by Mia Ford
An evening that was already rated nine out of ten on his intrigue meter was suddenly off the charts. For Kurt, there could be no holding back anyone, regardless of familial concerns. He simply had to find out what this Darlene had become since leaving. Was she really a man-shy religious nut who would make the Virgin Mary proud, or else a closet nymphomaniac with a ravenous sexual appetite?
Someone would find out first hand eventually and he wanted that man to be him.
Back at the dinner table, his eyes lit up opportunistically on seeing that their dessert was cherry-pie with stripped pastry. As Clive continued to yap away about brochures, Kurt surreptitiously manipulated the pastry in order to spell out ‘DATE?’, before turning his plate in Darlene’s direction and gently tapping the table cloth.
Darlene paused halfway through a mouthful upon seeing the question, then looked up into his eyes to see if he was being serious. In response, he gave the slightest of cheeky smirks and a shrug of the shoulders, then was thrilled to see she had to look away for fear of smiling too much in front of everyone.
It took him a few minutes to get his answer, because she was a bit more paranoid than him about how to arrange the pastry. When she had finished, however, it read a big ‘YES’.
Despite the positive reply, Darlene seemed to grow shyer of him after having accepted. There was a look on her face that suggested she did not quite know what she was doing, but that only proved all the more enticing to Kurt.
Darlene was both a fascination and a puzzle to him. On the one hand, she was up for a date and had nipple tassels in her bedroom; on the other she looked to be as timid as a mouse and had a history that suggested very little experience of men – if any. A voyage of discovery was ahead, as long as he could figure out the logistics of setting sail. Darlene might have accepted the idea, but no means of discussing where and when presented itself at the time. Plus, the more Kurt thought about it, the more complicated a date seemed. Especially as it seemed safe to presume that she did not want to give her parents a single clue that she had anything of the kind planned. Certainly, they would not be revealing to their families that they were having any kind of liaison, but it was also likely that the returning goody-two-shoes hardly went out and met men at all. Hopefully she would prove resourceful enough to come up with an excuse for getting out of the house one evening, but before that Kurt had still to figure out how to go about contacting her. Calling up the family home and asking to speak with her was just not the way to go; the Furses were far too Victorian and would be onto him like a finely-cast reel.
After heading back home with his parents, while nursing a state of unclear anticipation, Kurt decided that tomorrow would be a good day for finding a solution. He was back at work and there is nothing like a good sea air for clearing the mind and offering some clarity.
Aqua Yachts boasted some fine vessels and he had dedicated the whole day to the maintenance of his favorite; a 50-foot, one million dollar fly-bridge called Arial, requiring only one or two crew members depending on conditions. The company had larger and more expensive vessels, but this was the kind he could often take out for personal use also and, so long as you knew what you were doing, it suited him completely. Its three cabins meant he could invite his best friends to join him on the ocean – or not – and he had complete control over what was on the itinerary.
Although the day was only for maintenance, Kurt enjoyed spending time on Arial anyway and thought he would have time to test its performance out on the water at the end of the day, so long as the weather remained calm. He had always felt grateful for the company’s market position, in that they were neither at the high nor the low end of the market. Their clients were rich enough so that they did not have to scrape around in order to stay afloat, while they did not have to worry about maintaining the giant vessels that the super-rich billionaires craved either. That would have meant supervising a massive team of people and having little time for the solitude he enjoyed. As it was, however, the company only needed to employ half a dozen maintenance engineers, whom he was able to personally train and build up strong and trusted relationships with, as well as a dozen cleaning staff. The crews that clients required to take them out on the water were employed on a per-job basis – though he occasionally did that himself also.
All in all, the job and the demands upon him were just how he liked them. Kurt knew he was very lucky and had no complaints. Although there was a certain doubt that something was missing. It would have been self-indulgent to complain or linger over what that might be, but he would occasionally find himself looking around as if he was not one of the luckiest guys in Oregon.
Whenever he got that feeling it had become a habit to go looking for girls to obscure whatever the problem was. Being in great shape – and with a selection of luxury yachts to choose from – Kurt did not find drawing female attention very difficult. Deep down he knew that the money, the ocean and the cocktails made that a lot easier than it otherwise would be, though it was also safe to say that he was pretty confident with the ladies anyway. Sexual conquest was as much a part of the landscape as the sea and the sky. The only complication being, because everyone knew where to find him, that of avoiding several bitter ex-girlfriends who had thought to accompany him and his lifestyle a bit more permanently.
Darlene represented something different, however. That much was clear from the start.
It was not that he had not gone for girls who could be considered ‘hard to get’ before, but they had usually come with the surroundings. Darlene might have had a direct connection with him as a Furse, but she clearly came from a part of society unlike his own. Her family lived its life very differently to what he was familiar with and, if it was not for business, the two of them would probably never have met.
