Kimberly – Clan Ross Legacy Challenge

Jeanette, Chapter 27

A Birthday Surprise

When I got to work the next morning, Caitlyn came to talk to me right away. We spent a bit apologizing to each other, ensuring each other that apologies weren’t necessary, then apologizing for the earlier apology. It went on like that for an hour, at which point the robot’s clock must have kicked in, and it interrupted us with a cheerfully beeped “HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEANETTE.”

My what now?

OHMIGOSH

How did I forget my birthday?

“How did you forget your birthday?” Caitlyn asked. I couldn’t explain it.

“Stuff! I was busy and … things.”

“That’s okay!” she smiled. “I booked us seats at Chez Llama, we head over after work.”

But when we got there, all they had was two separate tables, for five of us. I was surprised to see Kimberly and Sergio, but they both gave their birthday wishes, and I think we were all going to be fine. Skylar arrived as well, and it was great to see her looking so good after childbirth. Which must have happened…. yesterday?

It was weird to have Caitlyn sitting alone, but she assured me she was fine.

“I get to talk to you every day at work,” she reminded me. “This is time to hang out with your friends!”

I guess. She was close enough to carry on conversation, so it worked out.

After dinner, and several glasses of wine, the waitress brought out the cake. I silently wished Aiden could have made it, and blew out the candles.

Apparently Skylar can play the trumpet. Where was she keeping that?

The waitress came by with a steaming hot tray of more wine.

The cake was amazing, the wine great, and the friends fantastic. It was a wonderful night out, I couldn’t thank Caitlyn enough for organizing it.

Sergio even stuck around long enough to help pay for dinner, even though Caitlyn argued that she had it. We said our good nights, and they all wished me the best for the next year.

Late into the night, I trundled home. Next year? Good grief. So this is 30, eh? All adult, apparently.

Time to get on with life, I suppose.

chapter 28…

Jeanette, Chapter 19

JERK

The day started beautifully. I woke up thinking this was the greatest day ever. I should have been paying more attention.

11-14-16_2-33-05-pm

We did sleep in. It was a long, marvelous night of …. getting to know each other. And myself. Who knew? I just doubled my chances of getting a date. Wait… or being rejected for one. Damn.

11-14-16_2-40-09-pm I made pancakes, Kimberly flirted and told me how perfect I was.

Like I say, it started off as a fantastic morning.

But the least I can do is cook breakfast for the first person I’ve ever slept with! I HAD SEX!

Wuf! Hopefully I was better at that than making these pancakes. Well, I know where to get a good breakfast and some decent coffee.

11-14-16_2-47-11-pm And it’s really only a short walk down the path on this beautiful island. We held hands, silently enjoying the outdoors, before arriving at the cafe.

11-14-16_2-48-25-pm Don was, apparently, on a break. I don’t recall him ever actually working here. Maybe he just likes the outfit and hanging around in coffee bars. Luckily I know how to use one of these things. Just gimme the coffee.

We were both still in a glowy mood. Kimberly let me know she couldn’t wait to get back to the house and spend more time spending time.

I suggested a further walk around the island first, to show her a couple of my favourite places. She agreed, asking if there were any more … “private” areas we could visit. I knew just the place.

There was a decently unknown swimming hole further down the island, with many small, secluded picnic areas surrounding it. I took her hand, and we meandered down the path through the woods.

Arriving at the pool, I was overcome with happiness and satisfaction. I knew I was smitten with Kimberly, and just had to tell her.

And that’s when things went completely off the rails.

I asked her to be my girlfriend.

She snorted.

“Girlfriend?” <giggle> “No no… why would we do that?”

To say that I was stunned would be an understatement.

11-14-16_2-57-36-pm “But… but last night, I thought…”

She laughed! “Look, I mean, I like you and all, and last night was really… really… a lot of fun. But you have to understand…”

11-14-16_2-58-16-pm I think I lost it.

“No! YOU understand…!”

I kinda blacked out after that, trying to keep it together as I yelled at her. She kept this patronizingly bemused, sad look on her face as I ranted about my feelings and privacy and anything else that was bugging me since I got to this stupid island.

11-14-16_2-58-19-pm I called her a few things that I’ll probably regret later. She just sighed sadly, and walked away.

For a brief moment, I felt good for getting that all off my chest.

A very brief moment. It all hit me on the way home; I felt used, and betrayed, and … terrible, and… I just couldn’t think in clear thoughts any more.

As I’d said, it started off as the best day ever. But it ended with the worst feeling in my life. Adulting shouldn’t be this painful.

11-14-16_3-01-56-pm I curled up in a ball and cried myself to sleep, where I stayed for a few hours.

