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Aberrant: Infinite Earth - Cosmos Nova - Dream Date [Complete]


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Something’s getting in the way,

Something’s just about to break,

I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane

As I burn another page

As I look the other way

I still try to find my place in the diary of Jane

So tell me how it should be.

Karrie paused in mid-eyeliner application. Her iTunes had a very creepy habit of pulling up songs that applied to her life in some way, and a song about a boy trying to work his way into a girl’s life rang close to her own efforts tonight.

Desperate, I will crawl

Waiting for so long

No love, there is no love

Die for anyone

What have I become.

“Skip!” she shouted, gripping the sink a little tighter. Her computer obligingly cut off Breaking Benjamin in mid-beat and shuffled to the next song – What If We Could. “Oh, god damn it! Just stop!” iTunes killed the song, but not fast enough. Karrie didn’t believe in omens, but her people did, and she’d been raised with just enough superstition for that doubt to twist around in her brain.

“It’s going to be fine. Remember what Rob said? Lots of kinds of awesome. You’ll be fine.” Carefully, she leaned back in and finished her eye, then leaned back to see how she looked. Connor’s last article in Vogue said that he liked it when a woman didn’t wear a lot of makeup. Kitty’s primping lessons on the boat now helped Karrie to still Kitty’s ex away from her – forever!

“Oh yeah, when this night is done, I’ll so be Connor’s girl!” Karrie tried to put complete confidence into that statement but it came out a little flat. She just hoped she was dressed right – expecting dancing to be casual, she’d worn a gray denim skirt combined with a turquoise top. The top was too dressy for the skirt, making it look dowdy, and her black sandals were a little too dark for the outfit. Karrie didn’t seem to notice.

The ringing door bell made her jump, sending her large silver earrings swinging. “Oh, god. Oh, god, oh, god, ohgod! That’s him!” Karrie took a few deep breathes and fanned herself, then went to open the door. Unfortunately, she was too excited and ended up whacking herself in the forehead with it. “Ow!”

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Connor Meanwhile had dressed casually, in a Cream-colored shortsleeve buttondown, and Levi's jeans. He wore a pair of black Doc Martens, and he smiled. This looked to be a good idea, and certainly Karrie was nice and smart and funny. He'd already had their reservations booked at Broussard's a not too well known eatery with real Cajun food, and alive band. He nodded, and reached out to knock on her door. When she p[ened it followed by hitting herself with it, a look of concern crossed his features.

"Hey Karrie, are you alright That looked like it hurt...." His voice was happy and cheerful, a tone generally reserved for his close friends. He was really looking forward to this, it had been awhile since his last real date.

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"I'm fine." And she was, even as she rubbed at the red spot on her head, her voice and eyes were soft and a little dreamy. In truth, Karrie was a little dreamy. She was about to go on a date with Connor, a wonderful, awesome, incredible date, and she couldn't be happier. All of her dreams were coming true tonight - or at least the first step to them. After all, she wasn't going to make love to Connor tonight in a hotel room in Paris with the Effil Tower in the background on a bed of rose petals tonight. That'd be another night. Maybe the first time they made love, they could do it like that.

"Ready to go?" he asked, noting that she didn't seem to be inclined to move - or stop staring at him.

"Oh! Sorry, I got... distracted." She grinned even as her cheeks flamed with a bright flush. "Bet you get that a lot, right?" But the difference between me and all those other girls is that I really love you!

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He smiled. "Often enough yes. Though almost never by someone so intelligent as you. It's flattering really. Most really smart people think I'm just a pretty faced idiot."

He offered her his arm after she locked up and behind them a tear in spacetime opened. "I figure you might not like to fly in my hands, or in the cockpit for a couple hours." He nodded. "You're the very first person to see this ability." It was a rare treat and something he'd report in time, but for now it was a special secret between them.

"Dinner, dancing, and a night of fun with great company await."

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Karrie grinned and almost swooned at his words. She also was still dizzy just from touching his arm, her fingers wrapping around his muscled limb. Her fingers tingled as touched the masculine skin. It was a real effort not to lean down and lick the arm, just to see what it tasted like. Heavenly. I bet it’s just… heavenly. The impulsive genius managed to curb her tongue; even she knew that she had to wait for at least the second date to like a guy.

