Thompson vs Thompson (closed for Gr8chtr)

Daniel returned to his office, quickly signed some routine paperwork, changed into the clothes he wore to bike to and from work, and got ready to leave for the day. He was startled when he heard his cellphone ring. Who was calling; maybe he'd return the call when he got home. He glanced at the the phone's screen. Terri?! She was calling him again, so soon? He answered immediately.

"Hi, Teri, " he tried to sound nonchalant as his heart rate soared.

Beth agrees with you. I am a nutcase. Now that we all agree, what next? Do you want to take on this mess, are you still interested in trying to be friends, or is this too much to deal with?

Daniel had a sudden realization. Teri was worried, yes, but the tone of her comment felt just a little less heavy. The talk with Beth must have helped.

"Counselor, " Daniel began lightly, "you are assuming facts not in evidence. When did I ever say that you were, or characterize you as, a 'nutcase'. Review the trial transcript; you won't find it." He paused, hoping that Teri would feel some of the lightness and confidence that he, himself, was beginning to feel. "Notwithstanding that, counselor, for the record I hereby stipulate that I have always had, and continue to have, a certain fondness for nutcases. So, there is nothing, counselor, in your flimsy argument that has in any way persuaded me that we should not be friends."
 
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Teri laughed. It had been such a crazy emotional couple of weeks between the Thompsons and her own insecurities. Hearing Walker put everything into legalese some how was perfect.

"Good, because, despite all the recent evidence, I would like to be friends with you also. I know this will be hard to prove, but I really am not usually so crazy emotional. I think the Thompson case just brought back a lot of baggage from my past and I imploded. Unfortunately, there is proof of said implosion," she laughed.

"Well, I will let you go. I just thought I would lighten up your day by changing emotional direction on you once more. Again, I am sorry for my behavior. When I start getting all weird, just point it out, but I will try to hold the weirdness down to a minimum."

After they exchanged good-byes, Teri hung up. She was feeling a little better about the mess she had made. Apparently, Walker wasn't going to run for the hills despite how ridiculous she had been acting. What she needed was a new case, but not a divorce case, to get her mind oriented on reality and away from whatever silliness her imagination had been creating lately. Either that or she needed a long vacation. Laughing at her thoughts, she headed up to her apartment She hadn't eaten anything since lunch and she was hungry. There was another "Thin Man" movie on tonight and a big bowl of popcorn had her name on it.

The next morning while she was getting dressed, Teri got a phone call from an old friend from law school.

"Teri, it is Justin. I need your help," his panicked words were difficult to understand.

"Justin, what is it? I need you to slow down so I can understand you. What is the problem?"

"Paula has disappeared! We came up to Old Creek, you know, that little resort north of Silver Lake? We came up here to renew our wedding vows, it's our ten year anniversary and we are staying at the resort. I just went out for coffee last night and when I came back, she was gone! All her things are still here, but she isn't. Can you come up here?"

"Of course I can come up there. I am just not sure what you think I can do?"

"The sheriff's department says it is too soon to start searching and that it looks like she walked out on her own. But, Teri, what woman would go out and leave her purse behind? All that is missing is her room key and the clothes she was wearing last night. I KNOW she didn't leave me, we were renewing our vows! Everything was perfectly fine when I stepped out. I wasn't gone more than twenty minutes. She wanted some of those little fruit tarts from that bakery, on the other side of town, rather than just getting coffee from room service. Please, Teri, just come!"

"All right, Justin, I will be up there as soon as I can, it is a couple of hours drive, but I will get there as soon as possible," she reassured her friend.

Teri tossed some clothes into a bag and called Beth to explain the situation. She didn't have any current cases so she would take it as vacation time. She hung up and tossed her bag in her car and headed up the mountain road. Old Creek was only about fifty miles away, but it was curvy mountain driving the entire way. By the time Teri reached the resort, she was tired and her arms were sore. She really needed to start doing more than just the occasional hike.

She walked through the lobby and noticed the upscale rustic look that was common in many mountain resorts: lots of wood, pictures of forest animals and trees and big windows that overlooked the forest and creek bed. She took the elevator up to the top floor and knocked at the door marked 315.

The door had just opened when an arm reached out and jerked her into the room. She let out a small cry of surprise as she caught her balance.

"What on earth, Justin?" Her friend's short brown hair was standing on end. He had obviously been dragging his fingers through it. His shirt, usually starched and ironed, was rumpled beyond repair. His blue eyes were blood-shot and had dark bags below them. Teri took this all in as she was being pulled into the room and pushed into a chair. Justin pulled another chair over so that they were sitting knee to knee.

"Thank goodness you came. I don't know what to do. I walked up and down the main street and went into every shop, but no one had seen Paula. The sheriff says he has to wait 48 hours, but most likely she walked out on her own. But she didn't, Teri, I know she didn't. She wouldn't just walk away. You know Paula. If she was upset she would tell me to my face, and then storm out. She wouldn't just go without saying anything. You know she isn't the type to quietly go anywhere. What am I going to do?"

"I don't know, Justin. This doesn't sound like Paula, to sneak out on you. Let me think a minute."

Teri glanced around the room. A woman's purse was sitting on a side table with a pair of sunglasses next to it. Two cups of coffee and a bag labeled 'Old Creek Bakery sat on a counter in the small kitchenette. Teri got up and took the food to the little kitchen area. She put the bag of pastries into the small microwave and heated them up, then reheated the coffee. She took everything over to where Justin was sitting, his head in his hands. "Here, eat this. You need some sugar in you. I bet you haven't eaten since yesterday." Teri sat down and ate the slightly dry tart and sipped at the day old coffee. She watched as Justin hesitated before taking a bite. Then he wolfed down two of the tarts and his coffee.

"Thanks, I didn't realize how hungry I was. I have been trying to do anything I could think of to find Paula."

"Okay, let me see if I can think of something you haven't. You said you searched the town to see if anyone had seen Paula. Did you check the lot to see if your car is there? Do you have the car keys? Did Paula have her own set of keys?"

Justin got a strange look on his face. Jumped up and grabbed his car keys and ran out of the room. A few minutes later he was back. "The car is still there. Is that good or bad?"

"I don't know," replied Teri. She was starting to get a bad feeling about this. But she didn't have the slightest idea what to do next. "Look Justin, I don't know what happened. I don't know where to start. Let me call someone I know, see if he can come up here. Maybe he will be able to think of something we haven't. Okay?"

At his nod, Teri took out her phone. "Hello, Walker, I am in Old Creek off of highway 45, a friend has a problem, someone is missing. I don't know what to do, I don't know if you will know what to do, but can you come up here? I know it is a long drive but, something isn't right up here and I need help. Will you come?"
 
Daniel was enjoying a beautiful Friday morning, having finished his traditional morning oatmeal, he was ready to bike to the office. Going to the office daily was, after all, expected, but in a town the size of Silver Lake it was not uncommon for a law firm the size of C & W's to have very little to do at any given moment. Daniel had spent a pleasant half hour a few days ago meeting with an elderly couple who wanted to revise their will. The actual work would take about an hour, tops; that was all that he had to do for the day. In truth, he could just as well have done that on his laptop at home and forwarded to the office for printing, but the small town culture required that people "work" at work. Sometimes, the biggest problem was how to fill the day.

Daniel checked his phone when it rang. Teri! Again?! "Oh, oh," Daniel thought, "she's had another crisis of confidence. Shit. Maybe she's decided to call it off altogether." He answered his phone as cheerily as he possibly could, "Good Morning, Teri. Nice to hear from you."

It took no more than 30 seconds for Teri to get out her message; it took not much more than half that time for Daniel to be nearly bowled over by surprise. The details that she offered were few and vague; apparently she had little more information than that. But what was clear was that Teri was in need, and had reached out to him for help. Daniel needed no more information than that. “Sure, Teri. I will leave here within five minutes and be there as soon as possible.”
 
It was a huge relief when Walker said he would come. She wasn't sure what he could do, all she knew was that she thought of him when she needed help. She was sort of surprised that he said he would leave right away. She hadn't expected it, wasn't even sure if he would come. After all, they had just had some huge emotional roller coaster days. But she was grateful he said he would come.

She had been watching Jason pacing, fingers running through his hair, until she was ready to scream. There had to be something more she could do, something more they could do, but she didn't know that that "thing" was.

She found some paper in a drawer and began to make a timeline of what they knew and what they had done.

Thursday: 7:00 p.m. Justin goes to bakery takes 20 mins.
7:20 p.m. Justin returns, Paula gone. Only thing missing is room key.
8:00 p.m. Justin calls sheriff to report Paula missing after waiting for her
to return.
8:20 p.m. Sheriff arrives, questions Justin
8:45 p.m. Sheriff leaves, says must wait 48 hours and that Paula
probably left of own free will
8:45 p.m. Justin left in room on his own all night, no idea where Paula is

Friday: 8:00 a.m. Justin goes to local businesses to see if anyone has seen
Paula, all responses are negative
9:00 a.m. Justin calls Teri for help
11:00 a.m. Teri arrives, talks to Justin
11:30 a.m. Teri suggests checking to see if car is here, it is.
11:40 a.m. Teri calls Walker who says he will leave right away

Once Teri had the schedule written, she felt as if there was something she was missing. Some idea of where to look, but she just couldn't figure out what was on the tip of her tongue. She hoped Walker would be able to come up with something. At a quarter to one, Teri ordered room service for both of them. Walker wouldn't be there for a while yet, and Justin and she needed to eat. She ordered simple hamburgers and fries, then spent ten minutes nagging Justin until he finally ate part of the food. Afterwards, she suggested that they go down to the lobby and pool area and ask the visitors staying at the resort if they had seen Paula. By two, they were back in the room waiting for Walker with still no signs of anyone having seen Paula. Teri was beginning to worry about some sort of foul play.
 
