Many hours of lessons, more than just a little swearing and cursing from the instructor, fifteen or so curbs mounted, two side-swiped mirrors, and one minor accident later, James finally felt confident in his driving skills.
His instructor had started out very patient and understanding, until after he had asked James to use the turn signal before a simple right turn. In quick succession, James had first rolled down the windows, before sending the windscreen wipers into a frenzy, and finally flicking his high beams on and off.
That had garnered him a look of disbelief.
That disbelief quickly morphed into worry when James had mounted the curb with first one wheel, and then taken a short spin on the sidewalk and badly traumatized a couple walking their dog on the sidewalk of a quiet street.
The worry elevated itself into full on cursing and swearing as James had taken out the side-view mirror on a harmless, defenseless car parallel parked on the side of the road.
Unfortunately for the instructor, this was not a student he could choose to reject. He had been made an offer that he couldn't refuse.
Thankfully, James was a quick learner. Besides the mishaps mentioned above, he had picked up the rest in short order.
This time, James was truly thankful to Phil for his largesse.
Not only could he drive to and from college in the future, now he could make his way to Gina's place without having to reveal his whereabouts to one of Phil's drivers.
---
In the grand scheme of things, a week is a short amount of time. For James, bursting with anticipation, it had felt like a lifetime.
With his lessons taking up most of the day and evenings, and James' idle worrying about the date taking up most of the night, he had not made any progress on his missions or goal.
Even his system had given him a gentle reminder one night, to no avail, as James was reading review after review scouring the internet for a restaurant with a romantic ambiance that wasn't an extravagant outlay.
Finally, it was time for his first date.
---
James pulled up and parked right in front of Gina's house before knocking on her door.
A short pause later, the door opened to a vision of an angel.
Gina had put on some light makeup, accentuating her lips and giving her cheeks a tiny rosy blush. Her hair had been recently trimmed, and it parted down to reveal her impish eyes which were twinkling with amusement.
James stood back a little and admired the rest of Gina. Her classic dress shirt was still there, but had been wrinkled and unbuttoned and was now worn above what looked like a simple halter top revealing her toned belly. She had traded in her usual pants suit for a casual pair of denim jeans.
Taken together, her look had removed years from her age. She looked like she could be a classmate of his, rather than an instructor. James doubted that anyone would recognize her from a casual glance.
James pulled out a rose he had been hiding in his back pocket and presented it to Gina.
"Aw, how sweet." Gina smiled broadly and give the rose a smell before putting it on a table by the side of the door.
"It seemed like the right thing to do, given we were trying to do things right." James said deprecatingly.
"You're such a sweet talker." Gina teased, before asking curiously, "How did you get here? Should I call a ride share?"
"Phil gave me his old car." James answered simply.
Gina's expression darkened a little before she smiled again.
"I don't have very good associations and memories with that car, but now that it's yours, maybe we'll have a chance to rewrite those."
With those words, Gina stepped out of the house and locked up before placing her hands in James' hands.
"Take me away, James." She tip-toed and breathed into his ear.
---
A romantic, candle-lit dinner at an up and coming Italian restaurant later, James and Gina found themselves back in the car on the way home.
James' new driver license had come in helpful when he had suggested wine at dinner and gotten carded.
It was also the first chance he had had to see how it would fare under scrutiny.
As it turned out, the license had passed with flying colors, and was indistinguishable from the genuine one that Gina had flourished.
In fact, Gina's license had gotten more attention with the waiter not believing she was almost two years older than the twenty-one that James appeared to be. Luckily, the waiter had backed down without the almost-incident escalating.
The only wrinkle had come when Gina had playfully asked to compare the picture to James to see if he was photogenic. A brief look of confusion had passed when she saw the name, but no further comment was made.
After James had pulled up in front of Gina's house for the second time that night, he shyly placed his hand on her knee and turned over for a good-bye kiss.
"Don't be silly. Park and come spend the night. It's not like I have anything to hide from you, and maybe this time you won't turn away from me in the middle of the night." Gina laughed. James' casual act of abstinent chivalry in the witching hours had not gone unnoticed.
---
This time, there was no surreptitious room entry, no steamy shower scene, and no pretense of seduction.
It had started in the hallway once the door closed.
It began with a gentle meeting of the lips, before graduating to hungry, insistent, lingering kisses.
When they had finally broken apart, Gina had taken James' hand and forcefully pulled him towards the master bedroom, with James laughing joyously as he was dragged along.
There, Gina had pushed him onto the bed before straddling him and continuing the passionate kissing.
James' hands had found themselves wandering around the back of her shirt, before one had naughtily moved down to grab at her denim-clad rear. Gina had moaned her appreciation of his possessive handling into his left ear.
As the intimate petting extended, articles of clothing had found themselves naturally strewn and flung in all corners of the room, surrounding the bed, until all that was left on Gina was the same lacy red pair of bikini briefs that she had worn that first night.
The matching undergarment had been removed, albeit not smoothly, after several attempts by James to find the right motion to undo the clasp.
"I thought it would be poetic for you to remove them this time." Gina said from her perch atop of James.
James duly obliged, sliding them quickly off to reveal that which he had awaited for.
At that, Gina had taken charge, climbing back and carefully positioning herself on top on James before slowly lowering herself down.
James' first thought was that it was warm, wet, and tight. That first physical sensation had surpassed anything his imagination could come up with.
---
All too quickly, it was over. James' performance had belied his inexperience, and he was nervous that he had ruined the moment.
"Sorry if it was too quick." James tried apologizing.
"Shhh... The night is still young." Gina had shushed him with a gentle smile from her position now laying collapsed on top of James.
Gingerly, she raised herself off and strutted off to the bathroom to clean herself up, giving James a great rear view as she did so. James followed shortly after.
After they came back, the both of them had cuddled for awhile, before Gina had sent one of her hands roaming downwards. After, a little gentle pressure and encouragement, James found himself ready for round two.
This time, they took it slow, sweet, and gentle, bringing meaning to the phrase love-making.
Where the first round was rushed and impulsive, the second was considered, deliberate, and careful.
James lasted longer this time, and after the climatic finish, there was a pause to gather their breaths before the clean-up march commenced.
Surprisingly, a third round was in the cards, with James falling asleep shortly after due to physical exhaustion.
All in all, it could have been described as an honest night's work.
---
When the sun shone and interrupted his dreams the next morning, James opened his eyes to a scene he swore he would always treasure.
He was pressed up spooning against Gina, and the slightly sweaty scent of her hair permeated his nose. His left arm, trapped under Gina's body, had gone to sleep and was painfully numb, and his right hand was possessively wrapped around her stomach.
Despite the discomfort, James refused to let go. He leaned his head down a little and kissed the nape of Gina's neck where it was just ever so exposed from the covers.
At the touch, he felt Gina stir appreciatively.
Encouraged, James slowly maneuvered himself to trail a line of kisses down her back, pulling away the covers to reveal her shapely curves.
Gina turned over sleepily and grabbed playfully at James.
A slow, languid fourth round soon ensued.