. You know this, teach." I got an eye roll for that statement.

"It's funny you mentioned taking apart radios. One of the things that got me hooked on the nerdier pursuits was a little crystal radio kit my father got when I was probably eight or nine. I was just blown away by that. Which is incredible considering that you need a fifty foot video screen and explosions to get anything more than a yawn from an eight year old these days." She laughed. "Wow that makes me feel old."

I laughed at that. "Yea, we're old. I mean I've been legal to buy liquor for over two years now." I said holding up my wine glass.

"Thank heaven for that." She said raising her glass.

The remnants of dinner remained, crumbs, a few grapes forgotten on the side, and fewer left in the bottle of wine. I tipped the last of it out sharing it between us as we talked into the night sharing childhood stories, hopes and dreams. Where we thought we would be, where we ended up, which didn't seem to match up with either of our intended goals. She wasn't an astronaut and I wasn't a ballerina among other visions we had for ourselves as children.

Cate excused herself and went to the bath after enjoying her self-imposed single ration of chocolate truffles, eyes rolling back in her head as she shivered with joy.

"Note to self, Cate is not only a chocoholic, but a repeat offender." I said smiling.

"These are positively delicious, and I'm not saying you're wrong." She popped the other half into my mouth and patted my cheek gently. She was right, they were good.

Homely sounds emanated from the bath, the whoosh of movement, the click of a toothbrush set on the counter, a short fast rush of water. I stared into the sparse blue and orange flames of the fireplace. All at once I wish I had never walked away back in July, and angry with myself for the time I felt that I'd lost getting to know Cate. The irritating issue of Chad and the trouble he could cause if he put his mind to it, and the pettiness of it all. The time we would waste hiding out, running away. As soon as the ire flared it was quenched. Despite everything that had gone wrong, here we were alone together, the rest of the world could disappear and I wouldn't see it happen or care. A soft brush against my shoulder, a faint whiff of her perfume and she was back. I looked up at her as she sat down, stunned into further silence. She rested her chin on the back of her hand. She had gotten ready for bed, opting for the flannel pajamas again, but neglecting the bottoms. The shirt tails of the top barely reaching her thighs, she crossed her long legs, her toes dangling dangerously close.

"I don't know about you but I'm beat, I was thinking of going to bed." Her cheek twitched as she tried to keep the smile from creeping across her face. I had no such luck. I leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on the top of her foot.

"That sounds like a good idea." I pushed the little cart into the hallway and made a hasty yet thorough toilette. When I came out of the bath the fire had been put out, the lights turned off and by the light from the other room I could see Cate laying on her side, brushing her hair back and revealing that the pajama tops and perfume were the only things she was wearing. She was absolutely breath-taking and I stopped to watch her. She looked up and smiled. She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen, and I very well believed I would ever see. This wouldn't be the fireworks of this morning, this would be a slow burn like a banked fire on a cold winter night.

"Wow." I said under my breath. Her grin got a little bigger.

"The male body has a wonderful barometer to show it's interest." She said.

I smiled sheepishly. "Aren't you warm in that?"

"It is a bit hot in here. Can you give me a hand?" She said toying with the buttons.

Our movements synchronized, the buttons gently undone and the top landed somewhere on the floor as I rolled on top of her kissing her deeply. There was no hurry, we had time to enjoy ourselves. The night was dark and deep, the only sounds were the sighs and soft caresses we made in our little world.

"Doesn't that thing ever sleep?" She said groggily.

I chuckled. "It has a mind of its own."

She let out a jaw cracking yawn, blinking in the early light. Her eyes opened and rested on me. She smiled and reached up and ran her fingers through my hair. "You are beautiful."

I smiled. "Me? I think you have that backwards."

"No, I don't. It's not just that you're handsome, the rakish smile, deep dark eyes, it's here too." She said placing her hand on my chest.

"Nice pecs? I don't even work out."

She rolled her eyes. "You've a beautiful soul Dylan Butler. It's just who you are."

"I'm not special."

"Oh, but you are." Her smile brightened. "You were right, there's reason to disbelieve someone when they say they love you, especially after such a short time, but last night you didn't tell me, you showed me."

"I can show you again if you're not opposed." I said with a laugh.

"I'm not." She leaned in and kissed me deeply. "Let me freshen up a bit first."