In the long drive up the winding roads to the Old Creek resort lots of thoughts ran through Daniel’s mind. He knew so little about the “case” that he couldn’t spend much time thinking about that. Instead, he thought about the fact that Teri had called him. Given how close she was to her law partner, she could have called Beth; it was likely, Daniel thought, that Beth would have taken the day off to help her friend. More importantly Teri would probably have thought that also, but, still, she called him. “Perhaps,” Daniel mused as he drove along, “Teri is beginning to think of me as her ‘friend’, and, who knows, maybe even something more?” Daniel also did some soul searching. Did he only care about whether Teri was attracted to him and using this opportunity to push their relationship forward? Yes, he admitted to himself, that was there, but no, there was genuine caring here. He really cared about how Teri was feeling and wanted to support her, irrespective of its effect on their budding relationship.

Daniel called ahead when he was just ten minutes from Oak Creek. Teri met him in the lobby. Even from across the large, luxurious room it was clear how upset she was. Indeed, for the first time in his knowing of her, Teri looked as though she was about to cry. Daniel’s first impulse was to rush across the lobby and take her up in his arms. Had her previous hug and his impulsive kiss not resulted in one of Teri’s emotional crises, he would almost certainly have done so, but Daniel held himself in check, instead walking quickly to her side, touching her gently on the elbow and saying, “I came as quickly as I could.”

Teri pulled Daniel to the lobby café where she had already ordered him a cup of coffee to match her own. She wanted to discuss the evidence and her timeline with him outside of Justin’s hearing, so as to not upset the poor man further. Daniel listened attentively to Teri’s description of events and studied her written notes carefully. “Well, Teri, unfortunately, I’m sure that it’s true even here in this very small resort town, like it is everywhere, that the cops won’t start anything like a formal investigation for 48 hours. They may have not even taken a written report.” Daniel paused. He didn’t want to seem to support the nonchalance of the police force, but if he and Teri were going to be helpful and use any of what they knew as lawyers, they had to be objective about this and remain as reasonably calm as possible. Daniel continued, “It seems to me that there are only a few general possibilities here. One, Paula really did walk out on her husband. I know that you think that’s almost impossible and it would be a horrible thing, but it’s a possibility that has to be considered. Two, a medical event of some sort, a grim possibility to be sure. Three, an accident of some sort; she wasn’t driving so who knows what kind of accident that would be. And, four, Paula was a victim of a crime, another really grim event.”

Daniel paused to take a sip of his coffee. He could see that Teri was trying to calm down and that she was following his more dispassionate analysis intently. He continued, “So, if, for the moment, we assume that Paula did not walk out on Justin, that leaves an accident, a medical event, or a crime as the possibilities. Beyond what you and Justin have already done we don’t have the resources to find out if there was an accident, much less investigate a possible crime. Same deal for a medical event, assuming that she is lying somewhere unconscious or already…” Daniel didn’t want to finish that sentence. He knew that Teri understood the implied ending. Suddenly, Daniel had an insight. “Wait, Teri, if Paula was injured in some way or had, oh, I don’t know, a heart attack or something, she might have been admitted to whatever is the nearest emergency room. Up here, there is surely only one such place. Did the cops check the regional hospital?”

In response to Daniel’s question, Teri shrugged. Daniel grabbed the server who was just walking by, and asked her for information on the nearest hospital. It took Daniel less than a minute to find the number, ask Teri for Paula’s last name, and make the call. Astonishingly, he not only got a room number but was patched through to Paula’s bedside phone. After introducing himself as Teri’s friend, Paula briefly explained to him that apparently what had happened was that she went out for a quick walk, fell, hit her head rather hard, and became unconscious as the result of a concussion. Passersby had called 911 and she was taken to the ER. Upon regaining consciousness, she had suffered what the doctors called “temporary retrograde amnesia”, and was unable, until this morning, to remember where she was, where she and Justin were staying, or Justin’s cellphone number. Her memory was rapidly returning, and the doctors were indicating that she might be released as early as this evening, or certainly, by tomorrow morning.

Paula’s story had spilled out so quickly that Daniel had had no time to explain to Teri, who sat there nearly going crazy for news. With a smile on his face, Daniel handed his phone to Teri, “Your friend, Paula, is eager to talk to you.”
 
"Thank you so much for coming," Teri greeted Walker. "There is something I know we should be doing, but I am so upset that I can't think straight."

When Walker mentioned hospitals, Teri smacked her forehead. "That is it. Duh, why didn't I think of that earlier?" Walker called the hospital and in no time at all Teri was talking to Paula and getting filled in on what had happened. "Paula, I am going to go upstairs and tell Justin, he has been frantic with worry. We'll be over the hospital as quickly as possible."

"I feel bad," Teri said. "If I had thought of that possibility, I could have saved you a lot of time and effort. But I truly appreciate you coming all this way. Do you want to go to the hospital or are you in a hurry to head back home?"
 
Do you want to go to the hospital or are you in a hurry to head back home?

Daniel was quietly pleased that he had so easily helped Teri. He had remained calm and used some of his skills and talents to help her and her friends out. He was even more pleased that Teri was inviting him to accompany her to the hospital. Including him with her was, to a small degree, pulling him into her life.

The visit to Paula's hospital room was, of course, very emotional, although entirely upbeat. Justin had chosen to drive by himself so that he could stay for as long as possible. Teri and Daniel thoughtfully gave the married couple some private time on their own, waiting to be invited in. Paula was recovering rapidly. The ER doc was scheduled to release her in a few hours, and had told Paula that he saw no reason why they could not go ahead with their celebration plans, which were low-key anyway.

Everyone thanked Daniel for his assistance. He demurred as much as he could, saying that sometimes someone who is not as close to the situation can be helpful. Watchin Teri and listening to her comments, he thought that he saw from her some pride in him, but this might just have been wish fulfillment. Daniel also noticed, this more clearly, that he and Teri were standing quite close to each other as the four of them chatted away. He and Teri weren't touching, but they were standing much closer than a man and woman who were not in a relationship with one another ordinarily would. They both seemed to be quite comfortable with this arrangement.

After Paula had gone several times over all of the details that she knew, and Justin and Teri had similarly told their stories, Paula paused and motioned Justin to come close so that she could whisper something to him. Smiles crossed both of their faces. Justin spoke, "Paula and I decided to do this renewal of vows in a very low-keyed and private way. We didn't invite our parents or friends; we left our two kids with my mom and dad, but we just told them that we were having a week's get-away at a resort. We found one of those internet-ordained ministers up here who does weddings, and she agreed to offiiciate at a 10-minute service in the Old Creek chapel on Sunday morning, day after tomorrow. After getting the clean report from the doctor, we've decided to go ahead with the ceremony."

Paula, now smiling broadly, took up where Justin left off. "Right. We didn't want to make a big deal out of this, just something for us as a couple. But, now that you're both here, we'd like you to join us for the ceremony and help us celebrate this weekend. After all, you both sort of made this possible."

Justin took over, "Yeah. And, before Paula disappeared..." They all laughed at that characterization. "OK, ok, before Paula had her accident I happened to have a chat with the desk clerk who told me that, atypically, they are not sold out this weekend. So, I'm sure it wouldn't be hard for you to get a room. So, Teri and Daniel, what do you say?"

"Oops," Daniel thought, "Justin and Paula have the wrong idea about us." Daniel seldom blushed, but he could feel his face warming up. Glancing at Teri he could see the pink rising from the V in her blouse in that way that only women blush. Daniel's wicked sense of humor flashed a thought through is mind. He was so tempted to turn to Teri and say, "Well, honey, what do you think?" Fortunately, his rational side prevailed. "Uh, Justin, that's an incredibly generous and thoughtful invitation. Let me give you and Paula another few moments alone while Teri and I consult our calendars." Daniel suppressed the impulse to touch Teri in a public display of affection, choosing instead to walk out of the hospital room with Teri following.

Once in the hall Daniel tried to continue his calm support of Teri. Knowing her as he now did, he suspected that Justin's invitation, based obviously on the assumption that they were a romantic couple, was probably on the verge of pushing Teri into another crises, if it had not already done so. He tried to speak matter-of-factly. "Teri, this is your call completely. Obviously, were we to accept Justin and Paula's invitation, we would need two rooms, not one. But the main issue is what you want. If you don't want to stay at all, fine, no problem. You can claim a scheduling conflict. If you'd rather stay here with your friends by yourself, also no problem. I will not be offended at all. Same deal, I can claim a conflict. Or, if you would like to stay and have me as a part of the group, I can do that." Daniel stopped, then continued quickly before Teri could respond, "And, I'd very much enjoy that."
 
Teri was pleased to see that Paula looked fine after her ordeal. She had the fleeting, yet amusing, thought that Justin looked more worn out than she did. The man needed sleep. She had already planned to stay for the renewal ceremony assuming she could wrangle an invitation. She was pleased when the newly reunited couple asked Daniel to attend also. She wasn't sure if he would, but she appreciated her friends asking him.

There was a moment of embarrassment and awkwardness when Justin mentioned a hotel room, and Teri could feel her face turning red. She glanced at Walker and was surprised to see the tinge of pink on his cheeks. She was waiting for him to make some kind of lewd comment or find someway to embarrass her, when he did nothing more than suggest that they step out and check their schedules. Teri already knew she had nothing going on and had taken a few days vacation assuming that it would take longer to find Paula. It never occurred to her that it could be resolved within a couple of hours.

