April, 2016
“Okay, Daddy!” Tori backed out of her father’s office. “And thanks!” She tucked the card into her tiny purse which was just big enough to hold her cards and phone. The faux fur purse was attached to the chain belt she wore threaded through the belt loops of the plaid pants. Scottish was in this season, but few Scots had ever worn the low cut jeans with slashed knees that were popular this season, or the black lace shirt that completed the ensemble. She gave a last glance at her father and smiled then turned and ran right into a young man rushing down the hall. The stack of files he was carrying scattered all over the floor.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” She said, bending down to help pick up the files and looked into the man’s eyes.
He was young, with blond hair slicked back into a short tight ponytail. He sported a small blond mustache on his upper lip and an even smaller beard down the center of his lower lip and chin. His eyes met hers and she recognized him immediately.
“Flasher!”
“Hi Tori.”
They stood together and she handed him back the files.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m doing an internship here. I just graduated and moved back home. I wrote your Dad and asked him about the possibility of interning and here I am!” He shrugged his shoulders and smiled.
Tori took two steps back and looked into her father’s office. “You didn’t tell me Flasher was working here.”
John Koenig looked at his daughter mildly, stood and came to the door of his office. “That’s because you’re always on the phone.” He turned to the young man. “Austin, do you have those copies?”
“Yes sir.”
“I’ll need them in the conference room.” John kissed his daughter on the cheek. “Remember our limit,” he warned.
“Yes, Daddy. I promise.” She smiled at her father. Her phone rang, proving her father’s point. She pulled it out of the fashionable little bag. “I’m coming!” she said into the phone. “Hang on.” Her father had already made his way down the hall, Austin still stood in front of her.
“Can I come by and see you sometime?” he asked. “I still remember where you live.”
“We’ve moved,” Tori said. “Mama said that if Daddy didn’t quit collecting cars, they were going to violate zoning laws. It was beginning to look like a used car lot. So, Daddy found a bigger place with a huge garage down near Melbourne.”
“You’re not going to Cocoa High?”
“Oh, I’m still a Tiger. I wasn’t about to let them change my school.”
“Glad to hear it.”
She reached back into her purse and pulled out a little purple pen that wrote in a glittery ink. She took his hand and wrote her phone number on his palm. She spoke into her phone again. “I’ll be there in a second!” She stepped past Austin toward the door. She mouthed “Call me” to him and turned back to her phone conversation as she headed out of the building.
Austin stood and watched her leave until Mr. Koenig called from down the hallway, “Austin!”
Austin returned to reality, shook his head and headed for the conference room. Tori was even hotter now than she had been three years ago.
Outside Tori slid into the driver’s seat of the powder puff pink Volkswagon.
“You’ll never guess who I just saw!” She exclaimed to Christie.
“Who?”
“Flasher! Flasher Landing!”
“The guy you went with when we were in 9th?”
“Yeah. I haven’t seen him since then. He’s doing an internship with KCI.”
“So, what’s he like now?”
Tori leaned over to her best friend. “He’s absolutely, drop-dead gorgeous! I thought I was going to die right there in the hall.”
Both girls squealed and giggled.
“Did he ask you out?”
“Yeah, he sort of did. I gave him my phone number. You think he’ll call me? He’s all graduated from college and everything. I’m still in high school.”
“He liked you when you were a freshman,” Christie reminded her.
Tori started the car and they pulled out of the parking lot.
“And, you guys didn’t have a nasty breakup or anything.”
Tori shook her head. “He was going away to school and we just both agreed to let each other go our separate ways. Oh, God, Christie, he was sooo hot!”
“What about Brett?”
“What about him?”
“Well, he is your boyfriend right now.”
“So? I’m not chained to him. We go out every couple of weeks and we’re going to the Prom together, but it’s not like either one of us has made a lifetime commitment.” Tori glanced at her best friend. “You know, you could date someone besides my little cousin.”
Christie laughed. “Your ‘little’ cousin is six inches taller than you.”
“That’s not the point.”
“I know. Robbie and I like being together.”
“And next year?”
“Next year, what? You may be going off to college, but I’ll be lucky to afford a couple of classes a semester at the Community College. I’ll be here,” Christie sighed and looked out the window.
There was an awkward moment of silence between them. Christie was already working as a waitress to pay for an old junker car that Robbie tinkered with constantly to keep running. Her dad was no help at all and her mom had vanished years ago.
“You could still do with some variety.”
“I don’t want variety. I like what I’ve got.” She sighed. “You just don’t understand how special Robbie is.”
They turned in at the boutique where Tori was ordering her dress for the Prom.
“I seem to recall that he and my creepy brother were special enough to drop a skeleton on you one year at Halloween.”
“Ah, but I wasn’t his target, you were. And he was really sorry about that. That was ages ago, Tor.”
“I give up. But I still think you’re stuck in a rut.”
“To each his own.”
“He called me last night.” Tori was touching up her makeup before school when she caught Christie’s reflection as she entered the school bathroom.
Christie pulled out a brush and began to brush her long blond hair. “Who?”
“Flasher! Everyone calls him Austin now, but I still call him Flasher.”
“Really? So, what did he say?”
“We’re going to go over to the beach for dinner. Her remembered I like Caribbean music and there’s a steel drum band playing at Minty’s.”
“Minty’s is a bar. You’re parents aren’t going to let you go to a bar.”
“My parents know all they need to know. Flasher is taking me out to dinner. Then we may go see a movie.”