“Lead on, Sexy,” Karrie said, not sure if she should call him that but already too pent up from previous self-restraint. She wasn’t made of stone! “So when you’d develop this? It’s not part of your arsenal listed in your file. You’ve been holding out on the DSA!” Her huge smile said that not only was she sure she was right, she completely approved.

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He smiled. The pet name was alright, he didn't mind, he'd been called worse. "I haven't told anyone because I only recently developed it."

"Besides the DSA only says we have to alert them to potential hazards. This ability isn't a hazard." He looked t her mischievouslly "You gonna tell the director? I can offer some good reasons not to."

He smiled and led her inside. "Good evening Gerry" There was a big man standing at a podium, who instantly recognized Connor. "No press tonight Con?" "Godwilling no. Just on a date with Karrie here."

Gerry smiled to her. "Pleasure to meet you. "Don't let him con you with his supposed inability to dance." he whispered not so softly. "I'll tell Bobby to cook up your usual tonight, enough for two novas I'm certain." Connor nodded. "I wanted to show her real Cajun cooking."

Gerry laughed. "My grandmomma's or yours?" Connor nodded. "I don't want to hear Bobby telling what's being cooked to get back in the pot." Gerry laughed again. "Go on in, your booth's empty. Crowds not here yet, band's not even done setting up."

Connor smiled. "Will let us eat in peace then."

With that he led Karrie to a booth made from old Cypresss. The entire restauraunts interior was handmade from various woods, mostly cypress, oak and pine, finished nicely. "I come here fairly often, since it's run by my Second Cousin."

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“Cool, I can’t wait to taste this food.” Karrie was all smiles as she took her seat on the Cypress, smoothing her skirt down before sitting. “I read that this was your favorite kind of food, and I’m stoked you’d bring me here.”

“You read that, huh?” Connor seemed less than thrilled about that, so Karrie just nodded.

“Yeah, in some article or another. I hadn’t had Cajun food yet and I guess that’s why it stuck in my head.” Karrie crossed her arms as she leaned forward, propping herself up on her elbows. “Does everyone in your family cook?”

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He nodded. "Yes. Currently my Mother and sister have the most range in my immediate family, though Dad and I tend to win on the purely seafood side. Of course, Gerry and Bobby are even more practiced, and this restaraunt may look small, but it's won some very prestigious awards, all based on the recipes of two families, one Creole, one Cajun."

He smiled. "My mother worked hard to ensure no e of us were picky when it comes to food, so in a way, we're all garbage disposals."

He smiled and handed her a menu. "Now, normally I'd offer to order for you, but I know everything here is good. So I'll let you decide for yourself what you'd like to try. I already know my order, if I got something else, Bobby'd have a heart attach probably."

He seemed more relaxed, and his natural accent was beginning to show, a distinctly Southern and Cajun french. It was something people seldom heard, as he ennunciated for everyone everywhere else. It wasn't that he was ashamed, in part it was special treatment to heat him speak naturally.

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“Okay,” Karrie said, gamely picking up the menu. As she studied, it gave Connor time to watch her. She wasn’t sure if he was, but she really hoped he was. Tucking some of her wavy hair behind her ear, she peeked up – and was a touch disappointed that he was glancing at the stage. There had been a loud noise… Focus on your menu. “I don’t think I can say I’ve had Cajun if I haven’t had jumbo, right? So definitely the shrimp gumbo, and then I think I’ll add in the jambalaya. And… crawfish etouffee. Is that enough? For a nova-sized appetite?”

“Should be. Portions are pretty generous here.” Connor leaned back, the picture of a man enjoying himself in a casual atmosphere.

There was a moment of silence which Karrie broke with a little laugh. “Ah, the awkward getting-to-know you moment.” Even as she said that, she felt vague disappointment. Why was she experiencing this with Connor? “So tell me something I can’t learn about you on a Google search.”

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"it's a good start yes, we'll see if you've got room for more after that."

He smiled at her comment. "The awkwardness is always there on the first date. best to get it out of the way early on so subsequent dates aren't maligned by it." He nodded. "Something you wouldn't find about me online? Alright. Growing up, I had a pretty bad habit. Accidental of course, but I always seemed to fall out of the boat when dad took my fishing."

