Dani slept all through the night. In fact, she overslept. As a consequence, she was jolted awake by the shrill ring of the cordless phone on the night stand. Struggling to come up from under the covers and her peaceful slumber, she wondered who in hell could be calling her at this ungodly hour.
Glancing at the clock next to the phone, she realized the hour wasn't ungodly, it was almost noon.
Irritated with the persistent ringing, Dani grabbed for offensive phone and knocked it off the night stand. Cursing, she quickly recovered it before it stopped ringing.
"Hello?" she groused.
"Hey, baby Sister. Why didn't you answer your cellphone?" Crystal asked.
Moaning, Dani pushed her hair out of her face and sat up, bracing against the upholstered headboard.
"Crystal, you woke me up, from a sound sleep I might add."
Crystal laughed.
"Oh, it's like that. You're already worn out by Mr. Fix It? Hell, I have to meet this guy to see who could get my baby sister heated up so fast."
Fully awake now, Dani said, "Uh, no, Crystal. I'm not introducing you to Ryan until I know if he wants to have a real relationship with me. You can eat men alive and even though Ryan is a big boy, I don't want you cross-examining him with your sarcastic wit."
"Who me?" Crystal asked with a chuckle. "I'm as innocent as the day I was born."
"Yeah, right!" Dani retorted.
The sisters exchanged light hearted banter as Dani told Crystal about her date with Ryan. Crystal, again, cautioned Dani to be careful. Dani assured her that she would be and again admonished her sister for being such a mother hen.
Thinking of her mother, Dani wondered how long it would be before Crystal spilled the beans to her about Ryan. It wouldn't do to ask her not to say anything to their mother because that would put her sister in a bad position and Dani didn't want her to lie. Their mother put the fear in them about lying at an early age
After reassuring Crystal that she knew what she was doing, she goodbye and hung up. As for knowing what she was doing, she hoped that was true. Giving herself a mental shake, she got out of bed and headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower. There were things to get done and now that she was fully awake, she might as well get to them.
Dani spent the rest of the day cleaning her condo and doing laundry. It was boring and tedious, but someone had to do it. She could afford a house keeper once a week, but she just didn't like the idea of other people touching her things. Besides, just the thought of someone coming to clean her place would have her tidying up before the housekeeper arrived.
She was finishing up folding her laundry when her cellphone rang. Checking the caller ID, she saw that it was Ryan.
"Hi, Ryan."
"Hey, baby, I'm calling about our date. The concert starts at one o'clock. It would be best to get there well before that time. There's going to be a lot of traffic and although parking is free, we'd have to park somewhere in the boonies if we didn't get there early."
"Yeah, I know," Dani said. "It was a big hassle the last time I went because Crystal was late, as usual. What time do you think we should leave?"
"I think about eleven," Ryan replied. "There will be some pre-show things going on and we could relax, get something to eat and talk before things get into high gear." "Ok, that sounds like a good idea," Dani agreed.
"Listen, babe, I don't want to wait until Saturday to see you again. We've only been on one date and I'm already getting withdrawal symptoms," he laugh, not entirely joking. "Are you doing anything Tuesday night?"
"Nope, I'm free," Dani said. "Would you like to come over?"
"Hell yeah, I'd love to come over. I could get some Chinese take out for dinner. That is, if you like Chinese."
"I love Chinese. Bring some egg rolls and orange chicken and I'll feel like I've died and gone to heaven," she chuckled.
"Ok, babe," Ryan said with a smile in his voice. "I've got to get to the bar now, but I'll see you around six Tuesday night."
"All right, I'll see you then."
Dani did a happy dance in the middle of the room before she went to take a shower. She had dreaded the day knowing all the work she had to do, but as far as she was concerned, the day had turned out golden.
* Dani thought Tuesday would never arrive. Ryan was now an almost constant fixture in her thoughts. More than one time she'd snapped herself out of a Ryan induced trance. Now that she had the work day behind her, she looked forward to getting ready for her date.
After showering, she put on a pair of dark blue shorts and a plain white cotton top with capped sleeves. On her feet, she wore a pair of light blue sandles. She didn't see any reason to dress up as they weren't planning on going out for the evening and there was nothing wrong with Ryan seeing that she had nice legs.
She took a look at herself in the full length mirror behind her bedroom door. The shorts showed off her rounded bottom without being obvious. They weren't too long or too short; the hem hitting a few inches past the bottom of her butt. She liked her body, but she also liked leaving some things to the imagination. Giving herself a nod of approval, she went to the living room to wait for Ryan. On his way over, Ryan had his own thoughts. He knew that he was falling for Dani, fast. She wasn't just beautiful on the outside, but the inside matched. He remembered how her eyes sparkled and danced with laughter when she talked about her family and their antics. It was only her parents, Crystal and her brother James and they were as close as his own family. Both of her parents was an only child and there wasn't any close extended family. Even so, they nurtured and looked after each other. He liked that. Family was extremely important to him and eventually, he wanted a big family of his own.
