This was written for the February 2012 Challenge  – Using the words Satin, Heart, Roses, Sugar and Cookie

Thank you to Cheryl for being a great beta reader (again)

Second Season

February 12th

          “Amanda!” Amanda King turned as she heard her name being called down the hall.

          “Hi, Lee.” She said as her sometimes partner came up beside her.

          “Are you doing anything tomorrow night?” Lee asked without any preamble.

          “Honestly Stetson, don’t you know how to say hello?”

          “Hello. Are you doing anything tomorrow night?”

          “No. Do you need me for something?”

          “Could you come with me to the Swiss Embassy for a cocktail party? I have to meet one of my contacts.”

          “Sure.”

          “Great! I tried everyone else…” Lee trailed off.

          “Thank you so much.” Amanda replied dryly.

          “No, that’s not what I meant. I mean I need someone to distract the escort of my contact. And I didn’t want to put you in that position…” 

          Amanda glared at him. “Well, since I am your last choice.” She counted to ten in her head just to watch him squirm. “What time should I meet you here?”

          She was amazed when Scarecrow actually looked a little flustered at her words. “Ummm…Six o’clock?”  He gave her a lopsided smile.

          She took a deep breath. “Is there anything special I need to know before the party?”

“No, you’ll be going as my IFF colleague so you’ll be able to mingle freely.”

“Well in that case, I’ll see you later.” With that Amanda turned on her heel and walked down the hall.

          ‘A distraction, huh?’ Amanda thought furiously. ‘What do I have that could provide a distraction.’ An image flashed through her mind. ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t wear that. But it is perfect.’ A small but devilish laugh escaped Amanda as she headed to the file room. ‘It will provide a distraction all right. Poor Scarecrow won’t know what hit him.’ The small smile which formed at Lee’s imagined reaction stayed on her face for the rest of the day.

February 13th

Amanda began her preparations for the party at 4:00. She changed her mind about the dress she had chosen three times. She never thought she would actually have the nerve to wear it. If Lee wanted a distraction that is what she would give him. She walked out of her bathroom and reached for a bra until she realized that she would have to go braless with this dress. Since she couldn’t wear pantyhose because the waistband would be visible, she decided on a garter and stockings. She took a deep breath and pulled the red SATIN cocktail dress up her body. She relished the feel of the soft material next to her skin. She reached behind her and pulled the zipper up slowly making sure that it didn’t catch on her lace panties. The zipper finished right above the small of her back leaving the back open except for the thin straps. She placed her feet into open toed black pumps, freshly painted red toenails barely peeping out. She looked at herself in the mirror and smoothed out the non-existent wrinkles and approved of the front V-neck which gave a discreet view of her chest. The hem was just to her knee, a perfect length.

Looking through her jewelry box, she decided to wear an Alexandrite HEART pendant that Joe had brought back for her from one of his early trips to Africa. The pendant’s setting was small pink gold flowers and green gold leaves wrapping around the stone setting off the deep, dark red glow of the gem.

Amanda gave herself one last look in the mirror. “Okay, Amanda, you can do this. I know you can. You are just going to a cocktail party. You are helping Lee like always. Just like always. Nothing more to it.” A knock at her bedroom door halted her pep talk as her mother walked in.

“Amanda…my, don’t you look stunning. I wondered when that dress was going to come out of the closet.” 

“Thank you, Mother. Since its cocktail reception for some IFF sponsors, I thought I would wear this in honor of Valentine’s Day.”

“Well, you look lovely. It’s a shame to waste a dress like that on sponsors. Oh well, I just wanted to let you know that the SUGAR cookies for the bake sale are done and the boys are frosting them now. Now I’m not supposed to tell you, but the boys are making a special Valentine’s Day COOKIE for you.”

“That’s so sweet of them. I’m really sorry you had to bake all the cookies. I got asked to attend the reception at the last minute.”

Dotty kissed her on the cheek. “I know, Love. That’s why I’m here, to help out any way I can.” She suddenly became animated. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll find some nice man at the reception.”

