If it weren't for the fact that he was still inexperienced when it came to girls, Jeremy probably would have pulled the plug on the whole "dating several girls" thing. After all, Ava was everything he had ever dreamed in a girlfriend. She was beautiful, with a great body, and she seemed anxious to share that body with him, if last night were to be believed. On top of that, she was smart and funny, athletic, and seemed oddly supportive of him dating other girls. There was a story there that Jeremy hadn't quite figured out. Since that day in the brush pile, he'd recalled a fragment of conversation that he'd glossed over at the time. Between his nerves and his focus on the problems dealing with Jess and Hannah, he'd completely overlooked Ava's comment about potentially sharing two guys with her then-friend. Now that he remembered that part of the conversation, it seemed to fit into a pattern; he just didn't know what the pattern would end up looking like.
For slightly different reasons, he was strongly drawn to Hannah as well. She, too, was beautiful, and he suspected that if she weren't away at school, they might find some time to get personal. The impact of waking up with her in his arms was not insignificant. Jeremy felt a desire for a deeper connection with a girl, now that he had thought about it. He'd initially been skeptical when entertaining the idea of dating non-exclusively. He'd even felt guilty about it and questioned the fairness. In light of his feelings about Ava and Hannah, he was beginning to realize that those questions had not been answered satisfactorily; instead, they'd been pushed to the background as he sated his curiosity.
That's not to say that he wasn't going to continue seeing different girls. He still felt like he had some things to learn about himself and his romantic interests. But he thought maybe he'd keep things low-key and focus mostly on Ava for the time being. The other girls were all attractive in their own ways, but each also came with their own complications. He almost felt guilty about asking Serena out as a means of revenge, now that he was learning that she was much more than a pretty face. Monica was someone he'd had a crush on for some time, but with the racial aspect thrown in, there might be some storm clouds on the horizon with her other friends and family if they were to get very involved. And dating Lanie would be a challenge because of her sister, assuming she still wanted a date in the absence of the emotions surrounding her assault.
Jeremy spent the rest of the school week keeping his head down and focusing on finishing out the school year. Now that Spring Break had passed, the finish line was in sight. The softball season was just getting underway, which was going to consume a fair bit of Ava's time during the week. That meant the two of them were going to have to make some special efforts to get together on the weekend if they were going to continue what they'd started after dinner on Tuesday. It wasn't going to be this weekend, though. Friday and Saturday were dates with Serena, and Sunday was lunch with Monica.
While Jeremy was ruminating on the twists and turns of his romantic interests and making plans for the weekend, unbeknownst to him a pixie was at work on his behalf. After hearing that Jeremy and Serena were planning to attend a late movie on Friday night, Jess set to the task of making sure that Colby was there to see them together. It hadn't taken much to convince him that a darkened movie theater offered the opportunity to continue what they'd begun the previous Friday. When Jess suggested that they meet there Friday night, with the promise of more action to follow, Colby readily agreed. What he didn't know was that Jess had absolutely no intention of showing up. She wasn't ashamed of what she'd done with him before, but she was pissed at how the whole thing came about, and at the fact that she'd so easily fallen for his bullshit. She was sorry she'd miss the fireworks, but she wasn't in the strongest position with the benefactor of her efforts and didn't want to give him the impression that she was out with Colby again.
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Dinner at the Chase household was a different experience. Walking up to the door a few minutes before 6, Jeremy was impressed with the home. Built atop a gentle rise from the street, the sprawling two-story French Provincial construction was faced with multi-colored stone and red brick, with pale limestone on what he assumed was the stairwell tower. He was intrigued by little details like the semi-attached garage, with a drive-through to a rear parking area and the little hexagonal window set in the limestone facing. The entry door was a heavy custom wood and glass construction, stained a dark walnut color, with an intricate leaded glass window panel. Ringing the doorbell, Jeremy could hear the chimes sounding like church bells in a cathedral, which seemed appropriate.
There was a significant delay between his press of the button and the appearance of anyone at the door. It was long enough that Jeremy slipped into that uncertainty that comes when you begin to question if you've gotten the time or date of an appointment wrong, or perhaps you only imagined the doorbell sounding but pressing again seems rude. In fact, his finger was hovering over the button when the door finally opened.
