Cole followed Kumiko to a picnic table unable to take his eyes off of the attractive Asian woman. Clearing his throat he smiled weakly as Kumiko began to flip through her phone, looking for some of her recent work. “So,” she said sweetly. “Claudia never mentioned you were interested in fashion.”
“Well,” Cole stammered. “I don’t always wear fatigues miss. On my down time I dress in civies just like everyone else.”
Kumiko giggled, brushing a stray hair from her face. Looking at this giant of a man she had to admit he was handsome. “I figured that,” she smiled. “So your sister tells me your a Marine. How long have you been in the service?”
“About seven years,” he said. “I joined right out of high school and never looked back. Kind of the family business considering what our dad did.”
Kumiko nodded, still smiling. Doing some quick math in her head she realized the age difference between the two was about 10 years. While intrigued with the idea of getting to know him she wondered if the age difference could hamper any type of relationship. “Ugh I’m old enough to be his babysitter,” she thought. “Still, maybe something could come out of this. It has been awhile.”
“So what about you,” Cole asked. “How long have you been in fashion?”
“Pretty much right out of college,” she said casually. “I did some modeling early on, still do on occasion. Mostly now though I’m behind the scenes now. Lisa, the red head over there, is one of my favorite models.”
Cole glanced in Lisa’s direction, noticing the happy red head talking with a man that looked around her age. “Oh okay,” he said. “You two close?”
“Besties for the past 10 years,” Kumiko replied happily. “Lisa's volleyball career was just beginning when I hired her to model some of my first designs. I wanted a sporty model with spunk and she fit the bill perfectly. Ever since we’ve been close, she even helps out on designs from time to time.”
Cole smiled warmly as he settled into the chair. Kumiko continued talking about her career, smiling broadly while talking about some of the places she had been. Cole would love to have compared notes but realized it probably wouldn’t be the best of ideas. The world of modeling was as far removed from the battlefield as one could get. “Wow What is up with me,” he thought. “I can’t take my eyes of this woman. She’s cute, interesting, and she seems like a lot of fun. Christ am I falling for that quick? Geez maybe I should of taken some leave earlier, instead I’m crushing like a freaking school boy.”
“So Cole,” Kumiko mused. “What is your job like or is it top secret.”
Cole laughed, noticing the playful tone in her question. “Yeah kind of,” he chuckled. “Without going into the details I can say I’m in Marine recon. It’s kind of dirty work but necessary. Not as glamorous as your job but it pays the bills.”
Kumiko continued smiling at Cole as she studied him carefully. “Damn girl,” she thought. “You got freaking Captain America in front of you. He’s got muscles on top of muscles. Take a deep breath now, your freaking crushing on this guy like a freaking high school girl. Just breathe, it’s a conversation. It’s not like your going to be sleeping with him right now. Still can you imagine what that would be like.” Kumiko felt her face flush as she imagined what being with Cole in bed would be like. She now began fanning herself with her hand, coming up with a weak explanation that it was unseasonably warm.
“Wow,” Julia exclaimed. “Those two could not be more obvious. Their both ogling each other.”
Claudia and the girls nodded in agreement as they watched the two exchange pleasantries. “Why doesn’t one of them make a move,” Mary Elise asked. Mika shook her head, turning to look at her friends. “Kumiko is probably thrown off by the age difference,” she sighed. “Theirs a ten year age gap between them, it might be freaking her out a bit.”
Julia rubbed her chin, an idea forming. Grinning she turned and smiled at Claudia and her friends. “Well guess we’re lucky you and your friends can fix that huh Claud.”
“Wait what,” Mika exclaimed. “Hold up I don’t know.”
“Cmon it makes sense,” Julia stated. “Look I love Cole but he’s never been very good at the whole flirting thing. This right now is probably the best I’ve ever seen. He’s probably just as thrown off by the age difference. Why not make them the same age so they can just get over it and couple up.”
“So you want me to make Cole 35,” Katie asked. Julia frowned as she looked at Katie. “Was hoping Kumiko would be 25. I kind of like being the oldest.”
“Hold on why does Kumiko need to be younger,” Mika protested. “Who knows if she would even be my aunt if she were that age.”
“What about splitting the difference,” Samantha added. “Make them both 30.”
The group now began to ponder how to handle this potential coupling. Turning the group now looked at Katie. “Katie here,” Claudia stated, handing the ring back to her. “Your better at this than I am. You make the call.”
Katie sighed as she looked at the ring. If she was going to do this it would mean breaking a promise to Lisa. As she looked at her friends though she could feel the peer pressure of the situation weighing on her. She needed to think carefully no matter how she wished to proceed.