Chapter Three

The next day was Kimber's day off, and with it being Sunday the bar was closed. She'd chosen to meet Jon here because she didn't want him to know where she lived. She'd always been careful about letting someone get too close, and one of the ways she'd done that was not letting anyone into her private space. Her best friend Cam constantly told her she needed to get out more, meet new people, but Kimber had been hurt entirely too many times. Kimber had met Cam at the private school for the deaf that her parents had sent her when she'd lost her hearing at age eight. Cam had immediately liked the new girl, and they'd become fast friends. Cam had been deaf since birth, but she hadn't seemed to share the prejudices of the other kids. They'd all had a big problem with the fact that Kimber had been born hearing.

There was a definite division, at least to the deaf community, between the "hearing world" and their own. As far as the kids at the school were concerned, Kimber belonged to the "hearing world", even if she was deaf. Kimber had always been keenly aware that she didn't fit into either of the two worlds. She didn't have a whole lot of faith that tonight would lead to anything other than a nice dinner with a great looking guy. Kimber didn't consider herself a pessimist. No, she was a realist, and the reality of this situation was that like it or not, she and Jon came from two different worlds. He could hear, and she couldn't.

Kimber only lived three blocks from Gino's. In fact, everything she needed was just a few blocks from her little studio apartment. That's why she didn't own a car; she just walked every where she needed to go. While she was getting ready for this date, she'd realized that she didn't know what to wear. She should have asked Jon where he intended to take her. Shrugging, she'd decided on black jeans and a red, silk blouse. She'd pulled her red cowboy boots out of the closet to match her blouse. The walk to Gino's didn't take her very long, and she enjoyed the evening air. It was late spring, and all the window boxes and yards were in bloom. She walked past Mrs. Jacobs yard and took a deep breath. Mrs. Jacobs was more than proud of her yard, and the gardenias were Kimber's favorite. Cam called it her 'signature scent'. Her friend said that every woman needed a signature scent to make a man remember her until the end of time, every time he smelled that smell. So, Kimber owned everything in gardenia scents. Bath oils, soap, lotion, shampoo, conditioner and, of course, perfume.

When she walked into Gino's parking lot, she was surprised to see Jon already there. She'd timed her arrival to be just five minutes early. She'd really intended to only wait until 6:00 straight up, then she'd been going to leave. Apparently, he'd taken her at her word and didn't want to miss out. He really was gorgeous. He sat leaning against a motorcycle, his long legs stretched out in front of him, his light brown hair looked tossled, windblown and sexy. His blue eyes flashed as he smiled at her.

"'Bout time you got here," he teased.

"Were you waiting long?" she asked.

"No, but I'd have waited all night."

"That's one," she remarked, as she walked around the bike, looking it over.

"One what?" he asked.

She didn't answer him, and it took him a minute to realize she wasn't looking at him. He'd have to remember to make sure that she was looking at him when he spoke to her. With one hand, he reached out and grabbed her arm. Kimber jumped as if he'd burned her. He held his hands up in an innocent gesture, trying to show her that he meant her no harm. "I was just trying to get your attention," he explained. "I said, one what?"

"For future reference, to get my attention you don't have to grab me. Just lightly touch my shoulder or arm. And, I meant one line. I intend to keep count tonight."

"A bit jumpy aren't ya?"

"I just don't like people to invade my space," she told him. She went back to examining the bike.

"Doesn't like to have her space invaded?" he asked himself, since she wasn't looking at him. "This could be a real long night."

"She's a beauty," Kimber complimented, when she'd finally looked her fill of the bike.

"Yes she is," Jon answered, though his eyes were on her. She'd worn her long, chocolate brown hair loose, and it hung in waves down her back. The red of her shirt just brought out the green in her beautiful eyes and made the yellow starbursts more prominent. The black denim of her jeans clung to her thighs and the curves of her ass like paint on a wall.

"And, that would be two," she commented as she threw her leg over the bike. "Are we going somewhere or not, rock star?"

"Yeah, sure," he answered, climbing on the bike.

When he took off, he noticed that Kimber hugged the motorcycle with her legs and kept her hands on her thighs. Grinning, he gunned the engine, making the bike jerk forward. His grin turned into a full-blown smile when she instinctively gabbed his waist to keep from falling backwards. She might not want him to touch her, but he most certainly wanted her to touch him.

As Kimber got more familiar with the feel of the bike and Jon's driving, she put her hands back on her thighs. In response, Jon gunned the engine again. After he'd done that a couple of times, Kimber got the message and left her hands on his waist. She leaned foward to say in his ear, "I get the hint, rock star."

