Part 3

They entered the lobby eight minutes before they were to meet their lunch date and saw that Dave was already standing there talking to a man when they arrived.

"Are we late?" Maryse asked looking at her watch to check the time.

"No, I'm early," Dave said with a charming grin. "And so are you actually, but since we are all here we might as well get going. It's very nice to meet you Miss Magda," Dave added shaking her hand cordially.

"It's very nice to meet you as well, Mr. Rossi," Claudia said not even blushing at Dave charm, though his grin certainly did something to her insides. In a good way. She had to admit that her friend had really fallen into the cream. Dave was very handsome, charming and had enough manners to invite his date's best friend to join them for lunch, instead of insisting he wanted to be alone with Maryse. Now if only he was financially solvent, not that her friend didn't have plenty of money of her own, but still, he had to have some money, as Maryse wouldn't marry someone she had to support and who didn't contribute financially to the household.

"We'll finish our discussion later Roger," Dave told the man he had been talking to.

"Of course, sir, I hope you enjoy your date," The manager said before heading to his office.

"Oh, I plan to," Dave said loud enough for the manager to hear before escorting the two ladies to the car so they could head to the restaurant he had chosen. Maryse had let him choose since he knew Miami and she did not. She could've gotten the recommendation from the corsage of course but knew that somebody who had lived here for years would know where all the best restaurants were and also the way to get to them without getting lost.

Once they got to the car Dave opened the passenger door for his date and then the back door on the same side for Claudia.

"Thank you," Claudia said pleased by his manners. So many men didn't have any manners at all and certainly didn't know how to treat a lady. It looked like Dave was different in that regard as he treated her with respect, even though she wasn't his date. So far she approved of Maryse's man at least until they went home in a few weeks.

The drive to the restaurant was filled with small talk and laughter, as the three of them got to know each other better.

~~~Dave and Maryse~~~

"I heartily approve your man," Claudia told her friend once they had gotten back to the hotel room after they had lunch. "Not only is he handsome he has manners and so many men do not."

"You mean so many men are pigs," Maryse corrected. "Like Leo."

"Leo had manners, so he's not exactly a pig, though that doesn't mean he's not a rat bastard," Claudia said with some heat, probably because he had hurt her best friend so deeply. It was only in the end that he had showed his true colors, that he was the kind of man that would dump someone he had just become engaged to. If there was some kind of circumstances that had caused him to do so she didn't know them and at this point she was just glad that Leo the louse was out of Maryse's life.

"Now there is a colorful description," Maryse giggled, thinking it fit Leo, the bastard perfectly.

"It's an apt one though," Claudia said.

"Yeah it is, but now I'm headed for that nap. I could certainly use one. I, to enjoyed lunch, very much."

"Well, it's nice to see you admit that Dave's a decent guy," Claudia said.

"Maybe he is, though we also don't know the skeletons in his closet. He could be a serial killer, or a cross-dresser or any a number of horrible things," Maryse pointed out. "I suppose being a cross dresser wouldn't be so bad, but I can think of plenty of other horrible crimes that he could be guilty of."

"Quit thinking so negatively," Claudia told her friend in exasperation, nearly ready to slap Maryse for her negative view of men. Claudia supposed that Maryse's innocence when it came to men anyway had been stripped by Leo's dumping her in such a horrible way.

"There's probably not any major skeletons in his closet at all," Claudia added. "Don't you dare mess this up just because you have trouble trusting men. Just enjoy being treated like a queen. Until or unless he proves untrustworthy you are not to break it off. If he does it's one thing, but if you do I swear I will find a way to make you pay! You know I will!"

This was said so vehemently that Maryse had no trouble believing her. Her best friend would indeed find a way to make her pay for her cowardliness. Not every man was a bastard with a capital B after all.

This could be the start of something permanent here or it could just be one of those flings that you enjoyed while you were on vacation before getting back to real life. A fling that you would have fond memories of for the rest of your life.

"Alright, I won't break it off unless I find out he's a mass murder or something," Maryse said placatingly. "I really don't want to anyway."

"Well good, don't," Claudia admonished. "Now I'm going to take that nap. My bed is calling my name."

"So is mine," Maryse agreed. "Let's get together afterwards and perhaps go to dinner, though I know it depends on how late it is when we wake up."

Claudia agreed and each women went into their separate bedrooms to sleep for a couple of hours before dinner.

Maryse for her part just knew that her dreams were going to be pleasant, as she had no doubt that she'd dream about David Rossi.

She wasn't going to be proven wrong in that case, as she did indeed dream about the handsome and debonair David Rossi and those dreams were beyond pleasant.

