Sense of Smell

She chose grilled lamb tenderloin over fig and almond risotto which was a 'mere' $38.

Adam then ordered them a bottle of red wine, and Connie couldn't help but try and stop him.

"Adam, that's $25 a glass!" she tried to whisper to him.

"Then don't have more than three, okay?" he whispered back.

Connie gave him a playful nudge with her elbow then accepted the fact he was going all out to impress her.

"This is very nice," she told him as their wine came.

"I haven't really been on a date since..." he began.

There was no need to finish as Connie understood.

"I'm honored. And flattered," she told him as they toasted to the success of their new fragrance.

"After I left Dynex today, I was wondering if 'kismet' or any such thing exists," Adam said.

"Oh?" she replied, her heart already beating faster.

"Yeah. I mean, is it just pure coincidence that you and I met? Or rather...met again?"

"Honestly? I was thinking the same thing. I couldn't help but wonder if there's something or some...one...out there helping people get together."

Adam smiled at her then took her hand again then spoke rather softly.

"I like being...together...with you."

"So it isn't just me?" she asked sweetly.

Adam stared into her eyes for several seconds, and at one point the feeling was so intense Connie had to look away.

He gently moved her hand a little closer to him then asked, "Do you think you and I might...do you think it's even possible we could..."

"I believe anything is possible," she told him just above a whisper, even though there were many things she knew were impossible. But this wasn't a science class. It was real life with a real person, and this real person was incredibly handsome and nice and also...very young.

"Even though I'm a little bit younger than you?" Adam asked, trying not to smile.

"I've been pretending it's only a few years, but we both know it isn't," she replied.

"So...it does bother you? That I'm...a lot younger?"

"What? No. I thought you were getting ready to tell me the problem was with me being so much older."

Adam smiled and nearly laughed as he said, "That never even crossed my mind. What did is that you're a very successful chemist with a PhD while I have a high school education and...grow roses."

All of that was true, but at that moment, none of it mattered.

"I do love chemistry, but it's never made me feel the way being with you makes me feel," she told him as their eyes darted back and forth. "I've never had a covalent bond hold my hand or a chemical reaction tell me I'm...beautiful."

Adam reached up and put his other hand on her cheek then quietly told her, "You are beautiful, Connie. And you're also kind and patient and I see the way you interact with the people who work for you. It's obvious they like you and trust you, and that kind of loyalty isn't just handed out."

"They're all dedicated, hard-working people who really enjoy what they're doing, so that makes it easy."

"But that's not the reason why they like you so much," he told her.

Connie's heart was pounding as he leaned closer then whispered, "Or the reason why I like you so much," just before kissing her for the first time.

She was aware they were in public, but she didn't care at all, and although the kiss was neither long nor formal, she definitely kissed him back.

As Adam pulled away, their eyes met again, and Connie said, "I really like you, too, Adam."

Their romantic moment was broken by the arrival of dinner, and while the food would was excellent, every bite tasted almost...heavenly...as they ate, talked, and sipped wine.

It was nearly 10 o'clock when they realized how long they'd been there. But both of them understood how time had this ability of getting away from someone when he or she is doing something pleasant, and both of them found the other's company very pleasant indeed.

They covered a wide range of topics in the roughly two and a half hours they were together, and although they didn't get into anything too deeply, both of them realized they shared similar views on the kinds of questions that tended to help a relationship grow.

The topic of sex came up briefly, and while very little was said, it seemed that was yet one more area where they had a lot in common. That, along with politics, religion, and money were areas where they were very much in synch. And although they still didn't know one another all that well, both of them realized the feelings they were experiencing were very real and growing stronger.

"Would you like to come inside?" Connie asked when Adam walked her to the door.

"I really should get home," he told her.

She knew he had a daughter and even though she was sleeping, his place was with her. She not only wasn't offended by his polite refusal, it only made her respect him even more.

"Okay. Well...goodnight then, Adam. I had a really wonderful time."

"Me, too," he said as he took both of his hands in hers.

He stood there looking at her, and Connie began wondering if he was going to kiss her goodnight or even worse, if his feelings had somehow changed.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, trying not to let her worry show through.

"Uh-huh," he told her.

