Jack was still wondering how he found himself in this position. He had just finished looking at himself in the mirror, dressed in a nice shirt, tie, and a freshly pressed pair of slacks. He walked out of the bathroom, into the kitchen to grab his car keys and wallet before getting in his car and heading over to Angie's house. On his way over he thought about the events that had occurred over the last couple of weeks that led him to this point.
Jackson Harris had not been on a date in over two years. Not since he and Heather had split up. And it had been even longer than that for the last time he had sex. Heather stopped putting out for him six months before they broke up, although she had no problem at all with putting out for a few of the other guys she knew. He and Heather had been together since their junior year in high school. They even decided to go to the same college so they could continue their relationship. But, halfway through their final year, Heather told him she was tired of the same old thing and that she wanted to date other people. That floored Jack, and he hardly ever saw her again, only every now and then around the campus. He has since heard that she ran off with the captain of the football team and they are now living in the mid-west somewhere.
After graduation, Jackson went back to his hometown to put the degree he received in Accounting to good use. He got a job with a growing corporation keeping their books. He had a lot of responsibility( keeping track of expenses, doing payroll, making sure the company's bills were paid), and he received a very nice salary for it.
One day there was a knock on his office door and the Human Resources Dept. head poked her head in. She told him she was showing a new hire around the building and that the new person said she knew him.
"Well let me see this person, then," Jack said as he put some paperwork into his IN basket.
A beautiful young woman came into his office and his mouth dropped. She was the same age as he was, had dark hair that went halfway down her back and a body that would make most super models jealous. She smiled widely at him and started blushing due to his gawking and lack of speech.
"It has been more than four years since I have seen you and you can't think of one thing to say?" she asked.
"Angie!" was all he could manage to say. Jack got up and walked briskly over to where she stood and wrapped his arms around her.
"Jack, you know you are not supposed to do that," Melanie, the HR head said.
"It's all right," Angie said. "We're old friends, like I told you."
Jack and Angie grew up on the same street, but they did not become friends until they started high school. They were the only ones in their neighborhood that rode the bus to and from school. Since they were the only two waiting at the bus stop every morning, they passed their time by talking and getting to know each other. They became good friends and even dated for a little while in their sophomore year.
They broke the embrace and looked at each other. Jack asked her what position she had applied for and Melanie said she was going to be the new secretary in the office. He asked if he could give her the rest of the tour, to which Melanie agreed. The two of them left his office and he showed her the rest of the building. The company that they worked for was a distributor of kitchen supplies to retail stores and restaurants in the Northeast. The two of them went out to lunch that day and got caught up on each other's lives.
After Angie started her job, she and Jack would hang out like they did before Jack went away to college. They would go out to dinner every now and then or one would go to the other's house to watch a movie. There was no real physical attraction between them. They just enjoyed each other's company.
A couple of months later, Angie decided to ask him about what happened between him and Heather after they had watched a movie and had some popcorn and beer. Jack told her he thought they grew apart somewhere in their relationship, but could not remember feeling that way when they spilt up. He told her he remembered not having sex with Heather the last six months of their relationship. It had bothered him, but she did not seem to be affected.
"That's probably because she was banging the football team," Angie said.
"That would explain it," Jack smiled.
Angie laughed then said, "Don't you think it is time to start dating again?"
"Probably," he sighed. "I just have not met the right girl yet."
"Well, what if I found her for you?" Angie asked.
"Sounds like you already have someone in mind," Jack accused her.
"Maybe. Would you be interested?"
"Who are you thinking of?" Jack wanted to know.
"Tell me who it is first and I'll tell you if I am interested or not."
"Fine," Angie said. "It is my cousin, Kelly. You remember her, don't you?"
The look on his face told her that he did.
"You mean the cousin that wears the glasses that are about an inch thick, and about 40-lbs. overweight?"
"She has changed a lot since you last saw her, Jack," Angie shot at him. "She lost all the extra weight and she now wears contacts. She is very pretty."
"You have to say that," Jack said. "You are related."
"Jackson!"
"Angela!" he mocked her.
"C'mon. Please? For me?"