He looked at her. "For a bonus, Acting wasn't my first career choice. I always wanted to be a Paleontologist."

"And you, Karrie, I know only what's been recorded and reported in your DSA dossier, which is nothing really telling me about the real you, someone I'd like to come to know. Why not tell me about yourself."

Before she could start, a waitress came for their order which they gave, and brought their drinks out to them.

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Karrie soaked up the information like a sponge – and managed not to squee like a tween at a Twilight opening at the mention of subsequent dates. Of course there would be more than the first – he was her soulmate. Their love was destined. But it was good to have him confirm that fact.

“Me?” she asked when the waitress had come and gone. “Lesse… I like anime, particularly all of the Gundam series.”

“Horst made a note of that in your file, actually.” Connor smiled. “It was listed in the category of things you weren’t allowed to build.”

“He is such a party-pooper.” Karrie made a show of pouting but she couldn’t really be unhappy with Connor here. “Alright, something not in my file. I like music with a beat, my favorite ice cream is rocky road and I like to write stories as a hobby.” The second that was out of her mouth, Karrie wanted to pull it back. She really hoped he didn’t-

“Really? Can I read them sometime?”

-ask to see them. “Uh, we’ll see. I’m a little shy about my work.” Which was partially true; she liked to share and get the praise for them, but she didn’t want certain people to read them. Like Connor. “I’m not saying no… just I’m not sure about sharing them.”

“So this would be something not even Rob has seen?” he asked.

“Rob? He’s read them. He knows where to find them and he likes to tease me about them.”

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He smiled. Somewhere inside his mind, a warning light went off, but went ignored."I've seldom met an author who thinks their work is good enough to be read. I won't push too far, you can show them to me when you're ready."

He smiled. "So my turn again? Well my favorite anime are Macross and Macross Frontier." That it wasn't a gundam series was surprising. "Tell the truth, I'm a fan of mecha anime in general, but beyond that it's the music that really makes it awesome for me." He smiled. "One of my favorite experiences at a convention was meeting Mari Ijima. She's the original Minmei, and the first voice actress to do both Japanese and English dub voice overs for the same character. My big brother was so jealous of that, and I think it really surprised her when she saw me waiting in line with the other fans to have her sign something."

He nodded. "What is your favorite gundam or mobile suit?"

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“Verde Buster, of course,” Karrie said with a grin. “My siblings don’t get anime, though my youngest Simon likes other stuff. So we can at least talk Firefly and Star Trek.”

“Why that one?”

“Because it’s big, it’s mean and it’s designed for ranged fighting. It doesn’t do close combat, which is not only superior but incredibly smart.” Karrie spoke knowledgeably, as if she had first-hand knowledge of mech-fighting. “I mean any time I’ve gone fist-to-fist with someone, it’s generally, first been solely their-fist-to-my-face, but also a lot harder for me. Much better to just be able to point and click my The Flintlock!.”

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Connor chuckled. "I like it both ways in that regard. The fight seems more real going toe to toe with your opponent. You can see the emotion in their eyes, in their body language as well."

"Still, the skill of the long range snipe, and the trick shots..." He nodded. "I can tell you the Long range takes more out of me most of the time, even though I have gotten hurt worse going toe to toe. I'm glad you've got something like the flintlock. I've got my innate ability, but it always runs off of me."

"I always did like the Verde buster myself from that show, I gotta say I enjoy the heavily armed mechs, like the Leopard and Heavy Arms." Their appetizers came as the band arrived and began setting up. He smiled. "Bon Appetit." The Gumbo was the first to arrive, shrimp for him, chicken and sausage for her.

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“Yeah, I can see how the fight seems more real toe-to-toe. It certainly felt more real after I got a two-by-four applied to the side of my head.”

Connor winced in sympathy. “That must have hurt.”

“Yeah, it was a cousin doing it. He was a little angry at me.” Karrie gave the mega-hot nova a mischievous smile. “But it turned out fine. He’s in jail now and I’m alive, so it was all good.”