Jon's laughter floated away on the wind. She couldn't hear it, but she could feel his sides shaking.

Jon drove them to a little out of the way, mom and pop, Italian diner. Kimber smiled at him as he offered her a hand to help her off the bike. He was being such a gentleman, and that was a huge contradiction to the rock star image she'd had in her mind. He steered her toward the door with one large hand at the base of her spine. His hand continued to brand her as he was greeted warmly by the man that met them at the door. Jon was obviously a regular here, because the man treated him like family. Jon introduced them and explained to Kimber that Manny and his wife owned the place. Manny was very gracious to Kimber, showing them to a booth in the corner. Jon stood by Kimber's side of the booth as she slid into it, then moved to sit with his back to the door.

At first, Kimber wondered about that, but realized that he didn't want to be recognized by people coming in the door, and with his back to the room, patrons that were already there wouldn't be able to stare at him as they tried to determine if he was who they thought he was. While she sat looking at the menu, he sat looking at her. It made her a little uncomfortable when she looked up into sky blue eyes.

"What?" she asked. "We haven't eaten anything, so I know I don't have food in my teeth."

"You're beautiful," he said softly. Suddenly, he had an epiphany. If she only read lips, he didn't have to say anything out loud. No one would be able to eavesdrop on his side of the conversation. That might come in handy, a little later in this relationship. He didn't want to shock her this early with talk about what he'd like to do with her, to her. How he'd like to have her legs wrapped around his waist while he drove inside her.

Kimber's words broke his naughty train of thoughts. "Thank you, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Look, Jon," she paused and smiled. "Number three by the way."

"Are ya really gonna keep count all night?"

"Yep," she nodded.

"What were you gonna say?"

"Huh?"

"'Look, Jon', what?"

"Oh. I was just gonna tell you that you didn't have to use all your lines. I only agreed to come with you tonight to be able to explain to you why there couldn't ever be anything between us," she told him, looking back at her menu.

He couldn't believe this. She was turning him down! Oh, he'd been turned down before, contrary to popular belief, but never without at least getting a chance. She was shooting him down without even giving him a decent shot. He reached across the table to lift her chin so that she could see him ask, "Why?" He was so glad she couldn't hear the almost whinny quality in his voice.

She shrugged. "You can hear; I can't," she said, as if that explained everything.

Impatiently, Jon demanded, "So? What's your point?"

He had to wait to get her answer, because Manny came up to their table to take their order. Tapping his fingers on the table, Jon waited while she told Manny what she wanted, then quickly snapped out his order. When Manny walked away with a puzzled expression on his face, Jon asked, "Well?"

Smiling patiently at him, she answered, "We come from two different worlds, Jon."

"So?"

Jon stared at her as she comtemplated his question. How could she explain the boundary between the their two worlds, when she stood firmly on the imaginary line herself? Jon could see the wheels turning behind those unusual hazel eyes, but he didn't interrupt her thoughts. Finally, she began to explain how she'd always felt. She told him about not losing her hearing until she was eight years old and about her years at school, where she'd felt left out because she hadn't been born deaf like so many of the other children. She even told him about Cam.

During her explanation, their dinner came. They ate while she continued to describe her life to him. She'd never told anyone all of this, except her family and Cam. She couldn't quite believe she was spilling her guts to him like this. Of course, she'd never let a man get past the actual asking her to go out with them. She usually just told them no and shot them down. Thinking she'd finally made her point, she ended with, "So, you see why it would never work out between us, right?"

"No," he answered, shaking his head, his long hair dancing around his shoulders.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "But, I just told you..."

He interrupted her. "What you just told me was...that you're prejudiced against me because I can hear. Does that really seem fair to you? Did it seem fair when those other kids treated you differently because you weren't born deaf?"

"Well, no," she admitted.

"Then how is it fair for you to treat me the same way?"

She took several bites of her dinner before she finally answered him. "I guess it isn't."

"Okay then," he told her, smiling. "Quit counting my lines, and give me a real chance."

Manny came to take their empty plates away, and Kimber glanced at her watch. "Aw, damn."

"What is it?" Jon asked, his voice tinged with laughter.

"I really thought I'd have pissed you off and sent you running for the hills by now. Cam's got a show tonight, and I promised her I'd come. It starts in a half hour."

"What kind of show?"

"A one woman show. She's an actress."

"Let's go," he told her, getting up from the table.

"You don't have to go," she told him.

"But, I want to," he replied, as he threw some bills on the table, then led her to the door.