The Change

She could hear him blow out his breath, as if he had been holding his breath, waiting for her answer.

"Thank you. You will now be my only second date since high school."

She reached out to take one of his hands in both of hers.

"So where would you like to go now? I could take you home or somewhere else."

"Would you like to come home with me? Maybe have a cup of coffee together?"

"I'd like that a lot."

They bot got up from the table and he took her hand to hold it as they went to his car. Once in the car, he started them on their way to Stephanie's apartment. They mostly rode in silence, each lost in thought.

Stephanie:

She was thinking about the change that had happened in her feelings toward Gary. From hate to a kind of friendship between them, all in one night. He really was a nice guy under that thick hide that he had been using until now. And it did seem like he wanted to change, to become the person she was seeing now. And she had to admit, she liked this new person. If he truly were changing, and it was permanent, she would not mind being with him.

One thing that struck her was his honesty about his feelings. She seemed to understand that knowing and understanding your feelings was the first step toward changing them. Without that true understanding and honesty, permanent change was not possible. This made her feel better that he really could change for the better.

She turned her head to gaze at him in the dark of the car. He was handsome and good looking. During this period in his life he was more like a little boy than a man full grown man. Change does that to you, it makes you hesitant and unsure of yourself. You are also careful about your reactions because you are afraid of falling back to your old ways, and you are always unsure whether your reactions are the correct ones for every situation.

And now here she was in the same situation, she realized. She was changing right along with him. She was unsure of her feelings and reactions. Just how did she feel about him? She decided she needed time, time for her feelings to work themselves out, time to find out if he was truly changing. But she also realized that she wanted to help with those changes in him.

Gary finally reached her apartment complex pulling her out of her deep thoughts. He parked in front of her apartment and the escorted her to the front door. She unlocked it and let them both in. She took her outer wrap and his jacket and hung them on her hat rack just inside the door.

"How do you like your coffee?"

"Just a little sugar, please."

"Sit any where you want and I will get it started."

She went into the kitchen and started the coffee and found that he had seated himself at her dining room table. She joined him there while waiting on the coffee.

"This is a very nice place. I like your furniture choices."

"Thanks. I've been buying a little at a time since I graduated and got my first job."

"I'm a little embarrassed, I don't even know what you do for a living."

She smiled at him. "I work for a law firm as an assistant/secretary. The work is really interesting because the firm has mostly small to medium businesses as clients so the cases usually involve some aspect of their business."

"Do you have any background in law?"

"Other than a few courses in business law I have no experience at all. I think they like me because I am not potential competition to the partnership. And that I at least have some law courses under my belt. I love the work and get exposed to something new almost every day. They seem satisfied with my work so it seems to be a good thing for everyone."

"You're lucky to have found a firm like that. My experience with lawyers has not been a good one. They always seem to want to bleed the client dry by doing as little work as possible. But I'm glad for you."

The coffee maker sounded and she got up to pour two cups. She put them on a little tray with sugar and milk, then took them to the table. Then each took a cup and fixed it to their satisfaction. When Gary tasted he was surprised, it was actually pretty good.

"Ah, that's good coffee." he said.

"Thank you. My mom taught me how to make it so that it's actually drinkable."

She set her cup down and asked him another question.

"I don't want to pry too much, but do you mind if I ask you what you have been doing since you quit your job?"

"It's okay, ask me anything you want. Mostly I've been working on the house I bought. Some of it I did myself and some I used contractors for. The house was in sad shape when I bought it. The bones were good but it needed a lot of help on the inside and outside. The first thing I tackled was the outside as there were a few leaks and the roof that needed replacing. I hired out most of that work since it would take too long as a one man job.

"Then I started on the inside. I found an up and coming architect to help me figure out what to gut and what could be saved. The floor plan was okay but needed some adjustments in the kitchen and bathrooms. The wood floor could be saved except for a few places. After making it clear to the architect that I wanted to keep the original charm of the place he went to work. I helped where I could, especially on the floors. The results are really nice. It has a old world feel but has all the modern conveniences."

