Love Conquers All

Shay knew it was petty, but she was secretly delighted that 'cutie pie' wasn't getting her way. It wasn't like Shay was 'waiting in the wings' for her chance to win over this very handsome younger man, it was just somehow satisfying to see him not fawning all over the 'babalicious' girl who clearly had the hots for him.

It was fifteen minutes later when he finally forced an end to the discussion and grabbed his study materials. When Shay saw him getting ready to leave, she turned and quickly walked down the hall then went to the foyer and took a seat in one of the four chairs set along one of the walls. She opened a book and pretended to be studying it when Jordan came around the corner.

"Oh, there you are. I thought you gave up on me," she heard him say.

She looked up as though she was surprised and said, "Hey there. I uh, I got caught up in the chapter on mandatory disclosures, and wasn't even keeping track of the time."

"Yeah, that's a real page turner," he told her as he smiled that amazing smile at her. "So can we still go get that drink?"

"Oh, right. Sure. That sounds good," she said as though she'd almost forgotten about it.

They agreed where to meet and ten minutes later they pulled into the parking lot with Shay following right behind Jordan.

She was driving a 2013 Honda Accord with 90,000 miles on it, and he was driving one of the brand new Corvettes she really liked. She'd always liked them, but never really been a serious fan until the 2018 model came out, and the first time she saw it, Shay remembered thinking it was the coolest thing she'd even seen, and the only car she'd ever really 'coveted'.

Jordan was driving the Grand Sport Coupe model in a color called Long Beach Red that was more maroon than red. Out of curiosity Shay'd checked the price on line after seeing the first one and gasped. That model went for somewhere around $75,000, and that put an end to her daydreaming.

Her ex would be paying for Alexis's tuition per their divorce agreement, but with a mortgage and other bills, even a new Honda Civic was out of the question, so once again, returning to selling real estate made a lot of sense. Driving a Corvette did not.

"Nice wheels," she said when they got out together.

"Oh, thanks. I had an experience that had a rather profound effect on me. Ever since, when I see something I really want, I buy it or go for it."

He shut the door, and as they walked said, "Which is and isn't strange if you know me."

Shay didn't ask as he opened the door to the pub for her, but he explained what he meant.

"Prior to that, I was a lot more cautious. I still am in some areas, but I can also be impulsive when it comes to making the decision to do certain things."

They found a seat, and Shay asked, "Such as?"

"Well, like buying a car that's completely impractical for a real estate agent. Or...joining the Marine Corps after graduating from college a month after getting my real estate license."

"Oh, so you enlisted after going to college?" Shay asked.

"Yes and no. I was an officer so I didn't...enlist. But I did sign a contract and had to serve for four and-a-half years. It's kind of the same thing as enlisting, but there are some differences."

"Oh, okay," Shay said as though she understood the differences when she really didn't. She'd heard the terms 'officer' and 'enlisted' before but had no idea what they meant or what the difference was between them.

"And my decision to get out was almost as impulsive. I really liked what I was doing even though being an infantry officer has no real marketable job value to it," he said.

"I'm curious," Shay said. "I thought most people in the military had to live on food stamps. And yet you're driving a very expensive car. Am I missing something?"

Jordan laughed but not derisively. It was a polite laugh, and his answer explained why.

"That can be true for some of the junior enlisted folks who have a spouse and kids. But for nearly everyone else, they don't need that kind of help. And while junior officers like me will never get rich, we're paid rather well. Not great, but more than enough to live on very comfortably. I rarely ever went out or did anything like going drinking, and I was gone well over half the time I was on active duty. I saved nearly everything I made the whole time I was in, and now I own a very expensive toy, and have very little in the bank, plus a monthly car payment and insurance that are, well, rather expensive, too."

"I honestly don't know much of anything about the military so I'll take your word for all of that," Shay told him with a smile.

"So...have I answered any of your questions yet?" Jordan asked as someone came over and took their drink orders. He, of course, was referring to her earlier comment.

"Yes. I have more, but the rest are all work-related, and you probably don't want to talk about work."

Shay realized that implied he'd invited her for reasons other than business and she quickly corrected herself.

