Chapter 3: Getting to Know Her

It was a great afternoon. We headed out into the surrounding countryside and just cruised for while before stopping at an old auction barn on a whim. It was long past the auction time, but people were still there paying for their purchases and picking up their prizes. We wandered around, looking at the various items that hadn't been sold or weren't picked up yet. I always like auctions, especially these country kind. All sorts of old stuff turns up, and you never know from week to week just what you might find.

Merilee apparently shared my feelings because I think we spent an hour just looking and touching and wondering what some of the items were. It was too late to buy anything, but that was just as well. The 'vette wasn't designed to carry much other than two people.

It was starting to cool off as you would expect in the late afternoon, and I handed her my windbreaker so she wouldn't get cold. She thanked me with a kiss on the cheek, something I sure didn't expect, but made me feel pretty good. We wound the windows up and I turned on the heater so we would be comfortable on the ride back to her house.

As I walked her to the door, she had her arm wrapped in mine, another thing I didn't expect. We weren't talking, just slowly walking toward what I thought was the end of a very nice afternoon.

"Do you want to come in?" she asked me. "My parents are out at some association function and won't be home until late. We could have dinner together if you like."

"Uhhm ... yeah ... sure ... that would be nice. You sure I'm not ... well ... you know..."

"No ... I don't know," she said with a funny look.

"I mean ... I really had a good time this afternoon. I just don't want to ... I don't know ... maybe take advantage of you ... your ... what do you call it ... hospitality?" I couldn't have sounded like much more of a jerk if I'd tried.

She smiled at me with that beautiful, easy smile. "Dieter, I had a wonderful time this afternoon also. You are a very nice man and I like spending time with you. Please ... I don't enjoy eating alone, and besides, you can help me in the kitchen ... even if it's just doing the dishes."

"I can do that. The dishes, I mean. Otherwise, I'll let you decide if you want me to do more."

"You make your own meals, don't you?" she said as she walked to the kitchen.

"Yeah. Nothing fancy, mind you. But I eat proper food. Not just burgers and burritos."

"Good for you. That's smart. It's almost what I expected," she said, looking back at me with a little grin.

"Jeez, you've got me pegged pretty good, have you?"

"If you mean I've figured you out, you're wrong. I haven't got you figured out at all, as a matter of fact. You're nothing like I expected," she said as she went about pulling things out of the refrigerator and cupboards.

"So ... what were you expecting?"

"I'd rather not say," she said.

She looked at me with that funny look I saw once in a while.

"I guess I expected someone more ... rough," she went on. "Not mean or nasty, but ... you know ... rough!"

I shook my head. "Merilee ... I am rough. I'm not slick and polished like some college guy. I come from a working class background and I'm not ashamed of it. I know I don't talk like the guys you're used to being with, but that's just who I am. So why wouldn't you expect me to be ... rough?"

Now she was shaking her head.

"I'm not talking about how you speak. I'm talking about what kind of person you are. How you act around other people. I could see how close you are to your parents. You love them and they love you. They don't pretend to be something they're not either. I like them. I like them a lot. And ... I like you."

She had a nice smile on her face when she finished her little speech. It was a surprise ... but a nice surprise. I didn't know how to respond to it, though.

"Maybe I should clear up something, Merilee. Marla is my step-mother. My Dad hired her for the business, and one thing led to another. She wasn't just good for the business, she was good for the ... I mean, Pop."

"Were you ever going to tell me that you are the majority owner of your business?" she asked slyly.

"How did you find that out?" I was surprised she knew.

"It wasn't hard. I just checked the county records files when the business was incorporated. You started that business and your father joined you later on. That makes you quite a remarkable young entrepreneur."

"Why would you go to all that trouble?"

"Curiosity. I told you ... you aren't what I expected ... so I was curious."

"I don't tell anyone about the ownership because Pop is the guy that runs the show. I mean ... he really runs the show. I just do my thing with the customers and suppliers and make sure we have new business whenever I can find it."

"My father thinks you are the engine in that company. You are always looking for ways to make it better. That's why you've grown as fast as you have. People like doing business with people they can rely on. You don't have the lowest prices, but you have the best quality and service. So ... end of sermon," she grinned.

"Yeah ... let's get off this business talk," I agreed.

I was sitting on a stool at the island in the middle of their big kitchen. It was damn near restaurant size and everything was either cherry wood or stainless steel. There was a silence for a few moments before Merilee turned to me.

"What would you say if I suggest we should get to know each other better? You know, go out together?"

This girl was full of surprises.