~~~Dave and Maryse~~~

"Well, I didn't expect you to take me bowling," Maryse said with a grin, when Dave told her their destination for the afternoon. She was again spending it in a very pleasant and charming company and Dave's handsomeness certainly didn't hurt matters. Normally, she didn't like men with beards, but somehow it just looked right on Dave's face and technically, it was only a goatee not a full beard.

"I wasn't sure if you knew how to bowl," Dave said. "Or if you were even interested in learning if you didn't happen to know how. I did think it was an activity you might enjoy however."

"Bowling is just fine," Maryse said. "I actually like bowling, though I won't say I'm an expert, but I'm not a novice either. I wouldn't think you would go for such an activity though."

"I enjoy bowling myself, as for one thing it requires a certain skill. You need to be fairly athletic," Dave said.

"So, what were you planning if I didn't agreed to go bowling?" Maryse asked curiously.

"Well, there are plenty of activities for both residents and vacationers, so I thought maybe you would like to see a movie, if the bowling wasn't okay with you. There is also a little place that I know with, great food that has different things on the stage every night, they have different bands, poetry readings, even comics."

"That sounds good," Maryse said.

"Well, maybe we can do that one day before you leave then," Dave said. "I also know this place that has karaoke, but that's only on Thursday."

"I think we can skip that. I've been to enough of those places that have that and some of those people that try are absolutely horrible," Maryse grimaced in remembered pain, as her eardrums were assaulted with some people's horrible singing. Never again if she could help it.

"Yeah, I have to admit some of them are pretty bad," Dave agreed. "Of course, some of them are pretty good to and a few that are more than decent."

"That's true. Still, I'm not sure I want to risk it," Maryse said. "With the way my luck usually runs I'd end up listening to people who sing off key all night."

"And maybe even possibly one that cracked the windowpanes," Dave said with laughter in his voice.

"That's possible too and I definitely don't want to be in the audience listening to him or her," Maryse agreed.

"I don't blame you there. I'd rather not hear somebody that can't sing with such high-pitched voice. It's a good way to go deaf. Haven't you ever wanted to try it yourself though?" Dave asked.

"No, I haven't, because I know how horrible my singing voice really is. I'd cause people to flee in droves. I might not be quite as bad as somebody who could cause your eardrums to burst just by hitting the wrong note, but still, I'm pretty terrible," Maryse said in a deprecatingly.

"So am I, so I think that's an experience we'll both be happy to skip. I couldn't I carry a tune with a sledgehammer, so why make people suffer because of my lack of singing talent?" Dave said.

"Well, it looks like we're in the same boat when it comes to not being able to sing," Maryse said smiling.

"It doesn't matter," Dave shrugged. "There are plenty of people that couldn't carry a tune to save their lives, so why worry about it?"

"Unless we're put into a situation where we're forced to sing," Maryse pointed out being pessimistic.

"Let's hope not, both of us together could probably bring down the house and not in a good way," Dave said not joking in the least, having absolutely no doubts about his lack of singing ability.

They'd likely be chased out of wherever they were with rotten vegetables by the audience.

"Let's hope we're never forced to sing then," Maryse said, actually shuddering at the possibility of being forced onto a stage to sing.

~~~Dave and Maryse~~~

The two of them enjoyed themselves, playing several games, after getting their shoes and balls. It turned out they were pretty much even when it came to bowling, but both could get better with a lot of practice. Maryse won several games just as Dave did and by the end of the afternoon Dave won by one game.

"We'll have to do this again if we have time before I go back home," Maryse said.

She had enjoyed herself more tonight than she had in a long time.

"We'll try to get back here but there is so much to do in Miami it's unlikely we will. There are bowling alleys in every city here in the States so you can play whenever you want."

"It's not as much fun playing alone though," Maryse said.

"Doesn't Claudia to go with you?" Dave asked.

"Sometimes, but she's not any good at the game, so I usually win, which is no competition whatsoever. She could probably improve with practice; she's just not interested in practicing. I think the game bores her."

"Well, not everyone likes the same things. I think life would be very boring if everyone liked the same activities. The same food, the same games, the same partner," Dave said philosophically.

"You're probably right," Maryse said. "In a lot of ways Claudia and me are very similar, but we're also totally different in others."

"That makes sense if you ask me," Dave said.

"Yes, I suppose it does," Maryse admitted.

"I had a lot of fun," Dave admitted. "I usually do have fun when I go bowling, but I had double the amount I usually have tonight then I've had in a long time."

"That's because we were competing against each other. Competition can be fun so long as it doesn't get out of control because of someone's ego," Maryse said.

Dave nodded because he agreed with Maryse completely. Some people couldn't control themselves when they were competing, even if it wasn't a serious competition and was just meant for fun. Some people absolutely hated to lose at anything.

Dave drove back to the hotel to drop off his date and told her he'd see her tomorrow.

"I hope we can do this again sometime," Maryse said repeating her statement of several hours before.

"That would be great if we can manage to fit it in before you go back to New York," Dave said before telling her he'd call her in the morning.

Maryse entered the hotel getting onto the elevator, while reliving every single minute of her date with Dave. She had enjoyed herself more with Dave then she ever had with Leo and that was really saying something considering her and Leo had dated for quite some time before he had proposed, only to break the engagement a few weeks later when she had happily started planning the wedding.

Maryse's thoughts shifted to Dave again and just thinking about him put a smile on her face as she entered her hotel suite to find Claudia waiting for every little detail of her date.

