Jade stood under the overhang of what had once been the patio to the restaurant. It was snowing as it usually did on Valentine's Day, and she looked out at the empty parking lot. The empty building behind stood silent and ghostly. It had once contained one of the best Italian restaurants in town. The rumor was that the owners were drug dealers and had fled town after a bad deal. Jade was not concerned about the reasons for the closure; she was worried more about who she was waiting for and whether that person would arrive. She shivered a bit as a gust of wind blew across the emptiness of the lot.
Jade was a practical woman and thus wore jeans and a sweater. It was a cold evening and the wind blew directly on her bare neck. She pulled the hood of the white ski jacket up around her, wishing she had not left her mitts and scarf in the car. Thinking about it now, she wasn't as practical as she thought she was. He had affected her in so many ways. Her fingers tingled with the cold, but she could feel the cold clamminess of her palms.
She was beyond nervous now and luckily, she hadn't eaten anything all day. If she had, she probably would have thrown it up. Her stomach was full of butterflies and she was not going to calm down until one of two things happened: either he was going to show up, or he wasn't.
Jade's heart stopped for a second as a black BMW Z4 Roadster pulled into the parking lot. Unless someone was lost, there was no reason for anyone but him to pull into this parking lot. She remembered clearly the type of car he had driven last year and began to reminisce about the smell of the leather seats. When he got out of the car, the events of a year ago flashed before her eyes.
***
Jade was moving through her house in a frantic rush to get ready. She was one of the lucky ones; she had a loving boyfriend who was meeting her at the high-class Italian restaurant in the city.
She was wearing a pair of sexy black bikini briefs the hugged her round butt perfectly, and the front had a sexy pattern of lace. She had on thigh high stockings with an edge of black ribbon. Her bra matched her panties but wasn't nearly as sexy. Her breasts were more than a handful, so the straps had to be thick and the sexy lace was stretched to hold them. Her pale white skin created a sharp contrast.
Jade had the most gorgeous red hair -- the type that glowed in the sunshine. It was wavy, shoulder length, and at the moment, it was styled perfectly with a red clip that had a row of roses along the edge. She had spent almost an hour making sure it was perfect since normally she just left it down around her shoulders or put it in a ponytail.
She rushed into her bedroom and picked up the dress that was hanging on her closet door. It was an expensive dress, but well worth it. It was a deep red, almost matching her hair color. The hem reached her knees, but there was a slit along the back. The dress hugged her torso and then flared out as it reached her breasts and showed her cleavage with a very low-cut neckline. She had to be careful that her black bra would not show. She knew that the dress was daring, but she was wearing it for her boyfriend. Normally she was very reserved and hated wearing revealing outfits.
She reached to zip up her dress, and then smiled at herself in the mirror. She looked stunning, considering she was short and had large breasts. Jade hated that she wasn't even five feet tall. She was the shortest woman at work and in her small group of friends. She also hated how big her breasts were. They were too large for her body type and caused her backaches and stretch marks. She hated that even though she was barely twenty, her breasts looked much older and worn.
The distinctive sound of her phone ringing pulled her from her thoughts. The Rihanna song she had it set it to played as she frantically tried to figure out where she had placed it.
"Shit."
She normally was very good at keeping herself organized, but in the rush to get home and get ready for her date, she had forgotten a few things. Thankfully, she was not wearing her heels. She ran around her apartment until she found the thin silver phone lying on the kitchen counter. By the time she grabbed it, it had stopped ringing, so she waited a few moments to see if there would be a voice mail. There was, so she listened to it.
Jade stared at herself in the refection of the mirror that graced her front entranceway. She watched her expression slide from pure happiness to complete sadness. She bit her lip hard, trying to hold back the tears that were forming behind her eyelids. Unable to hold herself together, she collapsed to the ground, not even caring if her makeup ran down her face. She didn't even care if her dress was ruined.
***
"Hey buddy! Want to come over and watch some hockey? There's a game on tonight. The Leafs are playing Pittsburgh. Should be a great game."
Reid listened as his best friend Jason tried to cajole him into coming over. He had failed to mention that he had a date tonight. Jason had assumed he was still single and thus would be the only one of his friends available to watch hockey on his big-screen television on Valentine's Day.
"I have a date tonight." Reid waited for Jason's response.
He hoped he wouldn't be too mad, but at the same time, there was one very big difference between the two of them: Jason chose to be single because he preferred being independent and having the choice of many women; Reid was shy, and unless a friend set him up on a date, he could barely speak to women.
"Really? Who's the girl? Who set you up? You're going to miss an awesome hockey game because of a random girl?" Jason's voice held a tinge of sarcasm. Reid was relieved.
"She's not random; she's Brad's sister. We're going to that new Italian restaurant in the city."
"How fancy. Does she have big breasts?" Jason was always so shallow when it came to women that Reid was not surprised at his question.
"She's not your type," Reid responded sternly, and Jason took the hint not to pry any further.
"Have fun, then."
"I will."
Reid was an average person with one big problem -- he was shy and quiet. His friends were always so extroverted, and he'd tried to act like that, but it just wasn't him. He liked his job as a computer programmer, but when he went out with the people he considered his friends, he never really fit in.
Reid looked out and saw the snow falling gently on the ice that covered the river. It had been a cold winter and everything was covered in a white blanket of snow. He hated it, but this was where he had been offered a job, and after ten years, he wasn't going to change just because he hated the climate.
After showering and changing, he took the elevator down to the parking garage and got into his car. He prided himself in never being as materialistic as Jason, but he was proud of one thing -- his car. He owned a BMW Z4 Roadster.
It had cost him a small fortune but he loved it. It had a great stereo system, similar to that in the big movie theatres. He remembered how he had spent days deciding on what color to get and finally settled on sleek black. His car was his baby, and as he slid into the leather seat, he decided that even though this was a pity date, he was going to enjoy himself.
After driving in circles up to the ground level, he was racing down the snow-covered streets to the restaurant. He found a parking spot and got out quickly. Looking around, he and saw that no one was waiting outside. He hadn't mentioned specifically where they were to meet, and he decided that his date must have been waiting inside for him.
