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Capital Pursuits

Chapter 7

"I can't believe you let him do that to you!" Vanessa grumbled to Callie the next morning, as they finished up the first half of the tour around Georgetown. They were on a brief fifteen- minute recess before a new tour guide would take them around the second half of the campus. Taking a seat outside of the college center, Vanessa found herself feeling irritable. This was not the way she had intended for this vacation to turn out.

"I didn't let him do anything, Vanessa!" Callie replied, turning to her friend. "He did it on his own." She was, of course, referring to Frank's decision to take on a new case with Jenna Barkalow, with whom she knew he would be spending a considerable amount of time.

"Well, I think he's acting like a real jerk lately, if you want my opinion," Vanessa interjected. "You know that girl's all over him!"

Callie tried to control her voice. She was in the terrible position of having to defend Frank while she secretly agreed with Vanessa's assessment of her boyfriend at the moment. "Look, Van," Callie replied with a sigh. "I appreciate you sticking up for me, but I can fight my own battles. I trust Frank. He told me there was nothing going on- why shouldn't I believe him?"

"Oh, because she's GORGEOUS, and she made no bones about wanting Frank, that's why. PLUS," Vanessa went on, "he didn't exactly tear his eyes off of her, if you know what I'm saying."

Callie felt the color rise to her cheeks. Slowly, she muttered, "You're not making me feel any better, Van."

Vanessa felt bad, and immediately put her arm around Callie's shoulders, giving her a quick hug. "I'm sorry, Callie," she said, truthfully. "It's just that you've been through so much lately, and Frank should be treating you a lot better. I'm sure he'll come to his senses."

Pulling away from her friend, Callie began to feel indignant. She'd controlled her feelings very well lately, but she was on the verge of losing her composure. She responded to her friend at once. "Look, Van, just because I was sick doesn't mean Frank should spend all his time with me. That's a terrible reason to stay with someone! And, if Frank's going to cheat on me, there's absolutely nothing I can do to stop him, right?! I can't yell at him-- I'm not his mother. I refuse to play the "I'm sick" card, not only because I'm getting better, but also because that means he'd be with me out of guilt. I won't play the jealous girlfriend, either, because who'd want to be with someone like that?!" Callie felt her voice trembling and she blinked back tears.

Vanessa, stunned at Callie's strong reaction, stuttered, "That's not… I mean…"

"And," Callie said, going on, "We're going to college in a few months. Whether I'm across the country or in another state, it doesn't matter. I can't be with him 24/7, and if I don't have trust, what do I have?! You know, I know we're both young, but I did… I thought…" Callie found herself upset, and tripping over her words, but she went on. "I guess I thought we would end up together in the long run. I… I really do love him, Vanessa. So- I'll give him as much rope as he needs."

"Oh, Callie," Vanessa sighed. "I know, hon. But with men- if you give them enough rope, they'll hang themselves with it, that's all I'm saying." She squeezed Callie's hand.

"But you gave Joe a lot of room, and in the end, you wound up together," Callie said, holding onto some hope.

"True," Vanessa agreed. "But Frank and Joe are very different. Joe had his fun dating, like, every girl in Bayport- twice," Vanessa grinned ruefully. "Frank's been with you- steadily- for a long time."

"Well," Callie said, as she wiped back a tear quickly that had begun to form, "If it's not meant to be, it won't be, I guess. So, I have to trust him. And I'll never tell him what he can or can't do. That's on his conscience. I just have to keep an open mind."

Vanessa was upset. Callie never cried, and she had been through a lot. Even now, she was managing to hold it together, although she was clearly upset. "Cal," she said at last, "Keep an open mind, but keep an open eye, too. I don't want to see you hurt. On the other hand, you're right- trust Frank. Just not- blindly, okay?" With that, she gave Callie another hug.

Within moments, the tour got ready to begin again. "Ladies," they heard a voice say, "Are you ready to begin? I'll be more than happy to answer any questions that you have along the way. We'd love to have you here!"

Callie and Vanessa looked up at the young man before them, and Vanessa felt a smile creep to her face. This guy was hot. He stood about 6'2", and had deep blue eyes, brown hair, and dimples. Even wearing a simple Georgetown tee-shirt and jeans, he looked like a model. Vanessa couldn't help but to notice that he was staring pretty intently at Callie, too.

