Like Fine Wine

He took his hand back and Janice wanted nothing more than for him to put it back and to hold it and...to hold her. Instead, she used her napkin to dab her eyes and said, "You are so sweet. Thank you for saying that."

"I wasn't just saying it," he told her. "It's true. You are beautiful, Janice. Never forget that."

Her heart was beating fast again and now she desperately yearned for him to kiss her, but she knew he had no idea how she felt and she wasn't about to embarrass herself and tell him. No, she decided it was better to suffer in silence than make a fool of herself. Besides, this was a phase she was going through after having been hurt so badly so recently. Luke was a fantasy and nothing more.

He took care of cleaning up the table, put what few dirty dishes there were away, then helped her back up to bed so she could brush her teeth and get ready for bed.

He spent most of the next day with her too, and they ended up doing things she hadn't done in years. They played Monopoly and Scrabble with the tiles (not on some phone app) and around six o'clock he asked her if she felt up to going out to dinner.

"My treat, of course," he said.

She sighed internally and thought it might be better to say no and just put an end to this silliness but she knew that wasn't going to happen. "Um...sure. That sounds nice!" she told him. "Where would you like to go?"

"Again, being new to the area, I thought perhaps you could choose for us. You know, considering how we're dressed, of course. Nothing formal but definitely not fast food."

"I know the perfect place!" she told him.

And it really was the perfect place. Both of them enjoyed the food and the pleasant conversation. As they were finishing their meal, Luke said, "There's been something I've been wanting to ask you all day."

"Uh-oh, this sounds serious," she said only somewhat jokingly.

"Well, yes and no. I mean, it is a serious question but it isn't...serious."

"Okay, then. Ask away," she said smiling.

"I was wondering if, well, I know you just separated from your husband, but are seeing anyone by any chance?"

Janice immediately felt her heart start racing as she forced herself to remain calm, "Oh, heavens no. I've only been out once and it was pretty much a disaster. Other than that, I haven't even been asked."

Luke smiled and said, "Until now, anyway." He saw her eyes widen and said, "Every November 10th, the Marine Corps celebrates its birthday with a very formal, very traditional ceremony. We wear our dress blue uniform and our..dates...wear formal gowns or very nice cocktail dresses. It's only a little more than a week away, and I had no intention of asking anyone until...well, until I met you and...."

"Are you asking me to go with you?" she said cutting him off.

"I know it's really short notice and you may not, you know, think of me as someone you'd ever...go out with...considering my age and all, but...well, yes, I am asking you."

Janice hadn't felt like this since...what? College? High school? She had butterflies in her stomach and endorphins were flooding her brain. "I'd love to go with you," she told him. "I just never thought you saw me as someone you'd consider, you know, dating." She immediately felt silly and said, "I didn't mean dating, I meant someone you'd ask out. You know, once on a special occasion...like this."

He laughed politely and said, "Speaking of May-December dating, I have a sister who's in college. She and I are pretty close and she watches this show called Younger. Have you heard of it by any chance," he asked her.

"Younger? No, can't say that I have. What's it about?"

"I've never seen it either, but it's supposed to be about this woman who's 40 who has to start over in her advertising career and she needs to be considered younger. A lot younger. So she dresses the part and because she's so young looking, she pulls off passing for being 28 or so with ease. No one even suspects she's 30 let alone 40. And well, she meets this guy who's maybe 26 and she really likes him but she doesn't tell him how old she really is—he thinks they're the same age—or very close—until after they've dated for quite a while and um...slept together."

"Interesting. So are you implying we could be that couple or something like that?" she asked him.

"Not really. Well, maybe. I mean, we both know the other's age so it's not quite the same thing. Not in that sense anyway. It's just that, well...honestly? You really could pass for 28 so maybe in that sense it's kind of like that. Am I making any sense at all?" he asked. "Help me out here before I dig too deep a hole, okay?"

Janice laughed and said, "That may be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me but I hardly look 28. I could probably pull off 38, but even that could be tough."

Luke just looked at her until she said, "What? Do I have something in my teeth?"

He smiled and said, "You really don't know, do you?"