She was still thinking about how lucky Paula and Justin were and how this could have turned out to be something much worse, when Walker ushered her from the hospital room. As they faced each other in the corridor, it occured to her that Walker was being very careful not to touch her and that his words were being spoken slowly and carefully. It made her feel sad that she had done that to them, made him wary and untrusting of her actions. She missed the comfortable ease they had had on Sunday before she freaked out.

"I already called to reserve a room for myself, I didn't realize that we would find Paula so quickly. I still can't believe that I didn't think to call the hospital first. I am sorry you had to drive all this way, but I appreciate that you did this for me. If you want to stay, let's call the hotel and see if there is a room available for you. I think Justin and Paula would love to have you at their ceremony."

One a reservation had been confirmed, the two returned to the room and let the Andersons know that they were staying and were able to get rooms. "We will let you two try to get some rest before they release Paula. Justin, if you will give me your room key, I will get my things and get settled into my room. I will leave the key on the table for you." Teri took the key and kissed the couple on their cheeks. "We will see you later, or if it is better, then maybe tomorrow? Just give me a call when you are ready for company. I am so glad you are both okay."

Walker added his good-byes and the two walked to the parking lot. Teri realized she was exhausted. Between the two hour drive and the emotional morning, she was ready for a long nap. As the two headed back to the hotel, Teri wondered what she should say. If she said she needed some alone time after he had driven all this way, would he feel hurt? Or, did he need some time to get settled and want some alone time also and if she didn't say she needed time, would he feel as if she was clinging. With a small sigh, she realized she was doing it again, getting all into her head. She sat up straighter and took a deep breath.

"Wow, what a crazy morning. Thank you for coming, I am so grateful that you came as quickly as you did. Justin was a complete emotional wreck and he was pulling me into the quagmire so that I couldn't think straight. Just seeing you made me feel much calmer. I am so glad everything turned out okay. I just kept imagining the worst scenarios and that wasn't helping anyone. I couldn't call Beth, she is in the middle of a big case and had to be in a mediation today, although, I know she would have dropped everything and come. But, honestly, I knew I needed your calmness to get me calmed down so I didn't freak out like I did the other day."

She turned to look at his strong profile. "I know it will be hard to believe, but I don't really freak out all that often." She laughed, "You seem to bring that part of me out in a big way."

They pulled up to the hotel and Walker grabbed a small bag from the back of his car. They stopped at the desk and checked into their separate rooms and Walker stayed with Teri while she went to the Andersons' suite. She took a few moments to straighten the place up so that Paula wouldn't walk back into the hurricane ravaged room, then leaving the key on the table, she grabbed her bag.

She glanced down at her key holder. "I am in room 208," she said, "what about you?"
 
As they drove from the hospital to the resort Daniel listened only half-heartedly as he turned over Teri’s earlier statements, as well as her current ones, and tried to figure out how to interpret them.

… I appreciate that you did this for me. Well, score one “hero” point. Nice, but “appreciate” sounds so business-like, not very warm.

If you want to stay…I think Justin and Paula would love to have you at their ceremony. Good, Teri apparently didn’t freak out at the idea of them having a weekend together, but “Justin and Paula would love to have you…”. What about any suggestion that Teri would like to have me here? Another sort of luke-warm comment.

Thank you for coming, I am so grateful that you came as quickly as you did. Well, that was a little warmer, although “grateful” isn’t very affectionate.

But, honestly, I knew I needed your calmness to get me calmed down so I didn't freak out like I did the other day. Hmm…let’s see, did she emphasize “your”? Still, this is pretty nice!

“Stop it!”, Daniel screamed at himself so loudly in his own head that he nearly swerved the car. “You’re getting as bad as Teri. Calm down. You’re doing fine, and it looks like Teri is as well.” Daniel worked on some deep breathing as he listened to Teri’s continuing comments.

I know it will be hard to believe, but I don't really freak out all that often. Teri laughed. You seem to bring that part of me out in a big way.

What Daniel noticed most about this last comment was that Teri laughed, and that she had made, in a small way, a quip that was related to their relationship. Teri had previously made some humorous, self-deprecating remarks, but any comment that touched on their relationship generally sent Teri into a spin. She seemed to be becoming just a little more confident and comfortable with him. Given his quick diagnosis, Daniel decided to risk a small tease. He tapped Teri’s left leg with his fingers gently a few times as he laughed and spoke, “Be careful, Teri, remember I said that I have a certain fondness for nutcases.”

Daniel was in a light mood as he and Teri checked in and went to the Anderson’s suite to straighten up, leave the key and lock their door. Standing in the hall, Teri asked, “I am in room 208, what about you?” Feigning innocence Daniel looked at his key, “Oh, I’m in 211; we must be diagonally across the hall from each other.” What Daniel didn’t say was that when he had checked in at the desk after Teri had done so, the clerk offered him room 210, which had a connecting door to 208, although one that could be locked from both sides. Notwithstanding his perception that Teri was becoming more comfortable in her relationship with him, he could only just imagine the crisis that having potentially connecting rooms might set off in her. “Maybe something not quite that close,” he had said softly to the clerk.

As they approached their rooms Daniel realized that he was feeling a little tired. Although the emotional strain of Paula’s accident had fallen much more on Teri than on him, he still felt a little drained. He was also hungry and presumed that she must be also. Turning to Teri at the door to her room, Daniel risked a small touch to her elbow. “You must be beat, Teri. And, I’m feeling a little tired myself. How about we rest for an hour and then go down to that café were you got us coffee earlier and have a light lunch. I don’t know if Paula and Justin will want to have dinner together with us. If so, OK. If not, you and I could just have dinner ourselves. If we eat dinner at 6:30 or 7:00, we would still have time to stroll around this beautiful resort for a couple of hours before dinner.”

Saying goodbye calmly to Teri, Daniel entered his room. Turning the TV to a movie channel, he decided to just rest on top of his bed. He was a little hot, though, so he changed into his standard attire for sleeping: a pair of men’s traditional running shorts, not those silly NBA-style half-pants, and a blue T-shirt. No need to set an alarm, he didn’t intend to fall asleep. In five minutes Daniel was sleeping like a baby, dozing off with the pleasant, relaxing thought that he and Teri were slowly becoming a couple.
 
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Teri was glad that Walker decided to head for his room. She felt as if it was after midnight instead of mid-afternoon. She entered her room, not as spacious as the suite the Andersons were using, but it had what she needed: a bathroom and a bed. She washed her face, pulled back the bedding, dropped her clothing in a pile and was asleep in seconds.

She woke with a start, sat up, looked around not remembering where she was at first. When she recalled the day, she fell back against the pillows. A glance at the clock told her that she had slept far longer than she expected. She checked her phone and the only message she had was from Justin saying they were back at the hotel and staying in for the night. There was no message from Walker, so she assumed he had slept like she did.

She vaguely remembered him saying something about dinner around 7:30 and since her clock said 7:00 she leapt from the bed and headed for the shower. A half hour later she was clean, dressed in slacks and a comfortable top, and wondering if she should call him or not.

At 7:30 exactly, there was a knock at the door and she opened it to find that Walker had also showered and changed clothes. There was no denying he cleaned up well. She greeted him and they walked down the hallway. "What did you have in mind, the restaurant downstairs or somewhere else? Justin and Paula are staying in for the night, I suspect Paula is still in some pain. I don't know this area at all, but someone at the desk could point us towards food, I am sure. Wasn't this a crazy day?"
 
Daniel awoke from his sound sleep at 6:45. He couldn’t believe that he had slept that long. What did Teri think? Had she tried to call him or knocked on his door? Did she think that he had forgotten the plan about meeting in an hour? Daniel calmed his fears and did the obvious. He checked his cell, he checked the hotel room message light, nothing. Teri had not tried to contact him. What was going on? Then, the most obvious struck him; she, too, had fallen asleep, or she assumed that he had and was allowing him to rest. He called her cell; no answer, he didn’t leave a message. Daniel shaved and showered quickly, and changed into the only other clothes that he had brought – a short-sleeve cotton shirt and a pair of Lands End cotton twill pants.

It was precisely 7:30 when Daniel knocked on Teri’s door. When she opened her door dressed in slacks and a loose-fitting top, which nonetheless nicely outlined her breasts, he was struck once again by how beautiful she was. Daniel had reconciled himself some time ago to the fact that he was attracted to her physically, not purely physically by a long shot, but that physical attraction was a large part of his reactions to her. Seeing here there in her casual dress reminded him of his realization.

He and Teri walked down the hall amiably recounting how they had both unexpectedly fell asleep for several hours. “Sleep is one of my most favorite activities,” Daniel joked. Teri replied with a similar sentiment. They both had a good laugh at that. Daniel stifled the impulse to say something to the effect that, given their mutual liking of sleep, sleeping together might be one of their favorite shared activities, but he couldn’t, somehow, help but make a small provocative comment, “Yeah, even sleeping alone is pretty darn good, if not always ideal.”

Teri’s suggestion of checking with the desk clerk about dining options appealed to Daniel. Teri rested for a moment in one on one of the couches in the lobby while Daniel stood in line to speak with the desk person. Not surprisingly, the desk clerk emphasized how absolutely wonderful their on-site restaurant was. She truthfully told him that there were few places to eat in the small town that hosted the resort, a pizza shop, a Subway, and a dinner frequented by blue-haired old ladies and their pot-belly husbands was about it. There was an exception. About two miles away and up close to the top of the mountain was a small, very nice French restaurant, good French-style cuisine, good wine, fantastic desserts. “Out here, formal dress is not required”, the clerk had said, “but, it’s kind of pricey, though.”

