Ye Olde Spice Shoppe

He put the car in gear, looked back at her, smiled, then said, "I really don't mind. At all."

Before they got back to the station, they agreed on a time for him to come get her, and after thanking him yet again, she got back in her car and headed to the hotel. As she drove, she did a quick recap of the day and realized she felt good. That, perhaps, was the biggest surprise of the day considering how awful the reason was that had brought her back to Portland. She went there feeling horrible, and she still felt awful for her brother, but the reality of the situation was that there wasn't anything she could do for him.

As far as why she was feeling better went, the reason was obvious. There was a very kind, very nice looking police detective who'd not only taken care of her in a professional sense but who proven himself to be a friend, as well. That they shared a passion for fitness was an added bonus.

As she thought about trying a new sport she'd never once played, she wasn't really all that excited. But then she smiled knowing with whom she would be trying it with, and found herself looking forward to the experience. And in the worst-case scenario, she could always find a treadmill or...the rack.

Vanessa had never had a lot of money, and while she liked to look her best, nice clothes weren't a priority for her. In this case, she'd brought two sets of workout gear with her, and while she'd never even been to a racquetball court, she was pretty sure what she was wearing would be okay.

It looked a little like she was dressed for a tennis match, but not so much so that she felt out of sorts as she took a look at herself in the room's mirror before Brian arrived.

The white sports bra covered everything it was supposed to cover and firmly held everything where it needed to be held. The pink shorts and white tennis shoes made sense, so with that she pulled her long, blonde hair into a ponytail then grabbed a pink warmup jacket that zipped in the front, knowing it was still cold outside. Lastly, she picked up a white visor and put in on then sat down to wait.

The knock on the door just seconds made her smile, and when she opened it, the smile on Brian's face made hers even bigger.

"Hi! Come in," she said.

Brian stepped inside the room then said, "Whoa! You look...wow!"

Vanessa laughed then thanked him as she quickly glanced at the younger man's hard, firm body. He was wearing a sleeveless white tee-shirt that was just transparent enough to show off a set of very well-defined six-pack abs underneath it, and while he didn't have bodybuilder arms, they, and his shoulders, were very nicely muscled, as well.

"You may find yourself embarrassed to be with me after you see me play," she replied.

"Um, no...I don't see that ever happening," the detective told her as he tried not to stare at her very fit legs and the area just above them.

He had no intention of letting her know how beautiful he found her let alone that Vanessa was the first and only older woman he'd ever been attracted to. After all, the only reason they'd met was due to official business, so he wanted to remain professional at all times. But as he stole another quick look it was obvious that her body was as nice as any he'd ever seen on any woman in her 20s, and not staring at it was proving to be a formidable challenge.

"I hope you have a jacket or something," she said as she grabbed her purse.

"Me? No. I almost never get cold."

"Really. Well, that makes one of us," Vanessa replied with another little laugh.

The gym was actually busy, and that surprised Brian. He'd reserved a court, so that wasn't an issue, but seeing so many people there on a Friday night was a little strange. He'd already paid for Vanessa's day pass, as well, but didn't tell her until the clerk at the desk mentioned it when they checked in.

"You paid for my pass?" she asked him as she selected a racquet after Brian suggested one he thought would be good for a beginner.

"Hey. I invited you, remember?"

"Yes, but you wouldn't let me pay for lunch, either. A lunch that's kept me full all day, by the way."

"But it was really good, huh?"

"Oh, my gosh! Good? It was to die for g...."

She realized what she was saying, and suddenly it wasn't funny.

"You okay?" Brian asked.

"Yes. I'm fine," she told him as a wave of guilt washed over her for being out somewhere and enjoying herself, knowing where her brother was.

"Are you sure you want to play?"

Vanessa forced a smile then told him she was and followed him to the court.

"Okay. Let's start out with the basics about the lines on the court, the front wall, the side walls, and then we'll talk about the rules."

Vanessa paid careful attention as Brian showed her the serving line and explained how the serve had to hit the front wall on the fly and then go back beyond the serving line to count.

