Chapter 5

Keira chewed and swallowed a bite of her Butter Poached Lobster Grilled Cheese sandwich. She chased it with a sip of Diet Coke. Holy cow it was good! "Are you ever going to take me to a real restaurant?" she asked with a smile, her hand curling a wayward lock of pale red hair behind her ear.

SWALLOWING A BITE OF Spicy Tuna 'Nachos', I noticed for the first time that Keira had four small gold earrings piercing her left ear. Why four?

Stretching my legs, I leaned back against the bench. Devilicious, another deserving gourmet food truck at the curb in front of us, was emitting aromas of spices and jalapeños from the flat top grill. The customer line-up was still long.

"Don't you like the food?" I asked. Keira looked rather devilicious herself in light blue Capri pants and a pale yellow lacy top. A small black bra was shadowed underneath. She kicked out her Ked-clad feet and leaned back.

"It's great food, but a restaurant would be nice, too."

A sudden gust blew her hair all over, obscuring her face. Putting her paper plate down, she rolled her butt, reached into the back pocket of her Capri pants and withdrew a black elastic hair band. Gathering her wayward hair into a ponytail she tied it up, high on the back of her head. Somehow, aside from being quite lovely, the ponytail made Keira look even younger, very pretty indeed.

Our two-hour tour of the USS Midway had been great. You'd never grasp the enormity of the ship through pictures. It was truly massive. For forty-seven years it had plied the oceans enforcing America's naval might. Seen up close and personal it was easy to see why it was seen as such an intimidating warship.

We'd covered about two thirds of the ship in our tour, exhaustion from climbing up and down stairs cutting our visit short. The trip was very revealing. I'd observed Keira closely as we roamed through the ship. She'd impressed me. For a fourteen-going-on-fifteen-year-old girl she'd demonstrated genuine interest in the ship, its massive engines, the vastness of its airplane hangars, and the complexity of a city on water. She'd not shown one bit of boredom. That was bad.

That was really bad.

It strengthened my attraction to her. Keira was disproving all my preconceived notions of teenage girls. She wasn't flighty, didn't exhibit short attention spans, wasn't shallow. She was sharp, articulate and witty. The multiple colored wristbands and multiple earrings in one ear were deceptive. They didn't reflect a ditzy personality.

Wiping my mouth, crumpling up the serviette, and collecting the paper plate, I stood. "We should go," I suggested.

"Okay. Where?" Keira asked, jumping up and taking her trash to the bin. I caught myself as I admired a rather shapely small butt in tight Capri pants.

"Home. I should get you back."

"Why? It's only one o'clock. Can't we walk for a while? Maybe along the waterfront?" Keira asked.

"Sure. Why not," I relented.

We walked slowly enjoying the sun and warmth and the bustle of people enjoying an after lunch walk. Somehow, as we moved around people, we got closer to each other. When Keira's hand brushed against mine, I didn't even think twice, taking her hand in mine. Keira leaned against my arm as we strolled. She twisted her hand and our fingers intertwined.

That was it. I was done. It was a surprisingly intimate gesture. Her hand stayed in mine through the afternoon, separating only when the taxi dropped her off at her house. She smiled, her soft brown eyes shining with pleasure as she said goodbye and closed the taxi door. A quick wave and she danced up her drive.

I felt like a teenager all over again. I had a partial erection just from holding a girl's hand. I loved it.

That night my cell vibrated. Glancing at the screen I saw a text message from Keira.

'Had a wonderful day. Thx.'

I responded, smiling. 'I had a better one. :)'

Her response came. 'Not possible.'

She filled my mind when I went to bed.