“Your father didn’t give you the third degree?”
“He seems to like Flasher. Told me he was a nice young man.”
“I thought you and Brett were going somewhere tonight.”
“He’s going up to the Speedway with some guys. They have tickets to a race tomorrow and Ben’s dad let them have his RV. But that reminds me, I wanted to tell Brett what color my dress is for the prom so he’ll get the right color flowers.”
They found Brett and his friends by the Senior Wall. Ben was sitting on top of the wall retelling some race he had seen with sound effects. “And he won the race skidding along the wall.”
“You’re so full of it,” one of the other boys said.
“Seriously, he’s a cousin. Not some first cousin or anything. But he promised my dad he’d get us tickets some time.”
“That’s right,” Bret said. “I was there when he talked to them.” He turned and saw Tori. “Hi beautiful.” He put his arm around her and pulled her to his side.
She leaned against him and looked up at him. “I’m picking up my dress for the prom tonight.”
“That’s great honey. Ben, you should see if he can get us all tickets for the Daytona. That would be awesome.”
“Talladega is my favorite,” One of the other boys said. “We could have that RV there in no time.”
“Or Atlanta,” Brett added.
“Brett, my dress is pink, in case they ask you when you order the flowers.”
“Sure, Tori. Heck, I’d go to Vegas. We could fly there and rent an RV.” Everybody laughed and nodded.
The bell rang just then and Robbie showed up at Christie’s elbow. “Did you ask them?”
“Ask us what?” Tori asked. Brett took her notebook and tucked it with his own. They had the same class first period.
“Mom has offered to make us breakfast after the dance and then take the Windseeker out for a moonlight cruise.”
“Seriously?” Brett said. “You have the coolest mom.”
“You want to come?” Christie asked.
“Sounds fun,” Tori said. “What do you think, Brett?”
“Sure, why not.”
Robbie nodded, gave Christie a quick kiss and headed toward the vocational wing. He had auto repair first period.
Austin left work a little after five that evening. It was the end of his first week on the job and he was learning more than he ever thought possible. It was the first day he had left the office before 7 and the first day he hadn’t brought something home to study. It was the most exhilarating experience he’d had off the baseball field. Next week he was scheduled to go to the Rock with a small team. His first trip off the planet! He couldn’t wait. But right now, he was anticipating an evening with the lovely Tori Koenig.
When he had kissed her goodbye at the end of his Senior year and gone off to college, she had been a pretty young thing. She had blossomed into one of the hottest young women he had ever seen. He saw those incredible blue eyes of hers every time he closed his.
He endured the traffic on the way to his mother’s house. His father had died two years ago and she lived alone in a house that was too big for her and too expensive to maintain. It was paid for though, and that was good. She had very little income. Austin had needed that baseball scholarship to get him through school and suddenly there was no money for graduate school. He hoped he could parlay this internship into a paying position. Then perhaps he could find a way to take a course at a time, perhaps at UCF or through an online university.
He showered and changed quickly, reminding his mother that he was going out. The he hopped back into his little Spyder and headed south, the directions Tori had given him glowing on the screen of his PDA on the dash beside him.
At the turn off US 1 into her subdivision he heard the high pitched beeping of a small car. He looked in his rear-view mirror and saw Tori waving at him from her pale pink VW bug. He grinned and waved back, then once the light changed he turned and pulled over, allowing her to pass so he could follow her. Her vanity plate read “TORI BUG”.
The house was huge, a mansion. And he could see the five car garage behind the house, carefully tucked under the spreading oak trees that led down to the water. There was a long dock out into the river and a ski boat winched up out of the water on one side of the dock and a pair of jet ski’s on the other side. The cream colored house with green trim loomed over him. Tori followed the driveway to the garage, the single door lifting to accommodate the Bug. He could see two other cars were parked behind the double door. He parked behind her car and leaned out. “Is this all right?”
Tori checked the driveway and nodded. “Sam can park over by the basketball hoop and Mom and Dad can still get out. They’re going out to dinner with friends, but we’ll probably leave first. Come on in.”
She headed around to the passenger side of her tiny car and pulled out a large flat box.
“Here, let me help you with that.” He hurried to take the box from her. She gave him a smile, handed it over and let him in through the garage.
They entered a huge kitchen with an antique oak table in the bay window. There was a professional style stove and an island in the middle of the kitchen with a rack over it holding various shiny pots and utensils. They went through a door ahead of them into a living room with hardwood floors and sofas arranged to look out through two sets of French doors at the pool and beyond to the waterfront.
Tori put the box on a coffee table. “Mom?” she called.
Her mother came down the steps that were on the far wall. “Hi Sweetheart. Hello Austin. Tori told us you two were going to dinner tonight.”
“Hello Dr. Koenig. It’s good to see you again.”
“Is that your dress for the Prom?” Helena asked her daughter.
“Yes. Let me show it to you.” Tori took the box from Austin and set it on the sofa. She opened the box and pulled out yards of pink silk and chiffon. She held it up and the schoolgirl transformed.
“Oh, Tori, it’s lovely,” her mother said.
“You’ll look like a princess, right out of a fairy tale,” Austin said with a smile. Tori glowed with the praise and her cheeks flushed pink.
“You need to hang it up,” Helena said. “Austin can wait for you in the game room.”
“I need to change too. Can you give me a few minutes?”
“Sure.”