Amanda hugged her mother. “Mother! That’s not why I am attending the party.”

“I know, I know.” Dotty acquiesced as she walked out the door. She popped her head back in for a moment to say, “but never hurts to try.”

Amanda put on her long black wool coat for the drive and grabbed her black bag as she walked out the door.

She arrived at the agency with five minutes to spare, but as she walked into the Georgetown Foyer she noticed Lee pacing back and forth. “It’s about time.”

She looked at her watch. “Lee, you said six o’clock. It’s not even that yet.” Amanda reasoned

          “I know, Amanda, let’s go.” He offered his arm and escorted her out of the building and to the Corvette. As she sat down in the bucket seat and brought her legs inside the car, her coat slipped open and Amanda realized that her dress had ridden up a little too much and that the top of her stocking and a garter strap were showing. She looked up and saw Lee look away rapidly and clear his throat.

          “Are you in?” He asked not quite looking at her as he began to close the door.

          “Yes, thank you.”  She looked up at him and shouted, “Lee, your hand!”

          He stopped and moved his hand from the car frame. “Thank you. Okay. Good.” And he closed the door. He didn’t get two steps when Amanda heard the sound of cloth tearing. She looked over and noticed that Lee had closed the corner of his overcoat in the door. She stifled a small giggle and opened the door for him.  Before she could close the door again she heard him mutter darkly, “thank you” as he walked around the car. She used the moment to surreptitiously pull her dress down to cover her legs.

          Lee swung himself into the car and they headed to the embassy.

          When they arrived a valet took the Corvette and Lee walked Amanda into the reception. She discreetly looked for damage to his coat as he gave their names to the guard. She was relieved to see that the damage was minimal and right along the seam. She probably could mend it for him if he wanted. Amanda made a mental note to ask him later. Now they had work to do.

          Lee removed his coat and handed it to the coat check. She took the opportunity to look at what Lee’s attire entailed. Since it was a cocktail reception, he had chosen one of his black tailored suits with a white shirt and a red tie. He accented the red tie with a red pocket square. She smiled inwardly, without even realizing it they wore complementary outfits. 

He returned to Amanda to assist her with removing her coat. She felt him lift it off her shoulders and begin to slide the coat down her arms when he suddenly stopped. “Lee?” She asked turning her head to look over her shoulder at him. He was staring at the back of her dress. “Lee. Is there something wrong? Lee? Is there something on my dress?” She slipped her arms out of the sleeves and felt down the back of her dress to make sure it was intact. She turned and saw him standing there with her coat in his hands looking at her with his mouth agape. “Lee, what’s wrong with you? Is there something wrong with my dress?” Now suddenly self-conscious, she ran her hands over her hips and backside smoothing out imagined wrinkles.

          Lee seemed to snap back out of his thoughts. “Huh? Um... wrong? No. Uh..no. There is nothing wrong with your dress. You look amaz…good…really good…fine even.”

          “Good. If you’re sure?” She asked as he handed her coat to the coat check and  escorted her in to the reception hall.

          He guided her to the bar to order drinks. While waiting, he leaned in and whispered, “Katrina is the one in the royal blue dress. Her escort is KGB but not a guard. When she goes to the ladies room you need to distract him so that I can talk to her.” Amanda leaned in closer to hear him over the hub of discussion and Lee looked down, looked up quickly and stammered, “yea…so I can talk to her…and get her…ummm…information.”

          “Lee, are you all right? You suddenly look a little flushed?” Amanda asked straightening up and putting her hand on his.      

He removed his hand from hers. “I’m fine. Why don’t you mingle for a few minutes and establish yourself away from me? I’m going to step outside for a minute.”

          “Why?”

          “I need some air.” Lee tugged on his shirt collar as if he wasn’t getting quite enough oxygen.

          “You don’t want me to go with you?”

          “NO!” Lee replied loudly. “I mean, no, just go enjoy yourself. You’ll get too cold outside in that dress.” He turned quickly and left her at the bar.