"Wow, you have been busy. I would like to see it sometime."

"I'd like that. I don't get to show it off very often. And I am really proud of how it came out."

They talked and talked, getting to know each other better. When the first cups were finished, she poured them a second cup. He was actually a fascinating person. He had a wide range of knowledge on an array of topics. He had traveled a little but wanted to do a lot more when he had someone to share it with.

It was after midnight when they both decided it was time to part. She escorted him to the front door. Before she opened the front door she made a decision.

"Gary, would you exchange phone numbers and email addresses with me?"

"I was hoping you would ask me."

They got out their phones and exchanged the information.

"Thanks, Stephanie. I was afraid I would not be able to contact you again."

"Me, too. But I do want to see your house sometime."

"How about next Saturday?"

She smiled at him. "Sounds great."

"I'll give you a call later to set up a time."

"Okay." She started to reach for the door knob when she changed direction and instead took him into her arms. He wrapped his arms around her and they held each other lightly. She looked up at him.

"Would you kiss me, Gary?"

He leaned into her and met her lips with his. The kiss was full of affection for each other. They held it for a moment and when they broke it she put her head against his shoulder.

She said to him "Thank you for a surprising and wonderful evening. I really liked the group and the burgers were unbelievable. I had a good time with you."

He squeezed her a little tighter.

"I'm really glad you enjoyed it. I sure did. More than I knew was really possible. More than you realize, maybe."

They held each other for a little longer, but eventually broke it.

"Good night. I will call you in a day or two." he said.

"I'm looking forward to your call already."

She opened the door for him. He walked through and walked away a few steps. Then he turned and waved to her. She waived back and watched him go to his car. Once he was inside it she closed the door, turned, and fell back against it.

Damn! What was it she was feeling! This was not the night she had expected. She felt like she had slipped into another reality. She was so confused!

When she finally was ready for bed, she climbed in found that sleep actually came pretty easily. It was the dreams that made her sleep a little uneasy. When she woke she found she could not actually remember them, just a general idea that they involved being with Gary. The next day was Saturday so she cleaned the apartment and did her laundry. On Sunday she had brunch with Mary. They met at their favorite place.

They hugged each other when they got there and got seated. Once seated they decided on the buffet and got in line. Once their plates were filled they sat down again.

"So tell me, how did your date go with Chris?" she asked Mary.

"Oh my God, he was so nice. After we left you he invited me back to his place where we made love all night. He is a dream in bed and really knows how to take care of a woman. I have never cum so many times in one night. We finally got to sleep about three in the morning and when we woke we were at it again. I left him about two in the afternoon, mostly because I was too sore to continue any more. But I was also a very satisfied woman."

Stephanie smiled at her friend.

"But tell me about your night. Was it as bad as you thought it would be?"

She thought about it for a moment. "I may be the most confused woman on Earth right now."

"You mean you had a good time?"

"Actually, I had a fantastic time. That is why I am so confused. He's not the person I thought he was. He's actually trying to change, and from what I can see, doing a good job of it. He was as nice to me as any date ever has been. It was completely unexpected."

"Well I'm not sure I believe it. I mean, how can someone change like that?"

"I only know a part of the story and I don't want to violate his confidence in me, but there are good reasons for his previous behavior and even better reasons for him to change. All I know is that if this is a permanent change, he has become a fascinating person."

"Will you be going out with him again?"

"Yes, definitely. In fact, we have something set up for this coming Saturday."

"Okay, hello, is this the real Stephanie I'm talking to?"

"I wish I knew. I'm so confused at this point I'm not sure myself. But what about you, will you be going out with Chris again?"

"He wants to and that means I want to. We will probably go out again this weekend. If he treats me like yesterday I may never leave him. God, he is a great fuck. I feel like I'm falling for him."