Helena Koenig pointed out the door to the game room. The large room had a pool table, a pinball machine and a wall full of electronic equipment, big screen TV, stereo, movies and several different kinds of electronic game systems with a wide variety of games. The room had a wall of sliding glass doors leading out by the pool and a doorway that led to a bathroom with a door to the outside. Austin chose a baseball video game and settled on the sofa in front of the TV.
About fifteen minutes later his team scored a homerun with the bases loaded, putting them well ahead. Austin smiled grimly as the crowd cheered.
“Sam?” John Koenig’s voice sounded in the hall. Austin sat up and turned around. “Oh, Austin. I wondered who was down here.”
“Hi Mr. Koenig. I’m waiting for Tori.”
“Well, you might as well make yourself at home then.”
Before he could reply, Tori’s father had disappeared back into the rest of the house.
It was the bottom of the eighth inning when Tori walked into the room. His team was winning, but he had no objection to shutting down the game. When she had disappeared upstairs she had looked like a schoolgirl. He wasn’t sure what it was, but she now looked much more sophisticated and older. She didn’t look ‘made up’; in fact, he was pretty sure she had on less makeup than she’d had before. Her lips looked moist and kissable, and he remembered those lips.
Her hair was swept up and curls tumbled down from the top of her head. Her earrings were large gold hoops that dangled almost to her shoulder. She had a gold anklet on and a gold charm bracelet. She was wearing Capri plants with bright red hibiscus flowers nestled into green leaves on a white background. Her white cotton knit sweater stretched pleasingly over her curves and a tantalizing line of tanned skin showed between the pants and sweater. She wore little white sandals and her nails were the same color as the flowers on her pants.
He stood. “You look fantastic.”
She smiled at him and he noticed her dimples. “Thanks. Sorry for taking so long.”
“No problem. I didn’t have anywhere pressing to go.”
“What time does the band start playing?”
“Not until nine. We can have dinner, then maybe go for a walk on the beach?”
She agreed and held out her hand. He took it. Tori was tiny, smaller than her mother by two inches. Her hands were small too. He remembered that.
Her mother appeared at the top of the stairs. “Are you two leaving?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Tori replied.
“We’ll be at the Jacobsens for dinner, but we should be home by eleven. Your curfew is 12:30 as usual.”
“I’ll have her back by then Dr. Koenig.” Austin assured her. He and Tori had worked hard to gain their trust when they were dating before. He wasn’t about erode that trust. Tori smiled and nodded.
“Have a good time.”
In the car, Tori turned to him and put her hand on his thigh. “Tell me all about college, Flasher. I thought you were going to play baseball after college. What are you doing back here?”
For a moment Austin could think of nothing but her hand on his thigh. He wasn’t even sure he could concentrate on driving. He latched onto the word baseball. It had been the driving force of most of his life. He could always talk baseball.
“I played on the team at school my Freshman and Sophomore year. At the end of the second season, in my very last game, I threw out my shoulder and spent most of the summer trying to get the rotator cup repaired.”
“Sounds painful.”
“It was. And even more painful was the decision not to play. The shoulder just wasn’t going to be dependable enough. They told me it would last the rest of my life as along as I didn’t overdo it. And playing ball would be overdoing it.”
“That’s awful, Flasher. I know how much playing baseball meant to you.”
He nodded. “I had a hard time coming to grips with it.” He glanced at her as he changed lanes and turned to go across the bridge to reach A1A. “No one has called me Flasher for years.”
“Would you prefer I call you Austin now?”
He shook his head. “I think I like it when you call me Flasher.” They smiled at each other.
They talked about college. Tori was planning to go to Auburn in the Fall. She asked Austin about life on a college campus and he was pleased to be able to tell her all about it. He rather missed all the action and his college friends. He had attended summer session the last two years and had enough credits to graduate in December. Last year it had been painful to be on campus during baseball season, so he had avoided that this year by graduating.
“Sam wants to go to MIT and major in engineering. That’s where Daddy went. But he plans to get a graduate degree too before stopping.” Tori said.
“That’s a great idea. And being on campus is a lot of fun. I’m sure he’ll enjoy it. But, my scholarship was for an undergraduate degree. I’m going to need to save up some money before going any further.”
“Your parents can’t help?”
“My dad died two years ago. Mom is coping, but she doesn’t have anything extra.”
“Oh, Flasher! I had no idea!”
Austin shrugged and placed his hand over Tori’s, which was still on his thigh. “I’ve had time to get used to the idea. He had life insurance, and that has Mom set. But there wasn’t anything extra.”
“He was such a nice man. I remember when he took us to the state fair.”
Austin smiled at the memory. Tori’s parents let her go with him since it was a family outing. They had ridden all the rides and watched some of the horse shows. His dad had thought Tori a little dilettante until they got to the horse barns, then he found out that despite the fact that she had money, she knew her way around a barn. His dad had been raised on a cattle ranch near Stuart and always considered himself a country boy, despite his job as the manager of a furniture store. He and Tori had talked horses and cows most of the afternoon and had a wonderful time.
They arrived at the restaurant and continued to catch up with each other’s lives. Other than the problems with his arm and playing baseball, Austin had loved college and Tori wanted to hear all about it. They sat at a table for two by the window and Austin ordered himself a beer. Tori ordered a coke. They asked for a double order of onion rings, a favorite food for both of them. When the beer arrived, there were two. The waitress explained that it was happy hour as she put the frosted mugs on the table. After she left, Tori reached over for one of the mugs and took a sip of the beer with a wink at Austin.
