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Chapter 4

First Date

Sarah had been so excited by the prospect of tonight's date, she had not been able to concentrate on her work since this Jareth guy had left. All she could think about were his dreamy eyes and the way he had looked at her with them. The way her skin had felt when they had touched, the tingling sensation that had moved all the way from her fingertips into her heart.

"I think he is magical", Sarah murmured to herself as she stood in front of the mirror trying to pick out a dress that would be sexy yet classy, inviting yet reserved.

"Oh why is it so hard to pick a dress when you are actually serious about the date?"

She kept holding up dresses in front of her while she stood in her panties and bra. Finally she decided on a long sleeved dark green cocktail dress that emphasized her curves nicely, but was not cut so low as to expose her cleavage too much.

"I don't want to screw anything up with this magical man. He could be Mr. Right", she murmured, and with a nod decided on the dress.

It only took her fifteen minutes to get dressed and her make up applied. She went light on the makeup today, and had decided to let her hair fall naturally over her shoulders. She had curled them slightly with a curling iron, and they gave her a wonderful sultry appearance.

"Perfect", she exclaimed excited as she twirled in front of the mirror. Now all she needed were her earrings and her shoes.

She was still dancing around barefooted trying to put on her earrings when the doorbell rang.

"Oh my, he is punctual. Typical Europeans. Never a minute early or late."

She laughed to herself as she went to open the door and Jareth stood in the doorway with a happy smile and two sparkling eyes, holding a small bouquet of flowers.

He wore a tan suit with a white dress shirt, but no tie or hat this time. His blond hair were medium length cut and left a bit unruly which gave him a seductive and boyish look all at the same time. Sarah thought he looked extremely dapper as she stared at him again for a moment before she let him in.

"Oh shoot, come in. I'm sorry you look...amazing."

"And you look absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful."

He greeted her softly and handed her the flowers as Sarah closed the door behind him, beaming from ear to ear.

"That is so thoughtful. I didn't expect flowers. The guys around here...I go get a vase."

She stopped herself, not wanting to bring up other guys in front of him.

"Make yourself at home."

She pointed at the couch and ran into the kitchen to put the flowers into a vase with water. Jareth had made himself comfortable as he sat on the couch.

"If you want to turn on the TV, the remote is on the table. Do you want something to drink?" she asked from her bedroom as she put on her earrings.

"No worries, I'm fine. I'll wait until you're ready to join me."

Jareth took a deep sigh and let his body relax as he scanned her little apartment. It looked nice, cozy, and inviting. She had a few magazines on her coffee table and Jareth leaned forward to pick them up and flip through them.

"Reader's Digest, Scientific American, and National Geographic. Interesting choice."

He had a sly smile on his face and leaned back into the couch looking at her National Geographic magazine article of European castles. After five minutes she stepped out and joined him on the couch. Jareth immediately placed the magazine back on the table and stood up, but she motioned him to remain seated.

"You don't have to be so formal. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate it, I really do, but we can be informal here."

Jareth smiled and nodded. Sarah offered him a glass of wine which he gladly accepted.

"I hope you didn't have any problems finding the place? It can get confusing sometimes the way they have the building numbers assigned."

She hadn't put her shoes on yet and pulled her knees up on the couch besides her, facing towards Jareth.

"No, no problem at all. The taxi driver knew where to go."

He smiled softly at her and took a sip of his wine glancing at her from above the rim.

Jareth wanted to know more about Sarah. How she got into being a librarian and she told him all about her mother and her love for fairy tale stories and that she had always wanted to do something that involved books.

"Books can be your best friends", she said softly. "Especially when you are lonely."

She had sounded melancholic, which immediately raised Jareth' attention.

"Are you feeling lonely, Sarah?' he asked in a low voice and gave her a soft gaze.

"At times", she replied and looked straight into his eyes. He thought her eyes looked somber for a moment, and then he realized, he was not the only lonely person in the room.

"Why are you lonely, Sarah?" he asked.

He wanted an answer, as it had intrigued him how a beautiful young woman such as her could possibly be lonely.

"I miss my dad and my mom. Both passed away much too soon. My mom had died of cancer when I was only little, and my dad had a fatal accident ten years ago." She lowered her eyes with a solemn look.

Jareth felt her pain and gently touched her arm.

"I am so sorry to hear this. I guess we both have lost our parents way too young. You do seem to have plenty of friends around though."

"It's not the amount of people around a person, it's the quality of them. I take one special person over a hundred people I have nothing in common with. We can be surrounded with people and feel lonely, or we can be with only one certain person and feel full filled and happy."

She looked at him with big eyes as she slowly imbibed on her wine. He thought about her answer. How wise she was for such a young mortal age. She was absolutely correct with everything she had just stated.