"Sorry. Of course you wanted to talk about work. We're taking a real estate class together, you're going to be running your father's business, and the only reason to even have a drink with me would be business."

"It would?" Jordan asked with that smile of his.

"Well, sure. It would have to be, right?" she asked he continued smiling at her.

"Okay. Sure," he said, the smile never fading. "So...ask away."

Their drinks came, and Jordan handed the woman who brought them a twenty and told her quietly to keep the change.

"I can pay for my own drink, Jordan," she told him.

"Not when you're with me, you can't," he said very pleasantly.

Between his calm, pleasant way and that amazing smile, the embers were glowing very hot in spite of their relative ages.

"Well, thank you then," she told him before asking a serious question.

"I suppose the obvious question would be whether or not I might have a future with Hanson Reality. Once I'm re-certified, of course."

"There's always room for good people, Shay. My dad used to say that quite often, and I had a battalion commander who told me that, too. Over the years I've learned that even when jobs are scarce, there really is room for someone willing to work hard."

Shay then spent some time talking about her situation and in particular, Alexis, college, and the flower shop and her thoughts about working part-time at first.

"That makes sense. You need to make sure you can pay the bills before you cut bait with a job you really like. I don't see why that would be a problem. We just might not be able to give you an office until you're ready to go full-time."

"No, that's perfectly understandable. With cell phone and laptops, a fixed office location isn't nearly as important as it used to be."

"Exactly. And you can always use one of the closing rooms if you need to sit down with a potential buyer. I don't see a problem with any of that," Jordan told her.

"Thank you," Shay said again. "I haven't fretted too much about finding a job, but it's nice to know you'd at least consider me."

"You have a job, Shay. Part-time to start with and full-time whenever you're ready," he told her.

"Okay!" she said. "Wow. That was easy."

"You have experience and it only makes sense to take advantage."

Jordan smiled then said, "Sorry. Not...of you. Of your experience."

Shay laughed nervously and said, "I knew what you meant. I'm very aware of my um...place and your, well, your..."

"My...place?" Jordan asked.

"Sorry. That didn't make much sense, did it? What I was trying to say is I'm aware that guys...men...like you don't look at women...like me...like that. That's all."

"We don't?" Jordan said, the smile back on his handsome face.

"Well, no. Of course not. You look at women like...the cute blonde teaching our class."

"We do?" Jordan said again in that 'how do you know' tone of voice.

Suddenly flustered, Shay glanced down at her watch and said, "It's really getting late. I should probably get home before my daughter gets too worried."

"I thought you said she was 17 and getting ready to go to college in a few months," Jordan countered. "Is there some reason she can't be alone at..."

He looked at his watch then said, "At 10:45?"

"Oh, no, but I...I have to get up for work in the morning, and..."

"Okay. I get it," Jordan said. "You don't find me quite as interesting as I do you. That's okay."

"Wait. What?" Shay asked.

"I was just noting that there are times when one person likes someone else more than they like him or...her...back."

"I don't understand," Shay said, now thoroughly confused after being befuddled.

"Wow. I know I've been kind of away from things for a while, but I didn't think I was blowing it that badly."

"Jordan, I'm sorry, but I don't really have any idea what you're talking about."

He smiled, sat up straight then told her, "I think you're a very attractive woman, Shay. I asked you to have a drink me because that's something a man does when he's attracted to a woman. I was just now trying to explain that I finally get it. I understand that you don't feel the same way about me. For you it was just business, and that's fine. We really will be lucky to have you back. It took me a while, but now I get it, and that really is okay."

Before she could respond he said, "Well, it isn't actually okay in the sense that it doesn't bother me. Getting shot down is always a little bit painful. I think I was more trying to say it's not up to me when it comes to the way you see me or feel about me."

Shay finally got it, but her brain wouldn't let her accept it.

"Hold on. Are you honestly trying to tell me this was something more than just business?"

"Yes. At least I was hoping it might be," he told her with a polite smile.

"That makes no sense," she told him.

"Why? Because you don't find me interesting or attractive enough?" he asked.

Shay's eyes opened wide as she kind of shook her head in disbelief.

"No! On both counts. You're very interesting and more than attractive enough. Way more," she added.

