My name is Bradley Carter – Brad, for short – and I am a twenty-six-year-old college student working on my Master's degree in Computer Science. I plan on pursuing a career in computer and information systems management with an eye towards system security. 

I like to think of myself as "technically gifted" – I hate the word "geek" because it conjures up images of scrawny kids with highwater black pants held up with suspenders, pocket protectors, and thick black-rimmed glasses with tape over the nose bridge. None of which I have!

I discovered I had a knack for computers years ago when one day my father was having trouble doing something on his old Dell computer running Windows Vista. I was sixteen at the time, but I was able to figure out his problem and from that point on, I just dove headlong into computers!

I had been living off-campus in a small, quiet, apartment building for a couple of years now. I didn't like campus life with its preoccupation for partying and socializing instead of studying! 

It was a nice place – right on the bus route to the campus and close enough to the stores that I could get what I needed and not have to hassle with changing busses.

Across the hall was an older woman, kind of chunky, named Ruth. We had struck up a neighborly friendship and I had learned that she had a daughter about my age that lived down south in Alabama. She was a nice woman and loved to bake cookies (of which I partook many times!)

One day I came home from school and found her door open and movers shuttling boxes out to a moving van out front. She came over and explained to me that she was moving to her daughters. She'd just had a baby and Ruth wanted to spend some time with her. Plus, she was getting up there in age and the winters in St. Louis are not the mildest!

I told her I would miss her and her cookies but I completely understood. I made her promise to write when she got there so I'd know she made it okay and she said she would. 

The next day I woke up to head off to school and I lightly brushed her door ... I would miss our friendship and I wondered who might move in. They would have a tough time replacing Ruth, but I just hoped they would be quiet so I could get my studying done.

It was probably about three weeks later that I was checking my mail downstairs at the mail drop when this young woman came to do the same. 

She was a striking woman with flaming red hair and skin so pale she looked to be made of china! She wore dark eyeshadow to make her gorgeous blue eyes pop and red lipstick to accentuate her hair (as if it needed any help!)

I noticed which mailbox she opened and it just so happened to be the one Ruth used to have. There wasn't any mail in it, which wasn't unusual since she had just moved in. But at least I knew that I had a new and very attractive neighbor.

She smiled as she turned to leave and I watched appreciatively as she walked away.

By the time I got back upstairs to my second-floor apartment, I had already decided to go over and introduce myself. Might as well start off being neighborly I thought. 

But I also knew there was more to it than just being a self-appointed Welcome Wagon. I wanted to find out more about my new neighbor!

So after making sure I looked presentable, I went across the hall to her apartment. I knocked on the door and a moment or two later she answered.

"Yes, Can I help you?" she asked. She looked a bit frazzled, like she had been busy but not getting too much done.

"Hi, my name is Brad Carter, I live across the hall there in 210. I saw that you have just moved in and wanted to offer my help if you need anything. In fact, I have just made a fresh pot of coffee if you like," I said.

"Oh God, coffee! That would be so wonderful! Thank you. Just give me a minute to freshen up ... I'm afraid I must look a sight!" she said.

Oh, you look a sight all right ... a sight for sore eyes! I thought. "Okay just come on over when you're ready, and I'll have the coffee waiting," I said.

I walked back across the hall and got her coffee ready. I had some creamer and sugar and set it all out on a TV tray and put it on the coffee table in front of the sofa. 

I looked around to make sure the apartment wasn't too much of a wreck and surprisingly, it was in pretty good shape. Which was good because I had just finished my preparations when I heard a knock on my door.

"Hi, come on in," I said. 

She stepped into my apartment and I shut the door behind us. "I guess it's my time for introductions. My name is Rose ... Rose Kingston. It's nice to meet you and so sweet of you to welcome me to the building."

"Rose, huh? Well, it suits you! Come on in and have a seat. I have the coffee here waiting for you."

"Yeah, it was my parent's idea to name me Rose. When they got a look at this, it was kind of a no-brainer!" she said, holding out a strand of her red hair. "The thing is, both my parents had jet black hair, so it was always a curiosity how they got a coppertop!" 

"Well I like it ... it makes you special. Did you know that only two percent of the world's population are redheads? And blue-eyed redheads are even rarer than that! So you are pretty unique!" I said.

"Gee, I knew redheads were scarce, but I didn't know we were that scarce!" she said.

"Here's your coffee. I wasn't sure how you liked it, so I have creamer and sugar here," I said.

"Oh, Brad you don't know how much this means! I haven't had a cup of coffee in three days and I LIVE on this stuff! Who knew that moving could be so difficult and stressful!" she said.

"Having a tough time of it, are you?"

"I'll say! I moved here from Grand Rapids, Michigan after my divorce and it's been a nightmare! 

"First off, the movers were late and I almost had to pay another month's rent just to have someplace to stay until they showed up. 

