I woke the next morning feeling sore from the way my muscles had clenched. I glanced at the clock and jumped out of bed.
I never slept late, but the clock read 9:32.
I could remember him saying "10:00 sharp" as I dashed into the bathroom.
God, I was a mess. My eyes were puffy and my chin was actually crusty where my nose had been running.
I jumped in the shower and washed myself, hurrying.
Face scrubbed.
Hair shampooed.
Body washed.
And out.
Deodorant, God, don't forget the deodorant.
Brush through the hair.
Glance at the clock.
9:54
No time.
Brush quickly.
Oh shit, what to wear.
Grab something. Oh no, not slacks, it's a picnic.
Jeans?
Shorts? Oh god, they make my ass look so big.
Okay, jeans.
Panties dummy.
Jeans.
Bra.
The doorbell.
SHIT!
T-shirt.
The doorbell again.
"Coming."
Grab sneakers.
Answer the door.
God, he looked good standing there. He was in a polo shirt that fit his trim body nicely. Jeans, just slightly faded. Worn sneakers.
"For my gorgeous date," he said and pulled one of those cheap bouquets you see on street corners and convenience stores from behind his back. And I was so touched I almost cried. I literally could not remember the last time someone had brought me flowers.
"Come in," I said awkwardly, taking the flowers and stepping back. "Give me a minute to find something to put these in."
He was doing a slow circle, taking in my apartment as I went into the kitchen and found the one vase I owned. I put water in and the flowers and brought them out to set them on my little table.
"Thank you," I said, feeling oddly awkward.
"I like your place," he said, looking around.
"Vinyl," he said, moving to my record collection, "really?"
"Yeah," I said. "I inherited a lot of them from my mom and, well, I think that the sound is better if you want to know the truth."
He was admiring my stereo system which was one of the few things that I had splurged on.
"Very nice," he said, flipping through the records. I was pleased to see that he knew how to handle the vinyl, much of it irreplaceable at anything short of usurious prices.
"Okay," he said, suddenly standing, "let's roll."
I smiled as he took my hand with an almost-little-boy eagerness and led me to the door.
He waited as I carefully locked my door and then took my hand again and led me to the parking lot.
His car was a little PT Cruiser Convertible. Bright blue with a black interior. The top was down of course, even though it was a cool day.
"Okay picnic boy," I said, smiling at him, "where are we off to?"
"A surprise," he said.
He was a good driver, driving fast but not recklessly.
We headed south out of Denver on I-25 and I assumed we would be heading for Castle Rock or maybe even Colorado Springs. The radio was playing an "oldies" station and he seemed to know all of the old songs. I was enjoying the top-down ride even though my hair was an absolute wreck and it was cool enough that I was aware of my nipples outlined against the T-shirt even through my bra.
The open top made conversation hard and so I mostly enjoyed the scenery and the music.
When Colorado Springs passed us by I asked "where are we going."
"A surprise," he said over the noise of the wind.
We got off at one of the Pueblo exits. I had been in Pueblo maybe three times in my life, and had absolutely no idea where we were.
Finally, we were out of town, heading west again, and it was a pretty drive. We passed the Pueblo Reservoir, very low this year, and kept heading west.
"All right Daniel Boone," I said, the lower speeds making conversation easier, "where ARE we going?"
He just looked mysterious and sang along with Frankie Avalon doing his "Venus."