"Then...what is it?" she asked.

Adam smiled at her then again put his hand on her face again.

"I just want to remember this moment forever."

Connie didn't reply, she just stared up into his eyes, as he stared into hers.

"You are SO beautiful," he said quietly.

Now confident nothing had changed, Connie let go of his hands and slid her arms around his neck and kissed him just as he was about to kiss her.

After a second or two, she offered him the tip of her tongue, and Adam did the same in return. The tip turned into much more and what started off as a soft kiss goodnight became a thing of passion before Adam gently pushed away.

"If I don't stop now..." he said with a shake of his head.

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to get so carried away."

He smiled at her then told her he wasn't complaining.

"I'm just wishing I had the time to come inside," he said, causing her to smile.

"Maybe another evening?" she suggested.

"Yes. Definitely," Adam told her before kissing her again but only for a second before wishing her a good night.

"You, too, Adam," she said as lowered her arms.

"Let me know when you need me, okay?" he said referring to the next time his nose would be required.

Connie smiled a devious smile then said, "I'm tempted to say 'right now', but that might not come across the way I want it to."

Adam smiled happily then told her, "That sounds really nice no matter how you intended it."

As Connie went inside, she felt happier than she'd ever been. She was getting ready to go upstairs when she heard her mother say something to her.

"Are you sure you can trust that boy?" the cold voice said.

"Excuse me?" her daughter replied.

"Well, with you on the verge of getting this perfume ready, let's just say...there's a lot of money to be had by getting involved with a woman of your stature."

Connie's good mood turned sour, and she was tempted to lash out at her mother. Instead she moved closer then put her arms around her mom and told her she loved her.

Taken aback to the point of being speechless, her mom stood there like a statue as her daughter turned and walked up the marble staircase to her bedroom.

Her sour mood lifted a few minutes later when she got a text from Adam.

"Did I mention how beautiful you looked tonight?"

The incident with her mom was suddenly irrelevant as she smiled then lay down on her bed and kicked her feet like she was ten years old again then typed her reply.

"You might have said something about that, but I wouldn't be upset if you reminded me."

She added some heart emojis then hit 'send'. Expecting a text reply, she made a happy noise when her phone rang.

"Hello?" she said, knowing who it was.

"Hi. I just didn't want you to forget how beautiful you are," Adam told her.

Before she could respond, the phone went dead, and Connie lay there for a moment before kicking her feet again as fast as she could on the mattress.

She quickly typed out a follow-on then sent it.

"I really do love chemistry, but I love the way you make me feel even more. Love, Connie."

Adam read it then smiled, too.

"I barely made a 'B' in chemistry, but I do know what it's like to be in love. I'm not sure this qualifies—yet—but I do know it feels pretty amazing."

He didn't sign it 'Love, Adam', but Connie didn't care. What he did say meant just as much to her as she quickly wrote him back.

"Yes. Yes, it does feel amazing."

Adam was also laying on his bed and realized he was getting hard, something else that happened very often in the last three years. Not sure, but deciding to press his luck, he typed:

"If this goes any further, it's going to turn into pillow talk, and we can't have that!"

Connie read his reply and realized she was wet for the first time in ages. She bit her lip then decided to be playful, too.

"We can't?"

When Adam read those two words...or was it three...he threw his head back and put the phone down.

"This woman is driving me crazy!" he said to himself. "Crazy in the best possible way."

He sat up then typed his reply.

"Okay. We CAN pillow talk—or rather pillow 'text', but wouldn't it be more fun to wait and do the actually talking...for real?"

Connie read it then looked up at the ceiling and said, "Oh, my God!!"

She too, sat up then started typing.

"As much as I'd love to 'pillow text', I'd enjoy the real thing much more, too. So I'm going to be a good girl and let you go to sleep."

She added some sad-faced emojis then sent it.

Adam was disappointed even though he was the one who'd stopped the 'pillow train'.

"That's okay," he wrote. "As long as you promise not to be good ALL the time."

Connie's heart melted when she read his reply then typed.

"I won't. I promise."

She added a devil holding a pitchfork emoji and hoped it wouldn't be too much.

He laughed then wrote:

"I'm going to hold you to your promise, you know."