"Are you feeling lonely now?" he asked her with a very soft voice and a sorrow look of his own on his face.

Sarah looked at him and felt a growing urge to lean forward and kiss him, but she restrained herself. His eyes seemed to hold so much pain in them and she wondered why that was.

"No, not tonight I don't", she replied with a faint smile around her lips.

Jareth smiled happily and took her hand into his which caused her skin to tingle again.

"Well, Sarah, I plan to keep it that way. Let's go and have some fun. How do you say it here, turn the city blue?"

"You mean paint the town red", she laughed out loud and threw back her head. He thought she looked incredible at that moment and yearned to hold and kiss her.

"Paint it red, that's it. Let's go and paint it red", he laughed as they left out the front door.


Jareth had taken her to a nice upscale Greek restaurant for dinner and Sarah had been unsure to go in there at first.

"That looks awfully expensive. I don't want this date to cost you an arm and a leg", she had objected, but Jareth had only laughed and gently placed his hand on her lower back.

"I fully intent to walk out of there with all my limps intact."

He winked and took her hand as he guided her through the door.

Sarah thought he was the perfect gentleman as he held the chair for her and let her study the menu first. When she excused herself to go to the bathroom, he stood up, and when she returned, he held the chair again for her.

She didn't know what to make of all of this, but he was like a dream come true for her. No man had ever treated her with such respect and cordiality. He was attentive and caring, and genuinely interested in her stories.

"So, tell me Sarah, how come a beautiful intelligent woman such as you is still single and available?"

He had leaned slightly towards her as he took a sip of his wine, his eyes never leaving hers. Sarah gave a light chuckle and touched the back of her neck as if to contemplate how to answer.

"I just haven't found the right guy yet, I guess."

She lowered her gaze and pretended to concentrate on her menu as Jareth gave her an enigmatic smile which went unnoticed.

"I guess that makes me one lucky man then", he replied with a smirk causing Sarah to look up at him with a surprised smile of her own. Was he flirting with her? She batted her eyes and hoped she wouldn't blush too much in front of him.

"So, what is good here? I have never been to a Greek restaurant."

She gave him a pleading look as she was completely mystified with the menu. Jareth gave a slight chuckle and scooted his chair besides hers.

"Greek food can be very spicy. You can't go wrong with Moussaka. It's pretty much the food to order, trust me."

"What is it?" Sarah asked cautiously earning another amused chuckle from Jareth. She wanted to make sure she wasn't ordering something like worms or snails.

"It is a famous dish. Layers of fried aubergine, minced meat and potatoes topped with a creamy béchamel sauce. And then they bake it."

"What kind of meat?" Sarah was not yet convinced.

"Beef or lamb. Don't worry, nothing weird." He winked at her with a smirk as if he had read her mind about the worms and snails.

Sarah bit her lip and held back a grin.

"How do you know so much about Greek food?"

"I've been around for some time...I mean around Europe, travelling", he quickly corrected himself and gave her a playful smile to conceal his near mistake.

Jareth ordered two Moussakas and a bottle of Tempranillo. And for desert they had baklavas. Sarah found his choice to be more than acceptable after she had tasted it. She rolled back her eyes and closed them as she lifted her head slightly with a quiet moan looking thoroughly enthralled by the taste of her food.

"Oh, this is so good. Excellent choice, Jareth."

Jareth could only stare, licking his lips as he all the sudden had other images on his brain; images he hastily tried to dissolve within. He quickly quaffed his glass of Tempranillo and diverted his eyes, hoping she hadn't seen a certain desire in them.

"Where to now? The night is still young and you are my guide."

Jareth hailed a taxi and gently guided Sarah into her seat.

"Do you feel like dancing or a movie?" she asked him waiting on his answer before giving the driver her directions.

"Dancing", he immediately replied with a happy face and bright eyes.

There was absolutely no question in his mind what he preferred. It had been three hundred years since he had danced last, and he was not about to give up the opportunity to hold this lovely woman close to him, in his arms, for however long.

"The Blue Oyster", Sarah directed the driver.

"That sounds intriguing", Jareth grinned as he stared out the window.

It had been the first time in a cab for him and he still was fascinated with vehicles, traffic lights and all sorts of machinery. He had a hard time to let his excitement show too much. He didn't want her becoming suspicious, or worse, scare her off as it happened too many times before.

The club had quite a sensual vibe and was dimly lit with a live blues and jazz band. They had commandeered a private little nook with a table for two. Jareth found the place very inviting and intriguing. The atmosphere reminded him a bit of some entertainment places in the Underground before the curse.

Sarah had to show him how to slow dance as he had never participated in this form of dance, which she found quite strange. Everything in the Underground was either formal and very specific, or wild and raunchy.

