Kim had a problem. She had nothing to wear to the Christmas gala that the Seaford Chamber of Commerce was throwing. This gala was sponsored by the various businesses and their little charity was invited. Apparently, it was a tradition for the Chamber and the businesses sometimes announced their choice recipient of charitable donations at the gala. So it was obvious why their charity was invited.

The reason she was going were a little less clear. Steve had a rambling explanation that the CEO of their organization was actually abroad, celebrating with his family in Bora-Bora. The next in the chain of command were with the said CEO and the Seaford Chamber of Commerce was just a bit too quaint for the globetrotting people. So, they, as the local representative had to go. Since there were less than ten people working and most of them had other plans for the holidays, it was Steve and Kim to the task. So, Kim had a problem. She had nothing to wear.

She also had another reason to fret this gala. Jack and his family were supposed to be there. Of course, one of the prominent businesses of the area would attend and she was worried about seeing the notorious Christopher Brewer. Not that she expected to be introduced or even rub shoulders with them. Jack told her some of what his father was like. She was right: it was fairly Shakespearean. Jack was beholden to the family expectations and his father's exacting standards. The weight of it all made Jack morose, making him hide behind the cold exterior. The roots of Jack's and Kai's competition could also be traced to the previous generation. Apparently, Kai's vicious attitude towards winning at all costs was something that Christopher Brewer appreciated. He learned to accept Jack's honorable way of winning, but insisted that Jack could not afford such scrupulous notions in business.

She learned that Jack had a weakness for family duty, held back by the fear of disappointing those who had come before him and feeling the ever-persistent need to make everyone happy before thinking of himself. She admired his dedication, but she feared what his choice might be if he was presented with a dilemma pitting something (someone, her) against the family and expectations.

They had one illuminating conversation when he drove her to work after school. He was more comfortable with her and spoke of how he actually felt, as opposed to how he should be behaving. In this instance, Jack was lamenting the situation his father put him into: he was correcting work of people more senior and experienced than him.

"It is so hard to tread this line, you know. I am younger and have no actual experience of running any of these divisions beyond what I observed from shadowing father. Yet, I know what he wants to see and I have to correct them. On top of that I should be appreciative of their work. All subordinates want to see their efforts appreciated." He sighed almost frustrated.

"Jack, you speak like someone who is at least 30 years older: I am pretty sure you can't offend anyone with that formal way of speaking. Have you thought that they are used to that already? The corrections and edits? They have worked with your father and his assistant before. I would imagine they know your father has exacting standards, and maybe they appreciate your input for what it is: an inside track to the mind of their boss?" Kim looked at his profile and saw that he was wincing as if unused to the positive remarks.

"I keep thinking that they laugh behind my back: spoiled brat of a rich man, taking his inherited position without earning it. Father put a lot of effort into Brewer Inc... Grandpa was a master and father built the business from ground up... I hate to disappoint."

"Look, Jack. You can't know what they actually think. And sure, talking behind the boss's back is every employee's right. I am telling you this as a an employee. But, if they know you, then they also know that you are hardly a spoiled brat. You earned your belts and you will earn your position when time comes. You work hard at this and they will see that."

He was not all that convinced, but he smiled nonetheless with appreciation.

Her dad was quieter than usual and ate only when she reminded him and watched him eat. She knew that the season was getting to him. It would be the first Christmas without mom and she herself was fighting the mounting sadness and she selfishly clung to the few moments with Jack as they were the only bright spots in her life right then. She did not know what to expect from Lindsay and Donna, but she was growing weary of their harassment at the GreenBean. The latest interaction, when she ended up with a burn was the worst so far, but it led to one the "bright spot" memories with Jack. His concern was so palpable, his fury with her offenders so obvious, he practically telegraphed the rage and tenderness at the same time and she soaked it in. It has been a while since someone cared about her so much. Her mom's sickness made her grow up quickly and she was taking more and more responsibility at their little household. Now, with her father in the state he had been, Kim was more of a caretaker than him. She did not mind. Never. She loved her dad and knew that he too cared about her. But right now, with Jack so openly and touchingly concerned about her, she felt that yearning to be cared for.

He also was infuriating sometimes. She knew that this concern and care were on the same spectrum as protectiveness or over-protectiveness as the case was with Jack. She and Jack did not share the PE, but by the end of the next Monday she heard that Jack was vicious playing dodge ball, specifically knocking Frank out. Apparently he spoke to Frank, while 'helping' him up and, by all accounts, Frank looked scared of Jack afterward. She wondered if Jack took it upon himself to straighten Frank and when she asked Jack about it he only said that he was a competitive player and Frank was prone to cheating. Kim, fuming, told him again that she could take care of herself and that he should consult with her whenever he decided she needed protecting. He just smile at her and all the fight left her.

