The wallflower, everyone I know knows at least one. You know that girl or guy that is always there but know one wants to be in a relationship with them. They are usually a little nerdy, and are always there to help sort things out. They are usually on the chess team or the math team or something like that.
Carla, was the one wallflower that really stands out in my head. I knew her in high school, and although we talked all the time, I didn't really feel attracted to her.
Right out of high school, I got a job as a tech support for a large insurance company in the city. We handled all the problems from a central location, and usually could do it over the phone. I had worked there for about three years, when Carla was hired on as a tech support person too.
We worked the same shift, and because we knew each other from high school, we seemed to end up together all the time. The only time we weren't together was at night when we weren't at work. She followed me to the company gym, and would work out the same way as I did.
A few times we had a chance to talk, and the talk was always general, and not to personal, as every time I would bring up anything personal, like if she was see someone, she would back off and seem to keep to herself for a few days. I did notice though that after one of those times, she would open up just little more.
We ended up working night stretches as the company had office all over the world, so we had have support ready for those that were working while we were sleeping. So Carla and I ended up working nights about once every two months.
Those were the times that we really had to chat, and she slowly opened up to me, about her personal life, and the things that she wanted to accomplish in her life.
I found out that one of the ass hole jocks in high school had used her to win a bet. He had made a bet that he could fuck more women than anyone else in the school. The rule was that they had to do one nerd, or wallflower in the group.
This ass hole had used Carla, and he had actually taken her virginity. She found out later and had been totally devastated by the whole thing.
She hadn't had a boyfriend since then, as she felt that all guys just wanted to use her for sex. She was glad though that she had me for a friend.
About two years after she started working there, in late July the company picnic was scheduled, and this year she couldn't avoid it. So I talked to her about it and we decided to go as a team.
The picnic was an all day affair. The first part was for families although all employees were there. We concentrated on having fun with kids and keeping them occupied. I organized a soft ball game, and it turned out pretty good and really competitive.
I noticed a couple times that Carla was always surrounded by young kids as they seemed attracted to her. She was having a blast with them, and I saw real joy on her face as she seemed totally in to the picnic.
After the family part was over, the single and non kid couples had a some of their own fun. The food was the usual stuff, burgers, dogs, salad and such.
The only rule was that there was no alcohol.
As the picnic was winding down, I told Carla, that I was going to go for couple of beers. She said that she would love to join me. So off we went and we found a nice place to have a couple of beers, and talk.
After the beers, she invited me to her place for another. When I got there she was sitting on the front porch with couple of beers, and we just sat sipping and talking more.
When I was ready to leave, she stood and she gave me a hug. I just held her for a few seconds and then kissed her on the cheek. She didn't respond so I thought maybe I could go little farther. As we parted from the hug I leaned in and tried to give her a kiss. She pulled away, and went right into her house. I left feeling a little confused. The hug had felt real and she wanted it and that seemed to me to give me a chance to continue.
The next day we were supposed to work nights, and when I got to work, I realized that she had booked the night off. As I logged in to the computer, and started to check emails, one popped up from her.
"Dear Mike:
I am sorry I pulled away from you last night when you kissed me, but I didn't feel it was the right time. I do have some strong feelings for you and I am pretty sure that you want more than just sex from me. I would love to explore a more permanent relationship with you, but you have to take it slow for reasons you already know. Give me time and I promise that it will be worth you wait, and I know that you will be totally and completely satisfied for the wait.
Carla"
I stared at the email, and realized that she had me pegged real well. I really did want to have a more serious relation ship with her, and not just a one night stand. I had just read her wrong.
I emailed her back and said, " I can be a snail if you want."
That was the answer that she was looking for. We started to date and had the usual dates, movies, dinners, walks, sporting events, and even the theatre once.
In late fall as my birthday was coming up, she had asked me to go shopping with her. She was looking for a party dress as Christmas was coming and needed one for the Christmas parties that would be coming.
We shopped a big mall for about an hour and a half and she found a simple red dress that was actually quite nice. She went to try it on but didn't come out for me to see. She told me that I would have to wait to see it. We parted as she wanted to look for shoes and stuff to go with it.