Connie smiled happily then wrote:

"As long as you hold me, that'll be fine."

Adam ended the conversation with:

"Oh, my. This HAS to stop now, or I'll be driving back to your place."

Connie knew it had to end, but still sent more sad emojis along with just one letter.

"K."

Around midnight, Adam realized he wasn't going to fall asleep unless he relieved some pressure. He'd been rock hard since they texted, and it wasn't getting any better.

Unprepared for this 'event' he found the best lubricant he could in the bathroom then lay back down and relived the night, only this time he said 'yes' to her invitation to come inside. Just minutes later he envisioned 'coming inside her' and his body released a massive, pent-up explosion of goo, some of which flew over the tissue in his other hand. The explosion was so fierce some of it hit him in the face causing a groan of displeasure along with a loud laugh he hoped his mom didn't hear two rooms down the hall.

After cleaning up the mess, he was sound asleep within minutes.

Connie hadn't been with anyone in several months, and while that seemed like a very long time to her, she thought about Adam and tried to imagine going three years. The reason he'd had to so made her sad to the point where any interest she'd had in finding her own version of release faded away. So rather than massage 'the boy in the boat' while fantasizing about him, she fell asleep dreaming about what it would be like to pillow talk with him in person.

The following morning, Connie's day began with a smile when she saw a text from Adam. It got better when he took her to lunch, and even more wonderful when he invited her to have dinner with him, his mom, and Lexi.

Unlike her mother, Adam's mom was thrilled to have her over. She tried her best not to monopolize the conversation, but it was just so pleasant to have another adult woman to talk to. She did occasionally get out, but taking care of Lexi was her life; a life she loved, but one that left her little time to talk to other adults. Adam wasn't exactly a talker, so Connie was a godsend.

"I don't understand a word you said, but it sounds fascinating," Marilyn said after getting an explanation to her question about the branch of chemistry Connie loved so much.

"It's a little nerdy, but that seems to fit me just fine."

Adam laughed then said, "You don't look like any nerd I've ever seen."

Before she could answer Marilyn agreed.

"Oh, heavens no! You're anything but nerdy. In fact, you're a very beautiful woman."

She started to thank both of them when Lexi said, "You're so pretty!"

"Okay, I'm starting to love this family. A lot!" Connie said, the smile on her face genuine and wide.

"This family is starting to love you," Adam told her.

His words were amazing, but the look in his eyes was even more telling.

"Thank you. That makes me very happy," she said, as feelings of one possibly day being a part of it swept over her.

Marilyn leaned her way, then after a quick glance at Adam said, "It's no wonder my son is so sweet on you."

Adam only shrugged as if to say, "She's right. What else can I say?"

She hadn't heard the phrase 'sweet on you' in years, but it was a very Southern thing to say, and because of the context, it was perfect for the situation.

Connie smiled at Adam then leaned Marilyn's way and told her she was kinda sweet on Adam, too.

"I'm sweet!" Lexi said, having no idea what the adults were talking about.

"Yes, you are!" Connie told her after laughing happily. "You are so sweet I could come over there and just eat you all up!"

"But then you wouldn't want dessert," the little girl who was almost three informed her.

Her grandmother laughed while her father said to Connie, "She's got a point. And my mom makes some killer desserts."

"I believe you," Connie said. "This meal is delicious!"

But the best part of the day came around 7:45 when Lexi came out of the bathtub 'all fresh and clean'.

"Connie? Can you read my a story?" she asked so sweetly it made the chemist tear up.

"I would love to read you a story, sweetheart!" she told her as the little girl took her hand and led her to her bedroom.

"Can we do Winnie Pooh?" she asked, omitting a word.

"I think that could be arranged," Connie told her as Adam sat on the floor next to them.

She began reading, and tried not to laugh as Lexi constantly interrupted by either pointing to a character like Roo to tell her who that was or by trying to 'read' with her. Lexi had some of the book memorized, and as Connie read, she'd repeat the parts she knew.

"You are a very smart girl!" Connie told her when she closed the book.

"My daddy says I'm a genie-us," Lexi told her.