The did not get to have another date before Christmas break began and only met at school. He called earlier to tell her about the gala and his family's obligatory presence there. She agreed that it indeed sucked to be stuck with all the boring old people talking each other up, self-important and self-congratulatory. She kept her own possible presence at said boring event a secret: she still had no dress.


Father gave him the talking to he'd come to expect as the evening had worn on. He reminded him that it's his duty to represent Brewer Inc. at all times, to mingle with the guests and above all, to assure the business' future by forging alliances with the younger generation of the fellow heirs. His tone never wavered, deep and firm, and he smileed through his speech, nodding and waving at the occasional guests who passed by them and stop at the bar for drinks.

"I just don't understand, Jack."

"What is there not to understand?"

"I introduced you to plenty of young men. Sons of prominent men. Intelligent young people who come from the same background, share the same values, and would make excellent business allies for us. You hardly make an effort with them. To make them your allies."

Jack swallowed and gave one, short nod. "With respect, Father, I don't want to think of strategy when it comes to personal relationships. I come from the same background as these guys, yes, and I ma sure they are great and intelligent individuals, but I will not be friends with them simply because it is convenient. I make effort and I am friendly, but when I make friends it will not be for taxes and financial optimisation."

"I never said anything about friendships. Allies. It's your duty, Jack. As my sole heir, it is your duty to think of it before all else. If they think you are a friends to them, so much the better. You start now, while you are young and no one thinks so far ahead. But when you inherit you will have the coterie of such friends to back you up when necessary."

Yes, back me up, Jack thought. But would they stand shoulder to shoulder with me when facing an enemy?

He only nodded, hoping that it would stop the lecture and it did. Father moved on to talk to some other guests and Jack checked his watch to see how much longer they'd have to stay here. Still at least several hours. He found a columns to stand by, which allowed him to observe the room and, if necessary, step behind it. He fiddled with his phone hoping there was a message from Kim. He did not know when he would get to see her: at this point he was thinking of showing up at her apartment building tomorrow morning and calling her, like he did with the impromptu breakfast picnic. He had bought her a gift and was now fretting over it. It was both practical and, if he were completely honest, for his benefit as much as for hers. And now he thought it would be completely unromantic and offensive to her. He also did not want her to feel obligated to reciprocate the same way, because he knew her means were limited. Really, was dating always this complicated? Or was it simply because he truly cared about Kim and her reactions? It made him feel guilty about other times he dated and did not care as much.

He was slowly sipping his drink when he spotted his cousins in the crowd. Carolyn and Alex looked as excited as he did to be here and he smirked at the way Alex was sneaking in cheese and bacon canapés outside of Aunt Mellie's sight. Kai was there too but beyond the cursory nods to each other they have not interacted. In fact, he had not seen Kai all evening. Bored and looking for distraction he swept the large ballroom for a familiar face. He saw him in the far corner talking to a young woman in dark green. Jack could only see her back. Kai looked animated, smirking and grinning. At some point, Kai threw his head back in laughter and lifted his hand as if to put it on woman's shoulder. She moved almost imperceptibly out of his reach and Kai's hand slipped down. She motioned with her glass at him and turned and that's when Jack realized it was Kim.

Shocked he followed her progress to the drinks table and only when she filled her glass and was ready to go that his feet obeyed him and carried him over to her. What was she doing here? Who did she come with? Why didn't she tell him? Why Kai? Angry jealousy was consuming him and he followed her on the ballroom floor until she stopped by a vaguely familiar guy. He clenched his jaw and strode to them putting his most perfunctory smile on.

"Kim. I am surprised to see you. You did not mention that you'd be here tonight." He said lightly, but he saw that Kim caught his expression. The smile that was on her face froze and when she spoke, the smile was more polite than sincere.

"Jack! Nice t see you. Have you met Steve Semler? He is my supervisor at the Maddie's Fund, where I volunteer."

Only now Jack recognized the man. He visited this charity not long ago, though he did not put them on the short list. He shook the man's hand and Steve launched into a speech about the amazing and generous Chamber of Commerce that invited the recipients of the charitable donations to this gala. It started to make sense now to Jack. He was a little ashamed at all the conclusions he immediately jumped to and tried to smile apologetically at Kim. Steve rambled on about the gala and food and music, and Jack took this opportunity to study Kim. She looked lovely. Her dress was actually a top with an interesting neckline that left her shoulders open. It was close fitting and her skirt had on overlay of black lace. She had a single pearl pendant on and all in all looked very much unlike her usual self.

