Chapter 57: Encounters

“Paul, there is someone at the door for you,” Nicole said.

We were once again at the annual Fourth of July corporate barbecue at the penthouse in New York. I had originally planned to hold the board meeting in Park City, but it was under a fireworks ban due to the summer heat and I had decided to give everyone the week off instead. The kids wanted to see fireworks, of course, and Chrissy had to be in New York for a photoshoot on the seventh, so I had decided to hold the meeting in the Big Apple once again.

“Who is it? Just invite them in,” I said.

Nicole shook her head. “They didn’t want to come in,” she said.

I shrugged and headed inside to the door.

I was shocked to see Imogene standing in the foyer. I stopped short. She was as beautiful as ever. Her only imperfection was the sad smile she wore. Her light, bubbly personality no longer touched her face.

“Imogene, it’s good to see you again,” I said. “What are you doing here?”

“I wasn’t willing to let a call go to voicemail, and I thought this might be the only chance I could talk to you, so I stopped by on the off chance you were here. When I saw the Secret Service downstairs, I knew you were. Luckily, I got referred to Nicole when they didn’t have my name on the access list.”

I moved closer and gave her a tentative hug.

“I’m glad you stopped by. How is Berlin? Are you back in New York permanently?”

“Berlin is wonderful, but I really think of New York as home now. I came back for a workshop with the ABT.”

She looked up at me with her expressive eyes and took a deep breath.

“I just wanted to apologize in person, Paul. I didn’t treat you fairly last fall. I’m so sorry.”

I hugged her again, trying to find the right words to say. She had hurt me deeply, but the reality was I had hurt myself just as much.

“I’m sorry, too,” I said. “But you were always very clear on your goals and ambition. I understood that. I would never want to stand between you and your dreams of being a principal dancer. I hope you know that.”

She had tears in her eyes, but nodded.

“I do. Now, I think back to all the support you would have given me if I had just been honest and braver. I know I drove you away. I could have done something less than cut you out of my life. Now you probably hate me.”

I stepped back, putting my hands on her shoulders. I suspected she wanted something more than just apologizing.

“I don’t hate you, Imogene. We broke up because we were on divergent paths. It’s not like we became blood enemies or something.”

She smiled and bit her lip.

“Is there any chance we could maybe try again?” she asked softly.

I shook my head immediately.

“I don’t see how, Imogene. I’ve just started dating someone else, and I’m pretty tied down with the kid’s summer activities and work in Utah. We may not have parted with our best behavior, but the obstacles we would have faced are real enough. I’m sorry.”

She sighed and nodded.

“I had to try,” she said. Her tears were on her cheeks now. “I’m sorry I bothered you.”

I pulled her in for a hug again. “It’s not a bother. I still think of you as a friend and wish you the very best. Why don’t you come in and have a little fun?”

She clung to me for a moment, but then pulled back.

“No. I’m sure your new companion is here, and I would feel awkward. Tell Jer and Ali, I said hello. Thanks for seeing me, Paul.”

She gave me one more brief hug and then turned and left. I watched the door close and shook my head. It was really the last person I had expected to see.

“Is everything alright, Paul?” Chrissy asked as she came around the corner. “Nicole told me you had a visitor.”

I gave her a quick hug and kiss, before slipping my arm around her and guiding her back toward the party. “It was just an old friend saying goodbye,” I said.

“What are those?” Ali asked as Chrissy came into the kitchen in our Park City home with a pair of inline skates.

“Roller-blades,” Chrissy replied. “It’s one of my new favorite work-out routines. It really works your legs without impacting your knees as much as running.”

“Cool,” Ali said as I stood up and grabbed one of the bags on Chrissy’s shoulder.

I was rewarded with a quick kiss, which made Jer make a gagging sound while Ali rolled her eyes.

Chrissy just smiled at them both. “How are you guys doing?” she asked.

“Good,” Jer replied. “How long are you staying for? I’ve got a little league game tonight.”

“I should be here a couple of days. I’ve got a shoot in Las Vegas on Tuesday.” It was Friday afternoon.

“Are you coming to my game?” Jer asked with a look at me.