Why was he singling her out for the extra effort, therefore? It was not an easy question to answer, despite how attractive she was. Even without the complication of risking upset to inter-family unity, the flirtation might have seemed unfeasible. For some reason, he couldn’t get her out of his head all that day, however, and thinking on how to get near to her was clearly clouding his vision as to why she was worth the effort when there were more convenient hot bodies to go chasing.
As predicted, getting in touch with her was not as easy as contact is with most people these days. Without the chance to ask for her phone number, he was reliant on social media. However, he was right to predict, before even checking, that the Furses had not developed much enthusiasm for that side of things either. Though in that sense they were very much alike (Kurt thought of Facebook as a waste of time unless all you cared about was being nosey). But he did have an account nevertheless and Darlene having one would have made matters simpler there and then. All he found was an empty icon next to the name Darlene Furse, which suggested that she might have had an account at some time and deleted it (or else someone of the same name), but that was all and of no use. Twitter and Instagram then seemed like long shots and proved to be so, with Kurt even thinking he would have to resort to some Romeo and Juliet-style calling up at her bedroom window instead. That was before he thought of LinkedIn, however, and there she was.
Like all the other social media sites, Kurt’s presence on there was an unenthusiastic one. He had done nothing with the account, to keep him in touch with ex-colleagues and fellow professionals or otherwise, but he did have one. A curious mugshot of Darlene also answered to his search and so there was his means of contact.
After punching the air, he spent a few moments wondering why she had chosen such a furtive looking pic. She looked more like the Darlene who had jetted off to the East Coast three years back; plain and not even showing off her best feature in that she was not smiling. It looked very much like she was reticent about the picture being taken at all… but no matter. He would be able to say he had made a use of LinkedIn at last, as he clicked on the friend’s request feature and typed in the message box: ‘Good to see you again Darlene! You still up for that date? Kurt.’<
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He had to wait an hour for a response, during which time he did wonder whether Darlene still had an email connected to the site. The truth is that there are so many disconnected and half-hearted accounts littering the online world that is supposed to be running our lives, but he was to get lucky. His fascination was not completely unreachable after all and so her response came back:
‘I am if you are. What do you have in mind?’
‘There are some nice restaurants with sea views here,’ he replied. ‘I could pick you up one evening and choose one of them. I was just wondering how to prize you away from your parents without them knowing.’
‘There are some old friends I can claim to be meeting up with,’ she replied. ‘If you can pick me up from town instead?’
Awesome, he thought, not only had she not changed her mind, she’s already been thinking of the logistics. It all boded well for what kind of date they would have. Plus, going behind their parents’ backs was proving more of a turn-on than he had realized it would.
‘How about this Friday?’ he then asked.
‘Thursday would be better. Less obvious,’ she replied. ‘Also, is there something more casual than a restaurant? I’ve met a few more of dad’s clients since I got back and some of them might be hanging around near the harbor.’
Well, this is a first, thought Kurt, a girl asking me to think less extravagantly when I’m trying to get her into bed. Everything about the scenario was suggesting that dating Darlene was going to be very different to anyone he had dated before – and he was all for embracing the draw of mysterious waters.
‘How about the bowling alley? As long as you don’t expect me to be any good at it,’ he then suggested.
‘That sounds like a better option. Though I’d be nervous of doing it.’
Nervous of doing what? he thought. Had she seriously been so held back from youthful pursuits that she had never been in a bowling alley?
This girl was reserved; seriously so. And yet she was still saying ‘Yes’ and allowing him to lead with the suggestions, giving him the impression that he had come along at exactly the right time for what he most desired: a quest of mutual discovery.
‘As I say, it’s not something I’m great at,’ he replied. ‘Will just be nice to have your company without the parents. I didn’t really feel I could ask you about college with them there.’
He realized that response eluded to wild times she was supposed to have had that she possibly hadn’t, but it would still serve as a convenient conversation topic. The fascination as to whether Darlene was a dark horse with a more expansive lifestyle or else someone who had hardly known a man’s touch had not lessened since the dinner.
The correspondence drew to a close then. Having agreed a date, Darlene asked for his mobile number and only told him to head to the center of Portland at 6pm on Thursday. It was clear that she was intending on giving someone the slip before seeking him out and probably because her parents would insist on dropping her off in town. All of which only made Kurt more excited.
They were playing with fire in a way, even though it was not obvious how fierce the flames were. Was Mr Furse an overprotective parent whose amiable outer shell would crack if he heard of a bad boy carting his little girl off, or would he suck it all up and carry on as normal? It was hard to read because it was hard to imagine him in a state of fury but, either way, he was not one for conducting relationships in a ‘proper’ fashion. Kurt was not about to trot up to the man’s door and ask for permission to take his daughter out to dinner. Rather he’d have as much fun as he could before deciding whether or not it was in his interests to involve parents at all (and almost certainly not). So, sneaking around was going to be in order – if, that is, she did not turn out to be one of those girls who demanded his hand in marriage before hands were allowed below the neck and above the knee.
Anything was possible, but that was exactly how Kurt preferred life to be. Like an ocean voyage, it was all about embracing mystery and allowing fate and destiny to seek you out if it so chose.