          Amanda watched him for a moment then shrugged her shoulders. ‘I can’t believe how strangely Lee is acting tonight.’ She reflected. ‘It must be the meet. The information Katrina has must be really important.’

She walked over to the hors d’oeuvre table to peruse the choices. A long stem red rose suddenly appeared in her line of vision as a voice with a French accent said, “Madame, how is it that a beautiful woman such as yourself is alone right now.”

Amanda turned and came face to face with the second most handsome man she had ever seen. He wore the uniform of the Swiss military and was as tall as Lee.  His easy smile lit his face and his blue eyes sparkled. She smiled and took the rose the officer offered. “Thank you,” she responded, “for the rose and the compliment.” She inhaled the delicate fragrance.

“I am Captain Phillippe Broussard of the Swiss Army and you are…?”

“Amanda King.”

“Ahh, Amanda it is a lovely name. It means one who must be loved.”

Amanda blushed and smiled. “Really, I never knew that. My son is named Phillip.”

Broussard smiled back at her. “Oh, you have a son? Excellent. How old is he?”

“He’s ten and his brother, Jamie is eight.”

They chatted for a few minutes about how he liked being stationed in Washington, his home in Switzerland and his family. Amanda was laughing at a story of his little brother falling into a pond when Lee appeared at her elbow.

“Amanda?” Lee questioned looking at her.

“Oh, Lee. Lee Stetson this is Captain Phillippe Broussard of the Swiss Army. Captain, this is my colleague Lee Stetson.”

“Bonjour, Monsieur Stetson. I was telling Amanda about the escapades of my little brother.”

          “Je m'excuse Capitaine. J'ai besoin d'avoir un mot avec Mme King.” Lee responded. “Peut-être les deux vous pouvez parler beaucoup plus tard?  Elle sera occupée pour le reste de la soirée. 

Broussard looked at Lee like he wanted to refuse the request but then he took Amanda’s hand, held it for a moment and kissed it briefly. “Of course, excuse me, Amanda. Perhaps we can speak again before you leave.” Broussard excused himself and walked away.

          Amanda followed the captain with her eyes until Lee’s urgent voice brought her back to him. “A-man-da, what were you doing talking to that guy?”

          Amanda was confused by his tone of voice. “Lee, you told me to mingle. What did you say to him? And why would you say it in French when he spoke perfect English?”

          “I just…look it doesn’t matter why I…never mind. I just told him that I needed to have a word with you and that you would be occupied for the rest of the evening. Mingle means to move on to other people.” Lee chastised.

          “He was very polite….” Amanda trailed off when she saw Katrina look their way several times and tap her wrist. “I think Katrina is trying to get your attention.”

          Lee turned around with a whispered curse and casually swept the room. Amanda noticed the small nods between the two of them. “Okay, are you ready?”

          “Of course.”

          “Give me that rose.” He took it and left it on the nearest table. “We don’t want him to think that you are attached. Are you sure you’re ready?” Lee asked again.

          “Yes, now leave me alone.” Amanda answered. ‘I can’t believe he doubts my ability to keep someone distracted.’ She thought as she walked across the room to a table close to where Katrina’s escort was drinking what looked to be vodka and watching where she had gone. The arrangements on the table had a variety of ROSES. She smiled at him, placed her own glass on the table and examined the flowers. She caressed the soft petals and inhaled the heady fragrance. She saw out of the corner of her eye that he turned to watch her.

          A brusque deep voice came from behind her in barely accented English. “I see you like roses.”

          “Yes, they’re very beautiful.”

          “I am Anton Kostlov. I am a cultural attaché at the Soviet Embassy.”

          “Amanda King.” Amanda turned and faced the direction that Lee and Katrina went in in order to force Kostlov to keep his back to them.

          Kostlov looked at her. “Have we met before, you look very familiar.”

          Amanda thought for a moment to her interactions with the KGB. “No, I don’t believe so. Maybe I just have one of those common faces.”

          “Dear lady, your face is beautiful. You have such classic features.” Kostlov looked at her necklace. “May I?” He indicated to the stone. She nodded and he picked it up off her chest and held it in his hand. “This stone was named after Czar Alexander after it was first discovered in Russia. Have you been there? Did you buy it there?”