“Of course,” Chrissy replied. “Why do you ask?”

Jer actually blushed. “Some of the guys wanted to know when you were coming again,” he admitted.

I grinned. Chrissy had been a big hit with the fathers of several players in her shorts and bikini top at the last game she attended. Some of the mothers had been less pleased. Chrissy had laughed it off and pointed at the other, slightly younger teenage girls dressed in a similar fashion.

“How about you, Ali, what are your plans for the weekend?”

“Soccer tomorrow and Sunday, but I want to get some flight time in as well. I need to practice my touch and goes and get a little cross country time in.” She had soloed in a twin engine plane and was keen to take a transition course to jets. Terry and I were trying to slow her pace, but only having limited success. She was actually a very good pilot. I knew it would get a little easier once she turned fourteen, and could officially hold her student pilot’s license under a regular waiver. Until then, she was chafing under the restrictions we put on her.

“Maybe you can fly me down to Vegas on Monday,” Chrissy suggested.

Ali’s eyes lit up. “I can call Pete,” she said. “Dad promised I could get a familiarization ride in the GS-3 soon.”

I knew I was beat. “I’ll give him a call today,” I promised. “Now, how about you guys finish up your lunch and let Chrissy get settled a bit before we head out to the game?”

Both kids nodded and I led Chrissy to the master bedroom so she could unpack a few things and freshen up. The freshening included a much more passionate kiss that gave me an opportunity to hug her close. We were affectionate, and enjoyed each other’s company, but had not gone much further than the handjob she had given me in New Orleans. While she shared my bed, she was always in her favorite white silk pajama tops and bottoms. She teased me incessantly. While frustrating at times, I also tended to agree with her argument, that a relationship between us based only on sex would never last. She insisted on playing the long game.

I was coming to think of it as the ‘long, hard game’.

“Welcome home, darling,” Chrissy said in a playful tone as she greeted me at the door to the New Orleans house with a kiss on the cheek.

I could see several travel crates in the foyer behind her, evidence that the photoshoot was wrapping up. I spotted a young man coming in from the back, moving to grab another box of gear and was strangely jealous of him. Chrissy had been down in the Big Easy for a three day shoot with Patrick Demarcheilier. The house had been their last set of the shoot.

“How did it go?” I asked as I stepped into the cool, air conditioned interior of the house. August in New Orleans was brutal from a humidity perspective.

“It was fabulous. You just missed Patrick and the other two models. Raul is just getting the last of the gear out of here. I thought you’d take a little longer getting in from the airport,” she said.

“Maybe I was anxious to see you,” I teased.

She gave me a kiss.

“I missed you, too.”

It had been several weeks since our schedules lined up to spend some time together. The kids had activities nearly every day, and I wanted to support them. If not for the need to meet with Dr. Perdew and finalize course arrangements, I might not have spent much alone-time with Chrissy until the Olympics next month.

“What are your plans for this whirlwind visit?” Chrissy asked. “I have to head back to Stanford next week.”

“I’ve got meetings tomorrow, and then planned on spending a little time with my girlfriend, before flying her back across the country on Friday. Ali has a soccer tournament on Saturday and Sunday. If you want to join us, I’ll fly you to Stanford Sunday night and then pick you up Friday for the long weekend.”

Chrissy hugged me. “That sounds like a great plan. I’m so glad you made it down here before I had to fly out. Remind me to thank Tamara for managing your time so well,” she added with a grin. Her playful attitude made me smile.

“So, you’re all done modeling for the summer?” I asked as we moved toward the kitchen.

“Almost. I’ve got one more show before school starts up.”

I frowned, and she laughed.

“It’s a private showing of some naughty things for my boyfriend.”

I shook my head, and asked, “What sort of naughty things?”

She grabbed a couple of bottles of water and handed one to me without answering. She took a sip, taking the time to suggestively wrap her lips around the bottle, before setting it down and reaching for the buttons on her navy blue blouse. She looked me in the eye as she slowly undid two buttons, revealing the edge of a white lace bra.

“You know,” she said with a msile. “Naughty under-things.”