While standing in line for the desk in Oak Creek’s luxurious lobby, Daniel reflected on his financial status. When he had registered for the room the clerk had told him that the nightly rate during the tourist season was $220 plus state and local taxes, pretty expensive. Sure, his income in Silver Lake was much, much less than his income had been when working for a big law firm in central-city Philly, but his expenses, particularly housing, were much, much less also. In fact, Daniel realized, he had quite a bit of disposable income. He could afford two nights at $220 each without breaking much sweat. He assumed that Teri was in a similar situation, given her obviously very frugal lifestyle. All of that meant that they could afford the “pricey” French restaurant.

Teri had more or less given him the choice of picking a place for dinner. Dinner at the small French restaurant would be more like a “dinner date”, Daniel realized, than would simply walking across the lobby to the in-house restaurant. Teri might well perceive this difference also. Better leave the decision up to her. Daniel walked across the lobby to where Teri now stood. He decided to take another small risk. Laying his hand gently on the small of Teri’s back he relayed to her what he had learned from the desk clerk. “We don’t know whether Paula and Justin will want us to join them tomorrow for dinner, and, if they do, we don’t know what their preferences might be. So, I think that either choice is OK on that score. So, Teri, what shall it be, dinner here or up the mountain?"
 
Teri thought about the choices Walker had presented: here or the French restaurant. "Why don't we eat here tonight and take Justin and Paula to a celebratory dinner at the French place tomorrow?" Teri mentally reviewed her cash-on-hand and her credit card limits. She should be able to cover meals, plus find a dress for tomorrow's ceremony. She wanted to pay for the dinner tomorrow night.

"Hang on a minute, I want to make a reservation at the French place tomorrow for us." She quickly located the restaurant's phone number on her I-phone and made the reservation for four. While she was doing that, she noticed that the place had on online menu with prices. Quickly scanning that, she had an idea of how much dinner would cost with drinks for four. This would be fun.

"Okay, all set. Shall we go test out the fine cuisine that is available in this fancy resort?" she grinned.

They were quickly seated, the place mostly empty at this hour, and after some hemming and hawing of their choices finally gave their order to the patient server. Teri chatted with the server while Walker finished choosing. In those few minutes she learned that Dylan was a college student working here part time to pay for his books and extras. He was an engineering major and his scholarship covered his tuition and housing. He loved working the resort in the winter when the skiers were in town and the tips were large. When he wasn't in school, studying or working he hiked the mountain trails and skied the black diamond slopes.

Once they had given their orders, Teri sat back and enjoyed the view out the large picture windows of the sun setting through the trees. She could see the creek that ran through the property, which as far as she was concerned was large for the name 'creek'. Birds were flitting through the tree branches and she thought she saw a deer moving in the shadows, but it wasn't really clear and so she didn't say anything. For all she knew it could have been a person or even the wind moving branches around.

"Tomorrow I have to hunt around for something appropriate to wear. Even though Paula said it would be casual, I brought clothes for searching the woods for a missing person. Nothing I have would work for even the most casual wedding ceremonies. If I can't find something in the boutique here at the resort, I will have to see what the town has to offer."

They talked about the weather, the view out the windows, the pretty sunset, and how small the town was. It was a relaxed time and Teri couldn't help but recognize that talking to Walker was as comfortable as talking to Beth. She also couldn't help noticing how handsome he was and thinking about how she had panicked and then called him. She would not have said she planned to call him, it was just a reaction to her panic and a sense of urgency to find Paula. Still she had to admit to her self, she somehow knew, instinctively, that she would be able to depend on him to help her. That realization filled her with a warmth that felt good and a little scary at the same time.
 
Dinner with Teri at the resort was, Daniel thought, just plain lovely. He and Teri seemed so comfortable with each other, moreso than at any other time. To be sure he was continually aware that he was at dinner with a beautiful woman, and one who, at the least, was his "friend", and, probably, or, perhaps, hopefully from his point of view, was at least open to something more. But, notwithstanding his attraction to Teri there seemed to be little "sexual tension" that might preclude the two of them having a relaxed evening that deepened the connections between them.

Teri's comments about her need to find something fancier to wear brought up delightful images of Teri dressed in stylish party clothes. Daniel had seen her in the power outfit that she wore to court, in the jeans and hiking clothes that she had worn on their hike, and today in her very casual slacks and top, but he had never seen her in a dress or something that one would wear to a wedding. As attractive as she always looked to him, Daniel suspected that Teri's looks, her great figure, and the way she carried herself would create a stunning appearance in better dress. That thought made him wonder if he should try to find better clothes. It seemed nearly hopeless, though. The in-house boutique that Teri referred to wouldn't carry men's suits, let alone tailor one in 24 hours. He decided to just accept his fate and not worry about it.

While waiting for their dessert to arrive and looking at their two wine glasses, now empty after their second drinks with dinner, Daniel realized that he needed to express some gratitude to Teri and also offer her an explanation. "Teri, I want to thank you for trusting me when we ordered our wine. I realize that after that stupid call that I made to you a couple of weeks ago, you probably thought that I was a heavy drinker or even an alcoholic. Yet, you said nothing tonight even when I suggested a second glass of wine. You trusted me; that means a lot to me. By way of explanation, though, I want to tell you that when I called you that night, I had drank more than than I have ever done since one really bad drinking night in college. I frequently have a beer or a glass of wine with dinner, but I'm not the heavy drinker that you might have imagined. I look forward to celebrating with Justin and Paula, but I won't do anything that would embarrass either of us in front of your friends."

By the time Daniel and Terry had finished their relaxed dinner it was nearly 10:00 p.m. As they walked the stairs and the long hall back to their rooms, Daniel once again took a small risk, laying his hand firmly on the small of Teri's back as they walked. Stopping at Teri's door, they turned to face each other to say "Goodnight". Daniel realized that if this evening were a traditional first or second date, or, for that matter, if the aftermath of their first kiss hadn't gone so badly, he would unquestionably give Teri at least a solid goodnight kiss. The urge to do so even now was nearly irresistible, but Daniel's fears, or perhaps his good sense, won out over his desire. Smiling warmly he said, "This was a lovely, relaxing dinner", as he turned to open the door to his own room.
 
Given Walker's words about his drinking patterns, Teri was once again left to rethink her first impressions of him. She was relieved to know that getting drunk and making phone calls wasn't a typical thing for him. She considered asking him what had made him get so drunk, but figured it wasn't her business if he wanted to share he would.

As they walked back to their rooms, Teri started to get panicked. Would he kiss her, ask her to sleep with him, start talking about a relationship again? When he touched her back, she was surprised to find that it gave her something to focus on and took her out of her head. His hand felt large and even through her top it was warm and supportive. This she would expect, but the sense of rightness was the surprise.

At their doors, she was given another surprise, Walker just said goodnight and went to his door. "Good night, and thanks again for rescuing us," she said with her hand on her doorknob. "I enjoyed dinner, sleep well." She was sure if she was relieved or miffed.

Once inside her room, Teri changed into a long t-shirt. What a long day it had been, from Justin's cry for help in the morning, finding Paula, and dinner with Walker. It had been a roller coaster of a day and even though she had taken a nap, she was tired. She snuggled down into the cold sheets, waiting for her body to warm them, and thought of how happy Justin and Paula were together. Imagine being with the same person for ten years and renewing your vows. What did that kind of relationship feel like? What would it be like to share your living space with someone that closely? To be emotionally vulnerable? She could almost picture Walker standing in front of the bathroom sink, towel slung low on his hips, shaving. Or, maybe, the way he would look sleeping, his face softened. Teri rolled onto her side and fluffed her pillow. What on earth was she doing? It must be the emotions of the day. "I don't do relationships," Teri reminded herself. Still it was hard to get the thoughts to stop and, despite her exhaustion, it took her awhile to fall asleep.

Strange dreams caused her to wake with a start. She lay in the bed, with her eyes closed, feeling her heart racing. The dreams had been so disjointed and confusing. Paula running through the woods being chased; Justin and Paula saying vows at their wedding which Teri had attended; Paula suddenly disappearing and Justin crying; Walker chasing Paula; Walker chasing Teri; Walker standing in front of the courthouse telling Teri that he wasn't going to quit chasing her. It was all small flashes of dreams, that together made no sense. But when Teri broke them down she could see how her brain had taken reality and altered it in a way that made sense for a dream. Figuring out how her dreams were affected by reality took enough time that her body had calmed down. With a wry grin she wondered what had disturbed her more, the scenes with Paula or Walker's. She rolled back onto her side and slept again. This time her dreams were calmer, and when she woke, she felt rested and ready for the day.

As she got dressed, she went over her mental to-do list. First she wanted to check in with Justin and Paula, eat, find a dress, go to the ceremony, then dinner at the French restaurant. Oh, she laughed to herself, don't forget Walker.

Once she was ready to face the world, she glanced at the clock. It was late enough that she felt comfortable ringing the Andersons. Justin answered.

"Hi, it's Teri. How is Paula? How are you?"

"Hi Teri, we had a good night. After all the emotional swings yesterday, we both slept like logs. Paula, says hi. She wants to know what you have planned for the morning, since the ceremony isn't until four."

"I was thinking about hitting up the resorts breakfast bar and then doing a little shopping. Oh, I made reservations for dinner after the ceremony. I want to treat you two to a celebratory dinner."

"You don't have to do that. In fact, after yesterday, I should be buying your meals for a month! Paula and I can't tell you how grateful we are that you dropped everything and came running and then brought in Daniel. Speaking of him... he seems to be a nice guy. Anything you want to share with us?"