"Then what is it?" he asked so sincerely Shay realized he was being serious.

"It's...I just can't imagine...it doesn't make any sense that you would be 'interested' in me," she explained, her words coming in fits and starts.

"So it isn't that you don't like me, it's that you can't imagine me liking you?" he asked for clarification.

"Well...yes," Shay said. "That's exactly what it is."

"Do you draw the line at some arbitrary age by chance?" he asked.

"Draw the line?" she asked.

"Yes. Is there an age below which you won't go out with someone? Like say...under 40 or...30?"

"I...I don't really have a...line. Or at least I don't think I do. But there has to be one somewhere, right?" she said, sure she'd scored a point.

"There does?" he replied yet again by asking another question rather than answering her.

"Well, I...I think so, anyway. Alexis recently said I should be willing to at least consider dating someone a little bit younger than me, and I told her that made sense."

"Good. Then I'd like to go out with you, Shay," he said, that smile on his lips again.

"No. You don't understand. I mentioned...forty...as my kind of...line. Not...how old are you, Jordan?"

"Old enough to have spent a year in combat. Old enough to run a business. Old enough to find you incredibly attractive," he told her.

Shay sat there just staring at him and feeling like she couldn't move. She still couldn't accept the possibility he actually wanted to go out with her as in a 'date' going out, but that's what he seemed to be telling her.

"How old do you think I am?" she finally asked.

"What makes you think I care?" he replied in that infuriating way again.

"Do you ever just answer a question?" she asked him.

"Yes," he told her directly.

He smiled knowing he was being flip, and yet he was really just being playful.

"Oh, okay. A smart aleck, huh?" she said, finally managing a smile.

"No. Just trying to patiently win you over," Jordan told her.

"But...why? Why would you even want to win me over?" she asked, her eyebrows raised and a look of disbelief still on her face.

"Okay. I'm going to explain this one more time," he said as though he were talking to a child.

"You're a very beautiful woman, Shay. You're single, and I like you. When I first saw you, your beauty triggered my new-found 'go for it' mechanism so I asked you to have a drink with me. And now that I've gotten to know you, your charm leads me to ask you to go on a date with me. Simple, right?"

She sat there staring at him so he tilted his head a little, raise his eyebrows, then said, "Was that clear enough for you, Ms. Henderson?"

"Kind of," she said as she felt her hands trembling.

"What part confused you?" he asked with faux smugness.

"The part that explains why a man your age would want to date a woman my age. That part."

"I thought I made it clear I don't care about that," Jordan said in an almost pedantic kind of way. "Were you not paying attention?"

He smiled again, and the smile infuriated her even as her entire body began to tremble as the embers moved from red- to white-hot.

She sat there in silence again and stared at him for nearly a minute.

"So?" he finally asked when she finally realized she was staring.

"You're serious. You're really serious?" Shay asked.

"Yes. Very. I would really like to take you out somewhere nice."

Shay shook her head then said, "I...I need to think about this, okay?"

"Okay. Sure. As long as that isn't a definite 'no', I can live with that," he told her, that smile back again.

They'd barely touched their drinks when Shay let him know she really did have to go home. Jordan walked her out and opened her car door for her once she unlocked it.

"I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow then," he told her.

Shay had completely forgotten she'd be seeing him every night the rest of that week, and when that hit her she felt panicked.

"Oh. Right. Class. Yes, I guess you will. See me there," she said.

Jordan was standing very close to her; so close she could smell him, and it wasn't his cologne. It was that unmistakable, masculine scent she hadn't smelled in so long it nearly made her swoon.

"You okay?" he asked, his arm still outstretched in front of her.

"I'm just a little lightheaded all of a sudden," Shay told him.

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked.

Shay had never felt so desperate in her life. Nor had she ever felt so helpless as this 'fire' inside her exploded. In less than an instant she knew that if he were to kiss her, she'd pull him into her car and beg him to make love to her. It was a very scary feeling to be that out of control as she fought with all her might to retain some semblance thereof.

"Yes? No?" she heard him say.

"Oh. No. I'll be fine. I'm sure," she said.

"Can you drive?" he asked.

"Yes. I can drive."

"All right. Then I'll see you tomorrow," he told her again as he watched her sit down.

