Colleen raised her head and turned it to the left to see a golf cart approaching, her co-worker Mike behind the wheel. "Need a ride?" he called out. As her end-of-the-day job, she'd been assigned to sweep the parking lot of the zoo where they worked. Now, after an hour in the early August sun, heat radiating upward from the endless expanse of asphalt, Colleen was exhausted.
"Yes, thank goodness," Colleen replied as Mike stopped next to her. This was the second summer they'd worked together and, although she only occasionally hung out with him outside of work, they'd become good friends. They primarily worked together in the entrance area, either taking money from guests or helping load them onto and off trams that took them through the park. At first, they'd just happened to be scheduled together, but as time went on she signed up for shifts with him as often as possible. He was a hard worker, dependable and reliable. On busy days it was nice having him there, and on slow days he was easy to talk to and made the day go by more quickly.
Colleen set her broom, dustpan and trash bag in the back and climbed into the front seat of the golf cart, catching Mike's quick glance at her legs as she settled in. I can't really blame the guy, she thought, knowing her toned, athletic legs were her best feature. That or my tight little ass, she said to herself. That was another thing Colleen liked about Mike--it was obvious he was attracted to her. He was always discreet, never leering or being creepy about it, but on plenty of occasions she'd caught him checking her out, which she took as a compliment. Unfortunately, he'd never done anything about it, but if he wanted to look, that was fine with her. Besides, for giving me a ride out of this broiling parking lot, he can look at whatever he wants. As Mike hit the gas and the cart lurched forward, Colleen couldn't help but notice a growing smile on his face.
"What's with you?" she asked, wondering if her legs really looked that good.
"Dana and I are going out on Thursday night," he replied. "I asked her this afternoon and she said yes."
"Oh, thank God!" Colleen said a little too excitedly. "A year too late, but I'll take it. This is such good news."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, a little defensively.
"Come on, you two have wanted to get it on since last summer," Colleen said. "If you weren't such a dumbass you could've been with her all year." Colleen always spoke her mind, and one of the reasons she liked Mike was that he didn't shy away from that at all. In fact, he liked it, and Colleen could tell he was attracted to strong, opinionated women.
"She had a boyfriend last summer," Mike said even more defensively as they exited the parking lot and headed for the dumpsters.
"Yeah, one she would've dumped for you in about two seconds," Colleen replied. "And they broke up last winter, so she's been single all summer. So have you, I might add. But of course you wait until now to do anything about it." Mike was a great guy, and a good friend, but he wasn't good with girls. He lacked confidence and had missed many opportunities over this summer and last. But now it looked like things were changing, and Colleen couldn't be more excited. "Seriously, though, I'm glad you finally came to your senses and asked her out," she added.
"Thanks," he said as they briefly stopped and dropped the bag of trash into the dumpster and hung the broom and dustpan on the fence. "It's good to know you approve. It means so much, you know," he added sarcastically.
I just hope this means you'll finally get a girlfriend, Colleen thought to herself. He'd never talked about hookups or a girlfriend before, and she suspected he'd never gotten laid. It made her sad, knowing he was 20 and about to start his junior year of college. They went to the same school, Colleen a year younger and entering her sophomore year. They didn't hang out during her first year, since he already had his friend group and she'd joined a sorority right off the bat. If only he'd called her a few times, her sorority sisters could definitely have helped him out, she thought.
But it was better this way, she said to herself as they headed for the employee lot. Dana obviously liked Mike, flirting with him openly and obviously every time they were together. Which was a lot, as she always found some excuse for needing to talk to him, even when they worked in separate areas. Colleen didn't know Dana well, but they were friendly and got along whenever they worked together. And Dana was cute--probably even cuter than her, if Colleen was being honest. Dana was petite, with curly dark hair, perky medium-sized boobs, and a slender waist and nice ass.
Which was why it had been so frustrating watching Mike waste the summer away. Dana was single and obviously ready for a new man, but he either didn't pick up on it or was too unsure of himself to act. Colleen had asked about Dana several times, more than once telling him he should ask her out. Week after week rolled by until now, finally, he'd done it. As he stopped next to her car, she said, "Seriously, I'm happy for you. I'm off the next two days but let me know how it goes on Thursday. And we're still on for Friday, right?"
"Absolutely," he said. "I'll pick you up at 8:00 a.m."
"Sounds good," Colleen said. "You can come straight from Dana's house." Mike started to protest, a look of surprise on his face. "I know, I'm just kidding. It's a first date. But have fun, okay? You're gonna be great." She patted him on the hand and smiled, looking right into his eyes for a moment before turning to get out. Dana could do worse, she thought as she turned and quicky waved goodbye, heading for the driver's door as Mike pulled away.
Three days later, on Friday, Mike arrived at her house right on time in his dad's pickup truck. The bed was piled high with furniture and boxes for his apartment but, as promised, he'd left room for her things. They were driving to campus to get a head start on moving in. Colleen was living in the Delta Gamma house this year, packed into a small room with two other girls. It didn't leave room for many personal belongings, which at least made packing easier.
"Good morning," he said as he got out of the driver's seat and dropped the tailgate.
"Good morning to you, too," Colleen said with a smile as she put her shoulder-length blonde hair into a ponytail. She bent over to pick up a box from her front porch and carry it to the driveway. As she stood up, she noticed his eyes dart up to her face. I guess he likes my skirt, she thought. "How'd last night go?" she asked as she walked toward his truck. Just as he was about to answer, Colleen's dad exited the front door to help load the truck. "Mike, this is my dad. Dad, this is Mike," she said.
"Nice to meet you," Mike said as they shook hands. They made some small talk as they loaded Colleen's boxes of clothes and personal belongings into the truck. She didn't have much, six boxes and a duffel bag in total, so they made quick work of it. Once everything was tied down Colleen hugged her dad and told him goodbye.
"I'll see you Sunday," she said as she climbed into the passenger seat. It was a warm morning, three weeks before school started, and Colleen was excited to get a chance to spend a weekend on campus before the hordes of students arrived. She'd wanted to spend the summer there, hanging out with her friends and partying, but her parents had insisted she live at home given that she had just finished her freshman year. At least I'll get a weekend, she thought as she pulled the door shut.
Mike climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine. He pulled away from the curb and headed down the street, making a left at the end to make his way out of the subdivision. Colleen didn't say anything, waiting for him to answer her original question. Mike turned out of her subdivision onto the main road and drove toward the interstate. After several minutes Colleen couldn't take it anymore. "So, are you going to answer my question?" she asked.
"What question?" Mike replied.
"Don't play dumb," she responded. "How'd last night go?"
"It was good," he said as he turned onto the ramp to get on the interstate.
"That's it?" she asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "It was good?"
