This story is a work of fiction. Some real places and institutions are mentioned or implied, but they are used fictitiously here. As far as the author knows, no real person affiliated with any of those places or institutions has done anything akin to what is described in this story. Any similarities between any character in this story and any real person are coincidental and unintended. I encourage comments on this story, both favorable and unfavorable. Thank you for reading.
_______________________________________________________________
I met Fiona Fitzpatrick when we were both in college in Chicago. I'd gotten a partial wrestling scholarship, or I couldn't have been able to afford the university. One of my teammates was dating a woman on the lacrosse team. Fiona was one of the woman's teammates. I met her first quarter of my junior year when my friends and his girlfriend got me to go with them to a lacrosse team party.
Fiona stood out. The first thing you noticed was her copper-colored hair. That was easy to see because, at just under six feet tall, Fiona was taller than her teammates. The hair framed a beautiful face that had very light freckles on her high cheekbones and a wide mouth that smiled frequently. It was still warm in Northern Illinois so that party was outside, and everyone was dressed in lightweight clothes. Fiona's shorts made her long, firm legs and tight ass very noticeable. Under her polo shirt were breasts that were a bit larger than perfectly proportional to the rest of her body. In short, Fiona Fitzgerald was, I thought, a stunner. I'd always thought of lacrosse as a rather rough sport. I was surprised someone this beautiful played and, as I later found out, played very well.
My buddy's girlfriend introduced us, and, to my further surprise, Fiona and I talked for a long time at the party. In addition to being very beautiful, Fiona was smart, articulate, funny, and not at all restrained about saying what she really thought. I also learned that we were both from Ohio, although Fiona was from the northeastern part while I'm from southwestern Ohio. After I left the party that night, I could not get Fiona Fitzpatrick out of my mind.
I saw Fiona walking on campus a few days later. It was around noon. I summoned my courage, went up to her, and asked if she'd join me for lunch. A wide smile broke out on her face. "I was wondering whether I'd hear from you again," she said. "Yes, I'd love to get lunch." I led her to a sandwich shop off campus. As we approached the door, Fiona asked, "Who told you this is one of my favorite places to eat?"
"No one," I answered. "I just like their sandwiches." I'm not sure Fiona believed me, but we clicked again over lunch like we had at the party. We went out that Friday night and were soon dating regularly. We became lovers just before first quarter exams started.
We both contrived to stay in Chicago the following summer. We were together any time we were both off work. The more time I spent with Fiona, the harder I fell for her. I also learned that Fiona liked to try new things. A couple of weeks into summer break, Fiona said, "there's a national park on the lakeshore over in Indiana. Someone told me that there's an area where people skinny dip and nude sunbathe. Want to try it? I've never been naked on a beach."
I'd try almost anything with Fiona. That weekend, we drove my old beater to the national park. We had to hike a distance before we rounded a small point and saw maybe fifty nude people spread over a segment of beach. We stopped on an edge of that area, put down our things, and spread out a beach towel. Fiona and I looked at each other for a moment. Then, Fiona whipped off her tee shirt and dropped her shorts. She was nude underneath. I quicky stripped off.
I'd never been on a nude beach before either. I was surprised at how nice it was to be naked outdoors. The two things I remember most about that trip were how beautiful Fiona looked naked in the sunlight, and how pleasant the other nude people were to us. Fiona and I went back several times that summer.
Fiona and I were both committed to going to grad school; Fiona for an MBA and me for law. We tried to get into programs at the same university or, at least, schools close to each other, but that didn't happen. Fiona got an opportunity to attend a renowned business school in Philadelphia and I got into a pretty good law school in North Carolina. We couldn't turn those opportunities down.
Fiona and I stayed in touch after we started grad school, but our schedules never gave us time to get together. Over time, the calls and e-mail became less frequent and eventually stopped altogether. I had no doubt Fiona could have her pick of any man in Philadelphia and that she probably thought she'd traded up from undergrad.
Coming out of law school, I was fortunate enough to have several job opportunities. I finally decided that I was a Midwesterner and took a job as an associate at a large firm in one of the three big cities in Ohio. I dated some through law school and my first year out. My problem was that I mentally compared every woman I met to Fiona, and, in my memory, Fiona was incomparable.
On Fridays, several of the young lawyers in our firm would usually go out for a drink after work. We typically went to a bar near our downtown office. One Friday early in my second year at the firm, someone suggested that we drive to a new bar that had opened in an upscale area northeast of downtown.
As you'd expect for a new bar after work on a Friday, the place was crowded. As we walked in, I noticed a tall woman across the bar. She had her back to us, but her dark red hair reminded me of Fiona. We got drinks at the bar and found some space to stand a rehash our weeks. I couldn't stop myself from continuing to look at the redhead. After ten minutes or so, the redhead turned around. She looked like Fiona, only even more beautiful than I remembered. Our eyes met across the room. I could see recognition register on her face. Holy shit! It was Fiona!
I didn't bother excusing myself from the group. I just started working my way through the crowd across the room. I'm sure I spilled beer on a few people. I was oblivious. I just had to get to Fiona.
Fiona looked amused as I approached her. Nodding her head in the direction from which I had come, she said, "You left a wake behind you."
"Exigent circumstances," I said. "How are you? What are you doing here?"
"I'm fine," Fiona replied. "I work at a wealth management firm a couple blocks away. What are you doing here?"
"I'm at a law firm downtown," I said. "Some of the people I work with wanted to check this place out."
"And what do you think?" Fiona asked.