He closed her door then stood there making sure she was really okay. Rattled to her core, Shay found herself unable to think or even move. All she had to do was get her her keys out and start the car, but she couldn't.

When she didn't move for a good ten seconds Jordan tapped on the window.

"Shay? Are you all right?"

She looked up at him and when she did she couldn't stop looking. Jordan opened the door and and asked her again if she was okay.

"No. Everything isn't okay," she said quietly while continuing to stare at him.

"Listen, I don't think you should be driving," he told her. "Why don't you let me take you home?"

Shay didn't move so Jordan said, "Please?"

He then reached for her hand, and when she still didn't move, he gently grabbed it then started lifting her up.

And that's when the fire consumed her. Unable to stop herself, Shay let him lift her until she was face to face, and once she was, something in her brain snapped and she threw her arms around him and kissed him so hard it nearly knocked him off his feet and Shay along with him.

Jordan instinctively grabbed her and kept them both from falling, and once he had his balance he said, "Whoa! Hold on there, Nellie!"

Shay went from insanely out of control back to coldly rational in a nanosecond, and when that happened she thought she might literally die of embarrassment.

"Oh, my God. I am so sorry. And embarrassed. And..."

Jordan was chuckling, but Shay didn't hear him.

"Jordan, I have no idea what just came over me. I've never done anything like that in my life. I swear. I...I just lost my mind or something."

Shay had pulled back a little, but she was still in his arms looking up at him.

He was trying to stop laughing, and that's when she realized how he'd reacted.

"It isn't funny!" Shay told him. "I'll never be able to even look at you again. How can you just stand there and laugh?"

"Are you done?" he said.

"I...guess so," she said, now getting very quiet.

She looked down at the ground, but because she was so close to him, she was really looking at his broad, thick chest as the embers began to glow again.

He pulled her closer then said, "That was without doubt the strangest kiss I've ever had, but..."

Still looking down in shame, Shay said, "Oh, my God. Jordan, I...I can't say I'm sorry strongly enough. This whole real estate thing was a bad idea. I don't think I'll be back tomor..."

He leaned down, gently lifted her chin up until their eyes met, then softly kissed her.

"What...what are you..." Shay said before falling silent and kissing him back.

"I wasn't sure how else to...shut you up," Jordan said with a smile when it ended.

"It...worked," Shay told him quietly as she tried to make sense of what was going on.

"First, please don't apologize. I've wanted to kiss you—or be kissed by you—since we talked during the break. Second, there's no need to be embarrassed. We're both adults, right? And third, please come back to class tomorrow night. Oh. Lastly, please don't stop looking at me, okay?"

Shay's eyes were moving so fast back and forth between his she wasn't sure if they'd start smoking and somehow burn out of their sockets.

"Okay," was all she could say as her heart pounded so hard she could barely hear herself talk.

"Now, did that rather unusual kiss of yours mean you'll go out with me?" he asked, smiling as always.

"Yes?" she croaked not sure if she was agreeing or asking.

"Yes?" he repeated.

"Yes. I...I'll go out with you. On one condition."

"Name it," he said.

"You have to tell me...why. Why me and not someone younger and prettier, and..."

He softly placed a finger on her lips and when she stopped talking again he told her, "I will. I'll tell you why. But on one condition."

"Okay," Shay said, her heart still hammering in her chest.

"You have to promise me that when I tell you why, you'll accept what I say and believe it. Will you do that?"

"Yes," she told him very quietly.

"Okay. Then how about we go out this Friday and celebrate the end of our mandatory training once we're done with it?"

"Um...okay. Sure. I...we...we can do that," Shay told him as she looked into his eyes.

"Are you really gonna be okay to drive home?" he finally asked her again.

"Oh. Yes. I'll be fine now," she said.

"Good. I want to make sure you're not going to stop and accost the first guy you see like you just did me," he said very seriously.

Shay looked down and said, "When we discuss why you want to go out with me, I'll try and explain why I just...accosted you."

"Deal. And I promise I'll believe you," he told her.

Shay finally looked back up at him then said, "I'm really not like that, Jordan. I promise."

"Well, I'm glad you were like that tonight," he told her.