Teri laughed, "You don't owe me a thing. You would do the same for me. I want to buy dinner, it is my renewal gift. As for Walker, no, there isn't anything to share, at least not in the way you mean it. He is another lawyer and we come up against each other in court sometimes. He is a friend. That's all."

"Just friends? Teri he drove two hours just because you called."

"Yep, wasn't that a really wonderful thing for a friend to do?" she teased.

Justin laughed, "Point taken. It was a wonderful thing for a friend to do. Do you and Daniel want to join us for breakfast in a half hour?"

"Let me check with Walker. I will get back to you in a few minutes."

Teri hung up. She hoped Walker was awake. She would feel bad if she woke him after all he did. The phone rang a couple of times and she almost hung up, but she figured by now the ringing would have woken him and so it would be rude to hang up now. A couple of more rings later and she starting thinking he might have already left his room. He certainly wasn't beholden to her to share his plans for the day. She was just about to give up when he answered. He agreed to meet everyone downstairs for breakfast.

The resort breakfast bar was much larger than the typical hotel complimentary breakfast with a variety of pastries and fruit, this one also had a chef that made to order omelets. They found seats by the windows and watched a couple of children skipping stones into the creek. Teri was happily surprised at how easily conversation flowed between the two couples. She had a moment of panic when she realized that she had just linked herself and Walker as a couple in her mind. Did she really think that? Did she want that? Was that just because there were two sets of two people? She could feel her heart start to race. Then Justin told a joke and as everyone laughed, she calmed down. Don't make a big deal of this she told herself. It is four people eating breakfast together. Simple as that.

The line "That's my story and I'm sticking to it" came to mind.
 
Daniel closed the door to his room behind him and quickly moved through his bedtime routine, eventually changing back into his running shorts and T-shirt, and flopping into bed. He was pleasantly surprised to find that he was pretty relaxed, not his usual state after one of his previous "dates" with Teri. One thought did bother him a little though. Should he have risked kissing Teri? Did he somehow signal a disinterest in her other than as a platonic friend? He couldn't decide; after all, Teri had told him directly that for now what she wanted was "friendship", and maybe even that would be too much. He decided to stop second-guessing himself, "And," he told himself as he drifted off, "I'll have another opportunity tomorrow evening to decide whether to kiss her."

The morning light streaming through his window awoke Daniel at dawn. As he awoke he recalled a whole series of dreams that he had had during the night. Like many of his dreams the times and places were all confused. The dream started out with he and Teri in passionate love-making in his bedroom. Then, as dreams will, the room morphed into the bedroom of his childhood, a room that he hadn't been in in over 10 years. With Teri resting after their love-making Daniel, dressed in a bathrobe, shuffled out into the hall to see his mom standing at the bottom of the stairs, beaming. As he descended a few steps he could see, standing in the corner of his parents' living room where during his childhood it always had stood from mid-December to the first week of January, a tall, gaudily decorated Christmas tree surrounded by a multitude of wrapped gifts. Straightening up her apron his mom beckoned him, "Danny, Wake Teri up! Paula and Danny, Jr. are finished with their breakfasts and just can't wait to start opening their gifts."

"Holy shit!," Daniel exclaimed out loud as he recalled his dream, "you've lost your head entirely." Daniel threw on his running shoes, dashed out his door, and went for a vigorous half-hour run; he had to calm the anxiety that his dream had induced, and clear his head. Arriving back in his room he was just finishing his shower when Teri called. Standing in the buff as he answered his phone he chided himself from entertaining the fantasy that Teri might be similarly unattired on the other end.

Daniel met Teri in the hall outside of her room. Having decided to not give her a goodnight kiss he decided instantly that a "good morning" kiss would seem very odd, although, given his dream, it would have seemed perfectly natural to him. Remembering, though, that Teri had not backed away the previous night from having his hand pressed firmly on her back, he repeated his maneuver. It seemed to Daniel, maybe because of the aftereffects of his dream that, if anything, Teri leaned slightly into his hand as they walked. Daniel smiled slightly as he and Teri unobtrusively altered their positions as Paula and Justin came into sight.

Daniel thought nothing of sitting down with the Andersons until it struck him that the scene, looked at from the outside, would clearly appear to be two couples having breakfast. If this bothered Teri, she certainly didn't show it.

Breakfast conversation flowed easily and turned to how they should spend the day. The ceremony was set for 4:00 and would take no more than a half hour. Teri reiterated her offer of a "renewal gift" of dinner at the French restaurant, which the Andersons gracefully accepted. The whole party had a good laugh when Daniel turned to Teri and said, "So, does that mean you're paying for my dinner, too?" Teri also reiterated her desire to shop at the boutique for some better clothes. That seemed like a good venture for the two women to undertake; Justin and Daniel decided to play a quick round of miniature golf while the ladies shopped. That still left several unfilled hours before the time to get ready for the ceremony. "Hey," Justin exclaimed, "why don't we go for a swim in the pool? Paula and I have done that every day that we have been here; it's a great pool with lots of surrounding lounge chairs." Paula nodded in agreement, adding,"if you didn't bring swim gear I'm sure you could easily pick up some suits in the boutique." Daniel sensed that he should allow Teri to respond first, but his impulses got the best of him. "Sounds like a great idea. What do you say, Teri?"

Just a few days ago Daniel would have felt guilty about being thrilled at the thought of seeing Teri in a swimsuit. Now his reaction was different. He smiled inwardly. Why would he feel guilty about lusting after Paula and Danny, Jr.'s mom?
 
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Teri and Paula left the guys to their golf and headed for the resort's boutique. After looking around for a bit and seeing price tags, they decided to walk down to the local shops. The business area of the town was not large and seemed to cater to tourists. There was the usual small market, hardware store and video rental/liquor store, but next to them was a small cafe, an antiques shop, a small pharmacy with an old fashioned lunch counter/soda fountain, and a couple of clothing places.

They paused to look at the wares in the window and Teri spotted a dress that seemed perfect. It was a deep forest green with a halter top and flared skirt. It was just right for the summery weather and a guest of a wedding. They went in and found her size and added a pair of sandals with wedged heels. She found a cashmere shawl in a complimentary color and she was set. She also found a rich purple one piece halter top swimsuit. If she got any tan lines then they would match the dress she was buying. The total came to half the cost of the basic dresses in the resort's boutique.

Paula looked around but she had already brought her dress and shoes with her. She found a large brim hat that would be fun to wear at the pool. The two carried their bags back to the resort, where they entered Paula's room. During the trip the two had talked about the renewal service and caught each other up on things at their workplaces. They had laughed and Teri had had a good time. Once they were in Paula's room, however, the topic turned to Walker.

"So tell me more about Daniel." Paula urged.

"There isn't much to tell. Like I said before, we know each other because we are both lawyers in Silver Lake so we have come up against each other. We just finished a tough divorce case and he asked me to lunch. Lunch led to dinner and a hike in the woods. I don't really know him all that well, but, when it came time to call for help to find you, I knew Beth couldn't come and for some reason I knew he would. Justin was freaking out and that was causing me to freak out and I knew Walker would come figure something out and he did."

"Why do you call him Walker, his name is Daniel, you know?" Paula studied Teri's face as she asked the questioin.

"I don't know, he just seems more like a Walker than a Daniel," Teri shrugged. "It doesn't seem to bother him. I think I just got to thinking of him as an opponent for so long, Walker stuck in my head. I can't imagine calling him Daniel. It just doesn't fit in my mind."

"Are you two getting close? Is he relationship material?"

"He might be right for a relationship, but I am not," Teri laughed. "We are learning about each other. I had some misconceptions based on his being a male lawyer and an 'enemy' so to speak, and he is working on changing those ideas." Teri thought a bit, "I guess you could say we are exploring the possibility of a friendship." She smiled sheepishly, "I haven't really figured it out myself."

"Well I would like to know what you figure out, because that man devours you with his eyes when he knows you aren't looking in his direction."

"Oh, come on, devours? Isn't that putting in on a little thick?"

"No, it isn't," insisted Paula, "in fact, it might not be strong enough."

Teri was flustered. She knew Walker had said he was interested, but devour felt like a description that was a little too intense, too much like a relationship word. Surely, Paula was exaggerating. She had to be. They didn't know each other well enough to be that serious. Shrugging it off, she told Paula she was going to go down to her room and would meet her at the pool.

While changing into her new suit, Teri pondered Paula's words. How did they make her feel? Was she pleased? Scared? Freaked out? Or, some other emotion? She had a sudden image of Walker walking away from her, head down, obviously devastated and that image hurt. She didn't want to hurt him, but she had made it abundantly clear that she didn't want a relationship. He had said he was willing to be friends. Should she back away? Was it possible to hurt Walker? Was it possible she could get hurt? No, Walker was one of those emotionally invincible guys. He seemed to be the 'laid back take things as they go, whatever happens is fine' type. True, he did have that hissy fit in the conference room, but she never did really understand that. It was highly unusual for him. She had never heard anyone talk about temper tantrums from him. And, let's face it, the legal world was gossip central. She would just go along with things and see what happened. Hopefully, he would become a friend like Justin and no one would get hurt. Hopefully.

On that thought, she threw one of the huge pool towels provided by the resort around her hips and lacking appropriate shoes, walked barefoot down to the pool area. Although it was nearing noon, there were only a few people around sitting in chairs or lying on lounges. She easily spotted her group and went to join them. The guys were wearing swimming shorts that were cut more like hiking shorts than the board shorts or speedos that so many guys wore. Teri was grateful that they weren't wearing speedos. She wasn't sure how a man could wear them without being embarrassed, they certainly embarrassed her to look at them. She didn't like women's thongs either. She wasn't a prude, per se, she didn't care if people wore them, she just didn't want to see them.