"Well, if that is what you want, more power to you. I only wish I knew what I want at this point."

"Don't worry. It'll come to you. I know you pretty well and you are a practical and caring woman. If he is trying to fool you, you will realize it quickly enough."

"That's just it. I don't feel like that is the case. I just wish I knew more about how he feels about me."

"Quit worrying. You'll know soon enough."

They had a good time at brunch and had to split up afterwards.

Monday and Tuesday went by pretty fast. Stephanie had a lot of work come her way at the firm and she was pretty busy. When she got home on Tuesday night she fixed herself a salad and sat if front of the television and watched nonsense shows just clearing her head. About eight her phone rang and when she looked at it she knew it was Gary. That brightened her immediately.

"Gary, hello!"

"Good evening. You sound pretty chipper."

"Well for some reason knowing it was you made me feel the best I have all day."

"That's nice to know. I called to set a time to get together this Saturday. How about ten in the morning?"

"Sounds great. Should I drive to you or do you want to pick me up?"

"How about you drive to my house. You have the address, right?"

"Got it right here. My car has GPS so I should be able to find it with no problems."

"If you do have problems, just call me and I can probably set you in the right direction."

"Thanks." She hesitated a bit. "Uh, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, you know you can."

"It's something that I need to get straight in my head. Where is our relationship going? I mean, do you have any feelings for me?"

He was obviously thinking about it. "I guess I do have feelings for you. You have been so nice to me, it makes it easy to be nice to you. As to where we are going, I wish I knew. I'm pretty confused at this point. I mean, I really like you. Would you tell me how you feel?"

She sighed. "About the same, I am just as confused as you. You have been very nice to me and it has produced feelings in me that I am unsure about. But it makes me feel better that you share my confusion."

"So I guess the big question for both of us is 'where we are going'? I don't know either, I just know I like being with you. Since I met you I feel happier than I ever have. I want to be with you and can not wait to talk to you again. You are obviously good for me. What is different for me is that I actually realize just how good for me you are."

"That's nice to hear. Well, this has helped. At least I know that we are sort of in this together. Maybe if we stay that way we won't drown."

He chuckled at that. "I hope not. I would miss talking to you. That is almost as good as kissing you, but I would settle for either."

"Okay, I will see you at ten on Saturday. You have a good night."

"You, too. See you then."

They both hung up. For some reason, she felt better. Time was what they needed. Time with each other. Time to make sure of their feelings. Time.

Gary:

When Gary hung up the phone he tried to figure out what his true feelings were toward Stephanie. It had been a long time since any woman meant anything to him other than a good time. He had never felt this way before about any woman. What made her so special?

Just then Alfonso came and jumped up on the couch with him. He reached out to pet him as he thought. Was it possibly love he was feeling? He had to admit, he had no idea, he had never been even remotely in love before. Therefore he had no idea what love feels like. His parents had always claimed to love him, but he knew he was only a thing to be put up with. That was not love. So what was it? And if it was put in front of him, how would he recognize it?

It was all so confusing. In the final analysis, all he knew was that he liked being with Stephanie. And he wanted to continue being with her. That was all that mattered for the moment. That was a satisfying thought and made him feel good.

"Come on, boy. Let's go up to the bedroom and watch a little television." He got up and Alfonso followed him upstairs to the bedroom.

The next few days passed slowly for him. He met with his lawyers and accountants the next day. After an all day meeting he left knowing he was still rich, maybe too rich. They kept pressing him to modify his investments, and he pressed right back, satisfied they were making him more than enough. It was just lawyers and accountants trying their best to further enrich themselves, not protecting his investments.

Thursday and Friday were spent in his back yard helping some workmen put up a new gazebo. When they finished at noon on Friday he had the rest of the day to enjoy it. It was a nice traditional octagonal shape with a nice redwood finish. He had them install a two-person swing on the inside and he and Alfonso spent the rest of the day in it. The dog seemed to like it a lot and that made him like the swing even more. It was funny that when the dog was satisfied, it produced the same feeling in him.

