Sandy was in the kitchen when the phone rang. She wasn't supposed to be home, and wasn't expecting anybody to call her at this time of day. She felt dizzy earlier and left work to rest a little. She woke up a while ago and was preparing a snack. She missed lunch and was getting very hungry. The sound of the phone startled her and she dropped her knife. She picked it up and put it on the sink. Then she walked to the hall where her phone stood. She only picked it up on the seventh ring, this way she was sure the caller meant business and wouldn't give up before she answered.
She picked up and whispered a soft 'hello' just in case it was someone from work who was calling to see how she was.
'Sandy?'
Her heart missed a beat.
"Hey Kiefer.' She responded, the worry turned into sudden happiness. "It's been a while. What have you been up to?"
"Well we just finished recording the last episode and I was taking a little drive when I noticed your car parked out front. How come you're home?"
"I wasn't feeling well and took the rest of the day off to rest some."
"What's the matter? Do you need a doctor?"
"No, don't worry, I was feeling a dizzy and preferred to come home so I could rest. But I'm fine now, I was preparing a snack when the phone startled me."
"I'm sorry I startled you. Do you want to go for a little walk? Maybe the fresh air will do you good."
"That's a great idea, a nice walk along the beach. That should clear out my head alright."
"So, can I come over to pick you up?"
"Not right now, I need to get changed first. And I want to eat that snack as well. How about you come around in, say ... about an hour?"
"One hour? You got it! I'll be there."
"Honk when you pull up."
"Okay. See you in a bit."
"Okay, bye."
Sandy put the phone down and looked at her hand. It was still shaking a little. Now that was absolutely the last person she would've expected to call. She hadn't heard from him in a few months now, but she knew he had been very busy filming. What a great timing! For once she was home during the day, he drove by her house and noticed her car out front. She went back to the kitchen and felt very happy. Her snack tasted ever so good and once she finished it, she ran upstairs to get changed. Kiefer loved the natural look, so she went for her favorite pair of jeans with a pale yellow top. Both were reasonably tight and made her look even more petite than she really was. She was hoping to get a compliment out of him. And knowing Kiefer the way she had come to know him, he wouldn't disappoint her.
Just over an hour later she heard a car pull up to the curb and only seconds later somebody honked. Sandy took a deep breath and stayed in the kitchen for just one more second. Then she slowly walked to the front door. She didn't want to seem too eager to see him. She looked out into the street and was pleased to see the Porsche. She loved that car, the roar of the engine and the kick of it when he stamped the accelerator all the way down. He was a terrific driver and she felt completely at ease with him. She trusted him to bring her home safely and he trusted her to keep her eyes open and warn him if needed. She always kept an eye on the road and the other one on him. But he had learned to trust her and he reacted to any instruction she would give him. One day he had been looking out for crossing traffic and had started to engage in a street when she had yelled at him to stop. In a reflex he had slammed his foot down on the brakes and a speeding ambulance had missed him by inches. If he hadn't reacted that quickly, the impact would've been terrible. Since that moment, he trusted her with his life.
She grabbed her purse and walked out, locking the door behind her. He was standing by the passenger door, waiting for her so he could get her door. Gallant as always. She walked down the four steps and crossed the sidewalk. When she reached him, he was holding her door open and he took a slight bow when she went past him. She got into the car and the leather was nice and warm from the sun. He shut her door and walked around the car, getting in with a very swift move and leaning close to her. Sandy wasn't sure what he had in mind and pulled back a little.
"Hey, don't I even get a kiss anymore?" he said, pouting his lips a bit.
She started to smile and leaned closer again so they could kiss each other hello. This was a first for her. He had always been very nice, but she had never kissed him before, except once, for his birthday, and he had blushed a very deep shade of red.
With a happy grin on his face, he put the car in gear and pulled into traffic. Very soon she noticed he was heading for the freeway and she settled back, getting ready for a speedy drive to where ever he was taking her.
"Do you want me to put the top up before we hit the freeway?" he asked her about a block away from the entry ramp.
"No, this is perfect. I love the wind to play with my hair. I'm really getting the feeling that my dizziness is getting blown right out of my head."
"That's good." He replied, giving her a lovely smile and touching her knee for a second, then he had to change gears and his hand left her knee again. It didn't return.
Once they got on the freeway, he shifted gears again and stomped the accelerator hard, making the car leap forward. He steered with steady hand and they travelled through the light traffic with great ease. Sandy enjoyed the ride and really felt herself getting better by the minute.
After a while, he took an exit ramp and he drove the car to the beach. They parked near the restaurant where they met and Sandy remembered how much fun they had that night. He was alone, she was with six of her colleagues; they were celebrating a major contract. He was sitting at the bar and kept looking over to their table.
At a certain point Jim got up and walked straight to him. They talked for a few minutes and Sandy saw Kiefer smile. He got up and came back to the table with Jim. Everybody introduced themselves and he joined them. Till this day, Sandy still had no idea what Jim said to him that night. But they had loads of fun and Kiefer thanked them at least a million times for inviting him and including him in their celebration.
Sandy, being the only single person, ended up being 'hooked' to Kiefer when they started dancing. And that's when they got to know each other a little better. Kiefer was a good dancer, even though he claimed he was no good at all and they talked all the time. He really seemed to enjoy the company and after a while he asked her if she needed a ride home. She declined. He left as he came: alone. And so did she. She was so embarrassed about it, that she never even told the others that he offered it. For days she was furious at herself for having declined that ride.
She ran into him a few days later. He had a couple of days off and since the weather was finally getting a little better, he took advantage of that to have his morning run on the beach. Sandy had been doing that every other morning for the past six years, summer as well as winter. The beach was totally deserted at that time of morning and they were the only two people out there. He caught up with her and when he saw who she was, paced her, so they ended up doing their morning run together. When Sandy said goodbye, Kiefer asked her if he would see her the next morning. This time she was smarter and she promised she'd be there.
"Same time, same place." Sandy said and he nodded.
Since that time they met often, but not on a regular base. Sometimes it would be on the beach in the morning, another time they'd run into each other at the store or the gas station. On occasion they found themselves at the same restaurant or bar at the same time. They always had a lot of fun. It seemed like a weight lifted off her shoulders when she was around him, and everything she said turned out funny. She loved to see him smile and he did that a lot.