"So how do you score points?" she asked once she understood what was 'in play' and out.

Brian explained that, too, then asked her if she had any questions.

"Not now, but I'll ask if any come up," she said.

"Great. And I'll explain things as we go along, but why don't we just volley for a few minutes?" Brian suggested.

Vanessa agreed then wrapped the lanyard attached to the racket around her wrist and served for the first time. It was a lot like tennis in some respects and yet very different in others. But having played a lot of tennis, she had a very solid, natural stroke and even some power that surprised Brian.

"You're good," he told her after the first volley. "Are you sure you've never played before?"

"Just tennis."

After a few more volleys, Brian showed her how to serve using a lob then demonstrated a kill shot. He hit the ball when it was maybe two inches off the floor and sent it screaming to the wall so hard Vanessa barely followed it. It hit the wall then the floor so fast she couldn't see how anyone could possibly return it.

"I see why it's called a kill shot," she said with a look of 'this is going to be painful' on her face.

"We're just gonna have fun," he promised as he handed her the ball and asked her to serve.

Brian could have skunked her game after game, but he wanted her to have fun and let her score several points while trying not to let it show that he could have easily gotten to her returns when he lunged and missed. But when she actually smoked him on a kill shot, it got his attention.

"Fast learner, huh?" he kidded after retrieving the ball.

She smiled then said, "No. Just lucky," even though she'd hit the wall exactly where she wanted to.

As they played for the remainder of the hour, she began getting a feel for the geometry of the court. It was obvious it would take many hours to learn it well enough to play at anything beyond the novice level, but Vanessa found it to not only be great exercise but a whole lot of fun.

"So what'd you think?" Brian asked as they exited the court.

"Honestly? That was the most fun I've had playing anything in...maybe forever."

"Be careful. It's very addicting," he told her with a laugh.

"I heard that about golf, too, but after trying it on two separate occasions, it never was much of a temptation. But this was...different."

She then shared how she loved trying to anticipate where the ball would land once it came off a side or the back wall, and how being in the right position to return it was a very challenging aspect of the game.

"You've already got the fundamentals down, Vanessa. Sometimes tennis players bring bad habits with them, but you adapted very quickly."

"I had a good teacher," she told him with another smile that he noticed and returned.

She'd turned around to look at him, and as she did, she noticed a bunch of plaques and trophies in a case off to the side along the wall. When she started heading that way, Brian tried to distract her.

"That's not very interesting," he said just as she got to the case.

Within seconds she found one with his name on it and laughed.

"Modest, huh?" she said as she turned to look at him.

"It's just a piece of wood," he told her...modestly.

"And so is this one," she said, pointing to another plaque with his name on it and the words '1st Place' inscribed below it. "And this one, too."

"If you stick with something long enough, you're bound to get lucky," he told her.

"Lucky. Yeah, right."

She turned toward him, smiled, then said, "I'm sure that's all it was."

Brian had never lacked for female companionship, so it struck him as odd that he already felt so close to this attractive, older woman he barely even knew. Yes, she was clearly beautiful, but so were nearly all of the women with whom he'd shared his bed over the years.

Exactly what it was he found so intriguing about her wasn't something he could put into words, but his brain was reminding him every time he looked at her or thought about her that he did.

"You ready to get out of here?" he asked without responding to her compliment.

"Yes. I should get back so I can look over everything I need to do from here on out."

She smiled then said, "And I could really use a shower."

Brian laughed, told her he understood, then walked with her to return the racquet then back out to his car.

They made small talk on the way to the hotel, and as they pulled in, Vanessa said, "This was a lot of fun, Brian. Thank you for asking me, and for being so patient."

She laughed then said, "And for taking it easy on me."

"Hey, you're pretty good," he told her as convincingly as he could.

She just smiled then said, "Uh-huh. Sure I am," as he turned into the parking lot.

They sat there in silence for a couple of seconds before Vanessa said, "Well, goodnight."

Brian didn't say it back, but when she reached for the door handle, he said, "Vanessa?"

She stopped and waited for him to speak.

"There won't be a lot you can get done over the weekend."