"Know...what?" she asked tilting her head slightly.

"How beautiful you are. I've seen...and dated...a lot of good-looking girls before but none of them have ever been anything like you, Janice. I don't want to scare you off, but I'm more than just attracted to you." He stopped talking and looked away. He got the server's attention and asked for the check.

"Is that all you wanted to tell me, Luke?" she asked hoping against hope there was more to hear.

"No, but I've probably said way too much for a first date." He stopped again and asked, "I guess I should ask whether or not this even is a first date. So...is it?"

"I would like it to be," Janice told him almost demurely.

"Me, too," he told her as he reached out and held her hand.

They didn't talk much on the way home and even though she invited him to stay and have a glass of wine or just talk he told her, "I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

She didn't have to ask why because she knew exactly what would happen if he did. Even so, she told him, "Okay, but just know I wouldn't mind if you did."

He reached out and put his hands behind the back of her upper arms and said, "If all you were to me was beautiful, I'd stay. But when a woman means more to me than...that...well, I want it to be really meaningful."

Janice heart was once again pounding in her chest as he moved closer and said, "Good night."

He was looking into her eyes and as she went to wish him the same, he leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips.

She truly did feel sixteen again and her knees went weak as their lips met. "Oh, wow," she murmured. "Maybe you really should leave. Now."

"I can't," he told her as he continued to hold her.

"Why not?" she asked him in a sweet voice.

"Because I have to get you to bed," he told her as he brushed her hair back. She smiled and he said, "No, not like...that. To go to sleep...alone."

"Um...that could be very dangerous," she warned him.

"Unless you want to sleep on the couch tonight, it's a risk I'm going to have to take," he told her.

"Well, life is full of risks so...."

He picked her up and carried her back up the stairs and right up to the bed. "Your crutches are right here if you need to use the bathroom but for obvious reasons, I can't stay another minute here in the Danger Zone," he told her referencing the hit song in the 1986 movie with Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis.

"Can't you see I'm falling for you, Maverick?" she said smiling while picking up on his movie metaphor.

"You take my breath away," he told her continuing the sappy dialogue. "I'm going to kiss you one more time, then turn around and keep walking, okay?"

"Okay," she said as their eyes darted back and forth at the others'. She pulled him close as he kissed her again; a kiss that lasted a full five seconds.

When he stopped, she sighed and said, "Just one more?"

"Sorry, one more and I'm here all night and you know why I can't do that."

"K," she whispered. "I understand. Good night, Luke."

"Good night, Janice." He sat her gently on the bed then took her hand as he stood back up. He held it for a second then let go as he turned around and left.

Janice waited until he was outside before falling back on the bed. She was banging her hands and feet up and down and saying, "Oh...my...GOD!!!!" She sat back up and said very rapidly, "Oh...my...God! This can't be happening. Not to me. I'm 42, barely divorced, and he's...25 freaking years old and doesn't even live here!" She shook her head and said again, "Oh...my...God. What is wrong with me?"

Before she could grab her crutches, her phone buzzed and her heart leapt. She snatched the phone off the nightstand and opened the message: "Had an amazing time with the most amazing woman tonight. See you tomorrow at 1500 (or 3pm to you) for your doctor's appointment."

Her heart was thumping out of her chest. "This is...insane!" she said out loud. "I'm absolutely, certifiably insane!"

She barely slept that night and the day dragged on until it got close to 3 o'clock. She was dressed and ready to go having very carefully made her way down the stairs after showering that morning.

She saw another text that said, "On my way. Be there in ten minutes. L."

When he arrived, the door was unlocked and he let himself in. She hadn't seen him in uniform before and even though she knew what he did, it still caught her off guard. "Oh, my goodness! You look so handsome!" she told him as she again put her hands over her mouth.

She had no idea what anything meant, but he had a shiny silver bar on each of his collars and all kinds of multi-colored thingies over one of his breast pockets. They were yellow and red and blue and one was purple with two thin, white bands on either side. He was wearing just a long sleeved shirt and tie with a gold tie clasp and green pants with black shoes and thin black socks. "Aren't you freezing?" she asked him.