~~~Dave and Maryse~~~

"This was a great idea," Maryse said enthusiastically. She watched Dave jump off the high diving board and his form was perfect as he sliced through the air.

Dave had suggested that she and Claudia meet him by the pool and Maryse had thought it was a very good idea. Just a day spent relaxing in one of the loungers by the pool sounded like an excellent idea. The fact that she'd see Dave in only his swim trunks was another reason she approved. She couldn't stop her imagination from going into the gutter at the thought of Dave's body glistening with water from the pool, his dark hair soaked and little droplets of the same liquid dripping off his hair.

"Of course it is, you got oo see Dave naked, except for his swim trunks," Claudia said, before she too took a dip in the pool.

This was true so Maryse didn't even bother to argue with her friend. She was a red-blooded American girl after all and if she couldn't react to someone as handsome and toned as David Rossi when she was better off dead. The fact he was her boyfriend, even if that was only temporarily, filled her with happiness. She had never imagined she'd ever date again after Leo, but Claudia had convinced her to give Dave a chance and she was definitely glad she had.

Dave waved at her from the deep end of the pool and Maryse knew he wanted her to join him. She waved back and went down the steps of the pool to join Dave and her friend in having fun.

Claudia immediately took advantage of her distraction as she was gazing at Dave who was dripping with water, making his chest gleam and also sending Maryse's hormones humming, more then was usual when she was around him.

Maryse was shocked when she found herself being pushed down into the chlorinated water of the pool and when she popped back to the surface she immediately went after her friend. Claudia knew that Maryse would want revenge and so started to swim towards the low end and the steps that were on that side, since Maryse and Dave were too close to the steps on the deep end for her to use those. She wouldn't put it past Dave to help his girlfriend out by grabbing her, so Maryse could deal with her, likely by dunking her.

"You come back here you traitor," Maryse yelled, as she swam fiercely after her friend.

Dave watched amused at the byplay between the two friends. Their relationship was rather interesting Dave thought to himself, as he watched Maryse swim quickly after Claudia just because her friend had snuck up on her and dunked her.

Dave chuckled to himself and felt that he would enjoy getting to know the two women better, much better in Maryse's case. That could wait a few days however, no matter what his libido demanded.

"Done chasing each other?" Dave asked with a charming grin, as both young women came back to where he was and appeared worn out from their play.

"For now," Maryse said glaring at Claudia, who looked back at her friend with an innocent expression. "I will have my revenge though; I'll just have to get it when she's least expecting it."

"Oh, come on! It was all in good fun," Claudia protested not looking contrite.

"It was fun for you," Maryse told her in an unforgiving tone. "Not necessarily for me, however. I feel like I've swallowed about a gallon of chlorinated water. All because you decided to sneak up on me and dunk me with no warning."

Claudia looked ashamed then, but she said nothing at all.

"Come on ladies, let's go relax in the loungers," Dave suggested gently, afraid that the argument would cause a feud between the two. It had happened in the past, though the two women appeared so close that wasn't likely, but why take chance that their argument might get worse?

"Sounds good to me, I'm worn out," Maryse said agreeably. "I could use a nap."