It was Friday night, and she'd already thought about how she might fill her time for the next two days and wasn't exactly looking forward to it. She'd even considered driving home and coming back on Monday just to avoid being alone.

"No, I suppose that's true," she replied without looking his way.

"Would you maybe like to, you know, get together and do something? Together?"

Vanessa didn't laugh at his awkward repetition of the same word even though Brian realized he'd said it and felt a little silly.

"Brian, you don't have to...babysit me," she told him, finally turning to look at him.

Feeling his confidence return, he smiled then said, "Are you trying to say I couldn't possibly want to spend time with you?"

Maybe it was the last of the endorphin rush, but Vanessa felt something when he said that, and looked straight ahead again when she replied.

"I suppose anything is...possible."

"What? Even something as outlandish as me wanting to get to know you better?" he said quietly as he looked over at her.

For the first time, she wondered if he might be wanting to 'hook up' with her. Vanessa wasn't vain, but she knew she was still a reasonably attractive woman. So as she considered how attractive Brian was, hooking up was the only thing that made any sense to her.

"Brian, I...I'm not...I don't do the, you know, the whole...hook up thing."

She turned to look at him again after saying that, and the first thing she saw was him shaking his head.

"What? You...you think I'm trying to...that I want to...."

"I'm actually flattered," she said before he finish his thought. "I've had younger men...make passes at me...I just...I never...do that. With anyone."

The serious look on his face told her something was very wrong.

"Vanessa, that is the last thing I was thinking of," he said in a tone of voice that conveyed sincerity and maybe even a little bit of hurt.

The genuinely painful look on his face made her feel terrible.

"Brian. I'm sorry. I guess I was thinking the only reason you'd want to spend more time together that isn't business related is because, well, you know."

Knowing he could now say at least some of what he was feeling, he smiled at her then told her, "It's pretty obvious I think you're very attractive, Vanessa. But I was hoping for something more...substantive...than...that."

"Substantive?" she asked as she looked back at him to see what his facial expression was saying that his words might not be.

"Yes. Hooking up is fine if they only thing going on is physical attraction."

He looked down for a moment as he paused then continued.

"I most definitely do find you physically attractive, but I...I can't really explain this, but I...let's just say there's something more, something—deeper, going on."

"You know I live in Seattle, right?"

"Yes, and I know Seattle only's 2-3 hours away."

"But you also have to know I'm...older than you."

"And?" Brian asked, his eyebrows raised in a 'how is that a big deal' kind of way.

"Well...because it is. I mean, it's not like we're 3-4 years apart, Brian. It's...."

"I know it's more than that, Vanessa. But I don't see why that matters. If we have things in common, if enjoy one another's company, and find the other person attractive, what difference does that make?"

Vanessa's first thought was to insist that it does, but as she tried to answer her own 'why' question, she couldn't think of anything other than 'it just does'.

"And who knows? Maybe if we spend some time together you might just have a reason to stay in Portland."

Just 48 hours ago, Vanessa could have never imagined, even in her wildest dreams, that she could be sitting in a car outside of her hotel with a police detective, let alone one she found both charming and attractive.

Even more surprising was the thought of hearing this man she barely knew, who was clearly a LOT younger than her, telling her he wanted to get to know her better. Perhaps she was wrong, but to her, that meant having a relationship of some kind, and that thought both frightened her and....

The word 'excited' came to mind as she wondered what it would be like to be 'one of those women'; a woman who dated younger men. Or in this case, one particular younger man. And that thought led to wondering what it would be like if he were to kiss her, and that led to thoughts of....

"Vanessa?" she heard Brian say.

"Sorry. I was just trying to understand what's going on here."

"I haven't been in a...relationship...since I was 18, but I didn't think I was that bad at expressing myself."

Vanessa shook her head a little as she sought clarification.

"Wait. You...are you saying you're interested in...a relationship? With...me?"

Brian's voice softened even more as he looked at her and said, "I know we just met, but I also know I've never like felt this before. I don't want to scare you off or make you think I'm some kind of...weirdo...but I have to tell you I can't stop thinking about you."

