"First Kiss"
Author/auteur: Brian Mullally (Canada)

        Jessie didn't believe in office romances. She had seen too many go wrong. She preferred to keep things on a friendly basis and maintain an arms length relation-ship. It didn't pay to get to too close to anybody in the real estate business. You are in competition with everyone – even your boss. This is why she played it cool when Robert Marlough first came to work for Urban Real Estate.
        Anyway, he wasn't really her type, Jessie preferred them long and lanky. She was five-feet-seven and when she was wearing her three-inch heels, they stood eye to eye. Not that she thought it was a big deal. She had dated shorter guys in the past. She liked his broad shoulders, and his smile was brilliant. But, she was older than Robert, and he was so green.  Sometimes she felt like his mother when he was around.
        Robert was not sure how to approach Jessie. Some of the men said she a ball breaker, and several women had described her as a 'bit of a snooty bitch'. When he mentioned this to his boss, he had laughed and claimed they were jealous because she was top salesperson. Robert thought his boss was probably right, anyone could see she really had her shit together. However,  He'd kind of gone off blonde-haired women ever since Kelly dumped him,  promising himself next time round it would be someone dark and soulful.
         At least, that had been the plan until Jessie came into his life. It wasn't just the way her hips moved when she walked, or the depths of her big blue eyes that grabbed his attention. She was fun to be with, and they'd had some great conversations. She was witty without malice. That's why he volunteered to help at the company picnic for the kids.. He had hoped to persuade her to go for drink after the picnic was over. However, he never got the opportunity to speak to her alone. He hung it out as long as he could; finally, but he finally he drove off alone.         .
...
        Jessie heaved a sigh of relief as the last car drove away. The company picnic had been a great success. Robert had stayed until the very end, even loaded the icebox into her trunk. She thought he was going to ask for a date and wondered how she could divert him. Not that she didn't find him attractive, that was part of the problem. He was definitely good looking, and his smile was devastating. He sent little shivers down her back the other day, when he held onto her hand a little longer than necessary at lunch.
Office romances can be deadly, and then there was the age difference and the fact she was top salesperson. And he was such a rookie!
"Get thee behind me," She whispered to the passing breeze, then stopped dead in her tracks. And stared at her front wheel. "Oh shit! A flat tire."
        Jessie opened the trunk and began rumbling around for the spare wheel. The sound of tires on gravel made her look up, and the headlights blinded her for a moment as another car entered the empty parking lot. Oh Christ! The perfect locale for a rape scene. Where the hell is that stupid tire wrench?
The white Mustang convertible came to a halt beside her car , and Robert climbed out of the driver's seat, "What happened to you?
Jessie pointed at the flat tire. "What made you come back?"
There was that smile again, "I stopped at the top of the hill to watch the sun setting beyond the lake, and then I realized you hadn't passed me. So I came back to look for you."
"Are you stalking me?"
"Yes."
"Well, in that case you might as well make yourself useful."
"Surely an independent gal like you can change your own tires."
"Of course I can. But I hate to deprive you of an opportunity to be gallant."
Robert stripped off his shirt and went to work.
. . .
It was nearly dark by the time he had tightened the last nut. Jessie handed him some paper towels and stood there admiring his glistening pectoral muscles as he wiped away his sweat.
 His teeth flashed in the moonlight. "Phew! I'm hot. I need something to cool me down. Fancy a moonlight swim?"
Jessie shook her head, opened the icebox, and produced a half a bottle of wine and a couple of plastic glasses. "Maybe this will help."
He gulped the wine, and then nodded at sky. "What a beautiful night."
Jessie looked up. I wish he would put his shirt back on.
 He caught her staring at him when she refilled his glass, "What were you thinking?"
She waved at the sky. "What a gorgeous canopy of stars."
Robert made an elaborate bow, and took her by the hand. He led her to a picnic table and waved her to the seat. "Sit Jessica. Look how the floor of heaven is thick inlaid with patens of bright gold."
Jessie perched on the end of the bench. "I didn't know you were a Shakespeare buff."
He eased himself down beside her. "I'm not. It was the association of your name and the stars."
She looked down at his strong brown legs stretched out before him and thought of his tightly stretched white shorts when he crouched over the spare wheel. "Is that how you see me?" She asked with a smile.
Robert frowned and placed his hand on hers, and opened his mouth to speak.
She shook her head and gently removed his hand. "You know Jessica as Shylock's naïve and dutiful daughter."
He laughed. "Hardly. I think of you like that. You are more like beautiful Portia, the female lawyer totally in control of your life."
Jessie stood up, carried their empty glasses to a recycling bin, and then paused to look the lazy white-tipped waves kissing the shore.
Robert walked toward her, enjoying her curves silhouetted against the moon. He wondered if she was wearing a bra. A tendril of blonde hair  escaped her coiffure, and glistened like spun gold in the moonlight. He pressed his lips into nape of her neck.
Time seemed to stand still, every sound sequestered. The rustle of leaves, the lonely cry of the loon, even the chirp of a lovesick cricket seemed separate and palpable. Jessica allowed herself to be turned around and folded in his arms.
"I've been dying to do that for weeks," he whispered, lowering his lips to her throat.
Jessie closed her eyes and waited for their mouths to connect. She enjoyed the hint of wine lingering on his hot lips and the power of his embrace. She was glad she was wearing sandals. It made him taller. She opened her eyes and stared at the small vein beating in his temple, and her heart picked up the rhythm – faster and faster. She broke away to breathe, and he kissed her eyes and her hair. She moved her lips to speak, and he covered her mouth again. This time she could feel his desire pressing against her. Her thighs began to respond, turning fluid with yearning. 'This has to stop!'  She said and pushed him away.
        He let his hands drop to his sides and stared at her with hungry eyes. "Sorry! I got carried away."
She stepped around him and headed for her car, "I think we both did."
He caught up with her. "Is that so wrong?"
She shook her head. "We're just not right for each other."
"Just, because you're ten years older than me?"
She stopped walking. "Actually, it's only eight years."
He moved in front of her again and smiled. "So you were interested enough to check up on me."
She gave up trying to walk round him, "How far can this thing go?"
"As far we want it to."
She shook her head, "I'm afraid of falling in love with you."
"I'm already in love with you."
Jessie clutched her throat. "Back off and let me pass."
Robert dropped to his knees. "Leave me some hope."
She stared down at him, "You look ridiculous."
Jessie struggled free and returned to her car. "It would never work."
Robert brushed the gravel off his knees and hurried over to her. "I'll have to leave Urban Real Estate,"
She opened the car door and slid inside. "Why?"
"I will never be able to pass your desk again, without staring at the back of your neck. It so beautiful it makes me want to cry."
Jessie began to wind up her window.
He placed his hand on the glass, "Everything else about you says you're in charge, but, the nape of your neck betrays your vulnerability. I can't pass it without wanting to kiss you."
Jessica stopped winding up her window and smiled. "I'll have to wear my hair down at the office."
Robert reached inside the car and a captured a loose strand of hair, "You could put it up at night, when we go to bed."
This time Jessie didn't try to hide the sparkle in her eyes. "Do you know where I live?"
He smiled. "Actually, I do, but, drive slowly I don't want to let you out of my sight ever again."

brian.mullally@sympatico.ca

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