He took another sip from his beer bottle. He was desperate to find a way out of this.
"Doesn't she live a couple of hours away from here?" he said. "I don't think I want to drive out there for one date."
"You don't need to worry about that," Angie told him. "Kelly is coming here to visit me for a little while. She will be here Tuesday night."
"How long is she staying?"
"Couple of months, I think," Angie said.
"What about her job?" Jack asked.
"She can get one anywhere she wants. She has a lot of experience."
"What does she do?"
"Not sure," Angie admitted. "All I know is that she left her last job with a huge severance deal, so she can afford to not work for a while. She was going to travel the world, but she wanted me to go with her. As I cannot afford it, she is coming to visit me instead."
"So why are you tryin to set us up?" Jack asked.
"She, like you, has not been out in a long time," she said. "She needs to get out. It will be good for both of you. That, and, she has always had a crush on you. Ever since the first summer we all hung out together. She was really disappointed when you started dating Heather."
"All right, listen. I will go out with her once," he said. "And only once. So after this, don't ask me again. Deal?"
"I promise."
************
Jack pulled up to Angie's house and prepared himself for the worst. Although Angie had told him that Kelly had changed quite a bit since he last saw her, he was still very skeptical. As he rang the doorbell, a feeling of doom came over him. He was not sure he wanted to do this after all.
Angie opened the door and greeted her friend.
"Come in and sit down," she said. "Kelly will be down in a minute." She let him in and directed him to the sofa. She asked if he wanted anything and he declined. "So, where are the two of you going tonight?"
Jack gave her the name of one of the finest Italian restaurants in the North End. "After that, it is up to her," Jack said, his voice betraying how unenthused he was about the date.
"Oh, cheer up, will ya?" Angie said. "You never know. You may just enjoy yourself tonight."
Just then they heard a door open upstairs, and a few seconds later, high heels clicking their way down the hardwood steps. Jack stood up for the arrival of his date. When she came into view, his jaw dropped to his chest. The woman coming down the stairs was beautiful. Her red hair came down to her mid-back; her green eyes twinkled with every pad of her foot. Her smile was wide and showed almost every one of her pearly white teeth. Angie looked over at her friend.
"Down, boy," she whispered in his ear as she used her hand to close his mouth. "See. I told you she has changed."
Jack was awestruck as he watched Kelly enter the room. He saw that the little geeky girl he remembered from their childhood was gone and this gorgeous goddess had taken her place.
"Hi, Jack," Kelly said as she stepped up and gave him a hug. "Long time since I last saw you."
"Er . . . yeah . . . a long time," was all that he managed to reply. Her perfume entered his nostrils and he thought she smelled as sweet as she looked. They broke the embrace and Kelly stood back from him. Jack looked at her again. Her red hair shimmered like silk, the flawless complexion of her face, even her outfit of a pink blouse and tight black skirt was perfect.
"So, where are we going, handsome?" Kelly asked.
"To dinner, then it's up to you," Jack said.
"Hmmmm. A world of possibilities," she said with a wink.
When they left the house Jack was a perfect gentleman the entire evening. He opened the car door for her, the door to the restaurant, and made sure he beat the maitre d' so he could pull the chair out for her. Not figuring he would actually be into the date, Jack brought a very small amount of money with him. Now that he was trying to impress Kelly, he ordered one of the most expensive bottles of red wine for their dinner. As they ate there was the typical first date chatter. She asked him about his job and listened intently while he talked. When he was finished discussing accounting, he asked what she did.
"Angie didn't tell you?" Kelly asked.
"I asked her, but she said she wasn't exactly sure. All she did know was that you left and got a really nice severance deal," Jack told her.
"Yeah. Quite good," Kelly told him. "So much so that I may need to get myself an accountant." She winked at him again, and all he could do was smile at her.
"So, what happened?" he asked. She looked a little hesitant to talk to him about it. "If you don't want to tell me about it, it's ok. I was just curious, that's all."
Kelly took a deep breath. "I don't mind telling you about it, it's just that whenever my profession comes up on a date, it is usually the last time I ever see the guy, or he expects things from me later that night."