When the food arrived, Karrie dug in with gusto. She didn’t mind the heat of the spices; growing up in the Southwest meant that she’d grown up with hot food. Heck, Uncle Nathan loved to tell people that he added hot sauce to her bottle once, and she’d cried for more. “Delicious,” she murmured between bites after she’d cleared away half the plate. “So you get this all the time? Lucky dog!”

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Connor smiled. "Yes I am. I'm in great company tonight." he nodded. "Sucks about the two by four, I'm glad it worked out though."

"I love this food, though I actually like more fried seafood and grilled. Still this is by far the epitome of Cajun food." He looked at her. "So I believe it's your turn to ask me something in our little get to know you game."

There was a mischievous tone to his voice, one that couldn't help but excite Karrie a little.

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“Something to ask… well, you’re pretty public,” Karrie murmured thoughtfully, “so just one thing to ask is a little hard.” The only way to let him learn about her was to ask things she already knew. “All right, I can be a bit impatient in ways so I’m going to say: pretend you’re filling out an application to date me.” At his look, she tried not to giggle as she said, “Wait. Just hear me out. So I’m going to ask you for some things: favorite color, religion, political affiliation, favorite animal, favorite anime, desired family size someday and… favorite soda pop.”

“That’s your application?”

“Yeah, I already know your address.” His eyebrows rose and she flushed slightly, admitting, “It’s in your file.”

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"Alright.." The questions weren't too bad, He'd answer.

"My favorite color is Royal Blue, I was raised Catholic and Methodist until I was fourteen, then strictly Methodist, religion-wise. Politically I vote for who best represents my views, along non-partisan lines." He tapped his chin a moment. "My favorite animal is the Wolf, followed by the cougar, I always dreamed of having one of them as a pet. My Favorite anime is easy, Macross, tied with the American version, Robotech."

He looked at her with a sly smile. "As for family size , definitely not raising children alone, with at least two to three kids, more wouldn't be bad, so long as I can support them."

"And of course favorite soda? I love IBC rootbeer, I always have."

He looked at her. "Now, what about you? What do you want out of life? How do you envision yourself in five years?" He smile softened, and he continued. "What would be your perfect day? and of course, what are your favorite color and animal?"

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“I want to make things so amazing, people forget to hate and be assholes.” Karrie’s answer to his first question was a bit surprising. “I want to awaken wonder in the most brain-dead person in the world. I want them all to sit up and realize that they can be as glorious as the thing that I made.” For a moment, Karrie was utterly sincere. Then she grinned. “I don’t plan small.”

“No.” Connor was smiling at her but she couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“In five years, I want to be with the DSA still, doing what I’m doing. But I want to have changed the world. I want something that so fundamentally changes everything that Dineh will be listed with Edison, Watson, Jobs and Zuckerberg.” Her serious statement was once again unusually somber for the mischievous nova, not that Connor had spent enough time with her to know that.

Now her expression softened as she said, “A perfect day is in my lab, finishing a project, then going home and having dinner with my loved ones.” Her expression shifted and became touched with a hint of sorrow. “Right now, though, my loved ones are on the Rez. I’m the only member of my family here. Unless you count Rob, who was sorta adopted when he saved my life once. But that was just my family telling him he could drop by any time, which is something they don’t normally say to white men the day after they meet them for the first time.

“Anyway, my favorite color is yellow, sunny, bright yellow. I don’t use it often, but I love roses in the color. And my favorite animal is, of course, the coyote.”

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"Those desires make mine sound shallow and selfish."

He looked at her and smiled genuinely. "I know you'll achieve them too. I believe in you, in that I know you have the strength to make your dreams reality."

He nodded. "I understand being apart from your family. My work keeps me away from mine most of the time, either with the DSA, or acting. I'm lucky if I can make it home for the holidays."

"I If you want i can say a few words in the right ear for you, make sure you get more time with your family. if you like I could even provide you with instant transport."

"Did you know that the School colors for the college I graduated from are Royal blue and bright yellow? Mentioning roses, I know we have some of that color at the family home, there's over a hundred bushes, there aren't many varieties we don't have."

He didn't comment on the coyote, he had not had the best experiences with them, actually hunting and killing them actively on the hunting properties of the family, as they were a great nuisance to the population....

