Chapter 4

Thursday - September 1st, 2005

The past few weeks had been a whirlwind of activity and I found the first class session to be almost calming in a way. Over the lunch break I looked at the email Crystal had sent me that morning and discovered she would be in town for the next three days - wonderful! I called her and asked if she might be interested in dinner and dancing. I suppose that her answer of yes must have affected my demeanor in a very positive way since Paula and three or four of my co-workers asked what had me so pepped up.

It was probably overkill, but I called a florist and ordered a corsage for Crystal along with a dozen roses and a bottle of champagne to be delivered to her apartment. I also made arrangements for a limo for the evening. As close as my apartment was to the campus I didn't need any of Genie's help to get home quickly. Once I was there I showered and shaved, put on some nice gray dress pants and black dress shoes and a black silk shirt with a silver and crimson tie. A little splash of cologne and I was ready to go.

I walked to Crystal's apartment and stood at the door. I was about fifteen minutes early. I hadn't really dated anyone for more than a year and found that I had the same pre-date jitters I used to get when I was a teenager. Had I overdone it with the flowers and champagne? Was the limo too much? Maybe I should have sent chocolate? I steeled myself and pressed the doorbell.

The smile on her face and the twinkle in her eyes when she saw that it was me erased any doubts I'd been having. Crystal gave me a hug and kiss and said, "I just love the flowers Karl! And the champagne is chilling for when we get back unless you'd like a glass now while I finish getting ready."

"Let's save it," I said as I sat down on the sofa in her living room where I could keep an eye out her front window. I wasn't waiting for more than five minutes when she came back in the room looking like a goddess!

"Karl, will you pin this corsage on my dress?"

In answer I took the box from her and pinned the corsage in place. Thanks to my mother's insistence I had learned to pin a corsage on a ladies dress even with all of the delightful distractions the body inside the dress provided. Somehow I managed to get it done without making Crystal feel like I'd been pawing at her; tempting as that might have been for me. Even so my eyes were treated to a glorious display of cleavage while I was close enough to breathe in the light scent of her perfume.

"Crystal you're probably going to think this is just a line, but honestly you are a vision!"

An even bigger smile than the last graced her face as she replied, "Thank you Karl!" It even netted me another kiss from her sweet lips. Glancing out the window I noticed that the limo had arrived. "Our ride is here Crystal," I said offering her my arm; the limo earned me another smile.

"Do you like Italian?" I asked.

"I love Italian!"

"Excellent. I have a reservation at Sassi's."

I was happy to let the limo driver worry about traffic while I had a delightful time catching up with Crystal and hearing about her busy week and the antics of several passengers. I told her a little bit about the start of the school year but held off from any really important news. I figured the evening was still young and there would be plenty of time to cover that information if I still wanted to.

Sassi's is located at the base of Pinnacle Peak in Scottsdale. The food is fabulous as is the décor and the scenic views just top it all off nicely. It is newer than many of the other Italian restaurants in the valley so I wasn't surprised when Crystal said, "Oh! This is beautiful! I've never been here before."

"Well then, I'm happy to be the one who brings you here for your first visit. I truly hope you enjoy it."

I'd booked a room on the Garden Terrace and wasn't at all disappointed by the surroundings or the view. The meal was wonderful and the company delightful as usual. Over a glass of wine Crystal said, "You know I could really enjoy it if spending time with you were to become a habit."

"I have already been feeling that way towards you Crystal. My addiction is growing everyday," I said clasping her hand in mine and drawing it to my lips for a kiss. The band started to play and I asked Crystal if she wanted to dance.

When I was growing up my mother and father had insisted that I learn how to dance. They were always very supportive of my interests in sports and the martial arts attending almost every game or tournament I competed in. The one time I started to say I didn't want to take dance classes my mother brought up how she'd always supported my other interests and hobbies and pointed out that like them dancing could be good for a person's long term health. My dad told me that I'd be kicking myself later in life if I didn't learn to dance since it would limit my social interaction with the opposite sex. I decided to give it a try. Once I'd learned enough to feel certain I wouldn't make a complete fool of myself on the dance floor, I started to see the really pleasant aspects of dancing - holding a beautiful woman in your arms and getting to know them was great!

After I knew how to dance it seemed that at every family get together my mom, my aunts, and my many female cousins always wanted to dance with me and since the women in my family were mostly quite attractive and pleasant I found that I enjoyed it a great deal.

Dancing with Crystal was still a somewhat new experience for me. I found that holding her close just felt right to me somehow. We danced until the band stopped playing and when they did I almost felt a sense of loss.

"I hate that they've stopped playing," I told Crystal as I looked deep into her sparkling eyes, "because now I don't have an excuse to hold you in my arms any longer."

Crystal looked at me with such longing. "What makes you think I want to leave your arms?"

I pulled her even closer and bent down to kiss her sweet lips. Our tongues met in a dance of passion all their own. When the kiss finally ended Crystal said "Let's go back to my place and have some Champagne."

I handed the waiter three Franklins and thanked them for the superb meal. Crystal's eyes sort of bugged out when she realized the amount of money I'd spent on a single meal. Teachers and flight attendants don't have the largest of salaries by any stretch.

When we were back in the limo headed to her place, Crystal snuggled against me and remained quiet for the first few minutes. I put my arm around her and just enjoyed the feel of her supple body next to mine.

After some time had passed she turned towards me and said "I really like to spend time with you Karl. Breakfast the other day and dinner tonight have been wonderful. The limo, the flowers, the champagne, and the fancy meal are all very nice; but I just wanted to say - it's you that makes it special to me."

"I feel the same way Crystal - but you can't blame a guy for wanting to find ways to show a woman as lovely and beautiful as you that he cares about you."

At this point almost no one really knew about my financial situation except my lawyer and his staff and they had ample reason beyond the usual ethical ones to guard my privacy since I'd made it clear that our ongoing relationship demanded it. I'd taken the same stance with Mr. Gaveston and his firm TPMG; they'd even put a paragraph in our contract covering how they would deal with the issue. Still I realized that sooner or later people would notice that I was wealthy and some people, both male and female, are gold diggers just in relationships for what they can get out. Knowing Crystal as a friend ahead of time I was already certain she wasn't motivated by my money; but it was quite refreshing to hear her concern expressed in the sweet and kind way she presented it.