Although she looked over the group, she found her eyes lingering on Walker. He was built like an athlete and she could see the muscles that biking and hiking had developed. He was a strikingly good looking man. When she realized that Paula was nodding in a superior looking way, Teri immediately looked out over the pool.
There were only a few people in the pool which was Olympic size and she couldn't want to jump in and do some laps. She liked to swim but she hadn't had a chance in quite a while.

"Are you guys going to sit under that umbrella all day or are you going to get wet?" she grinned at the three. "Oh, how was the golf game?"
 
Daniel enjoyed playing miniature golf with Justin. In addition to discovering that Justin was truly a nice guy, it was a relief to concentrate on something other than thinking about Teri all of the time. Not that he forgot about her altogether, no, but the outing with Justin was just plain fun.

Well, almost. As they were ending their game Justin broached the subject of him and Teri. "So, Daniel, Teri tells Paula and me that you and she are just sort of casual friends, right?"

"Uh, yeah, that's about it," Jason replied, echoing the company line that he was pretty sure that Teri was giving out.

Justin laughed heartily, "You know, Daniel, for a lawyer you're not a very good liar. Paula and I compared notes last night as we rested up from her ordeal. We both agreed that the way you look at Teri when she's not looking is sure as hell not the look of somebody who wants to be buddies with her."

Daniel could feel himself blushing for the second time in Justin's company. "Well, Ok. Teri and I are attorneys in this small town. Our paths cross most often in court where we are frequently on opposite sides of a case. I'll tell you, she one hell of a good lawyer. I began to become attracted to her. I asked her, and she accepted, an informal lunch date. We also went on a two-hour hike together. " Daniel decided that it wasn't his place to talk about their fateful hug and kiss, and Teri's freaking out. If Teri wanted the Anderson's to know about that, that was her call. "But," Daniel continued, "Teri made it clear that she is interested only in friendship and maybe not even that. So, we may become friends. I think that she called me in desperation yesterday because she knew that her law partner, Beth, was too busy to come up here."

Justin started to laugh so hard that he had to stop playing the final hole of the miniature golf game. When he calmed himself down enough to speak, though haltingly through his ongoing laughter, "Daniel, I've only just met you, so excuse me for this observation, but for someone with a law degree from a prestigious law school, you're the most fucking naive guy that I've ever met." Justin calmed down and got more serious, "I've known Teri since we were both in law school. I'm sure that you know that she's relationship-phobic, but she's not cut out to be a life-long, so-called old-maid, and, by the way, she's not gay either. Teri tends to give an exceptionally cold shoulder to any man who does much more than shake her hand. What Paula and I also observed is that she regards you warmly. We haven't seen that from Teri since, well...that's her story, but, trust me, the way she regards you is unusual. So, my advice to you, for what it's worth...". Justin stopped to correct himself through a small smile, "no, check that, Paula's and my advice to you is to, yes, don't hurt Teri, but don't back off either. Both of you are too good a match for each other to just let it go as being casual friends."

Daniel was speechless. He never expected something that strong or personal from this man that he had met only yesterday. “Thanks,” he stammered, “I’ll keep your advice in mind. I know that you and Paula are very fond of Teri. After a brief awkward silence, the two men returned to their light conversation, finished their game, and walked back to their rooms to change.

Unexpectedly, arriving at poolside before Teri did Daniel joined the Andersons in easy, casual conversation. Although he had anticipated his reaction to seeing Teri in a swimsuit, he was still taken aback by the strength of it. God, she was even hotter looking than he had ever realized. “Damn good thing I didn’t wear a pair of skimpy shorts,” Daniel thought to himself, “my professed platonic interest in Teri would be easily shown to be a lie.” When Teri asked about the golf game Justin and Daniel exchanged a furtive look that the women appeared to not notice. Daniel jumped to fill the silence, “Well, it was a lot of fun, except that Justin beat me handily. I’m used to being beat up by you in court, but I had hoped that your friend would pity me.” The laughter that swept through the group made Daniel feel as though he was truly among friends.

The only thing that Daniel didn’t like about Silver Lake was that there was almost no opportunity to swim. The town was too small for a swimming pool and none of the few nearby lakes had any public access. The closest public “beach” was over 20 miles away and the water was damn cold most of the time. Daniel had been there twice; it was just too far to become a habit.

Daniel had been a swimmer in high school and an intramural, non-varsity, club-sport swimmer in college. At UPENN Law he swam several days per week for his exercise and continued that pattern in a health club while he worked at the Philly law firm. He missed swimming badly. Pulling his long frame up to its full height, Daniel swept off his T-shirt, kicked off his shoes, and stood there, naked except for his swim shorts. “Well??...”, he teased. With that he dove into the pool, quickly aligning himself with the empty lane, and with powerful and graceful front strokes slid through the water showing the athletic swimmer that he was.
 
Teri had just a quick glance of skin before Walker was in the pool and swimming. She watched him for a moment. He was good. She smiled, but she was better. Her competitive side came out and she was in the pool moments behind Walker. At first she felt driven to swim hard to beat him, but after a couple of laps, she just swam for the pleasure. It felt wonderful to feel her muscles slowly stretching as she moved from one style to the next. She was so lost in the sheer joy of slicing through the water, she forgot about Walker, about her friends, about the stress of everything and just swam.

She had been swimming competitively since she was a small child. She had been close to or had the top time for her age groups from ages seven to sixteen for both the 200 and 400 Individual Medley. She even tried out for the Olympic trials for two different Olympics but had just missed the cut-off both times. The only time she hadn't swum competitively was during law school. Still, she had managed to get in swim time when she could. Since moving to Silver Lake she drove to the closest pool, a hour drive, a couple of times a month and, of course, swam at her parents house when she visited them. She wished the town of Silver Lake had a pool, but the upkeep and insurance costs for public areas were astronomical.

After her tenth lap, she paused clinging to the side of the pool, and called up to the Andersons. "Aren't you two coming in? The temperature is just right. The water feels wonderful." The two laughed and waved her on, saying they would be in after the experts were finished with their laps. Teri grinned and pushed off the wall. She usually did fifty laps, but maybe she would quit in ten more if Justin and Paula were waiting on her to finish. She noticed Walker still doing laps and was impressed. He had some serious skills. She wondered if he had swum competitively also. He was good enough for it. Justin, she knew, on the other hand was more of a 'lay on the raft and float with a drink in his hand' type.

Since she wasn't going to do her full set of laps, she switched from her medley to only doing butterflies. She loved doing the butterflies as it stretched her shoulder muscles that always seemed to be tight. She was on her way back, about halfway down the lane when she noticed Walker treading water, his arms crossed on the lane marker. She stopped, used her hands to swipe the water from her face and eyes. "Everything all right? You are really good. Have you swum competitively?"
 
It didn't take Daniel more than two or three laps to realize that Teri was in the pool swimming laps as well, and that she was exceptionally good, better, in fact, than he. He rightfully guessed that she had swum competitively. After a while, he stopped swimming, began to tread water, and just watched her. Her form, in both senses of that term, was beautiful.

Treading water facing Teri after she approached him, Daniel and Teri traded stories about their swimming histories. He admitted that he had never swum in serious competition, whereas she had. Both of them were strong enough swimmers to tread water using mostly their legs. In doing so on a few occasions, their bare legs swiped against each other. Daniel tried hard not to reveal the jolt of excitement that surged through his body every time their legs touched.

After a couple of minutes treading water Daniel asked Terri to join him at the end of the pool nearest to where the Andersons were sitting. He lazily swam to that end with Teri following him in the adjoining lane. Once there Daniel turned to Teri with a huge grin on his face, "OK, Teri. Show me what you got. Four laps, ending back here. The loser buys tonight's drinks at dinner." Daniel knew that Teri would never let a challenge past. She was off the mark within seconds of the end of his sentence.

From his earlier observations Daniel knew perfectly well that he couldn't beat Teri, but that didn't stop him from trying his best. With long, hard forward strokes he stayed even with Teri almost through the end of the third lap. She beat him to the finish by a little less than a full body length. "So, Teri," Daniel said gasping for breath, "shall we call it a draw?" He didn't think Teri could laugh that hard through her own short breathing, but her laughter filled the pool, punctuated by various teasing references to "Walker".

Climbing out of the pool both Teri and Daniel shook the water off their well-toned bodies, each grabbing one of the resort’s big pool towels to dry off. The Andersons, still relaxing in their lounge chairs, watched with interested amusement. Daniel was having a great time and it seemed as though Teri was as well. He knew that he should play it cool and do nothing to threaten the easy, relaxed atmosphere that they were all sharing by making any comments that would cause Teri to revert to crisis thinking. Good plan – no oblique references to “relationships” or “couples”. Maybe it was Daniel’s ebullient feelings, maybe his exhaustion from the physical exertion from his race with Teri, or maybe it was the fact that he lost that contest that made him set aside his good sense. Standing naked except for his swim shorts, Daniel turned to Teri, smiling, and said, “So, Teri, shall we go back to our rooms, shower, dress, and rest up some before we join Paula and Justin in the chapel, or do you want to stay here for a while with your friends and meet me later?”

Daniel knew full well that the “we” language was potentially explosive for Teri, but, happy though he was, he was a little tired of pretending that his interest in Teri was entirely platonic, when everyone there, including Teri, herself, knew that that wasn’t true. Justin had told him, “don’t back off.” Well, for once, he didn’t.
 