          “No, I’ve never been to the Soviet Union, I have heard of the beautiful cathedrals and palaces though. My former husband bought it for me many years ago in Africa.” Amanda answered keeping an eye out for Lee. “I thought the setting was beautiful and since we are so close to Valentine’s Day, I decided to wear it in honor of the occasion.”

          “The setting is unique. The color of the stone changes with the lighting it is exposed to.” Kostlov told her as he placed the necklace back on her chest. They talked for a few minutes comparing cities in the Soviet Union and United States. As they continued to talk about Washington, she looked over his shoulder and saw Lee making his way to her. She shook her head to indicate that she was okay and he slowed down.

          Katrina arrived back at her escort’s side. “Have you been all right without me Anton?” She asked taking his arm and smiling at Amanda.

          “Of course, you weren’t gone very long. This charming lady has kept me occupied.” Kostlov put his hand on Katrina’s.

          “Thank you,” Amanda replied. “Oh, if you will excuse me, I see a friend over by the bar. It was very nice talking to you.” Amanda walked towards the bar to wait for Lee to approach her again.

          While waiting for Lee, another man began a conversation with her. Suddenly, Lee was at her elbow tugging slightly on it. Amanda excused herself again and walked away. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked his teeth clenched.

          “What do you mean?”

          “You are not supposed to be flirting with everyone.”

          Amanda was indignant. She had done a good job keeping a KGB agent occupied for nearly ten minutes. She felt a flush of anger at his words.  She whispered in a furious undertone. “I was not flirting with everyone! I did what you asked. I distracted Kostlov.”

          “I know. I saw him fondling you.”  A small muscle in his jaw pulsed.

          “Lee Stetson! He was not fondling me. He was looking at my necklace. You sound like you’re jealous.”

          “I am not jealous!” Lee replied a little too adamantly. He took a deep breath. “Look, I got what I needed. I noticed that you haven’t had anything to eat and you have been nursing that drink for the last hour. Do you want to go and get something to eat before I take you back to the office?”

          Amanda accepted the implied truce in his words. “I suppose so. I’m not taking you from some pre-Valentine’s date am I?” 

          Lee shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. “No. Besides, I also don’t like the looks of the men…people around here.”

          Amanda ran her hand from his elbow to his wrist and patted his hand. “I understand, Lee.”

          He held out his arm and when she took it he brought her close and placed his hand on hers. He murmured with a weary sigh. “I’m glad one of us does.”

They walked out of the reception and onward to dinner.

Three Years Later –

          Lee Stetson stood and looked in the closet he shared with his wife. He was fresh from the bathroom and still had a slightly damp towel wrapped around his waist. He was taking Amanda out tonight for dinner and dancing for their anniversary. As he dug out his black suit and selected a tie he saw a flash of red in amongst Amanda’s dresses. He pulled out the red satin cocktail dress that she had worn to the Swiss Embassy party.

          Suddenly, memories began to flash in his mind of the glimpse of stocking and a red garter, her bare back, the slight view of the swell of her breast as she leaned forward, and her body pressed up against him as they walked out. He flushed as he remembered that night was the first time he hadn’t seen her as a mother and his friend first but as a very attractive woman. He could feel blood rushing to a particular part of his anatomy. 

          “Amanda,” he called, “why haven’t you worn this dress again?”

          His wife poked her head out of the bathroom and shrugged. “I don’t know, Sweetheart.” She smiled. “Maybe you haven’t needed to be distracted in a while.”

          “Will you wear it for me tonight?” He made the puppy dog eyes that always made her give in.

          “Sure, if you’d like. Why?”

          “Because now I can bring you home and peel you out of it like I wanted to three years ago.” He smiled broadly and sauntered over to her.

          She placed a finger in the towel around his waist and gave a little tug. “Do you promise not to become too distracted?”

          “Honey,” he said as the towel fell to the floor, “I promise you’ll have my full attention.