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Karrie blushed as he said her desires made his shallow. She started to protest, to say that wasn’t her intention, but then he complimented her and she flushed so hard that she couldn’t speak. “I’d like to see them. Your roses. Your family’s roses.” Karrie realized she was babbling again. “And… I didn’t know about the school colors.” She had, she had just forgotten. That was the same as not knowing, right? Or it was close enough that she didn’t feel like she was lying to him.

“Yeah, I could get more time with my family, but then I’m not doing my work. My dad… okay, lemme start at the beginning. When I erupted, my dad and I worked out a deal with the army. I worked for him and he was the one signing my contracts. I’d still be doing that, only he realized that I was meant for more than tinkering around with the stuff the army wanted, letting him take the credit for it. He insisted I take the job with the DSA.” Karrie sighed. “I’ve tried to get them to come live here but that’s a definite no-go. So I’ll just have to move the DSA home.” She grinned, even as she knew that while she could work miracles, this probably wasn’t one of them. “Or figure out how to make Rob my personal taxi. He can make the trip in forty minutes. At that speed, it’s pretty much a commute.”

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"Well, next time perhaps we I might be able to show them to you."

"Well, I don't think it would be that hard to set up a DSA branch near the reservation, not on it, but nearby. Of course that would probably draw alot of attention..."

"Maybe you can devise an instrument that can duplicate my new little ability. I wouldn't mind being a research subject for you for awhile, if it will help you out."

He shrugged. "Course, I kinda expect it to scare the crap out of the higherups that I can do it now, the propagation of the ability wouldn't make them happy. "It could be our little secret."

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“Oh, they know I’ll be on that like white on rice,” Karrie told him with a grin. “The second I hear about stuff like that, they know I’m down for it. I mean, I’ve already promised someone a working teleporter, and you should have heard the hell that Horst was giving me over that. Seems this whole ‘traveling in ways we can’t track you’ gets them nervous. Especially when I do it.”

Connor’s eyes narrowed. “Your file doesn’t mention a transport power.” He sounded curious.

“That’s because I don’t have one.” Karrie smiled enigmatically.

“So…”

“So I have secrets that you’re going to have to work to get.” Karrie leaned forward; the movement unintentionally highlighted her breasts. “I can promise that it’ll be fun, though.”

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"I have no doubt that all of my time spent with you will be anything other than "fun."

He smiled and was about to say more when the main course arrived, and he smiled. "Thanks Gerry, Tell Bobby it smells amazing."

He looked back to Karrie and smiled. "Dig in." He did so only speaking between bites.

"I believe it's your turn in our little round, unless you'd prefer to suspend the game until we finish with this delicious repast?"

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“I can eat and think.” Karrie gave him a bright smile. “But I’ll take it easy on you.” For a while they ate, focusing on putting the food away as only a nova could. Most of their plates were clean before she said, “All right then. So, to continue the application, invent an anime for me.”

Connor blinked. “What?”

“Invent a new anime. Dazzle me with your creative genius.” Karrie sat back on the bench and drew her feet up under her. “Sell it to me like I’m an anime producer and you’re the hopeful creator.” Her smile was… strange. She gazed at him calmly, waiting for that moment when he gave her the answer she wanted. More than that, it was as if she had not a single doubt in the world that he would do it. She believed in him – completely.

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Connor sat, and ate for a moment, going through the fast library of shows he knew, and those he knew were coming.

"It's the year 2145, The world has been divided into four major political Divisions. The American Federation, The European Union, The African League, and the Asian Co-prosperity Sphere. The various factions each possessed powerful metahumans, and war itself was the way of the world. In Secret, a single corporation sought another path, that of escape. With the help of the greatest minds and engineers, this company built a large ship, totally in secret in a Chilean fjord. This ship was outfitted with the most advanced weapons, including mechanical power armor that could simulate metahuman powers for normal people or even more, amplify the powers of a metahuman. "

"Using their technology, they set forth into space. It was not to be, as before they could make it out of the atmosphere, a dozen Federation and League ships attacked, skewering the massive Kearny-Fuschida space drive, as it built up it's charge. Freed from restrictive containment, the Ship, the Daedalus, and all the attacking ships were flung across space and time...

