The tag read on the employee read, "I like to write romance stories." That caught my eye and as I stood there I wanted to open up a dialogue about her interest. I said to myself, "Say something, ask her about it, go on, and ask her about it."
I wondered to myself, does she actually write romance or are her 'romance stories' actually a little spicier then that? She was pretty and she was much too young for me, but if she wrote them, how good was she at it and did any become published?
I finished with my business and told her to have a great weekend. The following week I was there two times. I worked it out so I got her as my attendant. She didn't recognize me the first time. She gets hundreds of customers a week.
She recognized me the third time I was there and we chatted while she did my transactions. "Alright, I said, it seems strange someone would put that on their tag."
"Pardon me" she said smiling. "Oh you mean 'I write romance stories'. Yeah I suppose you could call them that." She didn't expound on it at all. "Have a nice day sir."
"Sir, I am a 'sir' to her? Damn that sucks big time. I don't wanna be 'sir' to her. I want to be more then that. Call me by my first name", I thought to myself. "Alicia, I said to her just call me Danny."
And just like that in a quirky, chirpy way, she said, "OKAY!" She smiled and with a new glistening in her eyes, she winked at me. "Danny, have a good weekend, OKAY?"
"You too Alicia, it's been nice doing business with you." She agreed and in that same chirpy gleeful tone of voice I quickly came to adore. I was falling for a girl I didn't even know.
A few days later, in the grocery store, she had a little girl in her cart. I assumed it was her daughter. Alicia was in the frozen food section, but I didn't need anything in that section that day. When I saw her, my heart skipped a few beats. I wanted to say hi to her, but I didn't want to seem like I was being rude, imposing on her, or stalking her either.
Now stalking would be a stretch for me. I decided not to say hi, but I didn't know she saw me first and strategically worked so she'd be in the same isle as me. Isn't she clever?
"Hiya Danny" I heard this chirpy and gleeful tone of voice from behind me. "How's your day going?" She waited for me to answer her question. I knew it was her and I had a huge smile on me before I even turned my head around.
"I'm great Alicia. Thanks for asking. How are you? Wow your daughter is cute and looks a little like you. What are you up to today, besides grocery shopping?"
"Oh nothing; it's going to storm so I'm probably just going to sit home and write today."
"You write do you?" I was acting ignorant on purpose. I didn't want her to think I remembered something trivial like that. Besides, I already had a very good picture of her in my mind what she looked like with close on and with close off. I was already wishing for the best.
"Yes silly, don't you recall we talked about that when you came in", she said in her pretty sounding voice. I love that tone she presents to people. I didn't know I was one of only a handful that heard her chirpy drawl.
Yes Alicia was from West Virginia and she moved to my area here in North Dakota a few years back for school. She studied communications but due to lost grants had to drop out temporarily.
So how does the niece appear in this picture? Her sister and sister in law came to see her, but were going shopping, and were going to take the niece with them shortly. The niece spent the evening at her house. Glad that was established. She's a single woman.
"So you don't have a boyfriend?"
"Oh aren't you the sneaky one", she exclaimed. "No I do not, now are you happy?" Her eyes lit up like sparklers on the fourth of July. The twinkle made my heart pound. Her look at me made my heart pound. It was an honest smile, with a cute and small set of lips and also her soft set of small eyes that were light brown made my heart pump hard too.
"Well it doesn't hurt one bit at all" I joked.
"What about you, she asked, I don't see any bars on your finger, so that means you are also a single man, hopefully?"
"Yes, yes I am unfortunately as single as single gets."
"I like how that sounds. As single as single gets, huh, now that has the right makings of a good romance story, maybe, huh?" She laughed lightly. I liked Alicia more and more. She was so positive.
"May I ask you a question?"
She said, "Sure why not? What do I have to lose as long as it's not too incriminating." The little girl, her niece, was becoming restless.
"Are you always as beautiful as I've pictured you? In other words, I saw you as a cute, adorable clerk and as any guy I wouldn't mind getting to know you big time. But a situation such as that is usually a pipe dream. That sort of thing doesn't happen."
Her niece was definitely ready to leave and it was evident. "Awww, you are so adorable Danny. I'd really love to get to know you a lot better too." There was that cute cheerleader like voice again.
