Chapter 11

Faith put a more than a little effort into getting ready for her date. Richie had only seen her in her bathing suit and work clothes and she wanted to do it up a bit for him. She took Hannah across the street and, once she was alone, got herself ready.

She showered, shaved her legs, taking care not to nick herself. Once dried off she smoothed on her favorite lotion. She put on her dress, a black and white summery halter-style dress. She wore no bra, the dress having one built in and her black lace bikinis were new. Stepping in front of the mirror she studied herself. For a woman on the heels of 40 she thought she looked pretty good. She didn’t work out regularly, but her jobs and her daughter didn’t give her much downtime. Her breasts were still firm if not as high as they once were, but that was all right. It came with the territory she supposed, but really, the Time Bitch had nothing on her. Her skin was blemish free and there were a few lines, but nothing she would worry about.

She had almost forgotten what it was like to dress for a man. So used to dressing in her work clothes or jeans, it felt almost decadent to put the dress on. She pinned her hair up loosely, letting a few stray pieces fall where they may. A pair of black sandals with a sharp heel and a couple of well-placed straps and a gold ankle bracelet finished the outfit. She gave her self a spray of perfume and a final once over and the butterflies started in her stomach. “Nope, not going there” she told herself. I’m going to have a nice dinner with a wonderful man. Whatever happens after that happens.

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Richie was pacing in the living room waiting for Faith to arrive. He had opened the wine and had some music on. He had made sure to give Jenna the night off too. He was nervous. He caught his reflection in the window and shook his head. Why should he be nervous? This was Faith, the same woman who had shown no nervousness around him when they first met, who had been at ease with him from the get go, who was beautiful and funny and sexy. That was the combination that got him every time. He smiled to himself as he walked to the kitchen. As he poured himself a glass of wine the bell rang.

Richie opened the door and there she was. His eyes traveled over her from the sexy sandals on her feet to the dress to the hair she had pinned up on her head. While he was taking in the sight of her Faith was doing her own perusal of Richie. He wore black dress slacks and a wine-colored shirt, unbuttoned to mid-chest and dress shoes. They stood in the doorway neither talking, just taking in each other. “Faith” Richie finally spoke, “come in.” She stepped in and he took one of the bags she was carrying. She followed him through the house to the kitchen.

Setting the bags down on the counter Richie turned to Faith reaching for her hand and bringing it to his lips, “you are stunning.” Faith felt her face heat up, “thank you. You look pretty good yourself.” He smiled at her, “yeah, I clean up pretty good.” Faith laughed and the tension eased. “So, what am I cooking for dinner?”

Richie had decided on pasta and Faith was glad it was something that wouldn't take too much work. She had brought a few things from home and got started. Richie showed her where the pots and pans were and then left her to do her thing. He poured them some wine and watched her work.

Faith put the water on and got started on the sauce. She sauteed some mushrooms in a combination of olive oil and garlic, added a bit of salt and pepper, some italian spices, diced tomatoes, black olives and let it simmer. She reached for the italian bread she had brought and cut it in half lenghtwise. She spread a mix of butter, garlic, rosemary and grated cheese and placed it on a baking sheet.

Picking up her wine she came and sat down at the table with Richie. "That smells good already." "Thanks, it should be ready in about 20 minutes. I hope you're hungry." He looked at her, "starved." The way he said it and the look on his face told Faith he was hungry for more than just food. She hoped she would be able to give him what he wanted.

True to her word, 20 minutes later they were sitting down to plates of pasta, salad and garlic rosemary bread. Faith picked at her plate while Richie ate heartily. He noticed she wasn't eating and set his fork down. "What's the matter Faith?" She looked up at him, "nothing, just not very hungry I guess." Richie didn't believe her. He reached across the table and took her hand, "Faith, nothing is going to happen tonight that you don't want to happen."