The man who answered the door somehow managed to simultaneously be exactly what Jeremy had expected of a wealthy banker at leisure and nothing like he'd pictured as Serena's father. Montgomery Chase looked to be in his mid- to late-50's. Slight of physique, he was maybe 5' 8" tall and 140 -- 150 lbs. He had the shiny pate of someone who'd long since lost most of the hair on his head, except for the fringe of gray stubble above his ears and neck. His moustache was still dark, but he wore it in the unusual tycoon style, sort of a miniature handlebar centered between the corners of his mouth. If he'd been wearing a top hat, tails and monocle, Jeremy might've mistaken him for the famous rich guy on the cover of that board game. Instead, he was bedecked in a powder blue dress shirt with white collar and cuffs, tucked into a pair of charcoal gabardine pants over black slip-on loafers.
"Yes?" he said.
Extending his hand, Jeremy said, "Good evening, sir. My name's Jeremy Halperin. I believe you are expecting me for dinner?"
Mr. Chase shook his hand as he said, "Ah, yes, Serena's guest. Please, come in." He stood back to allow Jeremy to pass before closing the door behind him. He strode past Jeremy with no further formalities, saying, "This way, young man. Serena is helping my wife finish up dinner preparations." As he followed the man, Jeremy was impressed with the décor. The entry foyer flooring was a tremendous piece of custom carpentry, displaying a compass rose of Brazilian rosewood and mesquite, set into a curly maple backdrop with a cherry wood border inlaid at the perimeter of the space. The hall leading to the kitchen and dining room was lined with light oak wainscoting. Passing through the arched entry into the kitchen was like stepping through a portal in time. The natural warmth of the old-fashioned wood decorations he'd just passed gave way to a thoroughly modern, if somewhat sterile-feeling, conglomeration of stainless steel, tile, and marble countertops. Idly, Jeremy wondered what price his mother would pay to have a kitchen like this one.
Jeremy could see Serena sharing space on the kitchen's island chopping block with a woman that he assumed was her stepmother, Regina. Mrs. Chase wore the feminine equivalent of Mr. Chase's attire, except her blouse was a dark red satin, which was paired with a light gray pinstripe business skirt. She accessorized with a strand of pearls and sensible black pumps. Jeremy really hoped that they'd just come from the office and hadn't had time to change, because he was feeling underdressed in his jeans and polo combo.
Mr. Chase spoke up to get their attention. "Serena, your guest is here. Jeremy, this is my wife, Regina."
Jeremy greeted them. "Hey, Serena. These are for you." He handed her the small box of gourmet truffles he'd brought for their date. Stepping up to shake her hand, he said, "Good evening, Mrs. Chase." As they approached each other, Jeremy estimated that the woman was mid-40's. She had the coloring of a Spanish beauty, with very dark brown hair falling in waves and gentle curls to her shoulders, skin tone a light golden tan, and eyes such a dark brown that they bordered on black. Jeremy thought she might be slightly taller than her husband, but it was hard to tell in shoes.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jeremy," she said warmly. "Thank you for joining us. Serena spoke so highly of you that we just had to extend the invitation." Jeremy looked at Serena with a question in his eyes, but she had busied herself finishing up the salad preparations. The only hint that she'd even heard the comment was a little pink creeping into her cheeks.
"Thank you for inviting me," he replied. "As I mentioned to Serena, I would have liked to introduce myself regardless. But this gives me a chance to get to know Serena through you as well." He paused, and then said, "I'm a little surprised to hear that Serena had much to say about me. We've sort of passed through each other's orbits, but we haven't spent a whole lot of time together."
Mr. Chase noticed that the color in his daughter's cheeks was deepening and stepped in to deflect the question. "When Serena first spoke of you, I was insistent that we needed to learn more about you. We had some...differences of opinion, you might say, regarding the Walters boy. I'd like to make sure that we avoid making that mistake again."
Jeremy chuckled. "Well, sir, I think Serena can back me up when I say that there's certainly no love lost between myself and Colby. It would be a great disappointment to me if someone said I were anything like that...guy." Sobering a little, he continued, "Please, feel free to ask me whatever questions you'd like. As I told your daughter, I appreciate that you are interested in who she's seeing. And, frankly, I don't have anything to hide. I operate much better when everything's above board and on the table. My only request is that we continue this discussion while we eat, because whatever we're having smells delicious." Jeremy looked at Serena to see how she was handling things so far and found that she was beaming a happy smile in his direction. He winked at her before asking if he could help with anything.