"One of new worlds greatest gifts to the old world." She said holding up her fork with a bite of waffle dripping with syrup.

"I thought waffles were Belgian."

"Maple syrup." She said popping the bite in her mouth, her eyes rolling upward.

"I can add that to the multitude of things I love about you." I said taking a sip of my coffee.

"My love of maple syrup?" She said making a funny face.

"Not specifically, more your love of small things, details rather than large things. You look at things with a much finer detail than most people." I laughed. "Like a kitten watching a bug."

She smiled. "Some people can't see the forest for the trees. I rather like the trees." She picked up her coffee. She looked over my shoulder out the front window of the little diner we'd stopped at for breakfast. "I think I've always been that way now that I think about it. Mum once said I was an unusual child, I could focus on one thing exclusive of others, and that I was completely content with one biscuit, cookie I mean, when all the other children would horde their resources or try to clamber for more." She smiled looking at me. "You can only eat one at a time."

"Some kids can and would prove otherwise." I said with a laugh.

"I mean having it all doesn't make one happy. Having enough, that's the thing. I've seen it here, and increasingly back home, that the drive to amass wealth is the driving force behind people these days. A big part of it is being sold on some dream that if you have a bigger house, a bigger car and a bank account full of money like Scrooge then you'll be happier. Look what happened to him! I think I'd be happy as I could ever be just knowing I have a decent roof over my head, a loaf in the breadbox and someone to share it with."

"A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thee."

"A jug of wine would be good too." She added with a laugh. "I'm so philosophical today. I wonder why?"

"I don't know, but I like it." I said smiling.

"I get the impression I could read you the sixteenth volume of the Encyclopedia Brittanica verbatim and you'd be happy."

I burst out laughing earning a look from a couple at another table. "Which volume is that, the letter N or O?"

"I don't think it would matter." She smiled, her nose scrunching up and her eyes closing to slits.

"You're right, I would be happy, and it wouldn't matter which volume it was."

"What sort of trouble should we get into today?" She asked.

I shrugged. "I'm open to ideas."

"Well the sun's finally come out even if it is colder than a witches tit outside." I nearly choked on my coffee. "What? You've never heard that before?"

"It doesn't get cold in Ireland in the winter?" I asked clearing my throat.

"No, not nearly as cold as here. I have an idea but I have to ask a favor for it."

"Yes. Whatever it is."

"You may change your mind when I ask. I'd like to practice driving on the wrong side of the road."

"You haven't driven since you got here?" I said surprised.

"Well I have had a rental or two, but I was hoping I might swing a car by the end of the semester, and since you Yanks never did learn to drive on the proper side of the road I need to get used to it."

The waitress chose that moment to refill our coffee. "Do you have anything for nerves?"

"I have decaf." She said.

"Ignore him, he was about to give me the keys so I could drive."

The waitress smiled. "She's going to chauffeur your lazy butt around and you're complaining?"

"They drive on the wrong side of the road where she comes from!" I said trying to defend myself. We all laughed and she set down the slip. Cate snapped it quickly away from me.

"Let me feel like I'm contributing something." She said giving me the evil eye.

"Yes dear."

Seemingly out of no where the waitress called out. "That's it honey. Now you understand." I reached into my pocket and took out my keys and set them in front of Cate. She mouthed a quick 'thank you' to me before paying the tab.

We headed south along the lake, stopping at two other wineries where we tasted the wares and picked up a few bottles. Cate's driving was cautious, but she got comfortable quickly. She remarked about the beauty of the lake off to our left several times.

"I think this lake is nearly as long as all of Ireland." She said with a laugh.

"It may be, the Finger Lakes are deep too, good fishing." We had skipped lunch due to all the nibbling at the wineries. "If we come back up the other side of the lake we should be back around dinner time."

"Do you want to drive?" She asked. I could see she was enjoying herself so I declined.

"I like being chauffeured around." I said with a grin and stretched out slightly in my seat.

"I hope you tip well then." She said grinning.

Since we were still parked I leaned over and kissed her. "Mmm, you do tip well."

We dropped off the wine in our hotel room and asked the concierge for advice on a pub in town. After beer and burgers we found a movie theater and checked out the shows.

"Dinner and a movie, this is starting to seem like a date."

"No, I'm better at dates than just a burger and a second rate action flick." I said smiling.