"I have a jacket. I just left it in the car. I thought I'd be okay walking those 20 feet without it though," he said jokingly as he approached her.

"Hi," she said as she put her arms around his neck.

"Hello," he said as they stared into each others' eyes. The anticipation built as they continued to stare before she saw him close his eyes to kiss her.

"Mmmm," she moaned. "I've been dreaming about that all day."

"Me, too," he told her. "You ready?"

Two hours later she had a new, lighter wrap, and a prognosis of a full recovery. "Just stay off the racquetball court for a couple of weeks," the doctor told her.

She smiled at Luke when she asked, "Does that include dancing?"

"No, dancing is just fine," the doctor assured her. "Just no break dancing, okay?" He winked as he wished her well and led her to the front desk as she hobbled down the hall behind him on her crutches.

"Use those until you can put all your weight on the ankle without pain, then take it slow from there," were his final words. He shook hands with Luke and said, "Thank you for your service, by the way." Luke just nodded then held the door for Janice on their way out.

"So I was thinking this morning," she said. "I don't see how I'm going to be able to go looking for a formal this week with my ankle like this and I'd feel so out of place without the right dress."

"Like most men, I don't claim to know all that much about women," he began, "but I do understand how important something like that is to them. I'll just say that from my perspective you'd look great in anything."

She reached over to take his hand and said, "I love that you said that. Thank you."

"It's true," he said as they interlaced their fingers.

"But you're right about how a woman feels. I have to have a nice dress, Luke."

"Do you by any chance have anything at home you may have worn that's still in style and that no one who'll be there will have seen?"

"Ah, so much wisdom from one so young!" she said sweetly. "I was thinking that very same thing but it seemed so cheap and so...cheesy to wear something again."

He squeezed her hand and told her, "Well, if I've never seen it and no one at the ball has ever seen it, then all that's needed is for you to give yourself permission to wear it again, right?"

She squeezed his hand back and said, "If we were at a stop light, I'd kiss you right now."

He quickly changed lanes, turned into a parking lot, and stopped the car. "Is this good enough?" he asked.

She leaned over toward him and said, "Yes. This is perfect." They kissed for a very long time and had they not been in public Janice would have pulled his large, strong hand onto her breast and squeezed it shut. Even so, it was all she could do not to do just that.

"We're not gonna make it until after the ball, are we?" she said during a short break.

"It's not looking good," he told her.

"But not looking good looks very good to me right now," she countered.

"You make a good point," he told her as he offered her his tongue.

"In fact, if we don't leave right now, this could get out of hand very quickly."

"Another good point," he said as he pulled away.

"I hate being practical," she said with a fake pout.

"Practicality indeed sucks," he replied.

When they got back to her place he let her use her crutches this time. "You doing okay with those?" he asked.

"I think so," she told him. "I wouldn't want to spend a lot of time on them, but I think I can manage."

Once they were inside he said, "So did you want to show me the dress you were thinking about wearing or would you rather surprise me?"

She sat the crutches down and put her arms around him again and said, "Well, it is located in the Danger Zone, Maverick. I don't know about you, but I can assure you I have no resolve left so...enter at your own risk."

He ran the back of his hand across her cheek and said, "I like you, Janice Jones. I like you...very, very much. And I know it might be old fashioned, but I want our first time to be special. That doesn't mean I don't want to be with you so badly right now I can hardly stand it. It just means a woman like you is worth waiting for...no matter how hard waiting may be."

"Why do I always feel like I'm sixteen years old whenever I'm with you?" she asked rhetorically. Her eyes kept going back and forth between his. "My knees get weak and my stomach is in knots and I can't think about anything but you all day. Am I crazy?"

He kissed her and told her, "Maybe so. Lately, all I can think about is you, too, and I just don't...ever do that." He smiled and told her, "And that's really cramping my style."

"How's that?" she said. "Are you having to turn down a lot of new offers from hot, young girls?"

"No. I already have one of those," he told her.

"I like the sound of that," she said as she kissed him. "So how is this cramping your style, Luke?"

"It makes keeping all those coffee orders straight really difficult, you know?"

She giggled and wasn't embarrassed that she had. "I hope I'm worth the sacrifice," she whispered to him.