“You are going to get us into trouble.” He said quietly, leaning across the table at her.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got an employee ID from the Rock with a perfectly suitable birth date on it.”
“Where did you get that?”
“Oh, a friend. It’s all very legit. It’ll pass any kind of inspection, including a call up to the Rock for computer authorization.”
Austin grinned and shook his head.
“Will you be going up to the Rock?”
“Next week will be my first trip. Your dad wants some measurements taken with some new laser calibrated equipment and I used it in a class I took last fall. When I told him that he said he was sending me.”
“You’ll love it. It’s a lot of fun. Alpha’s great too, but the Rock is better. I love zero gee.”
Her manner was so suggestive as she added that last that he couldn’t help but consider what zero gee might be like with Tori. He also wondered want she had done in zero gee, perhaps with someone else. His imagination was running away from him.
She told him about the Rock and some of her adventures there. He asked what she wanted to major in and if she would someday be working for her family’s company. She said she hadn’t made up her mind, about either. They ordered another round of beers with their burgers and then headed out onto the beach to take a walk. They pulled off their shoes, the only way to walk on the beach, and walked along in that spot where water meets the land. With stars above them, they walked hand-in-hand, enjoying being together. When they decided to turn around, Tori reached up and kissed him.
Austin had not forgotten how terrific Tori could kiss. He had thought about it a lot while away at college, constantly comparing the girls he was dating to Tori. Both he and Tori had agreed to go their separate ways when he went off to college, but it hadn’t been easy.
Her arms were around his neck and she seemed to melt against him. Her technique had improved while he was away.
They could hear music from up the beach. Austin pulled away and they headed reluctantly back to the bar.
A crowd had gathered in the sand around the bar. Even the volleyball game had stopped.
“What’s going on?” Austin asked a couple of people at the edge of the crowd. The strains of Margaritaville could be heard from the band on the porch.
“It’s Jimmy Buffett himself, man. He stopped by to jam with the band.”
“He must be ancient.”
Tori was standing beside him, jumping up and down, trying to see the stage on the porch. She was too short to see over the people in front of them. “My aunt used to go to his concerts. We learned to sing his songs before we learned to read!”
“Here,” Austin moved behind her and bent over. He put his hands on her thighs, lifted her easily and settled her on his shoulders. He steadied her by holding onto her bare ankles. Manicured toes dangled, each nail carefully painted in pink, pearly white or mint green, matching her flowered pants.
Her hands brushed against his shoulders, and she leaned down. “You’re so strong. This is great.”
She watched for a while, settling comfortably on his shoulders while he caressed her calves. Her toes wriggled and he caught sight of the little gold toe ring on her right foot. It was shaped like a dolphin. She smelled fantastic. He could have held her all night like this. But, soon enough, she wanted to get down and dance.
The music was great. They moved up to the crowded dance floor. Tori put her arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss on the lips as he held her waist. They would lose each other in the crowd if they didn’t hold on to each other. After a couple of songs he led her inside where it was warm, but a little less crowded. They ordered two more beers and headed back out on the beach.
They joined a game of beach volleyball, then danced some more. Austin glanced up at a Coors Beer clock on the wall above the outdoor bar and saw that it was approaching midnight. He pointed that out to Tori and she nodded. Hand in hand they made their way back to the car.
Tori leaned back with a sigh. “Flasher, that was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”
“Me too,” Austin agreed with a grin. He liked being called Flasher again. And dancing with Tori was like a taste of heaven. “Can we do it again?”
“Sure! Next weekend I’ll be going to the Prom on Saturday. When will you be back from the Rock?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t really know the schedule yet.”
She leaned over and rubbed her hand on his thigh. “Excited?”
For a moment he didn’t think she meant about traveling into space. He realized that an enthusiastic yes covered his current condition and his feelings about the Rock. Tori, however, was chattering on about space travel.
They arrived in her driveway with fifteen minutes to spare. He pulled in behind her Volkswagon and turned off the ignition.
Tori turned to him with a smile. “Remember when we’d meet after school behind the gym before you went to baseball practice and I went to golf practice?”
Austin remembered in great detail. Tori had been a freshman but made the golf team with ease. She wasn’t allowed to date yet, so they had only gone on supervised outings together, or met at the movies while she was with other friends. Their makeout sessions that spring behind the gym had been phenomenal. “I remember slipping your cousin a twenty to keep him from talking about that too.”
Tori rolled her eyes. “Geoff can be such a brat. Robbie, the younger one, is much nicer. I don’t know why he puts up with Geoff or my awful brother.”
Austin remembered her brother too, who couldn’t be bought. They had tried. But he didn’t want to talk about Tori’s cousins or brother right now. He leaned forward and kissed her.
At fourteen, Tori had already been a terrific kisser. He had used her kisses as a gage against the girls he had dated in college. Many of the college girls fell far short of Tori’s prowess. She had been improving her technique while he was away. Her hands made their way down from his neck to his chest, then lower. He moved his left hand underneath her sweater then around to the front. It was a lacy little bra and Tori shifted to give him a better angle at it as she seemed to simply melt his mouth with her hot kisses.
A floodlight lit up the driveway and the garage door was opening. Tori pulled back fast, licking her lips. “That’s my cue,” she said with a wink. “Give me a call.”
“Yeah,” was the only line the stunned Austin could come up with as she opened her door and slid out of the car.