I swallowed and then took a sip of my own water.

“I think I’d enjoy that show,” I finally managed to say.

She had been flirty and affectionate, and initiated a lot of kissing and handholding, but had not really done anything so sexually overt since our first visit to this house. Now, she seemed a little more agressive.

She smiled and undid another button.

“It’s so muggy in New Orleans. I love the feel of a cool breeze on my skin after being outside,” she said. “I’ve been dreaming of being able to run around this big house feeling the air conditioning on my skin.”

She reached the bottom button I could see and proceeded to pull her blouse out of the polk-a-dotted skirt she had on. I sipped my water and stared. It was all I could do.

She finished untucking the blouse and then opened the last two buttons until her top hung open, exposing her tight abs and lace-encased breasts. She had a crooked smile on her face, teasing me.

“You’re so beautiful,” I managed to say.

“So you want to see more?” she asked playfully. She didn’t wait for an answer. She unfastened the clasp on her hip and slowly lowered the zipper on the side of the skirt before letting it drop to the floor. She had on matching white-lace panties that hugged her hips, but clearly showed a darker patch in the front. She licked her lips and then slowly pushed her blouse off her shoulders, revealing her bra fully before dropping the blouse off her arms to join the skirt on the floor.

She stretched her hands over her head and took a deep breath to great effect. She was wearing no less than she had in several swimsuit photoshoots, but standing so close, sharing the moment just with me, it was a totally different experience.

I set my water down and moved closer, putting my hands on her hips and then trailing my fingertips up her sides and around her back to pull her to me. I kissed her fully on the lips and her own hands dropped to my head and held me firmly against her. Our tongues danced and I let my fingers tease their way lower until I could gently cup the soft but firm cheeks of her ass. I traced the edge of the lace panties across the top of her waist and then let them dip along the cleft of her ass, imagining the sight of the thong back disappearing between those glorious globes of flesh.

Chrissy moaned into my mouth.

I decided she deserved much more than kissing and petting. I raised my hands and lifted her easily until her butt was on the granite counter, still kissing her madly. Then I let my fingers trace along her spine again, moving slowly lower as I moved my kisses from her lips to her neck and collar bone.

I kissed and licked my way to the strap of her bra, and then kissed my way lower until I reached the cup with my lips. I teased my tongue along the line of fabric, and ran my fingertips around until I could feel her hard nipple, still encased in silken lace. Chrissy wiggled on the counter as I slipped the strap from her shoulder, loosening the bra enough to move the cup down and apply my tongue to her tit directly. She grabbed my head again as I kissed and sucked on her.

I undid the clasp of the bra and moved to her other breast, taking my time to enjoy the feel of her and slowly build her pleasure.

“God, you’re making me hotter than August in New Orleans,” she moaned a few minutes later.

I took that as my sign to try and cool her off a little. I kissed between her breasts, rising for a slow kiss to her lips, and then began making my way lower. She stiffened as my kisses dropped below her breast, tracing the indentation of her stomach muscles as I slowly outlined the definition of her abs. Her fingers ran circles in my hair as I inched lower, trailing my fingers to her hips as my lips reached the next lace barrier.

I tugged her panties as she lifted her ass from the counter. Her aroma was intoxicating and I smiled at the dark blonde, neatly trimmed bush I saw before me. I urged her to lean back, and lifted her feet to the edge of the counter as I kissed my way to her center. Slowly, I licked along her well moistened folds and felt the grip of her hands in my hair tighten.

Her breathing picked up pace as I licked and poked with my tongue, teasing her clit and then shifting back to kisses along her inner thighs. I glanced up and smiled at the look of pure lust on her face. I kissed lower, pushing her legs wide and licked from her ass to her clit.

Chrissy moaned, and grabbed my head to hold my lips on her clit. I licked and sucked as she grunted and clenched her stomach. Her breathing stopped, as she shuddered and clenched. I tapped her clit with my tongue and she gasped and twitched. Finally, she relaxed and sagged down, lying on the counter and breathing deeply.

“My God!” she said. “That was incredible. Thank you.”