Thursday evening came and Kurt sat parked up in the Pearl District of Portland, thrumming his fingers on his steering wheel and wondering whether to go and get a coffee somewhere.
It was 5:15 and he was early – mostly through not wanting to be late, but the traffic had been kind. There was only 45 minutes to wait, by which time Darlene should have called him and let him know where she could be picked up from. The older he got, however, the more Kurt found that he became bored very easily and so he sat in his car feeling tetchy and uncertain.
Why that might be was something of a puzzle, being the laid-back type. But it was almost as if some outside force was telling him that time was precious and not to sit idle.
As it turned out, he had nothing to worry about, because something uncanny then happened.
There he was looking out over Columbia Square when who should turn the corner but none other than Darlene heading his way.
Have I completely underestimated this girl?, he thought, wondering how she could possibly know where he was. That was his first thought anyway; his second was how staggeringly dazzling she looked. If he had thought meeting her in the company of their parents and in homely surroundings had been an eye opener then seeing her out and about, with the wind in her hair, made him see that he had booked a date with a real bombshell.
She was dressed in a lilac one-piece that hung from one shoulder only and ended just above the knee. Fitting her curves perfectly, for someone of her background it probably amounted to being that dress she had always wondered if she would have the nerve to wear. Kurt thought that she looked like pure class and immediately saw that he would have to act quickly to show that she was with him. Eyes were turning her way, scanning her up and down as the male gaze does and, if he wasn’t swift enough, he might have to end up fighting several rivals off.
Getting out of the car and trying not to look like he was rushing in closing the gap between them, Kurt fixed her with his best John Travolta grin.
‘You never told me you worked in intelligence, Darlene,’ he said.
‘What do you mean?’ she asked, returning his smile though seeming a bit shyer of him than her appearance suggested.
‘How would you know I was here otherwise?’ he asked.
‘Oh! This is where everyone comes,’ she replied.
‘I don’t understand.’
‘It’s just an observation people have always made. Anyone who arrives in Portland from the west always chooses to stop in the Pearl District.’
‘No kidding.’
‘No one knows why, but I thought I’d come here and then call if you were elsewhere.’
‘Well, it was a good call,’ he told her, ‘here I am – and here we are.’
‘Yes,’ she replied, sounding a little giddy as she failed to sound casual – a response he could not help but love.
‘I hope it wasn’t too difficult getting round your parents?’ he asked.
‘Not so hard,’ Darlene replied, with a shrug.
‘Did you have to give someone the slip to get here?’
‘No, a trusted friend dropped me off,’ she revealed. ‘She owes me a few favors.’
‘Well, good! That’s come in handy,’ he said. ‘Means we can enjoy a nice evening together. Shall we?’
Darlene accepted his invitation and they were soon in the front seat of his Toyota, heading back to the freeway and the coast. Kurt had always avoided going for the flashiest cars. In part, it was unnecessary when you had access to a fleet of luxury yachts, but he also thought it a good move in showing that he did not feel the need to be really flash (even though the truth was he would have preferred a Jag). His date did appear impressed enough by his motor, however, though he did wonder if that was more because she had never gotten into the front seat of some guy’s car and been whisked away in this fashion before.
With his anticipation for a fabulous evening stirred, Kurt simply had to find out the truth about her, but
knew that patience was a virtue (so they say). Hopefully there would come a time for more interesting questions later. For the time being he just had to make sure she was comfortable enough in his company and set about helping her to relax and trust him.
‘So, we didn’t really get the chance to talk the other day,’ he began. ‘I guess we can make up for that this evening.’
‘Without our parents listening in,’ she agreed, still looking unsure of herself.
‘Absolutely! Are you really pleased to be back? I know people can feel a little lost after finishing education.’
‘Oh, I know what you mean,’ she agreed, responding well to his hint of compassion. ‘There are a lot of decisions to take and my dad’s talking of a job in his office, but…’
‘But you’re not sure about accepting an easy route via your parents.’
‘Yes, but–’
‘Ha! It’s OK,’ he said, reading her mind. ‘You can’t offend me. I love life on the ocean so joining the family business was an easy decision for me. But each to their own, if you want to follow your own path I’d say go for it.’
‘You’re right. The problem is I’m not completely sure about what I want to do, it’s just that…’
‘That you don’t want to be railroaded by your parents.’
‘I worry if I make the wrong decision I’ll be stuck there, or else I would have accepted by now. What do you think?’
‘No one should feel trapped. Do you have any idea what else you’d prefer?’
‘Only vaguely. I think I’d prefer something more expansive. More… adventurous, I guess. Like what you do – but I’m not sure my parents will be very supportive about that.’
Kurt loved that she had used the word ‘adventurous’, suggesting there was something inside her yearning to break free. The evening was getting better by the minute, as his earlier summations of her character were being proven sound (he had been guilty of imagining such things before).
‘Are they a little overprotective of you?’ he asked.