Leaps and landings

11

Odette walked out of her house just a minute later than Jess' Uber had arrived, so he'd had time to get out of the car and wait for her, as it seemed the only appropriate thing to do. She'd texted him before, that Rory was home and she'd be right out, as if telling him not to come to the door. He wasn't sure what to make of it, but he let it go, assuming it was probably just the matter of not wanting to explain herself. He realized though that Odette probably didn't know that Rory knew of their earlier association.

"Well hello there," Jess, dressed in black, a grey suit on top, greeted her with his sneaky smile, as she stepped down the stairs in her mini skirt and a black chiffon shirt, her grey leather jacket over her shoulders. They almost matched. She'd added a low hanging minimalistic pendant and wore a pair of black suede wide heeled pumps that was one of the few pairs of heels she knew she'd be able to dance in, that still looked hot. "You look stunning," he added.

She kissed his cheeks, Jess stealing the third deeper kiss on the lips. It was almost beginning to be a trademark of his and she certainly didn't mind, especially now when she was relieved of having chosen a smudge proof lip ink for the evening.

"You've cut your hair," she commented, running her fingers through his hair that was now an inch and a half shorter, than he'd had the week before. "Looks good," Odette commented smilingly.

Jess led her to the car, his hand on the small of her back, opening the door for her with his other hand. While the motion of getting dressed up and being take out like this was not unfamiliar to her, not at all, even Logan had been in his position for the better part of the year before. Yet now with her newfound freedom the experience felt different. It was no longer the assumption of a standard date to her. She could tell Jess was trying to impress her, show his best side or his range even, but it didn't seem forced, rather just at the border of his comfort zone as far she knew, making a statement in turn, as she'd been the one last time to stretch her horizons a little. He wouldn't have really needed to do that, but she appreciated the gesture.

He took her to a trendy Italian fusion place on Madison Avenue. As she removed her jacket, it revealed her shirt back panel, which had half-see through lower half, exposing the curve of her back.

"And here I was thinking you couldn't look any more amazing," he whispered to her ear. There had been a week's worth of foreplay really, and this was just torture.

She smiled in response, each of his words making her gut flip just a little, while she tried to keep herself composed.

"So, did you get settled in?" Odette asked Jess, after they'd ordered their Shiraz.

"Half-unpacked, but yeah," he replied. His place was a mess, but it was livable already.

"I liked your place in Philly, definitely had a lot more character than the rental," she added.

"Definitely, but I think that place too is not quite me anymore," Jess replied.

"What? Feeling old?" Odette laughed at the thought of his bachelor pad.

"Nah, I still have some good years on me," he replied jokingly, just before their wine was brought to the table and the waiter took their order.

"How old are you anyways? You must be about Rory's age, right?" she asked, realizing for the first time that she might actually be quite a few years older than he was. He had a certain maturity to him, which had never really made her think about it before.

"It's funny you should ask that. I'll be 33 next week," Jess replied.

"And you weren't going to tell me?" she asked in a slightly disappointed tone, playfully, raising her eyebrows and at the same time feeling a little self conscious about her own age.