11-14-16_3-04-15-pm When I woke up, I was feeling better about things. Not … completely fine, but better. Kimberly was still a giant jerk, but I wasn’t going to keep that from hurting so much. I was still doing well, and the night before was still a lot of fun. She didn’t ruin dating for me, just dating her.

I swore that – next time – I’ll find out someone’s commitment levels before I suggest one of my own. Adult stuff.

I cleaned up the awful pancakes I’d made her earlier (maybe if she’d just choked on them… Augh! No… stop it Jeanette…), and started to look around the place. Maybe, it’s time for another change. I had some spare time, and a chunk of cash in my purse; time for some added space, I think.

I expanded the main room and kitchen, giving a little more breathing space.

Then added some kitchen cabinets! It’s starting to look a little more grown-up over here. A new stove, a new fridge, and I had the sink moved off the island.

With more space, I moved the chair out into the main room, for a nice place to sit and read.

Replaced all those awful plain interior doors, to match the exterior.

Added some space to the bedroom, and reorganised the furniture.

And finally, a back door! Out to …

…well, the back. Okay, it’s a small house, but it still felt good to know there’s another exit, for the next time I set fire to something. From several thousand dollars, I finished the day with a grand total of $84 in the bank. Thankfully there’s work in the morning.

As this horrid day of extreme emotions came to a close, I could only think that I’d grown a lot. Not an experience I want to repeat, but a learning one. I guess.

Kimberly’s still a jerk.

chapter 20 …

Jeanette, Chapter 18

A first date, and more…

I slept in until almost 11 on Saturday morning, and regret nothing. I likely would have slept longer, but the phone woke me. Kimberly called, saying that she couldn’t stop thinking of me <blush!>, and we should spend the remainder of the day together. I suggested the park for a while, to which she agreed.

I was good to see her again, but I was naturally nervous. An older woman, very interested in me? This is not where I thought my life was going.

We hung out talking for a good hour or so, taking in the park, seeing other friends, and just getting to know each other more. She did her fair share of flirting, which felt fantastic to be honest.

A couple of games of chess, with some good conversation, and we’d decided to head over to the mall for some shopping.

11-14-16_1-46-43-pm Wait…. this is where Landgraab works? In a retail clothing store? They’ve been waiving their money around, but she works here, and Malcolm works at the lab as a junior assistant. They must be running into hard times.

11-14-16_1-48-31-pm We tried on a few things, but nothing really stood out as “me”.

11-14-16_1-51-03-pm Lolnope.

I had this rather unflattering outfit on when I noticed Kimberly out on the sidewalk, texting on her phone.

Apparently, she was checking her reservations at Chez Llama! I had heard plenty of great things about the high-class restaurant, but had never had the chance to get in. But, here we were, off on a real, honest-to-pete, nerve-wracking date, at the most expensive restaurant in town.

Deep breaths, Jeanette; you’ve got this.

I ran home to get changed into something nice, something fancy to match the evening, then met Kimberly at the front door of Chez Llama. Kimberly gave her name at the front desk, and we were escorted to our table.

Well… booth. I guess even fancy expensive restaurants have seating for common folk.

I had no idea what most of the things on the menu were, but I recognised wine. I tried ordering the cardboardeaux, but Kimberly insisted on the more expensive wine. Well, okay.

Supper came, and it was the weirdest, most confusing looking dish I’d ever had placed in front of me. But it tasted fantastic, and the wine was absolutely amazing. It appears Kimberly knows stuff about wine. I fear I’ll be spending a lot more on wine from now on.

There was plenty of flirting as well, along with several suggestive statements, and an innuendo or two.

Or three.

11-14-16_2-19-10-pm Plus dessert, and more wine. Kimberly was thoroughly confused by the things she was tasting.

When the cheque arrived, we argued about it – good-naturedly, of course – and eventually I convinced her that my recent promotion left me with some extra cash and a reason to celebrate. She reluctantly agreed, and insisted that I would let her pay next time.

I paid the bill, and we gathered our coats. As we were leaving, and with shaking voice, I invited her back to my place for the evening.

“Of course,” she said, smiling.

11-14-16_2-22-02-pm It was quite late when we got back to the house, but I was determined to see this evening through.

“Would you like to … um. Spend the night?”

“I’d love to.”

11-14-16_2-26-14-pm After another drink of ~~slightly~~ cheaper wine and some more conversation, I finally had enough courage to make my move.

Woo! The butterflies were still practicing their drum-line routine in my gut, but Kimberly was very patient with the time it took me, but it was the greatest kiss in my life. She returned it passionately. I’m sure she was turned on by all the lab equipment in my living room.