Tori Koenig figured prominently in Austin Landing’s dreams that night. Saturday and Sunday he was busy around the house, working through a list of chores his mother had for him. Without his father around, a number of repair and maintenance chores had been sadly neglected while Austin was away. Then on Monday he boarded an Eagle to the Rock with three others from CKI and was once again immersed in his work. Thoughts of Tori weren’t forgotten, merely pushed aside.
“Toribug!”
“Hi Brett. I thought we’d see each other after school today, but your car was already gone by the time I got to the parking lot. I just got your message to call.”
“Yeah. Something came up. I’m over at Ben’s.”
“Sorry I didn’t call you right away. You know I volunteer at the hospital on Thursdays. I always turn my phone off.”
“That’s right. I knew you’d call when you could.”
“What’s up?”
“Something terrific! Ben’s cousin sent his dad tickets for the race this weekend in Talladega. We’re flying up after school tomorrow so we can see the Busch race as well as the Winston Cup on Sunday.”
“…”
“Tori? You still there?”
“This weekend?”
“Yeah. The Talladega is this weekend. Isn’t that awesome! We’re gonna get a tour of the pits and everything.”
“Brett, the Prom is this weekend.”
“I know that, honey. But… this is NASCAR! The big time!”
“Brett, we only have one Senior Prom.”
“Well, you can still go. I’ll give you my ticket and you can get someone else to take you.”
Tori gritted her teeth, closed her eyes tight and counted silently to ten in English, Italian and Russian. “Brett?”
“Yeah honey?”
“Don’t… ever… call me… again.”
“Wha---“
Tori pressed the stop button before she started screaming into the phone. She leaned against the steering wheel of her car and cried. It was two days before the Prom and she didn’t have a date.
Austin was in the conference room with his team. They were reporting to John Koenig the information gathered. Koenig sat with his legs crossed wide and a computer tablet on his lap making notes with a stylus. They had already downloaded the information to the main computer and Austin had helped create the presentation. It had been an exhilarating week, actually putting to use the skills he’d been learning. He had also taken Tori’s advice and seen the floor show at the hotel. The zero gee ampitheatre had been spectacular. He had also gone to one of the ‘open’ hours, paid his fee and flown around the huge cavern. He wished Tori had been there with him.
While the team leader pointed out a particularly tricky section of the rock they had surveyed, Koenig’s phone on his belt began playing ‘Ride of the Valkyries’. He held up his hand to stop the discussion and plucked the phone from his belt. He opened the phone and held it to his ear.
“Tori?”
Austin realized that must be the song Koenig had programmed for her incoming calls.
Everyone in the room could hear Tori’s distraught voice as she shouted into the phone. “Daddy! My life is ruined!” Beyond that, she became less coherent if no less audible.
Koenig stopped her quickly. “Tori, calm down. I can’t understand a word you’re saying. Tori? Can you hear me?” He had to raise his own voice to be heard over her sobs. Austin, sitting directly across the table from Koenig heard the word Brett, and he thought he caught the words, ‘that bastard’, but he wasn’t sure.
“Tori! Stop!” Koenig had to shout into the phone, but his voice carried the weight of command. Sounds from the other end were silenced. “Now, slowly and softly. What’s happened?”
This time Austin couldn’t hear anything. Koenig listened for a moment, sighed then turned to the others in the room. “Excuse me a moment. Teenage daughter crisis.” The others laughed politely as Koenig stepped out of the room and down the hall to his office. The team waited, chatting together about the coming weekend. Austin liked the survey team he had worked with. Two had EV experience and had set all the sensors on the surface of the area of the Rock where they would be building the factory. One of those had been on Alpha when the moon had left orbit, about the time he was born. She was a tall blond woman with a long face and an English accent named Ms. Crenshaw. Austin liked her and she had been very patient with him. She said he had done a good job and would recommend he begin micro-atmosphere training so he could work outside.
Koenig returned, apologizing. “Tori’s date for the Prom cancelled on her. She’s so upset she’s almost incoherent.”
The others murmured sympathetically and all returned to the meeting.
Maybe it was because he was younger than the others. Or maybe it was because he knew Tori better. Or perhaps it was because he understood that she must be devastated. Austin’s attention was no longer focused on the meeting. It had taken a good deal of negotiating and pleading on his and Tori’s part, but she had accompanied him to his senior prom. Several of his buddies had teased him about taking a ‘baby’ to the prom, but the two of them had been together for most of the year, and he genuinely liked Tori. She was no longer the subject of a stupid bet. She had been thrilled at the thought of being his date, despite the fact he had to get her home as soon as the prom closed down at midnight. That hadn’t really been so bad. Some of his buddies who didn’t have dates had gone to the beach afterwards and they had sat on the sand around a bonfire and talked until the sun came up.
Within a half hour he heard Koenig thanking them all. The meeting was breaking up. He left with the others and finished up his work for the day, mind still on Tori. As soon as he could leave, he headed to his car and drove straight to a florist that he remembered his mother ordering flowers from. Although it was closing time and the woman was locking the door, when he told her the problem, she opened the door and let him in. He followed her suggestions and was soon on his way.
Tori’s Bug was parked in front of the house. He parked behind it and headed for the front door. It took a while for someone to answer the door when he rang the bell. Dr. Koenig opened the door for him.
“Can I see Tori?” He asked.
“Austin, I don’t think this is a good time.”
