Keeping her eye out on Dante, Paulina drops her double-breasted trench coat on the park bench and sits diagonally from the playground pad. She nurses her coffee reflecting on last night with Jake until her mobile rings, "Hello."
"Hi beautiful." Jake sees her alone, but she does not see him. "What are you doing?"
"I'm at the park with my son." She takes a sip, "What about you?"
"Well, I ran out for a quick minute, but then I spotted this very attractive woman." Her face goes blank. "It's her eyes; her captivating blue eyes. I'm getting lost in them."
"Jake!" She snaps at him, trying to maintain a whisper.
He ignores her, "She's wearing this amazing necklace, maybe a one of a kind. Her long blond hair is curled at the ends."
Paulina looks down at her necklace and begins to look around. "Where are you?" He does not answer right away, so she repeats the question.
He decides he has had enough fun, "Oh honey, I'm right here. Look at Dante."
She does just that and finds Jake on the park bench directly opposite of her. She grins and waves, "Hi. Why don't you come and sit next to me… friend?"
Jake walks thru the playground spotting an excited five-year old running into him for a hug. Jake and his buddy, Dante, chit-chat about the slide for a few minutes before heading back to his playmates. Jake parks himself on the bench using a coat as a friendly divider.
"I got an appointment for Friday with that architect we both liked so, we would need to leave for Chicago early." He crosses his legs, "You okay with that?"
Paulina nods smiling in her cup, "Dante is scheduled for a sleep-over with his dad, so yeah, that works."
They finally make eye contact since he joined her on the bench. The stare is long as his left hand grazes her arm.
She winks, "We could be gone for a long weekend, just the two of us."
Jake's eyes widen and smirks, "Probably. We have a lot to do."
After putting Dante down for bed later that day, Paulina finds Rachel in her art studio working on the same piece she was a few weeks back.
"Joe is taking Dante this weekend, so I decided to go visit Remy."
Rachel adds more cobalt paint to her brush, "Sounds good. She enjoying college?"
"The city suits her well. She's been contemplating on this advanced sociology course for next semester." Paulina stops pacing and plops on the couch. "I'm going to leave early Friday."
"Okay." The classical music continues to play as a muse for Rachel. "And how's Jake?"
Paulina and Jake are really enjoying their secret. It is something they are both cherishing in this time of exploration into their relationship. "He's doing great. He hired a nanny."
Most of the Bay City adult population finds themselves at The Burlesque Show a couple of days later. The charity function, hosted by Donna Love, is at an industrial warehouse to incorporate the required capacity. Paulina is enjoying the event with Felicia for a much needed girl's night. It is crowded with loud pop music. Paulina excuses herself to make her way to the restrooms in a short black shirt, with a spaghetti-strapped metallic laced-trim baby-doll top.
He notices her within the jam-packed bar tracking each step, every motion: the wave of her arm as she spots a familiar face, the tilt of her chin as she passes the gargantuan smorgasbord, and the way she beams gliding across the room in her sparkly heels. Five minutes go by and he makes his move. Trying to be incognito, he hides behind a rather large fern at the entrance of the Restroom Hall. The Ladies Room is obviously occupied leaving him waiting for her. The door opens and he beelines straight for his target abandoning the fern.
Not paying attention, "Oh goodness. Pardon me." Paulina steps back to hit the doorknob, but it is the voice she recognizes first.
"Hi, Cupcake."
Her eyes bolt up to meet his, "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same." He crosses his arms over his black dress shirt.
They both hear the next skit starting with the music change. The stragglers near the restrooms scatter causing Paulina and Jake to be alone.
He sarcastically responds to her question. "Well, I'm not sure if you heard, but I'm in the newspaper business. And with this being a public event, I'm working the news about the show." He steps closer taking a flirtatious glimpse down her cleavage, "What about you?"
She clears her throat to get his attention. "I came with Felicia. Girls night." Her hand moves to rest on his blushed cheek, "Look, I'm really sorry about last night. I hate we had to cut our phone call short."
He responds sincerely, "Oh, don't worry about it."
"I know our situation is a bit complicated, with the rules and everything."
He backs away pulling her into the adjacent room: Janitor's Closet. "Paulina, tell me to back off, tell me not to touch you..." He throws her arms above her head pinning them in place against the wall. "I want you, I need to taste you." He widens her stance with his knee.
"Jake…" Her skirt tightens against her outer thighs. She slams her eyes shut feeling herself melt into him.
He holds both of her arms in place with one hand, while the other traces the lace trim. She shivers under his touch. He grazes her bottom lip before moving to the spot down her neck. Her breaths become more ragged. She feels his hand inside her right thigh teasing just under her skirt's hemline.
"For god sake's. Jake…just, just kiss me… damn it!" The desire is immediate.
Jake sees the hunger in her eyes and immediately cradles her gorgeous face in his hands. She holds onto his belt loops as their lips meet passionately. It's fluid and thrilling.
"You better get back out there before Felicia thinks you left her." He hugs her one more time and gives her a quick soft kiss savoring the taste.