Teri stood at the side of the pool, drying off. She had thoroughly enjoyed the race with Walker, especially the part where she beat him. She was somewhat surprised that he took her teasing gracefully, that was another side of him that she appreciated. She was a little taken aback when Walker wanted to go rest, the exercise had stimulated her rather than exhausted her. She could have done a lot more laps, truth be told.

“I think I will stay here, see if I can get these two to get wet or just relax,” she replied to Walker's question. She was surprised to see something flash in his eyes. Was it hurt or frustration? She had never been one to be able to read a person's eyes unless it was a client. Still, she didn't mean to hurt or frustrate him, and she wasn't sure why staying to talk to her friends rather than sit in her room alone would affect him at all. Still, she could feel something was off when Walker turned and walked away.

“What did I say?” she asked the other two who were sitting there watching Walker walk away. “Did you two want to be alone?”

“No, no,” they hurried to reassure her. “I think Daniel wanted to be alone with you for awhile,” said Paula.

“He didn't say that. He asked if I wanted to go to my room and rest until the ceremony. I am confused. I just didn't feel tired enough to take a nap or sit alone in my room. I thought we were getting along fine. I am so confused. If he meant something else, why didn't he say what he meant?”

“It would be nice if everyone did that to a certain point, I agree,” added Justin.

“A certain point?”

“Well, if someone asks if you like their outfit and you don't, you can't really just come out and say how terrible it is, you have to use phrases like “interesting outfit” or “haven't seen one like it before” or some other thing. But you are right, people need to be more specific in what they want. Otherwise misunderstandings can lead to hurt. Paula and I have certainly learned that the hard way.” Paula nodded in agreement with Justin's comments.

Teri nodded also, she agreed with Justin's point of view, she just wished she was better at understanding the subtleties of relationships.

“Maybe he just assumed that since he was worn out from our race, that I would be also,” she grinned.

The three of them sat talking for another half hour or so and then gathered their things. The sun was getting too hot and no one wanted a sun burn. Teri tied the towel around her waist again, and headed for her room. It was time to get cleaned up and ready for the ceremony.

The four of them met in the lobby and headed for the Old Creek chapel. It was a quaint little church made of stone and ivy. The ceremony was quick, but the emotions shining in the Anderson's eyes brought Teri to watery eyes. The couple had shared their handwritten vows and the service was over.
 
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Daniel walked back to his room leaving Teri with her friends. He tried to sort things out in his mind. Teri apparently hadn't freaked out when he made references to them, sort of as a couple, going back to their rooms. On the other hand maybe she didn't really pick up on his wording. Oh, well, he was falling into over-thinking himself. He was a bit surprised, though, that he felt a little bad that Teri hadn't walked back with him.

Returning to his room Daniel rested for a while and tried to get back to the relaxed mood that he, and apparently Teri, had been in when they got out of the pool. He dressed and was ready to go to the ceremony easily on time. He met Teri in the hall and walked with her to the chapel. If there was any cooling of their good feelings, it quickly disappeared as they took their place in the chapel. Teri looked lovely in the green, halter top dress that she had bought for the occasion. Daniel had expected that her appearance would move him, but he didn't expect to feel the pride that he felt when he looked at Teri. She was, really, a remarkable woman.

The brief service that the Andersons had designed was lovely, their vows clearly sincere. Daniel resisted the impulse to take Teri's hand as Paula and Justin renewed their vows, but when the service ended, he placed his hand lightly on hers and said, "That was a beautiful service. Thank you for pulling me into this." He paused, then as a smile broadened on his face he added, "OK, let's go to dinner and have some fun."

Since Teri was buying dinner and Daniel was buying the wine, Justin insisted on driving. Sitting in the back seat with Teri while the Andersons sat in front was the classic image of the four people being two couples. Daniel glanced over at Teri a couple of times; remarkably, she seemed quite relaxed, chatting amiably with the other three passengers. She even looked at Daniel a few times with an apparent warmth, or so it seemed to him.

The party claimed the reservation that Teri had made and ordered appetizers, deciding to take the dinner in a slow, relaxed fashion. Paula was the acknowledged wine expert in the group. She recommended that they order a bottle of a French chablis, but Justin objected. "One 750 ml bottle isn't enough for this celebration," he opined. Instead, he suggested that they buy two half-liter carafes. "I'm driving, " Justin laughed, "I'll have just one glass, that'll leave plenty for the rest of you. Heck, maybe we should get two bottles!"

The idea of having more than two glasses of wine with dinner worried Daniel a bit. It wasn't that that much wine would make him drunk, but he wasn't sure that Teri's fear that he was a heavy drinker was entirely behind them. Before Daniel could interject with something like, "I think one bottle will be enough," Justin, now on a high-spirited roll, proclaimed,"Daniel, I bet you don't know what a partyer Teri can be. Hey, Teri and Paula, remember the night when Teri and I were in law school, the four of us were at our apartment, and we got into the bottle of tequila?" The two women looked at each other and at Justin, their expressions a seeming mix of emotions. "Yeah," Justin continued, laughing, "boy that was quite a night. Heck, I think Teri was leading the pack on partying. Of course, that was the night that she and Steve first..." "Justin!," Paula exclaimed. "What?" Justin replied cheerfully. "Justin, geez!, that's not your story to tell," Paula moaned.

Daniel wasn't sure what to do. He didn't want the good time to be diluted or ended by Justin's impulsive comment. It came to him that a little humor might help, "Not to worry, folks, I didn't hear a word. Let's order that wine; it's time to celebrate!"
 
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Teri wasn't much of a drinker, never had been. She would have a glass of wine with dinner occasionally, but that was it. She could feel Walker looking at her, wondering about “her tale to tell”.

“It is no big deal,” she responded to Justin's words. She looked at Walker since he was the only one that wasn't there. She settled back in her chair and took on the look of a story teller. “Well, listen closely and you shall hear of the one and only night our heroine tasted tequila. It was near the end of the semester, second year law school and our main characters: the heroine, Teri; our hero, Justin; Justin's girl friend, Paula; and a law student, Steve. Now Teri, Justin and Steve had just finished a long, very, very long study session and they were a little slap happy from mental exhaustion. Justin called his girlfriend and asked if she would bring some food over, as the three were too tired to move. The students had reached that point where anything and everything made them giggle and laugh, even something as simple as 'Where is my book?' would send them into gales of laughter. Our heroine was laying on the floor, holding her sides, afraid she would be sick if she laughed one more time. The two guys were sprawled on the couch and in a chair. The doorbell rang which set the three off again, and Justin literally crawled to the door and reached up to let in Paula.

She looked around at the three of them and asked if they had been drinking or doing drugs or what. Which, of course, set off another round of laughter. Frowning slightly, she set down the pizza and the bag she was carrying. Justin turned on the radio. The four of them crowded around the table and tried hard not to look at each other for fear they would start laughing again. When Paula emptied the bag it turned out that instead of beer or wine or soda, she had brought in a bottle of tequila and some orange juice. Although Teri asked for orange juice only, Paula put in some tequila. Figuring it wouldn't be that big of a deal since they were finished studying, our heroine said nothing more and the four ate and drank and filled Paula in on their silly exhaustion laughter.

As the evening went on, the four of them began to feel the buzz and pretty soon they were on the verge of laughter over any little thing. Steve declared that the tequila bottle was almost empty except for the worm. So Justin stood up on the coffee table, held his paper cup up in the air as if to give a toast. “To the worm and the victor that wins it!”

“Who is the victor,” asked Paula. “How will we decided.”

Steve got up and pushed Justin off the table and climbed up on it. Raising his glass he declared, “To the best table top dancer goes the spoils.” Then he began to wiggle and gyrate on top of the table, occasionally hitting a beat or two of the music. The other three were ready to declare that he was the winner, when he pulled Teri up and he stepped down.

At first Teri didn't do anything. She wasn't much of a dancer and certainly couldn't see herself fooling around to win a worm she didn't want. But everyone was shouting and telling her to dance, so she did the most ridiculous moves she could think of to lose. She waved her hands around wildly, did the bottom half of a jumping jack with her legs, half afraid she would fall or break the table, and wiggled her hips in slow, completely off the beat movements. After a few moments, her heel caught the edge of the table and she fell back onto the couch. She decided that was a good place to stay as Justin and Paula both got on the table and began to dance. They were both pretty good and Teri was thrilled that they would have the worm.

But the two of them got down and cheered, “To the worm winner, and creator of the newest dance craze. We can't wait to take those moves down to the student union.”

“So, to you that are listening to this tale,” intoned Teri in the deepest voice she could, “it turns out that the worm went to the dance challenged geek.”

She turned her twinkling eyes on the group and said in a deep relieved sigh, “Thank goodness, Steve couldn't dance.”

The group at the table laughed. When Justin could speak, he gasped, “The worm got caught in Steve's throat and Teri had to do the Heimlich maneuver on him. That worm shot clear across the room.”

Teri and Paula nodded, tears of laughter in their eyes. “And that,” announced Teri, “was the last time I drank tequila. I barely made it to the exam the next day and had such a headache I had trouble focusing on the words. But the worst part was my stomach muscles . They ached for an entire week!”

The four of them sat in the restaurant, sharing other drinking stories and as the evening got late, they decided it was time to head back to the resort. Justin, true to his word, had only had the one glass of wine and, by the time he got behind the wheel, he was in shape to take the winding road.

All the laughing and the two glasses of wine she drank, left Teri feeling tired, but she had enjoyed the day. It was amazing how well the four of them got along, she thought, as they walked through the lobby heading for the elevator.
 