Claudia made no comment like she normally would, as she didn't want to make Maryse even madder at her than she already was. Still, she followed Dave and Maryse out of the pool and lay on by one of lounge chairs by the edge, making sure to get her bag that had suntan lotion in it so that she wouldn't burn. She was unlike Maryse who never burned so didn't have to worry about suntan lotion the lucky dog, Claudia thought just a little resentfully. Unfortunately, she was the exact opposite and would burn to a crisp without appropriate protection and probably get sun poisoning to boot. Her skin was just so fair that she burned easily. It was the curse of those with such clear, white skin, while Maryse had dark skin and because if it didn't burn as easily.

By the time that they left the pool several hours later Maryse had forgiven her friend for dunking her after Claudia had sincerely apologized, saying she shouldn't have snuck up on her.

"What about an early dinner unless you two are too tired?" Dave suggested as they headed into the hotel.

"I'm not too tired," Maryse said.

"I'm not either," Claudia said. "Especially since we took a nap for a couple of hours out here in the sun."

"Well then, how about we meet back in an hour or so once you to have a chance to take showers and change clothes?" Dave suggested.

"Alright, but make that an hour and a half," Maryse said. "It's going to take me forever to get all this chlorine out of my hair."

"Yes, I have to agree with that," Claudia said.

"Nowhere fancy Dave, casual will be just fine," Maryse cautioned. "Neither Claudia nor I brought that many fancy outfits as we were vacation after all."

"Yeah, we brought one each, because we thought we might go somewhere that required them at least once before coming home," Claudia added.

"Alright then, an hour and a half," Dave agreed. "And casual it will be."

Both women had long luxurious hair that went way past their shoulders, one dark brown the other red, so he could understand it taking time to get the chlorine out.

Maryse kissed Dave's cheek for being such a gentleman before she followed her friend who had already entered the hotel. "We'll meet you down in the lobby," Maryse called over her shoulder.