Standing up, Vanessa nudged Callie as she shook his hand. "Hi! I'm Vanessa, and this is my good friend, Callie. She's the one who might be coming here in the fall. Isn't that right, Callie?! Anyway, you are?…"

The young man smiled. "Oh, I'm sorry!" he said with a bright smile. "My name is Dave- Dave Shaunnesey. I'm a sophomore here. I was about to introduce myself to everyone else in the group as well. But, I'm glad I met you first," he said, speaking to both Vanessa and Callie, but keeping his eyes on Callie steadily.

"Shall we begin?" he asked.

"Sure!" Vanessa replied. "Since Callie here might be going, why doesn't she stay up with you? I'll hang back and, um… enjoy the view!" she said with a laugh.

"Sounds great!" Dave said, and winked at Callie, who looked mortified as he led her to the front of the group.

Vanessa smiled as she watched Dave flirt with Callie the whole tour. It wasn't like she wanted Callie to break up with Frank; they were the best couple she knew. However, Vanessa thought to herself, let Callie know she's beautiful, and let her feel good about herself. If Frank could flirt, why shouldn't Callie?

But, Vanessa noticed as the tour ended, Callie didn't seem to be flirting back. As a matter of fact, she didn't even look like she knew what to do with herself. Vanessa sighed. Callie had been out of the dating game for so long she appeared to have forgotten how lovely she was, or what it was like to flirt with someone other than Frank. Vanessa had noticed that guys were ALWAYS checking Callie out, and girls did the same with Frank. They were so into each other, though, that neither one ever really seemed to notice.

As the tour ended and the crowd dissipated, Vanessa joined up with Dave, whom, she noticed, was still talking to Callie.

Callie, catching sight of Vanessa, smiled gratefully, and turned back to Dave. "Well, it was lovely to meet you," she said sincerely to him. He was certainly nice, funny, and easygoing, and Callie had enjoyed their conversation. But, she reminded herself, she had other issues on her mind.

"The pleasure was all mine," Dave responded back with a smile. "Say, um, do you think maybe you'd like to get together while you're here?" he asked Callie, not at all embarrassed to ask her out in front of Vanessa.

Vanessa turned to Callie, awaiting her response. "Oh… oh," Callie stammered. "Um, that's very sweet of you, but I…um… I have a boyfriend. We're actually on vacation with them," she blushed.

Vanessa noticed Dave's smile lessen a bit as he collected himself. Vanessa was willing to bet he didn't get turned down often for dates. Still, she was surprised by his response.

"Oh," he said. "Well, then." He smiled at Callie warmly. "He's a very lucky man. Would the two of you like to get together, anyway? I would like to meet your boyfriends. Maybe we can hang out—I'll show you all around D.C. We could even start in an hour or so—I get off then. My tour of duty is over!" he said with a wink.

Vanessa and Callie looked at each other.

"Why not?" Callie said with a smile. "But, our boyfriends are… busy… at least for the rest of the day, until dinner. So, if you don't mind, that would be really nice."

"Yeah, it would," Vanessa replied, knowing that both Joe and Frank would flip out the minute they found out about this. It serves them right for abandoning us, though, she couldn't help but to think. She loved Joe dearly, and this was perfectly innocent enough, but a little jealously now and again never hurt any relationship!

"Mind?!" Dave said, his blue eyes flashing as the dimples appeared on his perfectly chiseled face. "It's a beautiful day, I've made two new friends, and I get to be the envy of every guy when they see me walking down the street with two gorgeous women!" He winked at them. "I'll see you in an hour! This is gonna be great!" With that, he left them by themselves as he went to take out another tour.

"Cal!" Vanessa exclaimed happily. "What are the chances of that happening?! You get off solid ground with Frank for a little while, and another guy is crazy about you already?! A gorgeous guy at that! Geez- Georgetown is looking better and better!" she teased.

Callie, looking uneasy at the prospect, just turned to Vanessa. "Yeah, what ARE the chances?" she asked.

She stood in silence, looking after him.