“Please, Dr. Koenig.” Austin pulled his hand from behind his back and showed her the box. “I… I heard what happened at work. At least some of it. I think I can help.”
Dr. Koenig smiled and opened the door wider. “I think you might be right.”
She led him into the living room and pointed up the stairs. “She’s in her room, come with me.”
The stairs wound up the side of the living room and led to a hallway. The first door on the right was bright and airy, painted a pale pink with white lace curtains. He knew it was Tori’s room before he stepped inside it.
On the white eyelet canopy bed, Tori lay sprawled face down. Her dark hair spread across her shoulders and fanned out across the bed. Suddenly, he felt a little shy. Austin glanced back at Tori’s mother who nodded her encouragement.
“Tori?”
“Go away,” she said firmly, not even moving.
“Tori, it’s me, Flasher.”
At that Tori sat up, tossing her hair over one shoulder. Her eyes were puffy and her nose red. She still looked beautiful. She took in the box in his hand and her eyes widened.
“Tori? Would you do me the honor of letting me accompany you to the Prom?” He held out the gold florist’s box.
“Oh, Flasher.” She ran across the room and into his arms.
He hugged her and then pushed her back a bit, self-conscious with her mother right there. “Will this match your dress okay?”
The corsage was a white orchid with a center that went from deep purple in the middle to a pale shade of pink. “It’s perfect!”
She was about to hug him again. Her mother must have sensed Austin’s feelings. She stepped forward. “Why don’t we take that downstairs to the refrigerator to keep it cool.”
Tori nodded and led the way downstairs. “Brett told me he’d give me his ticket at school tomorrow. Flasher, how did you know?”
“I was in a meeting with your dad when you called. I knew how upset you were. But I’m going to need a tux. You think I can get one by then?”
“There’s a place in the mall. But a lot of boys went there.” She looked at her mother.
“They can probably get something in from another store in time. Why don’t you two go check it out?”
Tori beamed at her mother and took Austin’s hand. “Shall we go right now?”
“The sooner the better,” Austin said. He turned to Tori’s mom. “Is it all right if we have dinner together too? I’ll have her home by the time the mall closes.”
Helena Koenig smiled and nodded. He and Tori were out the door quickly. As the got in Austin’s Spyder, Tori leaned over and gave him a quick but thorough kiss. “You are my knight in shining armor.”
“And Brett’s a complete loser. He doesn’t know how lucky he was.”
Tori gave him a smile that warmed him all the way to his toes. She settled into the car next to him, her hand on his thigh, right where it belonged.
Two nights later a limo drew up in front of the Carter household. It was almost one in the morning. Four laughing young people exited the limo. Geoff Carter and his date had been dropped off at a party they were invited to. Christie, Robbie, Tori and Austin entered through the front door. Christie sang out a bugle call and the boys stepped forward as escort, drawing imaginary swords to a salute as Tori walked in.
“All rise for Queen Tori of Cocoa High School.” Christie called out.
Tori looked the part of a queen, with her fairy-tale dress of pink, the orchid corsage and a small rhinestone tiara on her head. Her aunt and uncle and cousin Susie came forward to greet them and congratulate the new queen.
Breakfast was a festive affair, with Mel Carter in the kitchen cooking pancakes and eggs while Alan Carter served the queen and her court. After they ate, the girls went up to Susie’s room to change from their finery. The boys went to Robbie’s room.
Clad in shorts, they headed for the small sailboat that the children used now. Christie and Tori were well-versed in crewing the boat and scrambled forward to trim the sails while Robbie manned the conn. Austin stood beside Robbie and watched. The sight of the two girls in cut-offs and tiny t-shirts was even more inspiring than seeing them in their Prom finery. Robbie grinned at him and turned to watch Christie. “Best view in the world.”
Austin’s eyes were on Tori as she leaned forward to cast off the forward line. “I’ll say.” He turned to Robbie. “Anything I can do?” They were already pulling into the canal.
“I bought a bottle of champagne. You can get it out of the fridge. There are champagne flutes over the sink in the galley.”
“You must have one of those ID’s like Tori.”
“Makes working on the Rock a lot easier. Our Uncle Tony got us each one on our sixteenth. Susie is the only one who doesn’t have one now.”
Austin shook his head and headed below. He opened the door of the tiny refrigerator and pulled out a bottle lying on its side on the top shelf. It was a Dom Perignon. He raised an eyebrow. Those were supposed to be expensive. He shrugged. The Carters and Koenigs all seemed to have plenty of money. He removed the wire, covered the cork carefully with a towel and pointed it slightly away from him as he pushed it. It unsealed with a pop muffled by the towel. There were indeed champagne flutes hanging from a rack over the sink along with margarita glasses and wine glasses. He chose four and divided the bottle between them. There was a tray in the rack by the sink, so he placed the glasses on the tray and headed back up.
The girls were sitting on the console and they were already out in the channel, heading south along the intercoastal. The boat had running lights, as well as festive little twinkling lights along all the guide wires. He handed a flute to Robbie then served the girls.
Robbie raised a glass. “To my cousin, the queen, and her beautiful lady-in-waiting.
The girls laughed and they all drank. Robbie looked at the glass. “Hey, that’s better than I thought it would be.”
“This is wonderful,” Christie agreed.
“Good choice, Rob,” Tori said, motioning Austin to sit beside her.