I was exhausted but eager. I motioned to the bedroom, and she returned my smile with a nod.

Well then.

AAAAHHHH! Okay. Okay! I can do this.

I’m sure everything… I just…

11-14-16_2-28-23-pm Let’s leave it there, shall we?

chapter 19 …

Jeanette, Chapter 15

Renos, and a New Girl?

Sitting at the breakfast … stool… this morning, I just couldn’t handle the original brick any longer. So, with a quick phone call and no small amount of cash, I resurfaced the interior and exterior walls.

I think it looks pretty good.

After that, I figured it was time to get out of the house for the remainder of this beautiful day. I took a trip to the new park over in Newcrest.

Nice place, with lots of amenities and places to hang out.

11-11-16_3-19-52-pm And a bar. You gotta love a park with a bar.

Caitlyn’s wife Teagan was hanging around, making veggie burgers. As I finished up collecting rare gems, Teagan invited me over for a bite.

Cassandra was invited too, but instead she just stood around moping about things. Seriously kid, you’re a downer. But then Creepy Guy showed up, with a serious shine on for Teagan.

Nobody invited him, and we all really tried to ignore him. I was torn between trying to be friendly, and asking him to *please* stop staring at Teagan and breathing heavily. “Hi,” he’d say. “Hi. Hi.”

I tried answering him, but was met with silence and glares. Teagan managed to ignore him completely, and eventually we all left him sitting there with the burgers, and went our ways.

I went home for a while, to do some reading and catching up on the household chores. Just as I was thinking of dinner, I got a call from Kimberly, who wanted to know if I’d like to head out to eat.

I met her down at the Pelican, which is seriously starting to feel like a second home. Oh… third, I guess, after the lab.

11-11-16_3-56-30-pm I spotted Myron, out on the deck, on a date. Hrmph.

I had a great time with Kimberly. She made it no secret that she was interested in me, which is something I’d not considered much. But still… the attention felt good, after all the jerks I’ve been trying to date.

A couple of glasses of wine and some desert later, we realised we’d talked well into the night. I needed to work in the morning. Again, apparently. Didn’t I work last week?

I thanked her for an amazing evening, but schlepped my way back to the island.

I should get a car.

chapter 16 …

Jeanette, Chapter 14

The Day Bar

Ah! The weekend! I spent most of Saturday morning asleep, then puttered around the house for a while. The night before was a lot of fun, and I really needed more of that.

11-11-16_1-15-15-pm So, later that afternoon, I headed out to the lounge in Oasis Springs. Maybe the crowd there will be a little different, meet some new faces.

Okay, so “crowd” wasn’t the right word. Perhaps I shouldn’t start drinking at 2 in the afternoon, but … meh. For the first half hour or so, the only other person in the place was one old woman, sitting at the bar, reading. Then young Santa here showed up. I thought it was going to be one of THOSE nights.

11-11-16_1-18-23-pm Eventually, other folk started arriving. I still needed to do some serum testing, and figured that tonight would be as good a time as any, so I downed one of the Flirty Juice things. Time to get into a mood.

11-11-16_1-23-08-pm Hey. How YOU…

11-11-16_1-23-14-pm Oh. Okay.

Fine. Well, I’m going to socialise with whomever I can. I’m feeling all flirty-like, and *someone* is going to eventually reciprocate. You jerks.

Later in the evening Myron dropped in, and introduced me to Kimberly. We’d bumped into each other previously, at the library mostly, but I don’t think I’d ever actually spoken with her. “Great”, I thought. “Finally meet another guy, and he’s not single.” Could have told me that last night. Jerk. However, it turns out that they’re just friends.

11-11-16_1-30-20-pm So while Baldy there ignored my advances, (yet he still just kept hanging around) I turned my charm on to … dammit! Myron left. Young Santa’s just not my type.

Meanwhile, the comedian was just killing it!

Killing it! Get it!? Yeah, sorry. Anyway, this guy died.

The comedian began rethinking her career choices.

11-11-16_1-40-27-pm So while many of the older locals mourned the loss of … the old-now-dead guy, I had no idea who he was, nor did Kimberly or Skylar.

Eventually, Grim left with the guy’s soul, and the place emptied. I suppose nobody wanted to party any longer after that show-stopper. Skylar, Kimberly, and I stayed late into the night talking about it, and many other things. After all that, Kim was the only one who actually flirted at me. She was older than I – by quite a bit, I think – but seemed to know what she wanted. It was nice, but weird.

I gave up, and went home.

chapter 15 …