I gave her pussy one more kiss and then stood up. She reached for me and pulled her self up with my help before scooting to the edge of the counter and kissing me deeply on the mouth. I smiled, wanting to do more, to say more, but still holding back. One thing was certain, I was not thinking of her as a little girl anymore.

“I can’t believe your sister is staying with you,” Chrissy complained as we slowed from our breakneck skating pace around Centennial Park.

We had hopped down to the lab over Labor Day weekend with the kids and made some inline skates with CRP and aerogel compounds. Chrissy was thrilled to get some hands-on experience with advanced materials, I had enjoyed spending time with her in the lab, and we had all gotten some new skates. Chrissy said it really gave her butt a good workout. I just admired the view from behind as she sped around the park in tight shorts.

“What’s the big deal? It’s not like there haven’t been others around when you’ve visited all summer,” I replied, moving from my favorite observational skating position -- behind her -- to coast alongside her.

“I wanted a little more private time with you,” she said. “We haven’t really been alone-alone since New Orleans. I had some special plans to thank you for bringing me to the Olympics.” She looked and me and wiggled her eyebrows. I had a very strong suspicion of what she had in mind. Mutual masturbation had become a mainstay of our limited time alone in bed lately.

“What’s stopping you?” I asked with a grin.

She took my hand and we glided along for a few seconds.

“I guess it’s one thing to try and rock your world with Ali and Jer in the house. It’s totally different when the Vice-President of the United States and her Secret Service detail are around. I thought about dragging you down the street to Mom and Dad’s, but that felt weird, too. I just really want you to know how much I appreciate you and all you’ve done for me and my family. I mean, how cool was it to see the opening ceremonies in the same box as the Prime Minister and the head of the IOC?”

I laughed.

We had left from Stanford at four o’clock on Thursday after Chrissy finished her classes and Kelly landed in Air Force Two. The GOT had almost felt crowded with nearly forty passengers once security, the kids, Mitt Romney and his wife, and Kelly and her entourage had gotten settled. With the eighteen hour time difference, and the two hour flight, we had landed in Sydney just after noon on Friday.

Chrissy had been thrilled to see her family. Ali was excited to see Jane. Jer was happy to be skipping a day of school and had a fresh sketch book to fill with Sydney and the Olympics. Cars were waiting to take us into the city for a little nap before we made the trek to the stadium and the opening ceremony.

For me, the ceremony had been a little melancholy. I could not help but think of Jeryl and the first Olympic Opening I had seen in Atlanta, with her, just before we brought the kids down to Australia for the first time. Kelly, who had not been with us then, sensed my mood and squeezed my free hand. Chrissy held my other, distracting me nicely with comments about the program and people in the box and the occasional teasing kiss.

In the end, it had been a wonderful evening, despite the crowds, the security, and the politics in play that I continually tried to avoid. By the time we got home, it was nearly One A.M. local time. That was when Chrissy realized Kelly was staying next door to the master bedroom, and that a Secret Service agent was going to be right outside the door to my bedroom.

“You don’t have to thank me or do anything as a reward,” I said. “I can’t imagine being here and not having you with us. It’s going to be hard dropping you off at Stanford when we go back,” I admitted.

She smiled. “That was what I was hoping to take care of, so it wouldn’t be quite ‘so hard’,” she teased.

“Are you sure you’re ready for that?” I asked. Despite the more intimate acts we had done to one another, she still resisted any penetration, oral or otherwise. I was not sure I fully understood her, but was not going to force anything on her either. That was not an action I was willing to contemplate.

“Oh, I’m ready. I think you are getting there as well,” she replied. “It’s not like either of us are virgins, you know?”

Her statement was a little of a surprise to me. I had half-suspected she was a virgin. She must have seen the doubt on my face. She smiled and slowed us some more, holding my hand as we transitioned into an easy pace to talk.

“I haven’t been a virgin since high-school,” she admitted. “Shortly before we went to the reef that first time, I slept with a boy. It was okay, but definitely nothing special. After I saw you and Jeryl together, I wanted more of that kind of relationship. Jeryl helped me a lot, and even encouraged me to try some of my seduction skills on you as practice.”