Dave watched both women get on the elevator before he headed to his own place to take a shower and get dressed for his dinner date with two lovely women.

~~~Dave and Maryse~~~

Claudia couldn't stop teasing her friend about Dave and Maryse was becoming more and more annoyed about it.

"Enough! I've had it with your teasing. I know I haven't dated in a long time okay? I don't need to be reminded every 10 minutes. Yes, I like Dave, a lot. It doesn't mean it's going to turn serious. We're only here for a couple more weeks after all," Maryse ranted.

"It could if you would let it," Claudia said unaffected by her friend's anger. "There is no harm in traveling back and forth for the next few months. Long distance relationships have worked out before, though I admit they often don't, but only because people aren't willing to make such a major change in their lives over something as nebulous as love."

"Dave might not be interested in more than a fling while I'm here on vacation," Maryse reminded Claudia in exasperation. "Even if he is, I'm not sure I am. I'll go home with wonderful memories and that should be enough for anyone."

Claudia shook her head in disappointment, though she also knew her friend might be right about Dave not being interested in anything longer term. A fling with someone who was going to leave in a few weeks was one thing, something more permanent was totally different. Some people just weren't interested in ever settling down. She sincerely hoped Dave wasn't one of them.

At one point Maryse had been looking forward to having a family, but that louse Leo had really wrecked things for her with the way he had broken off the engagement. Her friend had no warning whatsoever and she hadn't seen the signs either, Claudia admitted. Even if she had what could she have done really? She knew that Maryse wouldn't have listened to her if she had tried to warn her about Leo, as she had tried before and failed. She wasn't about to go through the argument that would have ensured if she had opened her mouth, so she had just sat back and watched, as her best friend had fallen more and more in love with the bastard. It was no wonder Maryse had been so broken up when Leo had finally dumped her.

Claudia sighed and nodded she hadn't meant to make Maryse mad. She supposed she had been harping on the subject, but that was kind of the point. She had determined to remind her friend that it wasn't healthy to be a hermit. She supposed that she had been going overboard though.

"I didn't mean to make you mad," Claudia say contritely. "I just want you to realize that it's not healthy to cut yourself off from the other half of the species. Okay, I know they're large part of your business, but that's a totally different thing."

"A lot of women don't ever get married, so why do you think that I need to get married to be happy?" Maryse asked her friend quietly her anger spent.

"That's not necessarily what I believe at all, but I also believe it's not healthy for you not to flirt a little, even if it doesn't go past that, yet you won't even do that much. You're an attractive woman. Hell, really you're more than attractive you're bloody gorgeous and you're acting like a damn nun."

Maryse sat on the couch in their suite and stared at her best friend in shock. She now understood why Claudia had been so annoying lately. She had been so hurt by Leo that she had just decided all men were the same. Yes, she knew plenty of men, as they were a large part of her business. She also knew very well that not all men were the same, as her parents had been happy together for many years. As far as she knew her dad had never even thought about cheating on her mother, much less done so.

Claudia was right she had been acting like a nun. She hadn't had sexual intercourse in six years or nearly that anyway and she was only 32. Did she really expect to go the rest of her very long life without having sex? She hadn't really thought about that aspect when she had basically closed herself off from one of the things that made life worthwhile. Sure, some people made the choice to remain virgins for all of their lives, but that would definitely not be her first choice. She had always wanted children, but she had shelved that possibility after Leo had so rudely dumped her.

"You need to stop mourning what you had with that skunk and start living your life again. Really, you didn't have anything at all, because if you had he wouldn't have dumped you like he did if you really were in love. That right there ought to prove to you that he didn't deserve you, because he dumped you for somebody with the brains of a cabbage," Claudia told her quietly.

"Why do you think he did it?" Maryse asked quietly, seeming contemplative. "I mean I gave him two years of my life and another six being a nun, years I'll never get back."

"If you want my honest opinion," Claudia began a little cautiously. "I think he wanted someone that would obey his every command like a slave. Someone who would be a stay-at-home wife, while he went out to earn a living. Someone who would look after the kids once they came, clean house, cook dinner. I think that he was scared by how intelligent you are. Didn't he ever try to get you to quit your career?"

"Once or twice," Maryse admitted. "It was something we argued over a few times. How can that be enough to make him dump me like that though? And why did he even propose in the first place if he didn't like the fact that I had a career that I enjoyed?"

These thoughts had never occurred to Maryse before.

"I mean what does he expect me to do while he's at his job, just sit around watching TV?" Maryse asked puzzled.

"Oh, he expects you to do what he thinks women should do. Clean house, cook, knit things for the baby."

"I don't even know how to knit," Maryse said.

"Neither do I, but I bet that never occurred to Leo," said Claudia with a snort of contempt. "I do admit though he hid his old fashioned views well, as I'm sure you would've dumped him like a hot potato if he had been to blatant."

"Yes, I would have," Maryse agreed immediately. "Other than a few arguments about my job he was like the perfect man. I never even noticed..."

"He might have hidden them on purpose or it might be that nothing came up to set him off until he dumped you, well, other than in a few arguments about your job when you're out at all hours. You, being out at all hours of the day and night would concern most men, if they cared about you at all. There are many dangers on the New York streets particularly at night," Claudia said.

"You really think that's why he dumped me?" Maryse asked quietly.

"I can't think of any other explanation, because it's not like his parents could put pressure on him to find someone else since they are dead, someone they would definitely approve of," Claudia offered.
The elder Vertis had died together in a boating accident, several years ago, so they weren't around to put pressure on their son on who they expected him to marry. Maryse supposed they could have left him some instructions when the time came for him to wed. It was also possible that he wouldn't get the rest of his inheritance if he didn't marry the appropriate kind of female. But if that was the case, Leo could've told her instead of dumping her with such harshness and condescension.

She supposed she'd never know.

"I'm sure they would consider you to independent. That might've been Leo's main concern, you know. You do meet all type of men in your work. It would be very easy for you to cheat," Claudia added.

Maryse started to protest that she would never cheat, but then, considered it from Leo's point of view.

"It doesn't matter anymore," Maryse decided. "You were right earlier when you said I was acting like a nun. I haven't had sex in nearly 6 years for God's sake. That's definitely a long dry spell, even if it was my choice. When I told you I'd try I didn't deeply mean it. I was just going through the motions."

"And now?" Claudia asked.

"Now, I'm really going to try. That I really like Dave is one thing that helped me reach that decision. That doesn't mean I'm going to throw all caution to the wind however," Maryse.

"And you shouldn't," Claudia said approvingly. "We were both more innocent back when you first met Leo as we were both just 24. Now we're older and hopefully wiser."

"Hopefully," Maryse agreed, feeling as if a great burden had finally been lifted from her shoulders. It was time she started living again. Truly living.

Claudia saw the change in her friend and was glad to see that Maryse was finally getting over what happened with Leo. It had certainly taken long enough. Hopefully, she would continue to heal and if her relationship with Dave continued to go well then she would have many fond memories of their relationship when the two of them went back to New York.

Though to be truthful, if Dave was half the man Claudia thought he was he wouldn't be willing to give up Maryse very easily. She wouldn't be surprised if he showed up in New York at some point.

She's wait and see though. She wasn't about to mention her idea to her friend either, as that was likely the worst thing she could do, so instead she would remain silent on the matter.

~~~Dave and Maryse~~~