Christie turned on the stereo and put in a disk she and Tori had prepared for the occasion. The soft latin jazz went well with the mood of the evening. Christie moved to stand by Robbie, who pulled her into his arms and kissed her neck.
Tori curled against Austin on the console and sipped her champagne. “This is nice,” she said dreamily.
He kissed the top of her head and nodded, agreeing with her.
For a while they sat together, enjoying the moonlight on the water and the taste of the champagne. Robbie and Christie stayed by the wheel together and although Robbie was keeping an eye on the direction of the boat, his hands were beginning to roam underneath Christie’s t-shirt.
Tori looked up at Austin. “You’ve never been sailing with us before, have you?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Would you like to see the rest of the boat? I’ll give you the tour.”
He almost declined. Then he realized that meant a little more privacy for the two of them, and for Robbie and Christie. “Sure.”
Tori led him down the steps. Austin caught Robbie’s eye as he went below. Robbie gave him a knowing wink and a nod. Austin took the hint and shut the door to the cabin.
Tori turned on a switch and two soft globes of light appeared over the little table across from the galley. “Aunt Mel has had this boat for years. When Uncle Alan bought her a new one, she pretty much turned this boat over to us.”
“That was nice of her.”
“It’s got everything. A tiny head, the galley, and back here is the master bedroom.”
Close quarters required that Austin move right up against Tori as they entered the front section. There was indeed a bed with polished wooden cabinets below and above it. Everything was neat and clean. The boat might not be new, but it was very well maintained.
The boat rocked and Tori leaned against him. He put his arms around her to steady them both. Her lips were too near him to resist. He kissed her. Tori responded with passion, arms wrapping around his neck. His hands moved against the smooth skin of her back and his lips moved from her lips, to cheek, to jaw. Her breath felt hot against his ear.
“Flasher?”
“Mmm.” He was barely coherent, holding her like this.
She pressed tighter against him. “Check my back pocket.”
He moved one hand lower. There was something in her pocket. Her hips moved against him as she nibbled at his ear lobe. He slid his hand inside the pocket and pulled out a square packet of foil.
He pulled back just a bit and looked at her. The light from the galley area lent a diffuse and dim glow to the room. He looked into her eyes. She blinked and blushed. “I mean...” she said haltingly. “If you want to.”
He touched her reverently, moving his hand from her cheek to neck, then lower, hovering over her breast then down to her hip. “If I want to? It’s all I’ve thought about this last week.”
She smiled that smile that made him almost melt. “Really?”
He kissed her softly. “Really. I could barely concentrate on anything.”
They touched each other, removing each other’s clothing, then they were on the bed next to each other. He wanted to taste all of her, explore her, make her enjoy this so much she would want to repeat the experience over and over again. Tori pulled him to her, taking him inside her more quickly than he intended. She had never been shy about what she wanted, and she wasn’t now either. She seemed to devour him.
In the background, he heard the stereo increase in volume. He didn’t know if Robbie was drowning out the sounds he and Tori were making, or his own with Christie at the back of the boat. He didn’t care. He was in complete bliss and Tori could do whatever she liked with him.
All too soon it was time to head back in. Tori stirred in his arms as the boat came about. She pulled on her shorts and t-shirt and gave him a kiss and a smile before heading above. As he dressed he could hear the girls climbing over the boat above him, trimming the sails for the return trip. He collected the champagne flutes, washed them and put them back in their place. He cleaned things up and Tori came back inside to make up the bed. They kissed softly, and touched as much as possible as he helped her make up the bed, then they finished the trip sitting together on the console in the back of the boat. He couldn’t keep his hands off of her.
They tied up the boat and headed to the house as quietly as possible. Tori’s aunt was in a hammock on the patio. She sat up as they approached and threw off an Indian patterned blanket.
“I’ve made up the futon in the game room for you, Austin. Tori and Christie, you get your usual spots in Susie’s room.” She stood gracefully and put her arm around Tori as she drew closer.
“I was planning to head home, Mrs. Carter,” Austin said. “I could drop Tori off at her house.”
“Nonsense, you’ve been up all night,” she said in a voice that brooked no argument. “Everything is all arranged.”
Tori kissed her aunt on the cheek. “Thanks Auntie Mel. I’m bushed. Good night everyone.”
Tori slipped away with Christie right behind her, calling good night quietly. Robbie kissed his mother and put his hand on Austin’s shoulder. “Come on, Austin, I’ll show you where the game room is.” They followed the girls upstairs and Austin was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
He awoke in the morning to raised voices in the next room. For a moment he didn’t know where he was, then he remembered Tori and the sailboat. He was at the Carter’s house.
“Robert Miller Carter, I’m asking you a simple question. What did you have to drink last night?”
“Ma! It was just one bottle of champagne. We drank more last New Year’s Eve – with you pouring! Honest.”
Austin pulled on his slacks and shirt and headed into the hallway. Melissa Carter was standing in the next doorway. Robbie was sitting up in bed.
“Mrs. Carter,” Austin said quietly. “I’ll take the responsibility. The four of us did split a bottle of champagne.” Austin didn’t make any mention of who bought it. That was for Robbie to confess to.
Robbie’s mother leaned against the door with a sigh and a ‘give-me-strength’ look that he’d seen on his mother’s face a time or two.
“I cut you guys a lot of slack, you know that.” She was looking at Robbie, not Austin.
“Sure, Mom. And really, we don’t try to abuse it or anything. None of us were drunk.”
“It was only the one bottle, Mrs. Carter.” Austin added.
