I had teased him and coaxed him for nearly two years before coming up with this plan. I wasn't sure if it would actually pan out, but it was always worth a shot.
"I have a present for you," I mentioned one Tuesday afternoon while talking on the phone.
"Oh yeah? What sort of present?" he asked, his voice trying its best to hide the excitement that dwelled within.
"A graduation present, of course. Silly. After all, we have been friends since 2009, and I've watched you go to Hell and back again with school, and I thought you might appreciate a gift from me."
The phone was silent for a moment on the other end. I practically strained to hear something, anything, my fingers tugging at the hem of my blouse as I sat there in the parking lot of the local Trader Joes. My seat was reclined back, and it was only just moments prior that I had spent myself; the interior of the car still reeked like the sweet musk of my pussy.
Finally he cleared his throat. "I'm not good with presents really... you don't have to give me anything."
"Too bad, Jack. You're getting it whether you want to or not."
"It's not like I ever win arguing with you," and I could hear the grin in his voice. "Alright, I'll let you give me a present, but only this once. The thought actually makes me uneasy, but I'll cave. JUST. THIS. ONCE."
His voice was deep in my ear as he demanded on this one time, and I squealed, nodding to his words, despite the actions unseen. I couldn't help but grin, either, and grin large. He is a turn on to me, and he knew it. After all, I had called him about twenty minutes prior, demanding that he listen to me as I got off in this parking lot.
So it was planned.
A week and a half later I sent him a text asking him his schedule. It was common for him to rarely reply, and when he did, he'd be busy doing this, or going there, or just not feeling well. I believed him; there was no doubt that he had a busy life, but sometimes I just wished he would make time for me. After all, this is a present of a lifetime!
Days went by.
Four days to be exact when he finally responded to my initial text! Four! And it stated: "I was at my friend's farm. Where are you? What are you doing? Want to hang out tonight?"
I had things I needed to be doing, places I needed to go, errands I needed to run...but I had the feeling in the pit of my stomach that tonight was the night, and if I didn't take a chance with it, this would be the last opportunity I would get in a long while. Fingers quickly typed in a response, "Absolutely. The Loop?" The Loop is an area in the city I reside, where hipsters meet with gangstas, hippies mainstream with yuppies, and people could just be people. It was as good a place as any, and it was right in between where we lived.
"I'll see you at 8, and I'll text you when I get there," was his reply. I didn't say anything back, but spent the rest of my afternoon thinking, planning, plotting. I even tied a velvet bow on his small boxed present.
It seemed like the hours just dragged on and on after his last text. I was busy around the house, trying to keep things in order, and I would often pause, thinking about Jack's present. I sure hope he would like it. I mean, he's been raving at how obsessed he was with them long before I chose what to give him, so I don't think he'll complain, but still... there's always that tinge of doubt when giving someone something that you think they'll really really...love, and then they decide it wasn't as spectacular a gift as they dreamt it would be. Thankfully there was only thirty minutes left before heading out of the house, and soon I would be finding out. I grabbed my keys, fluffed my hair and stepped onto the back porch of my house.
It was pouring.
Son of a bitch, I thought. Shrugging through the rain, I ran to my car and hopped in. Twenty minutes later, I rounded a corner in The Loop when my vibration notification informed me that he was there, and at SSDD. I found a spot to parallel park, tossed in a quarter at the meter, and jogged through the puddles of the pavement towards where he waited.
He stood there, under the awning, staring out at the busy street with the cars rolling by, flapping their wipers, their headlights shining through the raindrops as they fell from overhead. His hands were tucked in his jeans and his shoulders were raised as if he were shielding himself from the cooling air, even though it was still in the mid-80s out. He must have noticed me coming, for he turned to face me, his lips curving into a sideways grin.
"I didn't think the weather was going to do this tonight," he said, motioning to the rain that poured down around us. I couldn't help but laugh and shake my head. "It's really no big deal to me, Jack. I love the rain as it is, and it's cooling down some. About time we got a break in the humidity!"
During our period of small talk, thunder rolled overhead. In the distance, lightning could be seen illuminating the entire twilight sky, announcing the storms in its own elegant way. Finally, I broke through the topic at hand and mentioned the present, "So, Jack – I have your gift, but this isn't a good place for it. Besides, it needs to be unwrapped, and perhaps it's best we take it someplace else. I know how easily you embarrass, and I wouldn't want you blushing in front of others now!"
Jack's eyebrow raised, but for once he complied without even much of a second guess.
I led him around the corner of the record store down a side street. Cars were parked and forgotten as their owners surely sought shelter from the storm inside one of the buildings, not daring to escape into the weather just yet. Meanwhile, I was allowing myself, and obviously Jack, to get soaking wet as the storm gathered closer overhead. Thunder banged loudly, and I found myself giggling. After a brief and wordless walk, I settled down in the rain on a brick retainer wall and pulled out the box I had so neatly wrapped with velvet ribbon.
"Sit!" I demanded, patting the cement beside me. "It's only water! You'll dry. Just sit, Jack." And amazingly enough, he complied! Who knew it would be so easy tonight.
"This is insanity, you know," he said frankly. I could only find myself agreeing. I glanced around where we were and found only the empty shells of cars, two distant street lamps in opposite directions glaring their yellow light onto the alley below but neglecting where we sat, and a dumpster a few feet away. Jack sat beside me and placed his hands on his thighs, looking around. "Why can't you be normal and just give me a present in say, the Martini bar, or like, oh, my car may—" Thunder roared overhead, growling through the clouds, his words cut short from his throat. Both of us looked upwards, then to each other.
I couldn't help but smile as I held out the box. "Oh just shut up and open this..."
It was a small box, like one you would find at a jeweler's as you're picking out the next set of earrings you wish to bring home to your wife. He took the box in his hands, the rain pelting the cardboard, echoing the sound in the deserted alley. Lightning crackled as it ripped through the sky, illuminating his hands as they gently pulled back the ribbon. He looked at me, watching me peculiarly as he began to unravel it.
Meanwhile, my hair was matted to my face, and I scooped it back with my hands and tossed it sloppily over my shoulder. My face was drenched, as were my clothes. If it were ten degrees cooler that night, rather than 85, I would have been freezing. Anyway, I stared at his fingers, again another crack of lightning followed by a loud, angry burst of thunder, and he took off the lid.
There was nothing inside!