For the reader known only as mrskelly. Hope you like this.
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I was beginning to appreciate the differences between a civilian office and a military office. Yes I was in a cubicle, which looked like all the other cubicles in the room. But there was one difference.
The downtown area of Cambridge, England was right outside the window.
Hi, I'm Jasmine Tate. I've been in the service for just about eight months now. I worked in a large office of several weather people, since we did the weather updates for all sorts of applications.
But as I was staring at a satellite image of a cold front over the States, thinking how my Aunt Georgia was going to be miserable, my phone rang. "Jasmine Tate."
A male voice filtered through, the voice of my boss, Colonel Jackson. "Jasmine. Can you please come to my office? It won't take but a minute."
"Yes, sir. On my way." I hung up, locked my computer, and tugged my uniform blouse down a bit. God, I swear, no matter how frumpy they make these uniforms, the twins never passed up a chance to be seen. My breasts weren't, like, huge, but they were nice and round and full on my slender figure, and did not like to be covered up. I made sure that I looked presentable, and went to Colonel Jackson's office.
I knocked on his door. "You wanted to see me, sir?"
He looked up and smiled. "Yes, Jasmine. Come in please. Have a seat."
I did so. "What's up, sir?"
He slid something across his desk to me. "This is what's up. Don't have too much fun in Paris."
I had to hold tightly on to the arms of my chair. "Excuse me, sir, did you say Paris? As in, the Paris?"
Colonel Jackson smiled and nodded. "Yes, Paris. It's a meteorology conference."
"Oh, I see."
The colonel's smile widened. "The association couldn't seem to find a city willing to host the conference this year, so they had to 'settle' for Paris."
All I could say was, "Uh-huh."
"So, Jasmine, here is your itinerary. You fly over to Paris tomorrow afternoon. The conference will last two days. You'll fly back Sunday afternoon. After you get back, I will expect a report from you on what you were able to learn there."
I nodded once. "Yes, sir."
Colonel Jackson cracked a genuine grin. "Better get packing."
I smiled, too. "Yes, sir."
God, I never thought I would find my own subject matter so boring!
I mean, I have a degree in this stuff, it's not just a hobby or a passing fancy, it's my life we're talking about. But, god, the people who are hosting these lectures, their presentations are making me so drowsy, I've nearly fallen asleep in my seat!
I've done stuff I haven't done since high school -- doodled, stared out the closest window -- anything to keep myself awake, while some of the most boring people droned on and on. But at least I've been able to catch up on some the latest trends in weather. Some of them actually made sense with what myself and my fellow workers were seeing.
Fortunately all the lectures and seminars were only scheduled from 9 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon. Which left me time to see the sights.
And what a view I had from my hotel window -- I could see the Eiffel Tower!
But I had a less demanding sightseeing schedule for today. All I wanted, this afternoon at least, was to go down to that quaint little restaurant down the street, and see if I could order something in French.
But that was after I went to the ladies' shoe store that was beside it, advertising women's pumps and boots, hand made, of the finest grade Italian leather. Yeah, I know, high heels are supposed to hurt my feet. But I feel so damn sexy in a good high pair of heels! It would mean taking a little more time to clear Customs on the way back, but it would be worth it to wear a brand new pair of heels to work next week.
So by the time I made it to the restaurant, it was with a big plastic bag full of new shoes -- a pair of boots, a two pairs of open toed pumps, and a pair of the daintiest sandals, all made of beautiful black or white patent leather, and all with a sexy stiletto heel. I couldn't wait to get back to my room and try them all on.
It was almost sunset. But it was also spring. So it was still warm. Even loaded down with the new shoes, I felt reborn, instead of tired.
I was having a hard time with the bag, trying to get in the door. Sure enough, all the boxes fell out of the bag, on to the floor.
I felt everyone's eyes on me. Blushing, feeling like an idiot, I tried to get them back in the right boxes.
A friendly voice said, "Looks like you need some help."
I looked up. The owner of that friendly American voice was a gorgeous white man! And oh, how he wore that blue uniform!
Have you ever fell in love at first sight? I mean, looked at someone, and somehow knew that this person was the only person in all the world you wanted?
This man was that person. He was five-nine, with dark brown straight hair, cut militarily short, and had the most adorable dark brown eyes. His face was friendly, but appeared as if it was chiseled out of stone. I had to keep myself from running my fingers over his face!
Anyway, this man helped me. We had all the runaway shoes and boots back in their proper boxes lickety split. Finally I stood up straight. Since I was wearing flat shoes, he towered at least 3 or 4 inches over me. I longed to be wearing heels just then.
All I could say was, "Thank you."
He smiled. Oh my god, he's so cute!
"Looks like someone had fun at the shoe store today."
I blushed and laughed. "It's my first time in Paris."
He laughed too. "I have to say, I like your taste in shoes. If you're going to wear heels, you might as well wear stiletto heels."
Oh, my god! I said, "Absolutely! I hate those shoes with those big clunky ass heels, they look so un-lady-like."
This gorgeous man seemed to remember where he was. "Hey, you know what? I was just waiting for my table. What say we make it a table for two?"
"I would say that would be very nice." I reached out my free hand. "By the way, I'm Jasmine. Jasmine Tate."
He took my hand in a firm but gentle grip. "Todd Meyers, MD."
"Nice to meet you."
Ten minutes later, we were sitting out on the big square patio upstairs, talking like we had known each other for years, instead of just a few minutes. By this time, the sun had fully set, and the only light on the patio was little strings of lights, strung around the railings. Over cups of rich coffee, then mouth watering entrees, and finally decadent desserts, we got to know each other better.
I said, "If you don't mind me asking, what sort of MD are you?"
Todd chuckled. "Well, I decided to specialize in cosmetic surgery. But while I'm working for Uncle Sam, I'm just doing general medicine so far."
"Where did you go to school at?"
"Stanford."
My eyes widened. "Really? Impressive."
Todd inclined his head slightly. "Thank you. But I never would have gone to medical school if the Air Force hadn't come along. They paid for everything. I was very fortunate."
I said, "And the price is a three year stay in the Air Force?"
"Yeah. But it's worth it. This way I don't have to worry about any loans."
I told him that I also had a degree, in Meteorology, but that my stint in the service was self-imposed. And I was loving it.
I asked him, "So how do you like the service? Is it something you might be looking forward to past your 3 years?"
He shrugged. "Maybe. I'm not sure yet. Got to admit, though, that it's been quite an adventure so far."
I said, "Wrong branch."
Todd laughed. "Oops, you're right, that's Navy. My bad."
I giggled. It was so easy to relax and be myself around this man. I felt like there was nothing I couldn't tell him. "So, what brings you to Paris? I'm assuming it's something military related."
Todd cracked a grin. "Well, sort of. I'm here mainly because General Hammond personally asked for me. Seems he's developing a terrible case of gas."
I leaned forward, hand under my chin, face rapt. "And what was the non military part of your stay?"
"My mother, when I told her I would be in Paris, absolutely demanded that I get her a souvenir of some kind. I still don't know what I'm getting for her."
I laughed and made a soft noise. "That's sweet of you. I'm sure she'll love whatever you send her."
"Thanks. What about you?"
"Oh, I'm here for this Conference on Weather Over the European Region for the Next Decade."