Jill awoke the day after college graduation on her floor and grabbed her cell phone, the only thing in the room besides her, to check the time. She sat up, blinked, and put on her hiking boots. She was still dressed from the night before and was ready to head out. As she walked out of her apartment, Jill barely paused as she hoisted her hiking pack onto her back and stepped out into the bright light of her last real summer vacation.
Jill needed to get a cab, catch a plane, take a bus, and finally ride a boat to get to the trail where she would meet up with her fling from the previous summer. This would be a good week. She got to the airport and did all the normal things: Jill waited around, stood in line, waited more, had coffee, got detected and inspected, waited around again, and eventually got onto the plane. When she finally settled down in her seat, she smiled and said "hi" to the Man in a Suit sitting next to her, put on her headphones and closed her eyes.
With her eyes closed and headphones on, she began to daydream about meeting Floyd for the first time last summer in a café.
"What the hell kind of name is Floyd?" she'd asked.
"What the hell kind of girl wears boots and helps random college kids with calculus in a coffee shop?" he'd replied, smiling.
Jill was wearing the same boots and lightweight hiking pants on the airplane that she'd worn in the coffee shop that day. The air in the plane was cool and dry so she draped a blanket over herself and hugged her body.
In her mind, Jill was savoring the memory of meeting Floyd. They'd moved fast: after an afternoon of chatting, teasing, and mounting sexual tension over coffee, they went back to the apartment she had sublet for dinner.
Beneath her blanket, Jill sighed gently and hugged her body. Her head leaning toward the Man in a Suit on her left. He looked over from his paper at the pretty girl apparently napping beneath an airline blanket. The Man in a Suit noticed a faint smile on her lips. She looked so relaxed. He watched her for a moment more, smiled to himself, and went back to reading his newspaper.
Dinner with Floyd had been fast. Jill and Floyd ate in near silence, both so occupied with thoughts and anticipation of the other that they didn't actually talk much. After dinner they sat on her futon and listened to the Rolling Stones. Finally ready to get his feet wet, Floyd broached the subject of sex: "So I found an 'adult toy store' the other day."
Jill giggled and then replied "Oh yeah? Did you get anything?"
"Nah," Floyd replied, "Turns out it was a really adult toy store. They had glow in the dark calculators, fins for riding mowers – stuff like that."
Jill laughed and eventually said "Oh that's too bad. I was hoping you had gotten something interesting."
"Have you ever been in one?"
"No, I have the Internet. It delivers."
"Really," inquired Floyd, smiling.