Daniel laughed both outwardly and inwardly. He had laughed more in the last two days than at any time since he moved to Silver Lake. It felt really good. Moreover, Teri seemed more relaxed and easy-going than she ever had in his presence. She and the Andersons were such obviously good friends; it was so nice to be in their company. It wasn’t hard to imagine the four of them sharing fun times together as Teri, Steve, Paula and Justin apparently had, albeit that they were nearly a decade older.

Outwardly, Daniel laughed along with the group. “The Night of the Worm,” as Justin dubbed it, was quite a funny story. And, who knew that Teri could be such an animated, funny storyteller? This sure showed a whole other facet to her than she generally let others see.

Inwardly, Daniel was laughing at his own earlier conclusion. Teri had told him that she once had dated a guy named Steve and even almost fell in love with him before, apparently, their relationship crashed and burned, leaving Teri scarred. Given Justin’s phrasing, “that was the night Teri and Steve first..” and Paula’s energetically cutting him off, Daniel had assumed that Justin was referring to Teri and her boyfriend first having sex. The idea that the always-careful Teri might have had a bit too much to drink and consummated the relationship with her then-boyfriend neither bothered nor pleased Daniel; it amused him, it made Teri, if anything, more human. Apparently, though, the story had a different plot. Or, wait, did it? As Teri filled in all of the details leading up to the end of the evening and her subsequent hangover, Daniel caught Paula glancing at Justin and subtly shaking her head “no”. Hmm…maybe his conclusion wasn’t so far off base. Daniel reconciled himself to the fact that he would probably never know.

The four people rode back to Oak Creek in the same arrangement as they had rode out, looking for all the world like two couples. Daniel resisted the urge to hold Teri’s hand as he would have done if they were, in fact, an acknowledged couple. However, by chance or unconscious desire their hands rested on the seat between them slightly touching one another. Daniel wasn’t so adolescent as to try to sneak more of a touch, but he observed that if Teri noticed, she did nothing to change the arrangement.

Arriving back at the resort the Andersons said good night to Teri and Daniel, and , after agreeing to meet at the lobby café for breakfast at 9:00 before everyone took off, walked off to the other wing of the building which housed their suite. Daniel and Terri walked together toward their rooms, chatting comfortably about the day’s events. As they entered the corridor that contained their rooms, however, an awkward silence began to take hold. Daniel knew what was going on for him: several times in the last 24 hours he had turned over in his mind whether he should have kissed Teri goodnight, and whether he should do so this evening. That he wanted to do so was clear. He couldn’t know whether Teri was mulling over these same thoughts, but he suspected strongly that, at least, she was thinking that he might attempt to kiss her.
When they reached the door to Teri’s room Daniel turned to her. What was he to do? When he had impulsively kissed her on the hike, it had led to a crisis that might well have ended any kind of relationship for them. And, Teri had made it clear that, at most, she wanted friendship. Despite his strong urge to kiss her, Daniel had just about decided to quietly say “Goodnight”, when Justin’s advice came back to him, “Don’t hurt her, but don’t back off either.” Suddenly, Daniel’s lawyerly side, that preferred clear communication, came forward. “Teri,” Daniel began slowly, “I have had a great time with you and your friends yesterday and today. In fact, it’s been years since I’ve had this much just plain fun. Thank you, again.” He paused, clearing his throat, “Uh, Teri, nearly a week ago when we were on our hike you got excited about seeing the eagle and spontaneously hugged me. I impulsively kissed you, a kiss that was uninvited and, apparently, unwanted. Then, instead of just letting that moment pass, I had to go and make a big deal of it.” Daniel paused and gave the symbolic hit of his hand to his forehead, although he smiled while doing so. “Duh, God I was dumb. Teri, I want you to not worry. I’m not going to be that impulsive again with you.“ Daniel stopped before going for the finish line. “No, Teri, I’m not. Instead, I’m just going to be very direct with you. I want to kiss you, now,…here…, but not unless it’s Ok with you.” He could feel sweat beginning to form on his face, then quickly rushed to amend his statement. It sounded like he was asking her for a favor. “No, wait, Teri. Let me rephrase that. I want to kiss you, now,…here…, but not unless you also want to kiss me.”
 
Teri was at a loss for words. She had never had a man ask her if he could kiss her before. Still she could understand why after her melt down the last time he kissed her. Did she want to kiss him? Yes, no, maybe. She had been really relying on the friendship thing to avoid this. Ah, friendship thing. If she was honest with herself she would admit that she was pretty sure that wasn't going to work. There was a chemistry between then that, try as hard as she had, was pretty impossible to deny. Oh, rats, she thought, just do it and get it over with.

She reached up and latched onto Walker's shirt and pulled him closer. Then she kissed him. This was a big mistake she thought the moment their lips met. That zap that she always got when he touched her was even more intense, but instead of making her jump away, it made her press closer to him. Who knew? Daniel Walker could kiss like this. What was meant to be a simple kiss was suddenly more intense than any kiss she had ever received. Her hands slid up around his shoulders and she found herself pressed tightly against his hard body. They fit perfectly together and as the kiss went on, Teri cared less and less about friendship.
 
As he finished his speech Daniel could see a whole slew of emotions playing out across Teri's face. What they were or which one was winning out he couldn't tell. Even though he had acted deliberately, he had taken a big risk. Logically, Teri could rightfully call him on violating their explicit agreement to establish, at most, "friendship". Granted, Justin had jokingly accused him of being hopelessly naive to believe that that's what Teri really wanted, but it was what she and he had agreed to. A deal is a deal, and she could be so offended or scared off that she quit altogether.

Or, she could just say "No, thank you," in some manner. Or, perhaps, she could humor him, say something like "Yes, it's been a lovely two days, and you've been very gracious. I'd like to give you a small good night kiss as a token of my appreciation." With all of those thoughts in the back of his mind Daniel watched with some apprehension as Teri took one step closer to him and raised her hands. What was she going to do? Slap him? Push him away in anger?

When Teri grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer and started to kiss him, Daniel's mind nearly spun out of control, so unexpected was her move. The feel of her lips on his sent sparks of romantic and erotic energy through his whole body. On their hike he had given her a firm, but soft and sweet, kiss, and Teri had responded, at least briefly, similarly, but more low-keyed. By contrast even the beginning of Teri's kiss as she tugged at his shirt suggested some urgency. Daniel replied in kind, pressing his closed lips hard against hers as he began to wrap his strong arms around her back. Teri didn't back off; indeed as her hands slipped up around his shoulders, she kissed him more passionately. Their bodies were now pressed tightly against each other. Teri's breasts, the outlines of which Daniel had glimpsed often through Teri's courtroom power outfit and which today he had seen so nicely framed by her halter top dress and swimsuit, rubbed hard against his chest. He thought that he could feel her nipples hardening, but maybe that was just his imagination. For an instant Daniel worried that, with their bodies so close, Teri would be able to feel his growing arousal; then he decided that he didn't care.

The increased intensity of Teri's kiss and her pulling them close set Daniel's body on fire. He very briefly broke their kiss then returned, this time with his lips parted, flicking his tongue over the edges of her lips as they kissed. Though they were standing in the middle of a hotel hallway, there seemed to be no world other than them.

Excited and aroused as he was as he waited for Teri's response to his second, more intense kiss, Daniel realized they had to stop. It was far too tempting to push on and invite Terri to his bed, or him to hers, and given her intensity, it wasn't clear that she wouldn't agree. But there were two problems with that. First, there could easily be the "morning after" regret that would cause either of them, more likely Teri, to disengage. Second, he wasn't exactly prepared for this. Daniel wasn't one of those guys who carried a condom in his wallet "just in case". Given what he knew of Teri's recent history it was extraordinarily unlikely that she was on any form of birth control. STDs didn’t seem likely a problem, but who knows? They hadn’t talked about that for sure.

Pulling back after Teri's response he held both of her hands in his. They easily made eye contact; they had become so much more comfortable with each other in the last couple of days. A warm feeling washed over Daniel, not lust this time, just pleasure. A grin sprouted on his face as the couple looked at each other. "Well, Teri," Daniel quipped, "we're not in Kansas anymore. I guess at least for the moment, the "just friendship" thing is kind of out the window, huh? Daniel paused for a brief moment, then continued. "Teri, there's nothing more than I want right now than to continue kissing you, but we have to pull back a little. I don't think that I could stop if we went any further. It's too soon for us to be spending the night with each other and, besides, well...uh...you know...uh, I, uh, didn't come prepared for that possibility." Daniel felt himself blushing a little at the oblique reference to safe sex. "Let's call it a night and meet tomorrow out here and walk to breakfast. How's that?"

Daniel and Teri parted and left for their respective rooms. Daniel quickly brushed his teeth, changed into his night clothes, and lay on the bed, but he couldn't get Teri out of his mind. He wanted her as a lover right now! He grabbed his phone, found her number, hit "call", and hit "end" just as quickly. He hoped that nothing appeared on her phone. He had almost allowed his desire and his impulsivity to ruin a beautiful encounter.

Five minutes later, still wide awake, a different thought came to him. This time he reached for his phone calmly and called Teri, hoping that she had not yet fallen asleep. When she answered, he couldn't suppress a joke, "Hi, Teri, miss me?" Then, with a less joking tone he said, "So, lying here I had an idea. We're both going to be busy next week catching up on things, partly because we each took Friday off to come up here. So, we may both be pretty busy until next weekend. So, how about this? On either Friday or Saturday night, you come to my house, or, if you prefer, I'll come to your apartment. I'll buy us a nice bottle of wine, and go to that little bakery and get some dessert, and you can demonstrate your renowned cooking skill by making us a meal. We'd have lots of time to relax or, you know, whatever, for the rest of the evening. So, Teri, you don't need to answer now; maybe you want to think about my offer for a while."
 
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