Eventually Steve run out of superlatives and Kim got a word in, "Our higher-ups had previous plans, so Steve and I are here to represent the local chapter." She then turned to Steve, "Jack and I are school mates. In fact, we have a school project to discuss. Excuse us."

With that she turned on her heel and started walking and Jack followed her chagrined.

They reached the edge of the room, conveniently hidden by a large fur-tree. Kim turned to him and gave him a big smile, "Surprise! I did not tell you because I wasn't sure I would be able to come until last minute..."

Oh... Oh...

He leaned over her and whispered, "Its the best surprise. Believe me when I tell you, you are the highlight of the evening."

She laughed and gave him a quick kiss. Jack recalled the first moment her saw her.

"I hope Kai wasn't too much of a jerk to you?"

"Nah. He likes to needle but he won't throw a drink on me, so I am good. But enough about him, how are you? Other than bored?"

Jack was surprisingly good at the moment. "I am no longer bored and, unless my father catches me to go make rounds, I am ready to enjoy this shindig by your side."

"Well, I hear they have great desserts here... Wanna go and check them out?"

The grabbed some ice cream and escaped to sit on the top steps of the stair that led to the balconies of the ball room. The sat in silence enjoying the treat. Kim's hair was in loose waves and her skirt shimmered catching the light of the chandeliers. Maybe he should try to make conversation? After nearly two hours of small talk, the quiet felt good. Peaceful. Instead, he discreetly checked Kim out from behind the screen of his cup, appreciating the picture she made, warm gold of her hair and deep green of her outfit against the paleness of the stairs. As he watched, she scooped out a careful bite and ate it, head tilted back and her eyes half-closed as she slowly drew the spoon from between her lips. When a stray drip threatened to fall off one side, she caught it with a slow slide of her tongue along the curve of the spoon and gave a little sigh of satisfaction before scooping out another bite.

Holy Christmas Nuts, Milton would have said. Jack exhaled slowly, trying to decide what to do. He'd bet his new car she wasn't deliberately trying to vamp him. Absorbed as she was in what she was doing, she wasn't aware of the effect her actions would have on him. As much as he was enjoying the view, it didn't seem gentlemanly to keep watching her under those circumstances, though. He took a bite of ice cream and then deliberately cleared his throat.

Startled, she froze for a second, her eyes wide and her spoon stuck halfway in her mouth like a kid who'd been caught red-handed raiding the freezer. Her sudden shift in demeanor made him chuckle.

"So, I guess ice cream is your favorite dessert?" he asked.

"'M so sorry," she mumbled behind her hand, then swallowed. Her face was almost as red as her lipstick. "The finger food here is too small and unsatisfying. And ice cream is never just ice cream. Ice cream's a window to the soul."

Jack looked at her skeptically. "Really. You don't say."

Her eyes narrowed. "OK," she said, a little snap of sarcasm in her tone. "Call it a reliable data point. For statistical analysis. It's a fixed preference for people. I think Milton would be able to write an algorithm to predict personality traits and behavior patterns based on ice cream choices. Is that better?"

That was Kim: beautiful and bright with a bite. Jack couldn't tamp down his smile. She never failed to rise to a challenge.

He nodded in apology. "Yes, and I suppose you would give him the field data to build the algorithm."

Her spoon stilled over her cup, as if she hadn't expected his reaction, either. Mollified, she nodded back in forgiveness.

"Hm. You're the opposite of most people. Say 'window to the soul' and they get what you mean. Say 'reliable data point for statistical analysis', and they look at you like you're a whackadoo. Go figure." She rolled her eyes, then poked at the remains in her dish, carving out a chunk of chocolate. "Mint chip got me through the worst of middle school when puberty hit and everything was weird. I had a favorite ice cream place I went to all the time. To de-stress. I used to watch people there. What people choose and what they do with it really does tell you a lot about them. Sounds silly, I guess, but there's been studies to prove it."

Her comment reminded him of the numerous locker room talks about girls. Who was 'vanilla' and who was not.

"So does ice cream work better than the eyes or not?" he asked, only half joking.

"Eyes. Like those ever work." She waved her hand dismissively. "People can look at you and lie with their eyes all the time."

"So, what does the mint chip say about you?"

"Only that I'm very content right now. Peppermint and chocolate, best chemical mood elevators ever. You can't not smile with that combination. Perfect de-stress, cheer-you-up food." She nodded at his cone. "So, what did you get?"

