(all characters are at least 18 years old)
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The ride home was long and slow. I felt like I'd never meet another person like Ellie. I never did. So I decided to wallow in self pity by drowning myself in ice cream at the Dairy Queen. The Dairy Queen in my town was a small one so they only had window service and only one window you could get service from. I had to stand behind a girl in the service line. She ordered a chocolate malted. I saw her rummaging through her purse when the man delivered the shake. She put a quarter on the counter but was still seventy-five cents short. I wanted to say something but I became my usual tongue-tied self.
"Oh darn it!" she said. "I know I had at least two dollars when I left home." The man at the window waited patiently for her. That was the way he always was. She began to look nervous.
"I'll give you the seventy-five cents miss," I said. I couldn't believe I had just said that. Sure, I had the money and it was the right thing to do but that had never stopped me in the past from not saying a thing. I couldn't imagine what had gotten into me.
"Thank you." She said. "We'll go to my house and I'll get you the money."
"Nah, that's all right," I responded, "it's really nothing."
"No! I insist." She said. "Oh, and I don't like it when I don't get my own way. I'm terribly spoiled you know." Of course I didn't know any of this but I went along with her. I was just beginning to notice how pretty she was. She was tallish. I am six feet one inch tall and she was only a few inches shorter. She had auburn hair, beautiful green eyes and a very nice figure. I decide not to argue with her.
"Okay," I said, "whatever you say."
"Good, let's go now," she responded. She turned and got into a baby blue 1955 Thunderbird. She looked even more stunning sitting there in that car and I was becoming taken with her. I never did get a chance to get my ice cream. She didn't live far away but she did live in the next town over. That explained why I had never seen her at school which I had been wondering about. She lived in a large white house on Chestnut Street. She pulled into her driveway and all the way to the end which gave me more than enough room to park directly behind her. Without saying a word she made it known that I should follow her. Suddenly she stopped, turned to me and said, "My name is Linda. I don't think we took time to introduce ourselves. I'm sorry, that was rude of me to forget such a thing."
"Oh, that's all right." I responded. "My name is Sam."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Sam."
"A pleasure to meet you too Linda."
"Come on inside and I'll get you your money." Linda led me into her house taking me by the hand upstairs to her bedroom. I wasn't too sure that this was the right thing to do but I knew I could trust myself so I didn't think there was anything to worry about. Unless, that is, if her father came home and found us there. I didn't relish the thought of explaining myself even though I knew full well I hadn't done a thing wrong. I was already to take blame anyway.
Linda went to her bureau, opened the top drawer and pulled out a dollar bill. She turned and handed it to me. Then she did something I really didn't expect. "Do you mind if we sit down here for a few moments. I'd like to get to know you a bit."
"No, I don't mind at all." I said as I searched the room for a second chair seeing only one sitting in front of her desk. There was none but by that time Linda was sitting on the side of the bed and motioning for me to do the same. I did.
"I never saw you at any of the football games." She said. This surprised me because I couldn't imagine why she should have seen me especially since I didn't come from the same town as she. I point this out to her.
"I notice all the cute boys at the football games but I don't remember seeing you. Did you go to them?"
"Yes, I went to all of our football games but we only played you once so there's no way you would have seen me." I said that with resolve.
"You played on the football team didn't you?"
"Yes, I played middle line backer but I was always second string."
"I don't know how I ever missed you." She seemed convinced of what she was saying so I decided not to argue with her. I'd let her believe what she liked.
"You live here all your life?" I asked.
"Yup. My dad's an engineer at the missile plant. My ganpa worked for the Post Office for forty years. He lives next door."