"I agree. You are a genius," Connie told her, correctly modeling the word without correcting her. That wasn't lost on Adam who loved the way she interacted with his daughter.

The 'icing on the cake' came when Connie stood up then bent over and got the sweetest hug ever as Lexi put her little arms around her neck and hugged her.

Thinking life couldn't get any better, it did when Lexi said, "G'night! I love you!" to her.

Connie blinked hard several times as she said it back to her.

Adam then hugged his daughter and got the same response.

"I love you too, Lexi-Loo. You have a good sleep, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy!" she said as she grabbed her Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal and clutched it tight.

Adam saw Connie wiping her eyes and asked if she was okay.

"I think so. That was very...emotional."

"She can do that to you, huh?" Adam said with a warm smile.

Connie stopped him in the hall then, when he turned toward her said, "Adam? Thank you for sharing this with me."

Her eyes were glassy again, and when the next tear fell, he gently wiped it away then said, "I'm glad you enjoyed it so much."

She looked to make sure Marilyn wasn't looking putting her arms around his neck and kissing him.

As she pulled back, the tears were gone, and their place was a smile.

"I've enjoyed everything about this evening."

Adam pulled her close again then said, "Me, too. Everything," before kissing her again.

Neither of them heard Marilyn approaching. She saw them kissing and stopped and waited, hoping not to startle Connie when she realized she was there.

"Oh. Marilyn. Hi," Connie said as she quickly pulled her arms down. "I...I didn't know you were there."

She glanced at the older woman then quickly looked away, not sure how she'd react.

"I wasn't trying to snoop. I was just going to my bedroom to retrieve a photo album I wanted to show you. But when I saw the two of you...getting along so well...I stopped and...well, I quietly gave thanks."

Her words touched Connie deeply, and she once again wondered what it would be like to really be a part of this loving family. This time, it was less 'wonder' and more 'hope', but it was still a very pleasant feeling.

Marilyn sat between them as they paged through a thick album that chronicled her life with her late husband, Adam's birth and childhood, his time in the service, his wedding with Kristi, and baby pictures of Lexi.

The obvious missing event was losing Kristi, something that didn't need to be shown to be felt.

"This was so wonderful, Marilyn," Connie told her sincerely when she turned the last page. "I fee so...connected...somehow."

Marilyn reached over and took her hand then said, "You are connected. And you will always be welcome here."

"That makes me very happy," Connie told her as she squeezed her hand.

"Well, I should be getting to bed," Marilyn said, even though it wasn't quite 9 o'clock.

She stood up and wished them both a good night before first hugging her son and then her new friend.

"Good night, Marilyn, and thank you for dinner and the lovely hospitality."

"It was my pleasure, honey. Please come back often, okay?"

Connie glanced at Adam who smiled and nodded.

"I will," she said, hoping that would be true.

Once she was gone, Adam moved next to Connie who said, "Your mom is everything I wish mine was. Don't get me wrong. I love my mother in spite of her difficulty showing it back, but your mom is just so easy to love."

"I can't argue with that," Adam said as he put his arm around her.

Connie pulled her legs up and curled up close with him.

"This has been the nicest evening I've had in many years," she said quietly.

"I'm glad, because this is the nicest evening I've had in...well, at least three years."

Connie understood and put her hand on his chest.

"Each picture of your wife was so beautiful and special. I...I couldn't help but feel like I'm somehow intruding."

Adam pulled her even closer then said, "You're not only not intruding, you're exactly what she'd want for me. And for Lexi."

"Do you really think so?" Connie asked hopefully.

"I know so. We never had a chance to say goodbye or talk about this kind of thing, but I knew her well enough to know that my happiness was very important to me. And since I lost her, I haven't been happy."

Connie looked up into his eyes just as he said, "Until I met you."

The warmth and love of the entire evening washed over as his words bathed her in a feeling of love; the kind of love she'd always wanted but never thought she'd find. In its place, work had filled the void, and until she found the thing she most wanted, it had seemed like enough. But now work was a distant second to the way Adam and his family made her feel, and all she wanted was to feel like this forever.

"I am so happy, Adam," she told him as more tears fell.

"Oh, good. For a second there, I thought my ugly mug scared you so badly it made you cry."