My face betrayed me again. She laughed.

“She never told you any of that, did she?”

“No.”

“I told you she helped me a lot. Anyway, as I got into modeling and my confidence grew, I could get laid pretty much anytime I felt I needed to get an itch scratched. But then I started to realize it was still not the type of relationship you two had. I wanted that.”

“You just need to find the right guy,” I said, dreading the thought that she would go find someone else.

She shook her head. “No, the right guy would have to find me, I decided. You two fit together because of all you could share, beyond your bodies. I need someone who can see me as a model one minute and an engineer the next. I want someone who can challenge me mentally and physically, and support me emotionally. So far, I’ve only met one man that can have a hope of doing that.”

We skated on for a pace.

“Are you sure I can do all that?” I finally asked. I did not believe I could do it.

“I’m not certain, but I think you will know if you can, soon. Even if we discount any physical activities, the best days of the past few years for me have been time spent with you. Last semester, the highlight of my week was teasing you after your class and spending a few minutes or hours with you.”

I thought about her words, and my own feelings on the matter. I agreed that the highlight of my week while teaching had been seeing her after the class. I tried to imagine what it was going to be like this semester, not seeing her on a regular basis. It made me sad. Then I thought about the summer, and time on Astra, and our two visits to New Orleans. I did love her, but felt guilty for admitting the feeling to myself. I had not yet given up hope on figuring out how I had traveled back in time once before. Even if it was fading, I still had hope that I could right the wrong in my new past.

“I know you still miss Jeryl,” Chrissy said, as if reading my thoughts. “But feeling something for me is not going to diminish your feelings for her, or your memory of her.”

I stopped us. Chrissy looked up at me with a hint of fear in her eyes, as if she had overstepped with her comment.

I pulled her for a close hug. She was right. I needed to stop living in fear. I kissed her, feeling her relax against me. Our lips parted and I looked into her crystal blue eyes.

“I do love you,” I said. “Thank you.”

“What can I do for you, General Patterson?” I asked. He had replaced General Baker as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It was different dealing with a Marine Corps mindset, but I had worked hard to limit my direct involvement with the DoD over the past decade.

“Straight to the point, I like that,” he said over the phone line. “I wanted to ask you to perform an independent analysis of a compound another vendor has created to assess if it is truly the same as your product.”

That caught me by surprise.

“Someone else is producing nanotubes at the 50 micron length?” I asked. “Who?”

“Lockheed. They say it is the same, but it is from their in-house process. I need to know if it is the same before I allow them to participate in the auction process. Given the highly sensitive nature of the compound, I can’t really send two samples out for testing and comparison.”

“I can understand that.” I glanced at my calendar. “Send the sample to me by courier and I’ll run the analysis with Dr. Wilkerson. When can you have it here?”

“Where are you?” he asked with a chuckle. “No one in my office knows where you’ll be when we call your number with all the back-and-forth travel you do.”

“I’m in Utah until Friday morning, then New Orleans. If you can have the sample in Austin, I can stop there on Saturday and take a look before coming home.”

“Will do. I’ll have a courier meet you in Austin at 9:00 AM.”

“That should work. How formal of a write-up are you looking for?”

“The next auction is two weeks away. I need a verbal answer before then, and would appreciate a write-up on the analysis and differences before the November auction, if possible.”

I thought about that. Ian should be able to handle most of the write-up.

“That’s doable. I’ll give you a call as soon as we take a look at it.”

“Thank you, Paul. I appreciate it.”

We ended the call and I sat back to think for a few minutes. If Lockheed had finally figured out how to make the stealth compound in volume, I could exit that line of business. It was lucrative, but the security headaches were not really worth the costs anymore. While the bootstrap revenue had been helpful early on, it was a pittance compared to generator and power revenues now.

It was a business I was actually looking forward to exiting, I decided.

I looked at my calendar again and began shutting down for the day. Ali had her last soccer game of the season this afternoon, and I had promised to be there.

“Good, you’re nearly ready to go,” Tamara said as she came into my office. “Nicole has the Range Rover coming around to pick you up.”