"Vanilla. Don't worry, you won't hurt my feelings," he said, amused. "I've already been lectured at about vanilla being boring and lacking imagination. Doesn't matter. I like it, anyway."

"Who told you that? Only people with no vision would say that about vanilla," Kim scoffed. "I have all kinds of respect for vanilla. Vanilla is the building block of ice cream, the absolute essential of ice cream. It's great by itself, but it makes anything you pair it with taste better, too. That's impressive. And there's nothing that doesn't taste amazing on vanilla, so you can try anything on it. Vanilla's for experimenters. You can pour chocolate syrup all over it, you can smother it with whipped cream, you can drizzle it with honey..." she shrugged. "Vanilla's flexible."

"I hadn't thought of it that way." He polished off the last of his first scoop.

"If we're still talking data abstraction. I mean, I don't know about you, but I am definitely in comfort food mode. Since you're not picking something more exotic, I'm guessing you are, too. So, what about vanilla comforts you?"

Jack considered the remains of his ice cream. Vanilla on a waffle cone, the special treat of all treats when his grandmother made it. When he was younger, he got it fairly often, but as she got older and sicker, there was less and less home-made ice cream. Or getting the treat with Grandpa after the successful testing for a Karate belt.

Memories crowded his mind. A hug and a smile from his grandmother, before she'd become so frail with age. Walking home from the ice cream shop with Grandpa and retelling him all the twist and turns of the test, even though he saw it all with his own eyes. Things he hadn't stopped to think about in a while. Comforting, but not sad.

Come to think of it, it was what he'd needed.

"Makes me think of good times," he answered finally, and smiled at her. "Guess you're right. Thanks."

"You're very welcome." She tilted her head to meet his eyes, smiling back, looking so beautiful at the moment that his breath caught.

He leaned over slowly, pulled by some magnetic force, and cupped her cheek before she can get too far from him. She sighed into his mouth, jumpstarting something needy and desperate inside him. She tasted even sweeter than the ice cream, and he couldn't stop himself from pulling her body flush against his. She grabbed his shoulders frantically to balance herself better and he lost any semblance of control right then, pushing her back against the steps like this was his last chance to kiss her. Her head bumped against the stone pillar behind them, but she didn't seem to care, stretching her legs out, so they could be flush with each other. Their frantic fumbling knocked over the empty cup, and it rolled off the step, landing in the next one with a thud.

Pure insanity.

He slid his mouth over her cheek and down to her neck, and she panted against his ear. Her skin was wonderfully cool against his burning face, and he flashed his teeth against side of neck, wanting just a taste of everything that she was. Kim's hands slipped under his jacket so they're separated from his skin by nothing but the thin fabric of his shirt and her fingers dug into his back.

"So glad you are here..." he mumbled in between kisses. She pulled his head back to her lips and the next kiss was even deeper, her little hot tongue sliding over his and he felt himself harden. He ground into her, mindless of everything but the feeling on her small and soft body under him and she made a whimpering noise. He pulled back, realizing that he was essentially pushing her against the rise of the step that was digging into her back. Her fingers moved over the curve of his ear and she leaned to whisper, "me too..."

Shivering, he grabbed her by the hips and in one move lifted her off the step and sat himself down with her now in his lap. She grabbed onto him tightly and laughed softly at the sudden change in position. "So strong..." she said quietly and then blushed as if she did not mean to say it out loud.

He run his one hand from the hip down her thigh, her skirt rode up during the switch and he was touching the smooth and cool skin now and could feel the goosebumps growing in the wake of his hand. He drug it back up to her hip and clutched her close and wove another one through her hair to pull her down to his mouth again. She shifted to get the better angle and unintentionally ground against his erection and he nearly whimpered form the sensation. She did it again and he wondered if she really didn't know what she was doing.

He shifted under her so that she was not right on top of his aching member, "you are killing me right now, Kim." She must have felt it too, because she started to move off him and he pulled her back for another kiss on her neck.

"We can't…" she moaned quietly, and though he didn't stop licking and sucking at her throat, he thought, yes. Yes, she was right and had the strength to stop this because he couldn't control himself enough to stop after nearly four months of wanting this girl.

"…do this here... now," she finished in a halting, breathless voice.

With supreme effort he pulled her off and sat up, trying to regain his breathing and quiet his mind. Next to him, Kim was equally breathless and was fumbling with the straps of her top, readjusting her clothes.

He forced himself to think of blue cheese and its gross smell until the immediate desire to go back to kissing and making out passed replaced by a vague discomfort. That is until she used his shoulder to leverage herself up and used the opportunity to whisper into his ear, "rain check on that?"

It was shaping up to be a great gala.