"Most definitely. I've come to a conclusion regarding you, by the way," he said.

"You have? Have you concluded I'm too old for you and you're coming to your senses?"

"Hardly. No, I've decided you're like...fine wine that keeps getting better with age." She melted into him as he kissed her passionately.

"I think you better go now," she said softly.

Janice loved that they were texting off and on all day, every day. That evening, she searched for the TV show he'd mentioned and found it. She texted him and he asked her for her impressions. As she binged watched the entire first season she kept him informed. "Okay, first thing. Her boyfriend is cute—really cute, but not even close to being as hot as you." Luke sent her back a smiley face. "Next impression. Liza, the 40-year old, really does look about the same age as her friend who's played by Hillary Duff. Hey, maybe all I need is a new wardrobe!" She added her own emoji.

She had to admit the show made her feel a lot better about dating someone so much younger than her even though she was aware it was just television. She couldn't help but think that with the right new clothes, makeup, and hairstyle, she could pull off the same thing and she wanted to look younger for him because she wanted him to like her the same way she liked him.

The next day, even though her foot was still hurting, she drove to the mall and picked up two new outfits just to see how she looked. Part of the motivation to do so even with the bad ankle was that he'd texted her that he wanted to take her to a party some of his new friends were having that evening and she was very excited about going with him. She didn't want to try and look the age she'd been feeling around Luke since she met him, but if she could take 10-12 years off just by dressing differently....

She'd purchased things very similar to what 'Liza' had worn on the show. She chose a very cute, cropped sweater and a really short skirt with some half boots she was able to get on over her wrap and almost completely cover it up. She wore her hair down and made sure to add a little extra eye shadow and some dark red lipstick. "Oh, my goodness! This is perfect!" she told herself as she looked in the mirror.

When Luke came to pick her up, he immediately noticed the change and said, "Wow! You look...different!"

She couldn't wait to hold him and as she put her arms around him she asked, "Different good or different not so good?"

He leaned back and looked at her again and said, "What's important is you feeling good about what you wear. I'm okay with whatever you like."

Her bright smile faded as she said, "You hate it, don't you?"

"No. I don't...hate it. It's just that it's...well, it's not...you, Janice."

She plopped down on the sofa and said, "Yeah, I know. I just wanted to look...younger for you. Watching all those episodes of Younger made me want to do what she'd done."

He sat next to and put his arm around her. "First of all, you look great dressed like this. But more importantly you need to know that I'm attracted to you for who you are, not what you wear. And besides, I like the way regular Janice dresses. I don't need the girl from the TV show because you're beautiful just as you are and you have nothing to hide."

She was staring into his eyes looking for any sign of deceit and there was none. "So do you want me to go change?"

"I want you to do what you want to do, Janice. I'll be happy with anything you wear. But I won't pretend you're a 20-something when I'm falling a for woman who's 40-something."

Her jaw dropped slightly as her eyes opened wider. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me," he said with a smile. He kissed and said, "All that matters is I meant what I just said. So change or don't change. I'll be happy either way."

"I don't want to go back upstairs again so if this really is okay, then...."

On the way she asked where the party was. "There's one other Marine officer at STRATCOM and he and his wife have a house in town so a bunch of us are getting together at his place."

"Not to harp on age, but how old would a major be compared to a lieutenant?" she asked.

"Um, about 32-36 or so, I guess. It just depends on whether or not he was an enlisted guy first or when he got commissioned so that's just a ballpark number."

"Still younger than me, though," she mused. "So is a major higher than a lieutenant?"

Luke laughed and said, "Oh, yeah. Two ranks higher. Captain is the rank in between, by the way."

"Okay. I'm learning," she said. "Don't give up on me too soon, okay?"

"Are you kidding he said?" as he pulled into the driveway. "Not a chance."

He opened her door and helped her hobble inside without the crutches. The major, Bob Armstrong, met them at the door. "Hey, Luke. Good to see you." He also introduced himself to Janice as she came in and when she was a couple of steps away he said quietly to Luke. "Who's this hottie? Did your cougar girlfriend stand you up, buddy?"