We cut now to the Year 1941, and the small Island of midway, where the Daedalus emerges amidst the American carrier fleet. A short bloody battle occurs, with the crippling of the American fleet, Now, stranded in Time, the Crew of the Daedalus has to decide how best to proceed, trying to make sure events unfold as they should, or more controversial, rewriting history, ensuring the great mistakes are not made, making room for a whole new set of problems..."

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Karrie was grinning by the time he was done. “That’s fantastic!” She shoved her plate aside and pulled a piece of paper out of her purse. As Connor watched, she began to make quick sketches. “The Daedalus would look kinda like this, right? And then the mechs… let’s see, we could have one long-range Buster-like one…”

The shyly flirty girl was gone, replaced by someone gripped by a muse. Karrie had an eye for anime, certainly, but her own style, too. Her drawings were all very technical, not artistic, but they were good representations of the ship she was trying to create. Drawing after drawing was created, with input and direction from Connor.

It was only after they’d roughly sketched out both the first six mechs, their pilots, the Daedalus and the important people on her crew that Karrie stopped. “Oh, god… sorry,” she said apologetically. “I went full-on nerd-mode there. As you were talking, I just started to see the mechs in my head.” She gave him an adorkibly sheepish grin. “Sometimes my brain engages and pulls everything else along for the ride.”

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He smiled. "Your sketches are really something. I bet we could seel one of the Studio's on it, they'd even probably ask you to do a voice." He was very impressed, considering this was all off the top of their heads. admittedly she could think alot faster than he could, so it was no small wonder she could churn out something like this so fast. He casually rubbed the side of her calf with his foot without any other sign he was doing it.

"And sometimes it can be the other way around, yes?" The band had finished setting up and people had been filing in. With his back to everyone, Connor was hard to spot, in addition to the booth not being in the best lit corner. He smiled to Karrie. "I love your work, perhaps as a downpayment for such an impressive display of talent, you'd like to dance?" His voice had that smokey tone to it that suggested they'd be dancing very close together, and that this wasn't an opportunity given to many.

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His foot brushing her leg seemed to be an accident, so Karrie merely enjoyed it. After it was done, she wondered if maybe it hadn’t been an accident, which almost shattered her calm demeanor. Was she supposed to respond somehow? Had she screwed it up by not doing anything?

“Th-thanks,” she stammered, surprised by the mention of selling it to a studio and her being a voice actor. Then he asked about dancing and her brain tried to completely short out. Come on! she yelled at herself. You did this with Rob, no problem! “Yes… I’d like to dance.”

Carefully, sure that now was the moment when she was trip and fall on her face if it was going to happen, Karrie slid out of her booth and took the hand that Connor offered to her. Nervously, she allowed him to lead her to the dance floor, giving hyper awareness to where she was placing her feet. She’d considered buying something with a heel, then dismissed the idea for this exact reason. She did not want to fall, and didn’t want to have issues dancing.

They hit the floor and Connor’s arm curled around her waist as he faced her and drew her close. Hesitantly, she put her hand on his shoulder, then remembered Rob’s instructions and slipped it up onto Connor’s neck – which was kinda a stretch. Her fingers sank into his hair, just like she’d been told to do. Connor’s hand clasped hers and drew it to his chest so that his heart pounded below her hand. Karrie gazed up into his eyes and felt her heart swell with pure love. I could stay here forever.

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She was moving fast, but he didn't stop her, he was enjoying himself, and her company after all. They were an odd couple in that he was a full foot taller than her, but they moved gracefully across the dance floor, and time seemed to barely pass. She only stepped on his feet once, but just barely, and he'd acted like he'd not even noticed. She had his full attention, his eyes locking onto her as he smiled warmly. They'd gone through four songs like nothing, and after the fifth, he led her back to the booth, climbing in first, and scooting all the way in, letting her decide to sit across from him, or next to him.

He was impressed, she'd done really well, for not knowing the dances, though she was easily most comfortable with the slow dancing, and he could almost feel her tense as he placed his hand in her lower back on the floor, but she said nothing,

This evening was going so well, he was already looking forward to others like it..