Before he went inside he went to the garage and opened the doors. Inside sat his Buick sedan and a fully restored 1969 blue LT1 Corvette. He had spent a pretty penny getting it restored in authentic and factory new condition. There were some subtle modifications, such a radial tires and a slightly different leather for the seats. But the motor and drive train was as factory as he could make it. It was beautiful in his eyes. He drove it at least once a week, and now he considered whether or not to take Stephanie out in it tomorrow. What he did not want to do was flaunt his money in front of her. He was sure that if he did that it would be a big turn off for her. He would have to find a way to subtly introduce it to her and let her request a drive in it.

He closed and locked the garage doors, then he and Alfonso went back inside to fix dinner. He spent the rest of the evening reading a new novel from his library, then took the dog outside one more time before retiring to bed.

He got up when the alarm went off at seven that morning. After a bathroom visit, he let the dog out back and went back upstairs to shave, shower, and do the other necessities. He cleaned the bathroom up a little and then went down to let the dog back in. He fixed a lite breakfast for the dog and himself and cleaned it all up when they finished. It was almost eight thirty when he went outside to check on the flower gardens. The sprinkler system did a pretty good job but he also like watering, it was a mindless task that put him at ease. He put the hose away when he finished and admired his yard. He had done most of the work himself, except for the gazebo, and he was proud of it. The flowers were in full bloom and looked healthy and bright. The grass was green and freshly mowed two days ago.

He decided to go inside and wait for Stephanie. He had about an hour so he continued to read his novel.

Almost at ten o'clock he heard her car drive into his driveway. He went out front to greet her. She got out and came over to him.

"Good morning!" she said.

"Good morning to you. Welcome to my home. Did you have any trouble finding it?"

"None at all, I drove right to it. This is a really nice place, Gary. I can't believe it was as bad as you say it was."

"Well, when I first saw it the house was run down and the yard was non-existent. It has taken a lot of work to make it look like this."

"I believe it. But it's beautiful now."

"Come on inside and I will show you around."

He escorted her inside and she was blown away again. "Oh my God, this is fabulous. I love the furniture style set against the older style walls. I really works."

"Well, this is the living area. There used to be a sitting room but we took it out to get more space. Over here is the dining room and behind it is the kitchen."

She went into the kitchen. The house was filled with medium dark wood so he had chosen black appliances and a medium dark granite counter top. The cabinets were as close to the original wood stain that was possible. It made for a wonderfully integrated whole.

"Wow, I would die for a kitchen like this. Do you actually cook?"

"As best as I can. I'm not a great cook, but I know my way around the kitchen. I don't starve."

They proceeded back to the stairs and up to the second story. He showed her the master bedroom first. It had a king size bed and some older chests and side tables. There was also a big screen television mounted on the wall.

Next he showed her the bathroom and all the modern fixtures. The last room was the guest bedroom which had been converted to his library. There were wall-to-wall shelves lining the whole room with an easy chair in the middle. The shelves were filled with both old and new books of all kinds.

"Wow, what a library. Have you read all these?"

"Oh God, no. I'm kind of a collector. I picked up most of them from garage sales and auctions. I want to read them all, but that might be impossible."

"I'll say. This looks like a lifetime of reading."

"Come on and I'll show you the back yard."

They went back downstairs and into the yard. Alfonso met them first thing. Jumping up and down in excitement. She bent down to pet him and he cuddled up to her immediately. She liked most dogs and he was very friendly toward her. Eventually she stood up and looked around.

"This is even better than the front yard. I love the gazebo. Can I try the swing?"

"Sure. I hope you like company because he likes the swing, too."

She went in the gazebo and sat in the swing. Sure enough, Alfonso quickly joined her and sat right beside her, obviously wanting to be petted. Gary followed them inside and sat on the railing. She looked perfect to him sitting in the swing, like she belonged there.