This is a prequel to, and assumes you've read Promises, Promises pt. 1. My thanks to Bad Hobbit for his insightful comments on the original draft.
*****
She was perfect, and I hadn't expected that. I was looking for something specific: a straightforward explanation of how enzymes use quantum tunneling to transfer electrons. I wasn't expecting to meet the love of my life.
I'm a science writer. Not physics, math, or chemistry, but science in general. And though I'm pretty smart, I am not clever enough to understand all branches of science. Especially not smart enough to explain them in simple language to my readers. I searched out someone who could explain quantum tunneling and was directed to Penny Smith, who was doing a post-doc on that very issue.
I was smitten the moment I met her. When she took off her lab coat, revealing her abbreviated denim shorts, white blouse unbuttoned at the top and tied at the waist, I was ready to drop to my knees and propose. She was about five foot three, blond hair going half-way down her back, stacked, with an incredible ass and sparkling eyes.
No, I'm not that shallow. Remember, she was doing a post-doc in quantum biology. You have to be dedicated to do that. You have to be brilliant. Looks, brains; that was enough for me. I'd worry about her personality later.
And that seemed to be surprisingly modest and pleasant, considering all she had going for herself. She sat with her hands on her lap for our entire discussion, one hand holding a notebook over the other. She spoke softly, barely making eye contact, radiating wholesomeness as she spoke.
I had to make her mine, and felt I was worthy. I'm a solid six foot three, large enough to intimidate, but not so large that I'd be mocked as another fatso on a Harley. When I rode with my club, I commanded respect, not mockery. I'm decent looking; no Reggie Bush, but I've never had any complaints. I'm intelligent enough to know that my attraction to Dr. Smith wasn't mere animal lust.
After a couple of hours reviewing a variety of issues in quantum biology, I invited Penny for a ride on my bike. She looked down at her lap, and shyly shook her head.
"Well, perhaps we could get together again? I really enjoyed talking to you. Maybe meet for coffee?"
"I don't know if that's possible."
"Can I call you again? I might need you to clarify some points after I've written the article."
This time she looked up at me and smiled. "I'd like that."
I stood and reached out my hand to shake hers, but she didn't get up or let go of the notebook. "You can call," she softly said.
I felt my heart trembling as I left. She was sweet, gorgeous, brilliant, demure... I was on a mission.
I called her a few days later; she told me she was busy with a grant application for the next couple of weeks. I waited two weeks and then called again. I needed clarification, I explained, on the problem of hydrogen transfer. She agreed to give me a few hours of her time on Thursday morning, so I got daring, and suggested a stroll in Forest Park, one of the country's largest urban forest reserves. It was quite close to the university, and the weather was supposed to be beautiful.
We were in the middle of a trail, reviewing hetero-conjugated hydrogen bonds with large proton polarizability (I understood little of what she was talking about) when the weather stopped being beautiful. We hadn't noticed the dark clouds rolling in, as we were in the shade of the tall Douglas-fir trees. Thick pounding drops of water were the first clue that it was raining, and we took off running, looking for shelter.
Penny was dressed in the same abbreviated denim shorts, blouse unbuttoned at the top and tied at the waist as at our first meeting; I was wearing a grey Rough Men t-shirt and cargo shorts. My top remained opaque despite its wetness. Hers didn't. Not even her bra. I couldn't help staring.
"We may as well stop running now," she said. "There's no shelter near us, and we're soaked through and through anyways." She tilted her head at me and smirked. "You don't mind, do you?"
I shook my head, wondering what she thought I could possibly object to. The rain squall moved on a couple of minutes later. She faced me as she unbuttoned and removed her blouse. I froze. What was happening here? She turned her back to me and fumbled to undo her bra clasp. After a few seconds she said "Give me a hand here." I stared.
Dr. Smith turned her head and gave me a lascivious smile, not the demure type I had come to expect from her. "Problem?"
I fumbled her bra as she covered her flawless breasts with her hands. Letting go, she then wrung out her bra and asked "Would you mind wiping the water off my back?"
I didn't mind. I didn't mind either when she said "Mmm... that feels nice. Would you do it to the front?" I was determined to be thorough. I guess she wasn't so prim after all.
"Mmm... you have strong hands." I lifted my fingers off her nipple and looked at her. "I didn't say to stop," she said. I went with fingers and lips to the other breast.
"Now you're getting me wet somewhere else. Good thing my pants got soaked in the rain, so it doesn't show."
I pulled my lips away from her chest and applied them to her mouth. Her tongue came out and attacked mine. I wrapped my arms around her back, then slid my hands onto her ass. The sun had come out and was directly overhead, but I think it was the heat generated from our passion that dried us off.
I heard twigs snapping in the distance. I disengaged and handed her the clothes she had hung on a low branch. She quickly put on her blouse, doing only two of the buttons.
"My bra is still wet." She reached over and stuffed it in my pocket, using the opportunity to grope my swollen manhood. "Do you think you have a handle on hydrogen bonds?"
The sudden change of topic left me short of breath. The footsteps on the trail were coming closer She squeezed me again.
"I want to get a better handle on this, and I think you need to learn more about quantum biology. When's our next lesson?" She turned and started walking back towards where we had both parked.
"How about Saturday evening?"
"Oh, no," Penny said. "Not on weekends. Tomorrow, ten o'clock, at the lab?"
I really wanted to wine, dine and win her with a romantic evening rather than a lab rendezvous, but I didn't want to turn her down for anything. Unfortunately... "I have a meeting of my motorcycle club at ten, and I have to be there. It's not far from here. How about noon? We'll go out for lunch.
She pointed at my t-shirt. "The Rough Men?
I nodded.