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Karrie was in heaven. This was perfect – will almost. She had stepped on his foot, but a lifetime of avoiding doggie paws under her feet let her shift her weight almost immediately. Either he didn’t notice or he was too nice to say anything – which would be totally like him. He was such a perfect gentleman – so tall and handsome. Her mother was going to love him, and her father… he would find himself liking him despite his misgivings about a man dating his little girl. Simon would be in awe of course…. Karrie went on and on, building a sweet familial fantasy in her head.

When he slid into the bench, he scooted way over. Karrie started to sit on her side again, but then her brain registered how far over he was sitting. Does he want me…? Should I…? Daring to take a chance, she changed direction in a maneuver that was less-than-graceful. Her stomach was swarming with maddened butterflies as she scooted over to his side. “Thanks for the dance,” she said softly, “that was a lot of fun. Speaking of fun, do you like horseback riding?”

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"I can honestly say I've only done it in movies." He nodded. "It was fun, but not something I'd rush out to take up as a hobby." He put an arm around her and smiled. "The dancing was my pleasure. I've enjoyed being with you tonight." He gave her his most award winning smile. "You're a very special lady Karrie."

He looked at her, not expecting anything, and nodded. "Is that one of your favored hobbies?"

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“I’m special? To you?” Karrie was trembling as she looked up at him. This was exactly what she wanted him to say, but it didn’t feel right. Karrie shoved that thought away and quickly added, “I’m sorry… you said that. What was the other question?”

She flushed, even as he said, “Is horseback riding one of your favored hobbies?”

Karrie laughed. “Sorta. Where I lived, horses were cheaper than cars and lots of people rode. Plus some of the roads are really bad. And there are places in the back country where driving is impossible. I have a couple of cousins that I have to ride to visit; you can’t reach their house with car. So it’s not nearly as romantic when its necessary.”

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"I'm sure I'm one of many people who use that term referring to you in a positive light, but yes, you are."

He smiled. "I dunno about losing some of the romance, but I can see how necessity makes it less special. Still, the only time i've been around horses is when I go to Mississippi to visit my extended family. Most of my cousins raise horses, but due to my size I never really got to ride. They assure me it's alot of fun, and I remember going to rodeos often at the arena."

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“My uncle has a big horse.” Karrie smiled. “He bought a big Clydesdale to help him haul rocks around on his property. He’d let me borrow it so that you can ride. If you want.”

He’d said she was special; shouldn’t she reciprocate somehow? “Connor?”

“Yes?”

“I think you’re special, too.” Karrie all-but whispered it, her brown eyes soft and huge as she stared up at him. “Very, very special.”

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"Maybe so, I wouldn't want to put anyone out like that though."

He looked down at her, and smiled. "I'm happy to hear that."

He leaned in and kissed her full on the lips, lightly at first, then abit deeper. He hoped she would be the one to light the spark, a feeling he'd only felt a couple times before. She was someone he liked, a good friend, and he hoped she'd be more...

There was nothing, for him at any rate. The spark simply wasn't there, and inwardly he sighed and was abit crestfallen. Still, he did his best to make this kiss special, before pulling back and smiling warmly.

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Karrie’s fingers wrapped around the edge of the table as her lips tingled with pleasure. That had been… divine. Her cheeks were flushed and she was grinning ear to ear. She knew she should say something, but it was impossible for her to speak. No matter how much she tried, her tongue remained motionless for several moments.

“Thank you.” The first words that she managed say after the kiss were spoken shyly as she peered up adoringly at Connor. Apparently, she had felt the spark.

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He looked at her. "For what, it was my pleasure, Karrie."

He stroked her cheek and jaw softly, hoping he'd not gone too far. "I'm sorry if that was too fast.. I hope you don't think less of me.."

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“I couldn’t think less of you Connor. It’s just not possible.” Karrie’s eyes hadn’t changed; they were staring up at Connor with devout adoration. “You’re perfect. Completely perfect. And uh… I’m not sure what’s fast enough. You’re really the first guy I’ve… done this with.” She had flushed harder, but the look on Connor’s face was enough to let her speak. “I don’t know if it’s cool to admit that… but you give me courage.”

He would be charmed, she knew. Hopelessly charmed and utterly turned on by her lack of experience. Karrie was sure that this was true.

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