This was new to him, but with a little coaxing from Sarah, he got the hang of it quite speedily and enjoyed the closeness of their bodies tremendously, as he put his arms gingerly around her body with her leaning her head against his shoulders.

They had danced for several hours, and Sarah had felt as if she had stepped into heaven, with him holding her tight against him. He had smelled so good, and his arm had felt strong, and yet he was so gentle the entire time.

Far too fast the evening had progressed for Sarah's taste. He had escorted her back to her apartment, and Sarah had invited him to come in which he had accepted. They lounged on the couch with more wine and talking.

Sarah had thrown off her shoes, as her feet were killing her from the high heels she usually didn't wear for long, and especially did not dance in. Jareth gently took one foot into his hands and massaged it, much to Sarah's surprise.

"I hope I am not stepping over the boundaries here", he replied as he saw her startled look.

"Not at all, it's just, I have never had a man treat me with such respect and consideration like you before. You are the perfect gentleman. Is that an English thing?"

She looked at him half amused and Jareth let out a light huff.

"I hope this is not just an English thing. It should be a thing everywhere. A woman needs to be treated with respect."

"Well said, I second that", Sarah laughed out and took another swig of her wine when she suddenly stopped and a look of realization spread over her face.

Once again she had consumed too much wine, and she knew where this always led to. Jareth noticed the shift in her demeanor and he let go of her foot as she stood up.

"Jareth, don't get me wrong now, please don't, but I ...I don't want this to be a one night stand. So if you are here because you think you can..."

He wouldn't let her finish as he too stood up and hastily cut her off.

"I am not out for a one night stand either. If I wanted that, I could have had that with many other women. I am looking for something very serious, Sarah. I had wanted to ask you to let me court you. If there is any chance that you may think you could develop serious feelings for me..."

This time it was Sarah who wouldn't let him finish.

"Yes, Jareth, there is a chance, a big chance", she blurted out with a blush and quickly sat down again as the wine rushed to her head.

"And I had too much wine which is never good. It makes me do things I shouldn't", she added with a sheepish look while Jareth had to laugh.

"Oh Sarah, don't you worry. I would never take advantage of your alcoholic state. I told you, I want something very serious out of this."

He repeated himself and looked deep into her eyes.

"What is it you are looking for Jareth?" Sarah inquired with intrigue.

"A wife", he said after some pause as Sarah gave him a stunned look.

Her heart dropped and jumped at the same time as she tried to comprehend his words he had just said. A wife? Had he just said he wanted a wife and he seriously considered her? Was he serious?

He could feel her hesitation and quickly needed to come up with something to defuse the situation. He felt her slipping away from him. He had moved too fast, and he cursed himself for it.

He had no experience in seriously courting a woman. It was one thing to try and get a willing woman into his bed, but an entirely different thing to get one to fall in love with him and wanting to marry him. And now, he was near panic.

"Sarah? I am so sorry if I scared you off now. I have been moving too fast."

He pleaded with her, and his eyes looked distraught and incredibly afraid. Sarah could sense his distress and pain. Her head was spinning and she became angry at herself for once again drinking too much. She was about to ruin it with this dream of a man, but the wine prevented her to clear her thoughts and think straight.

"I don't, I mean, a wife? Could we take it a bit slower than that?"

She gave him a questioning look all the while feeling a lump build up in her throat and her heart beating rapidly.

"Jareth I really like you, and I definitely want to see you again and get to know you more. Much more. But, I don't know if I'm ready to be a wife to anyone at this time."

She looked at him to see how he would react and his eyes seemed to have calmed down slightly, yet, they still held an unexplained sadness within them.

"Fair enough. Would you let me court you then and give me a chance to get to know you?" he asked her again, and this time Sarah nodded.

"Yes, I would like this very much. I think you are a wonderful man Jareth, and I definitely want to get to know you so much better."

Jareth heaved a big sigh as his eyes reclaimed their brightness and turned towards the door.

"I think it is best I get going for the night. It is late and..."

He didn't get much farther as Sarah gave him a simple kiss, a gentle and tender kiss, filled with feelings and a certain passion. He slowly placed his hands around her waist and held her tight as his lips reciprocated.

"If fairy tales do come true, then I wish you turn out to be my dream man and we find our happily ever after", she whispered softly as Jareth' eyes opened wide and an expression of pure hope crossed his face. Just for a moment, all sadness had left his eyes and had been re placed with joy.

"I shall do my best to make it come true, Sarah", he replied and left quickly.

Sarah heaved a big sigh after he had gone, leaning against the door. She was not quite sure what had transpired just now, but she knew that something was different this time and she would see Jareth again, very soon. And this time she couldn't wait for the next date.

"So, he likes to court instead of date. Must be another English thing", she murmured to herself as she walked towards her bedroom with a contended smile on her lips.