He noticed the bottle in Mrs. Carter’s hand. She passed it to him. “Do you know what this is?”
“It’s the bottle of champagne that was in the refrigerator on the boat,” Austin said. “I opened and poured it.”
“Wait a minute. That’s not the bottle I bought on the Rock,” Robbie said.
Austin looked at Robbie, then at Mrs. Carter. “You told me the bottle in the refrigerator. It was on the shelf.”
“Mine was in the door.”
Mrs. Carter looked at the two of them. “Well, gentlemen, you owe me eight hundred dollars for this little mix up. You served up a bottle of Dom Perignon that I was planning to serve next week for my anniversary. I knew Alan wouldn’t find it on the Windseeker, so I put it in there last week when I brought it home.”
“Eight hun—“ Robbie and Austin both gasped.
“How was it?” she asked dryly.
“Um,” Robbie said. “It was really good. I’d never had anything quite like it.”
“Yeah. But I’m not sure it was… that good,” Austin mumbled.
Mrs. Carter sighed again. “Well, I know how much money you both make. Work out a payment plan and let me know what it is.” She turned and swept down the hallway without looking back.
“Oh man,” Robbie groaned. Austin could only nod miserably.
On Monday, Austin buried himself in his work and tried hard to be invisible to Mr. Koenig and the Carters. The company wasn’t that big, so it wasn’t easy. His internship would be up at the end of the month, and he was certain he had blown any chance of working here. When Mrs. Crenshaw stopped by his cubicle and asked him to go see Mr. Carter, he was certain that he was about to be sacked.
Alan Carter was sitting at his drawing table by the window. He turned in his chair as Austin entered the room. “Hello, Austin.”
“Mr. Carter,” Austin said uncomfortably.
“Close the door will you, and have a seat.”
Austin swallowed hard and did as he was told.
“I’ve been looking over this presentation you compiled for that latest site test. It’s very well done.”
“Thank you,” Austin said. Maybe Mr. Carter would at least give him a decent recommendation.
The older man looked him in the eye and hesitated. “Austin, I think you ought to know something.”
Here it comes, Austin thought.
“The women in my wife’s family tend to… enchant men. Once you’re under their spell, you’re never quite the same. That includes my wife’s mother, sister, and niece.”
“Tori?” Austin asked, a bit confused. What did this have to do with letting him go?
“That’s right. I saw the way you looked at her the other night and thought I ought to warn you. Not that it’s such a terrible thing. But I know that Tori intends to leave for college in the fall.”
“Yes, we’ve already talked about that. I’m really… fond of Tori. I don’t want to stand in her way or anything. And… I don’t think either one of us is ready to settle down or anything.”
Mr. Carter gave a knowing smile. “Of course not. Someone once told me I was off the market a few weeks after I met Mel. I didn’t believe them either.” He seemed to change the subject and Austin was glad. He wasn’t sure he understood what Mr. Carter was trying to tell him. “Tori will be working here this summer. I just don’t want that to affect your work.”
“Of course not, sir. Besides, my internship will be up in a couple of weeks.” The last he added reluctantly.
Mr. Carter tilted his head and thought a moment. Then he pushed a button on his desk.
“Yes, dear?” Mrs. Carter’s voice replied from an unseen speaker.
“Do you have time to talk to Mr. Landing?”
“I have fifteen minutes right now. Send him over.”
Mr. Carter didn’t reply, he just waved at Austin. Austin could recognize an
order from their boss. He headed for Mrs. Carter’s office down the hallway.
He would have preferred it if Mr. Carter had fired him.
“Come on in, Austin,” Mrs. Carter said as he hesitated at her open doorway.
He took a seat across the desk from her. She leaned back in the big black office chair that looked too big for her.
“You know, on your salary, you’ll never be able to pay for that bottle of champagne,” she said with a smile.
“Well, I don’t really get a salary,” he said hesitantly.
“Exactly.” Mrs. Carter picked up a folder and clipped a piece of paper on top of it. “Which is why I think we need to make sure you’re employed.” She handed over the folder to him.
It was a glossy folder with the CKI emblem on the front of it. Inside was a stack of human resources paperwork. The paper on the outside was a contract for employment. The salary amount was impressive, and it was right below his name.
“Mr. Koenig, Mr. Carter and Ms. Crenshaw are all impressed with your work. They feel you’ve made a place for yourself here, something about being an expert on some new equipment they have.”
“Well, I used it before at school,” Austin said.
“Never be modest when someone is offering to hire you, young man,” Mrs. Carter instructed.
“Yes, ma’am. I’m good at it. And I like the work.”
Melissa Carter nodded. “That’s better. You’ll also find information about our tuition reimbursement program in there. We’ll be expecting you to work on your graduate degree.”
“I intend to,” Austin said eagerly. It was just beginning to hit him that he had a job, here at the same company Tori would be working for this summer. How could things get any better?
“Look the package over tonight, make sure it’s acceptable. If you have any questions, call Jane in HR. Once you’ve turned it in to her, she’ll take care of getting you on the payroll.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll get to it right away.”
“For now, I think you have work to do. You’d better get to it.”
“Right away.”
Austin left quickly. He felt as if he could fly out of her office. He didn’t look back to see Melissa Carter’s smile. He had closed the door before she murmured to herself. “Tori’s right, that one is a keeper. Welcome to the family, Austin Landing. You’d better take good care of our little girl.”
Maureen J. Long