"Are you sure, Merilee. I mean, I wouldn't fit well with your normal gang. I'm sure they'd be disappointed in you."

I saw her eyes flare and her face turn red. Oh, Oh. I'd said the wrong thing.

"Dieter Hunsinger, I'll have you know I don't look down on you and you are not ... I repeat ... not ... going to get away with suggesting I do!" There wasn't much doubt she was pissed with me.

"Okay, okay ... I'm sorry. I wasn't implying anything other than ... aw shit ... I don't know what I was trying to say except when I look at you, I see a beautiful woman who's way out of my league."

I don't exactly know what I said that put a stop to her being angry with me. She walked over to me and draped her arms over my shoulders and gave me a hell of a kiss. No tongue, mind you, but a hell of a kiss.

"Do I have to hit you over the head with a brick to make you understand?" she said softly, her eyes boring into mine. "I'm interested in you. I like what I see. I want to get to know you better ... much better. It's as simple as that. You, Dieter Hunsinger, are plenty good enough for me. I like strong, confident men. But I don't like arrogant men. That's the difference between you and the other guys who want to date me. Most of them are arrogant. You are not! Understood?"

"I don't think I qualify as confident," I replied meekly.

"Not around me ... but we'll work on that. I'm sure I can help," she grinned.

"I'm sure you can," I replied, pulling her back in for another kiss, this time one of mine.

We didn't hop into the sack that evening. We made a nice supper for ourselves, then sat on the sofa in the great room (that's what she called their big living room) and watched a movie on the flat screen TV. She had her arms around me and was slouched against me. I couldn't make up my mind whether to take this farther, but decided against trying anything that night. I really wanted a second date.

When the movie ended, Merilee yawned and stretched, giving me a good look at just how nice her body was, even though it was covered by a tight-fitting sweater and jeans.

"What do you want to do tomorrow?" she asked as she pulled me to my feet.

"Whatever you want. I didn't have any plans. We could go out for a drive someplace again."

She smiled. "That sounds fine. Why don't you come for brunch tomorrow morning and we can go from here?"

"You sure about that?" I asked.

"You can't be afraid of my parents, mister," she grinned, poking me in the chest. "Don't worry, you'll be welcome. Besides, one of these days, I want to see your place. Fair is fair." She was in a playful mood, so I couldn't deny her anything at that point.

"Okay ... what time?"

"Ten o'clock and don't be late," she said as she pulled me in for another big kiss.

Damn, this was the last thing I expected. Merilee Jenkins was interested in me.

When I got home, Marla and Pop were still up, so I went in to say goodnight. They were sitting together on the sofa pretty much the same way me and Merilee had been a little while ago.

"Hi, Dieter. How was your date?" Marla asked immediately.

"Good ... I mean great. She wants me to have breakfast with her folks tomorrow morning. Actually, brunch ... so it doesn't happen until ten o'clock."

"I knew it! I just knew it!" Marla said with a big smile. "She's really interested in you. I could tell at the awards banquet. She had that look in her eye. Probably the same look I had the first time I met your father." She turned her head and kissed the old man and snuggled back into his arms.

"Well, it's all a big surprise to me," I admitted.

"Me too, Kid," the old man said with a wink. I knew what he was thinking. It was the same thing I had been thinking. She's out of my league.

"If it can happen to me, it can happen to you," he said, giving Marla another cuddle.

"Aw, I'm nothing special, Sweetheart. I just got lucky when I met you and you liked me," she said, nuzzling Pop some more.

"Hey ... now don't you go puttin' yourself down, hear!" he said seriously. "First of all, you're smart ... real smart. Second, you're a hot babe."

I thought I could hear Marla snort even though I couldn't see her face.

"Third, you got me out of the dumps and got me thinkin' life was a whole bunch better with you in it," he said, kissing her again.

"Jeez, you two. If there's any more syrup I'm going to gag," I said with a phony look of disgust.

I knew what Marla was thinking, though. A week ago, she and I had a long talk when the old man wasn't around ... mostly about her past.

"I got married to the first guy that I had sex with, Dieter. I was eighteen years old, and I thought sex meant love. Boy, did I have a lot to learn. Anyway, he wasn't a bad guy, but he wanted kids, and we found out that I couldn't have any. We talked about adopting and some of the other alternatives, but none of them worked for him.

"Finally, he gave up and told me he wanted a divorce. That really hurt. I mean, I loved him, but he stopped loving me when I couldn't give him any kids. There wasn't any point in kidding myself, so I agreed to the divorce and at the ripe old age of twenty three, I was a divorcee.