As the reality of his words sank in, she looked right at him and said something she rarely said after turning 40.

"You wouldn't feel that way if I tell you I'm...41."

He looked away so fast it made her think she right, that when he heard her actual age he came to his senses which caused that reaction. The truth was that she was only partially right.

"I uh, I may have kind of looked you up in our database," he said a little sheepishly. "You know, in a purely professional...non-romantic...."

He smiled then said, "Stalker kind of way."

The next realization hit her even harder as she acknowledged that he was serious; that he did indeed want to have a relationship with her after learning how old she was. And the way he told her what he'd done not only didn't seen 'weird', it seemed...romantic. In a kind of stalker sort of way.

"You checked me out?" she asked, unaware of the double entendre.

"Oh. You saw me staring, huh?" he said, again a little sheepishly.

"Staring?" she asked before she got it and laughed. "Oh. That kind of checking me out. No, I meant online. In your records."

"I'm guilty on both counts, your honor," the young detective admitted.

"So you do know how old I am."

"I do."

She tilted her head a bit then smiled.

"And you still want to...get to know me better?"

"Very much so."

"Do they have a psychiatrist in your department?" Vanessa asked, trying not to smile.

"We do, but I can assure you I don't need one."

"If I say 'okay' then maybe I do," she replied, even as she wondered if that might not be the case.

"So may I call you tomorrow?" Brian asked, his eyebrows raised in anticipation.

Vanessa looked at him again and realized that while he was younger than her, a LOT younger, he was an adult with a respectable job as well as being well mannered along with being very attractive.

"Okay," she said as her eyes met his stare.

He held out his hand, and Vanessa assumed he wanted to hold hers. She hesitated then reached out and gave it to him.

Brian took it then smiled.

"I love holding your hand, but I was hoping you might give me your phone. You know, so I can give you my number and maybe get yours?"

"Oh. Right. Duh!" she said as she pulled her hand away and hoped she wasn't blushing. It was already dark, so it was unlikely he'd have noticed, but she knew she was on the verge of turning red as she located her phone in her purse.

She unlocked it then handed it him, and he entered his contact info then gave it back and asked for hers as he got his phone out.

He then went around and opened her door, and once Vanessa was standing in front of him he asked her if he could walk her to her room or at least to the lobby.

"I...I don't think so," she told him.

The look on his face wasn't unexpected. But Vanessa wasn't sure she could trust herself if he walked her to her room and kissed her goodnight. She really wasn't the kind who slept around or 'hooked up', and it had been a very long time since she'd met a man she trusted. The fact that she barely knew this handsome, young detective and yet felt like she could trust him was so unusual that she needed time to assess her feelings and figure out what was going on. It might well be nothing more than physical attraction, and yet Vanessa had gone out with a number of good looking men. It might be more than that, but because she had no idea what that might even mean at this point, she just couldn't risk getting hurt.

"Okay," he replied. "Have a good night."

She made sure to smile then stood on her toes and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you for making the second worse day of my life also one of the best," she said before quickly walking away without saying another word.

Brian stood there and watched her walk inside then reached up and scratched his head and said to himself, "What the hell just happened?"

Out of habit, he was up at 5:30 on Saturday, and after a cup of coffee he headed to the gym like he did nearly every morning. There was no guarantee a court would be open even at 6am when the gym opened up, but he could see if other players might either let him challenge the winner or maybe play 'cutthroat', a racquetball game for three players.

He arrived at 6:15, checked in then went to the court area where there were three racquetball courts. All were busy, but there was only one other person waiting. Brian said 'good morning' then asked if he was waiting on a particular court. The man said 'no' and that he'd take any one of them if there was an opening. After saying 'same here' Brian sat down to wait and put his earbuds in and turned on his iPod.

He was into the second song when he felt something tap his arm.

"Hi," he heard her say when he turned to look.

"Vanessa."

Brian smiled as he stood up and told her 'good morning'.

"Same to you. Have you been here long?"

"No. Just a few minutes. What brings you in so early?" he asked.