“Thanks,” I said. “Anything urgent for tomorrow?”

“Nope. You’ve got your regular call and then most of the day blocked for the base review.”

I nodded. I wanted to go over the details of the planned base layout for Aristarchus Base. We had the initial short-term facilities in place to handle power and limited habitability space along with some lab space, but had not yet begun major construction as we finished our OTV fleet building.

“Okay, then I guess I just have to think about girl’s soccer for a few hours.”

Tamara smiled and agreed. Together, we headed out.

The game was close, but in the end, Ali’s team lost. She seemed a little down when she made her way over to the sidelines after congratulating the other team.

“That was a tough one,” I said as I looked at her sweat streaked face and grass-stained knees. She had played a hard game.

“Thanks, Dad. I guess I’m glad Chrissy didn’t waste a trip to see it.”

Chrissy was consumed with classes. She had flown back with us from the Olympics at the end of September. I had managed to take her on one date in Stanford since then and she had come out to Utah for a weekend two weeks ago. We made it a point to talk a couple of times a week. Ali always wanted a few minutes to chat with her as well. I was glad they were building a relationship.

“Dad, can Caitlyn come over this evening?”

Caitlyn Mckenzie was Ali’s closest local friend lately. She seemed to come over three or four nights a week to do homework or hang out with Ali.

“Sure. Do you guys have a school project or something?”

“No, but I really want to soak in the hot tub and maybe take a sauna. Caitlyn probably feels the same way. We were running all over the field today.” She turned and waved to Caitlyn who was a dozen yards away talking to her parents. I put my hand on Ali’s shoulder and guided her over.

The adults exchanged greetings while the girls whispered to each other and then giggled. I sorted out the logistics while they headed off to the Range Rover. A short while later, we were driving home.

We dropped the girls at the house and then I rode along with Nicole to pick up Jer from his afternoon art class. He was taking private lessons three times a week with two different teachers. I was a little worried that he was not socializing enough with kids his own age, but Helen had cautioned me not to force him to choose between his art and more normal play-time. I started trying to think of something we could do for his upcoming birthday. Maybe a camping trip with some of his friends and their fathers.

By the time I got Jer home, the girls were down in the hot tub after eating. I went out on my bedroom balcony to check on them.

“You wouldn’t dare,” I heard Caitlyn say. They were neck deep in the frothy bubbles of the jacuzzi.

“Why not?” I heard Ali reply. “It’s not like we haven’t been in the shower at school at the same time, and nobody else is here. It’s friends and family, like I said.”

I was a little worried by what I heard, suspecting what my daughter was getting up to. Of course, I tended to agree that there was no harm in sitting naked in a hot tub, either.

“What if your dad or brother comes out?” Caitlyn asked.

“So what. Do you think they’re going to attack you or something? Come on, I’ll show you.”

I saw Ali wiggle beneath the water and then saw her swimsuit top tossed onto the patio, followed a minute later by her bottoms.

“See. You can’t see anything beneath the water. Besides, I like the jet hitting directly,” she added with a giggle.

Caitlyn watched her move around for a minute and then sat a little higher and pushed the straps of her one-piece suit off her shoulders. She was back to being neck deep when she finished pulling off her own suit and tossed it out next to Ali’s.

“Now,” Ali said, “slide around until the jet hits you in the good place.”

I listened to them giggling and then get quiet. Part of me wanted to go down and tell them to stop, but it was really no different than a lot of things I knew a lot of girls did. I listened for a little while, but then let them be. I went back inside and decided to call Chrissy.”

“Hi,” she said cheerfully. “I’m so glad you called. I really need a little study break.”

“I’m glad I could be a suitable distraction for you,” I said.

“When are you coming out again?” she asked. “I’ve got a big test next week, but would love a little break after that.”

“You mean before you have to be in New York for the winter Cavalli show?”

She groaned. “What was I thinking when I agreed to do those shows? I’m going to have to study the entire time I’m out there, except for when I’m actually on the runway and getting fitted. Shit, I need a break.”

I laughed. “I remember those days. I thought I was crazy my senior year working on a double major. You can do it, I know.”

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