"Then when they did, they were running behind schedule, so they were in a hurry and less than delicate with my things. I still haven't figured out how much of my stuff didn't make the move. 

"I had trouble closing out the utilities, and it cost me more than it was supposed to. Then my car broke down partway here, and I had to get it fixed. 

"Finally, when I got here and the movers showed up ... which was only a couple of days ago ... they charged me more than they said it would cost. 

"So I am fighting with them to honor their quote. I sure hope this move was worth all this!" she said, exasperated.

"Well Rose, I don't know if it was worth it to you, but from where I'm sitting, it was definitely worth the trouble!" I said.

She smiled over her cup of coffee at my remark. "Mmm, I have missed you, coffee!"

"So what made you pick St. Louis to move to?" I asked.

"Well, after my divorce, I wanted to get away from Grand Rapids and the painful memories and get a fresh start. I was an RN back there and now I have a job at Saint Alexius Hospital on South Broadway Ave."

"I take it the divorce was not a pleasant one? You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"No, it's okay. I'm past all the grieving now. It happened about a year ago now. I caught my ex-husband cheating on me with some bimbo secretary from a company he dealt with. 

"I found her number on his cell phone and he confessed to everything. We've been divorced now for almost six months."

"But you are still wearing your wedding ring," I said, pointing to her left hand.

"Yeah, I know. I just can't bring myself to take it off. It's sad really ... like somewhere inside I still have hope we can get back together, even though I know that ain't gonna happen."

"So how long were you two married?"

"Almost five years. It's funny how short a time 'forever' is ..." she said sadly. That was my cue to change the subject to something brighter.

"Say, Rose, you said that your movers only showed up a couple of days ago right?" I asked.

"That's right, why?"

"So you haven't gotten everything unpacked and set up yet, have you?"

"Hardly! I'm still trying to find out if everything even made it here, much less unpacked and set it all up!"

"Good. I was just trying to figure out what to make for dinner. But if you like to go to dinner with me, I can help you postpone that unpacking for an evening."

"Well, I suppose I should do something to thank you for the coffee and the very nice welcome to the building ... sure why not! I don't normally go out with a guy so soon after meeting them, but something tells me that you are not the average guy," she said, with a smile that lit up the whole room.

"Great! There's a nice Italian restaurant, Luigi's Italian Ristorante, that has really wonderful food. You like Italian food?" I asked.

"Well, to be honest, I don't know too much about Italian food. About the only thing I know is pizza, spaghetti, and ravioli!" she said, blushing a bit. It looked good on her.

"Don't worry, at Luigi's you can't go wrong. If you don't know what to order, Luigi comes to your table to explain what it is you are looking at. It's a very nice, charming, place but they class it up real good."

"It sounds wonderful, Brad. Tell you what – give me about a half-hour to get changed and looking like something that didn't just escape from the zoo and we can go. Do you need a reservation for this place?" she asked.

"No, not usually. Unless you go on a Friday or Saturday night. Then they can get pretty full. But this is only Tuesday so we should be good."

"Okay great. I'll see you in a few minutes then," she said. I walked her to her door and waited for her to get inside. Then I went to my apartment to get ready myself.

I got finished before she was ready (isn't that always the way!) and when I was done, I went across the hall. A knock on her door brought a "Come on in" from the other side. I opened the door calling out to her to let her know who was here.

"I'll be ready in a couple of minutes. Have a seat if you can find one!" she said from the back of the apartment. I looked around and found a box that looked sturdy and safe enough to sit on and waited for her.

She made it worth the wait and then some. When she came around the corner, my heart stopped. 

I guess she said something about being sorry she made me wait, and that this was the only thing she could find in her closet to wear, and that she was ready to go. But she could have been speaking Mandarin Chinese with a Scottish accent because I didn't hear a word she said.

I was far too busy taking in the stunning vision that appeared before my eyes. I couldn't speak ...  I just stared, not blinking for fear this beauty would be gone when I opened my eyes.

Rose started to get worried after a few seconds of silence. "What's the matter Brad, is something wrong?" she started looking at her outfit to find the flaw that had taken my senses away.

Finally, I remembered the English language. "Wrong? Rose, honey, you look incredible! More than incredible, you look ..." I couldn't finish my sentence. Anything I said would have been a slap in the face of sheer perfection.

Turns out my blank stare and babbling words got the point across somehow and she smiled. "I'm glad you like it. This is the first date I've been on in over a year!" 

Saying I liked the way she looked was like saying Michelangelo was a good painter. I didn't know her husband, but the guy must have been stone blind or dumb as a soup to let something like Rose go. But his loss was now my gain!

Rose saw my mental paralysis and slipped her arm under and around mine. "Shall we go?" she asked. That finally got my brain back in gear again and we left for the restaurant.