"No shit, you're kidding right?"
"Danny, don't cuss, okay? I don't care for that. Yes. I'd love to know you. There is something cool I like about you and since it's going to rain, why not come over and we can figure out something to do today. How's that sound? I'm dropping her off and I'm just going to write if I don't have anything else to do."
"Wow, that's sweet. I'd really like that. Are you sure about this? Honestly, I don't have anything important going on either, so it's cool with me too."
"What's your cell number" she asked. I didn't have one. Well what is your home phone? I'll call and leave a number and my address too, okay?"
I agreed we didn't know if we should shake hands, hug, or what? We said goodbye and I checked out sooner, but by the time I pulled out of the parking space, she was unloading her cart and waving away at me. I was jazzed up.
Alicia and neither of us knew the others last name, or I didn't know hers for sure was much shorter then me. I wanted to know everything about her. I mean I wanted know anything and everything about this bright eyed, cheery, pretty, and actually good-looking girl.
I on the other hand am a nice guy, with a few chips on my shoulder, but for the most part, I'm not sure I meet her standards. I'm not sure that mattered because she invited me over with open arms. She didn't skate for days or weeks around me to get a feel for me, like a few other relationships I have had. She jumped right in and invited me over without getting a sense of me and my background.
I come from a good solid background, a solid Christian upbringing, and a modest size family of five, including three sisters. On the way home, I called my twin and talked to her about the girl I met through the bank and she said go for it and see how it plays out. Have fun with it, but be nice and respectful. That's what she said in so many words.
I got home and two messages were on my phone and both were from Alicia. The first was just to say hi and she gave me her address, which was a nice neighborhood so that was cool. The second was funny to me and exciting because she told me to bring trunks and she told me her last name; it was Hopson. "Cool beans, now I know something more and we're going swimming."
I arrived about 45 minutes later. I brought my trunks and a change of clothes and my toothbrush and toothpaste. I tucked that away just in case she'd look in and see it and think I'm assuming something incorrectly. However one just doesn't know, do they? I hadn't realized she actually lived in the 'nicer' part of the complex. That meant she lived in the student housing section that were condominiums that also had indoor pools and each condominium had its own hot tub too.
Alicia is short. She is only 5'3" but to me she's the cutest darn girl I've seen in a long time. She's a great hostess too in fact. She has thinner medium length brown hair that comes down to her shoulders. She is a little bustier then I realized, but that doesn't matter one iota to me. I think, once we go to the pool or her hot tub, I'm going to appreciate her much more then I thought. She's not perfect. She isn't very thin. She has a pudgier nature to herself, but it isn't something that is pronounced either. She told me later on she doesn't exercise much, but she swims and walks. Her buttock's is fuller, but not huge in any capacity. She has well defined curves that look good to me when I see her from the back. Lastly, when I saw her in her bathing suit, I saw really nice legs that weren't fat at all. Overall, physically she was very attractive. It's like the added toppings to a great ice cream dessert.
Me on the other hand, I'm only 5' 9". I'm not chiseled, but I'm not pudgy. I felt embarrassed when it came time to 'suit' up and lie around in her hot tub. But she did one further and made me feel more comfortable soon enough.
Once I arrived, she offered me refreshment and we talked about ourselves and 'compared notes'. We laughed at similar situations. Her being from West Virginia intrigued me. She asked me about my life and what I did. She didn't even know. I told her. Then she asked me what I loved doing as a hobby or special interests and I didn't know how to answer her.
"You do have hobbies right?"
"Yep, I do, I said, but it's kind of hard to explain."
"Why's that, she asked, don't you want others to know?"
"Yeah I'd love for them to know, however it isn't something you just tell the general public."
"What's that mean", she asked curiously. "Is it secret? Do you work for the government? Are you a pimp or something and maybe I don't want to know you? Are you a disgusting human being who needs to be locked up? Are you a pedophile for that matter?" She was being silly and it showed and she still was nice about it all.
I hesitated to answer her. "Well, if I told you the truth, would you think less of me, knowing little that you know of me already?" She replied no. "Well I also write. I am not good at it, but I do write."
