People have turned off the TV to check out this place
Part Two: New York City. Ah, springtime in New York. Nothing better, in Mare's opinion. She was in New York City for the week visiting her friends Kathleen and Ben Stone. Today, Kathleen or K.C. as she was better and affectionately known by her friends, and Ben had to take their son, Michael to the doctor for a checkup. So, Mare decided she would go out and hit the streets of NYC and do some of her own investigating. Mare was walking through Central Park. The ducks were swimming happily away in the pond. People were walking, skating, and sitting about. The sun was shining and there was just a slight breeze. Still, it was warm enough for Mare to be wearing her jean jacket, a white T-shirt, her denim skirt, and boots. Her shoulder length auburn hair was tied back in a ponytail. She felt so happy and very lucky to be walking in Central Park. Deciding that she had had enough walking, for now, Mare went to find a park bench. There weren't too many as a lot of parents had brought their kids to the park for some family fun. Still, after a few more minutes of searching, Mare found a bench by one of the duck ponds. However, there was already somebody sitting there and he looked like he was asleep. Not sure what to do, Mare stood quietly and looked around for another bench. She didn't have long to wait because suddenly she heard a voice saying, "It's alright. I'm awake now." Turning around at the direction of the sound, Mare realized it came from the man sitting on the bench and what a man he was (the Salt n' Peppa/En Vogue song immediately comes to mind, "Whatta Man, Whatta Man, What A Mighty Good Man."). He had raven black wavy hair, very piercing, yet twinkling mischievous eyes. His eyes were like a grayish green with some hazel in them. Mare wasn't exactly sure but she determined that if she ever got the chance, those eyes would warrant closer inspection. His lips were generous and very seductive, especially when he smiled which is what he was doing right now. Mare started to get weak in the knees when she seen that smile. The one shortcoming, not there was any others, was his nose. It looked like a big bird's beak. However, it didn't take from the handsomeness of his face. It only added to it. He was wearing a black sweater, black jeans, and boots. The added touch was the tan leather jacket he was wearing. However, what really got her heart pumping was the neck of his sweater. It was v-necked and showed off a little bit of his neck and his chest (which had some smooth black hair). Mare was absolutely dying! When she recovered enough to be able to speak, Mare said, "Um, thanks. Do you mind if I sit here?" "As far I'm concerned, you can sit here with me for eternity.", he said. Oh lordy! What was a girl to do when she heard a line like that? So, she sat down. The man sitting beside her stretched out his hand towards her and said, "Hi, I'm Mike. And you would be?" "Yeah, I'm Mare. Nice to meet you Mike.", Mare replied. "Likewise.", Mike answered. They shook hands and Mare could feel her body get warm all over. Unfortunately, the warmth seemed to be the most apparent on her face. She was blushing like crazy. For his part, Mike couldn't help noticing this beautiful woman sitting beside him. He had decided, since it was his day off, to go for a walk. Taking a walk was something he hadn't done for quite a while. And now, with this gorgeous lady sitting beside him, he was glad he decided on this (the walk, I mean). Upon further inspection, Mike noticed that besides Mare's beautiful shoulder length wavy auburn hair, she had the most amazing eyes. They were green with blue and gold flecks in them. There was also a tiny scar on her right eyelid. He promised himself that he would find out more about that later. However, besides her eyes, Mike couldn't take his eyes off her lips. They were definitely movie star lips and the type of lips that he would never get tired of kissing. They were still holding hands and neither one was reluctant to let go but they both knew they had to. Mare was the first to let go. Mike followed. "So, lady, what are you doing in the park today?", Mike asked. Now, most other men would have got punched for being so familiar with Mike (the use of the word lady) but when she didn't mind it all when Mike said it. It felt right and comfortable and only made her wish that she could be his lady. "Well, I'm visiting some friends and they are at the doctor's office right now with their son.", Mare replied. "Nothing serious, I hope.", Mike asked. "Oh, no. Just a routine checkup for their son.", Mare replied. "Well, that brings to my next line of questioning. Why are you here on your own and how long are you here for?", Mike asked with a sexy lopsided grin on his face and a devilish gleam in his eyes. "Say, what are you, a cop or something?", Mare asked. "However did you guess?", Mike asked. "Uh, just a little thing like all the questions you were asking me and the manner in which you were doing them, uh, asking the questions, I mean.", Mare replied with some more of that blush creeping back onto her face. Mike was delighted and intrigued, all at the same time. Mare was stunned and dying over this man. They looked at each other for long moments and then Mike broke the silence: "Well, if you aren't doing anything else today, how would you like to spend the day with me?" "Sounds like a plan to me. By the way, do you mind if I leave a message on my friends' machine. I just want to let them know that I will be safe and sound." "Oh, don't worry, lady, I will definitely keep you out of harm's way.", Mike devilishly retorted. Sensing that blush would appear again, Mare said, "Um, let's find a phonebooth, shall we?" And with that, they were off to find the phonebooth. *************************************************************************** Author's Notes Well, as you can see there will be a few more parts to this story yet. Stay tuned for further developments and please let let me know what you think. ***************************************************************************Go forward to part 3.