I was able somehow to keep my faculties long enough for us to make it safely to the restaurant and I parked the car. I went around to open the door for her and help her to stand and we went inside. 

Fortunately, it was a nice night, but I think even if it would have been raining cats and dogs it wouldn't have dared to get Rose wet!

The hostess took us to our table and Rose slipped off to "powder her nose" while I looked over the wine menu. I ordered us a couple glasses of the house Zinfandel and they were at the table waiting for her when she came back from the ladies' room.

The waiter came by with the menus and just as Rose said, she didn't know what she was reading. The waiter overheard her and with a slight nod from me he went back and the next thing we knew the owner, Luigi himself, was standing beside our table.

"Hello folks, I am Luigi, can I help you decide what to have from our menu?" he said.

"Well I know what I want, but you might help my date," I said, knowing this was what he lived for.

"And a very beautiful date she is. I see you are having our Zinfandel. That goes excellent with our pasta dishes. Might I suggest our Chicken Carbonara ... it is excellent if I do say so myself," he said.

She looked at me and I said "Yes that sounds wonderful. We'll both have the Chicken Carbonara then." Luigi smiled. "I will make them right away for my special guests!" and he left to go fix our meals.

As we waited for our meals, we got more acquainted with each other. We swapped stories of our childhood and I learned that Rose came from a working-class family – her father was a car salesman, and her mother worked in a bank once she and her brother were old enough to watch themselves. 

Her brother, who was older than her, was in the military stationed in Japan and was planning on making the military his career. Rose's parents still lived up in Grand Rapids and while she missed them very much, she had to get out of there and put the unpleasant memories behind her.  

Rose told me she graduated high school and was in college when she met her ex-husband. She managed to get her nursing degree, but right after she and Michael, her now ex-husband, got married.

Then it was my turn to tell my story. I told her that I, too, grew up in an "average American family", that I had no siblings, and that both of my parents were no longer alive. She found that last part very sad. 

"I'm sorry Brad," she said, putting her hand over mine.

"It's okay Rose, it's been a while now and I've adjusted. You never 'get over it', but you have to keep going."

I told her that I was in college getting my Master's degree in Computer Science and my plans to become a systems management analyst and security expert. 

"Ooh, you must be very smart!" she said. I knew it was a veiled compliment, but it was still nice that she recognized what it took to get this far.

Once our dinner arrived, we began eating and Luigi had done his magic once again. The dinner was superb! "Mmm, this is delicious Brad! Oh, I'm so glad you brought me here! I'm afraid to finish because it will be all over!" she said.

"Well, I will just have to bring you here again then," I said.

"Yes! Oh, please Brad, promise me we can come back here!" she said.

"I promise," I said. I knew she was just excited about the meal, but I was hoping to live up to that promise! 

"So are you folks up for a little dessert," the waiter said when he came by.

"I don't know, what have you got?" I asked. He rattled off some of the different desserts they offered until he mentioned "And we have strawberries and cream ..." It was at that point that Rose piped in. "I'll have the strawberries and cream! I love strawberries and cream!"

"Okay we'll share a bowl of strawberries and cream then," I said and the waiter went off to get it. Rose smiled at me and I took her hand, holding it as we waited for dessert.

After dinner was over and we thanked Luigi in person for his wonderful meal, we left the restaurant. We got in the car and I turned to Rose.

"Rose honey, it's a beautiful night and it's still pretty early. I don't have class tomorrow and you don't have to work. How about going for a drive and a walk to help settle dinner?" I asked.

"Brad, I was just going to ask you the same thing! I've had a wonderful time so far and I wasn't looking for it to end just yet. Yes, let's go!" she said excitedly.

I knew exactly where I wanted to take her. I drove over to the Gateway Arch National Park and parked as close as I could. The park visitor center was closed at this hour, but that was okay – I wasn't there as a tourist. We walked from the car the short distance to the arch itself. 

"Now the Gateway Arch was built to represent the gateway to the West, bringing the East and West together. The cultured, sophisticated East with the wild, untamed West. 

"There's also a saying that just as the Arch brought the East and West together, kissing under the Arch will bring a man and a woman together," I explained.

"Is that true?" she said skeptically.

"Well, that's what they say. I don't know if it's true or not, but why risk it?" I said. I pulled her into my arms and we kissed. It was just a sweet little kiss ... at first. 

But then the "magic" of the Arch took hold. Our kiss became deeper, more passionate. We began hungering for each other, then devouring each other as our kiss became all-consuming. I tell you I've never had a kiss before or since that even came close to that kiss!

We tried to climb into each other's mouths ... it's like we couldn't kiss hard enough. It was a good thing we were alone in the park at that time because we very nearly tore our clothes off and fucked right there on the lawn under the Arch!

Fortunately, once we broke the kiss (and regained enough air to speak) we decided that we needed to get back to the apartment – my apartment – and continue what we were doing in the privacy of my bedroom!