“What?” he asks, a little confused.
“Yeah, I was this close to not coming,” I say, looking at him, and squeezing my pointer finger and thumb close together. “I've told you that... haven't I?”
“No,” he replies, quickly, as he lies back down.
I get off my elbow, lay my head back on his chest, and put my arm across him. He puts his arm back around me and starts rubbing my arm as I begin telling him the story.
“There I was getting ready at Jo’s...”
Chapter 3
Three years ago…
“Jo,” I asked, moving into the kitchen from the guest room, “does this look okay?”
She was on her bare tiptoes putting dishes away in an upper cabinet. She turned to face me. “You look great.” She smiled, brushing a loose piece of her natural, bright red hair out of her face that had fallen out of her messy bun.
“It's not too casual?” I looked down at my outfit. I was wearing a turtleneck-sweater, jeans, and boots.
“No, it’s fine.” She smiled. “Head to the bathroom. I'll be in in a minute to help you with your hair and makeup. Just let me finish putting the dishes away.”
“Okay, thanks,” I replied, and went back down the hall to the bathroom.
A few minutes later, Jo came in.
“I'm really lovin’ the bright pink walls and purple polka dots,” I told her, sarcastically, looking around.
“Thanks,” she responded, just as sarcastic.
“It looks like a clown exploded in here!” I laughed.
“I know it does. We’re gonna re-paint it.”
“When?”
“Whenever Jay and I are together for more than six hours.”
“They're still having him work that many hours?”
“Yep. The way it is now he gets off at eleven, makes it home about eleven-thirty, twelve, fixes himself a bite to eat, goes to bed, and gets up and goes back to work about six-thirty, seven. The only time I see him is on the weekend, and half the time he's sleeping.”
“Jo! What are you gonna do when the baby comes?”
“I know, I know. He's gonna slow down. He said after New Year's it will slow down... it’s just because he's new. I'm just lucky I'm not due ‘til the first week of June.”
“Yeah, no kidding.” I laughed, and so did she.
“Okay, enough about me, let's worry about you and your date tonight.”
“I don't think I'm gonna go,” I said.
Jo who was doing my hair, stopped. “What? Why not?”
“Because he’s cookin’ dinner.”
“What's wrong with that?”
“He's cooking dinner... At his apartment... On the first date. You don't see anything wrong with that?”
At my question, she turned and put the curling iron on the vanity—
***
Present
“Wait a minute, wait a minute!”
“What?” I ask, looking at Steve.
“You thought I was a creep?” he asks, a bit shocked, as he turns toward me.
“Yeah... the thought did cross my mind.”
“Why?”
“Why? You ask?”
“Yeah,” he says.
I continue, “Okay, let's see. You said, ‘Why don't you come over to my apartment, and I'll cook dinner.’”
“Yeah, so...?”
“So... you don't think that sounds a little creepy?”
“No.”
“Well, babe, let me tell ya... it is.”
“What's so creepy about wanting to cook you dinner at my apartment?”
“Nothing, if it was our second or third date... you know, when we knew each other a little bit better.”
“Oh, okay. But I still can't believe you thought I might be a creep.”
“Look at it this way, I still went... didn't I?”
“Yeah... I must not have been that creepy.” He smirks.
“Who says?” I laugh.
Suddenly, Steve leans toward me with a smile. As I fall to my back, he playfully gets on top of me, and I start to laugh. With his hands on either side of my head, he looks down at me.
“A creep, huh?” he says, a slight smile still on his lips.
“Yep... but you’re my creep...” I reply, with a teasing grin.
He leans down and kisses me. When he does, I pull back.
“Don't you want to hear the rest?”
“Later,” he answers, with another smile, then kisses me again.
As Steve kisses my face and neck, I close my eyes and I remember everything—
***
Three years ago…
“If it starts to get a little creepy, just excuse yourself to the bathroom, call me, and we'll figure something out,” Jo said.
“Okay.”
“But there's nothing to worry about, so just relax and have fun okay. Okay?”
“Okay,” I finally answered.
As she began to do my makeup, I couldn’t stop feeling antsy.
“You need to stop fidgeting ‘cause I can't do your makeup when you're moving.”
“I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm just so nervous… with it being so long since I've been on a date.”
“I know, but you gotta try to relax. Here, breathe in... Then out. Good. One more time... breathe in... breathe out. Do you feel better?”
“Yeah... a little.”
Jo’s lips curved up as she said, “Good,” then started putting on my eye shadow.
“Hey,” I asked, changing the subject, “have you guys picked out any names yet?”
“Well... if it's a girl, we decided on Riley Beth, and if it’s a boy, we like Logan Daniel.”
“Jayce doesn't want a junior?”
“Nope, he doesn't.”
“When do you find out... or do you not want to know?”
“We don't know yet. We've been back and forth so many times. My next appointment isn't ‘til the third, which is a week from Wednesday, so we have a little more time to decide.”
“That's good.”
“Yeah... I know.”
While Jo put on my lipstick, and all the other finishing touches, such as mascara, I sat quiet and still so not to mess anything up. When she finished, she backed off to my right side so I could see.
“What do you think?”
When I looked, I didn’t recognize myself. Half of my hair was pulled back in a nice-looking bun, while the bottom half was just curled under. I had a little more makeup on than I was used to, but who cared? I looked hot!
“It’s different... but in a good way, though,” I assured her.
“Do you like what I did with your hair?”
“It’s perfect! I love it! Thank you. It’s out of my face enough that I won't eat it and it won't get in my food.”
“That's what I was thinking.”
After putting my glasses back on, I turned to her. “Thank you,” I murmured and gave her a hug.
“Oh, you're welcome,” she replied, with a smile. “Now, relax and have fun!”
“Okay.”
I went down the hall to the guest room to grab my leather jacket.
Jo headed to the living room. “Now, you know where you're goin’, right?” she called, over her shoulder.
“I think so... I know his apartment’s in Greenwood. Anyway, I’ve got GPS in my truck, but the directions are on the kitchen table next to my purse, just in case,” I replied, as I put on my jacket.
“Okay, good. ‘Cause it would be really bad if you got lost.” Jo laughed.
“I know.” I chuckled, looking at myself one final time in the guest room mirror.
As I left the room, I shut off the light and drove my chair down the hall.
“Thanks again for letting me crash here tonight. I just didn't want to stay at home... with my date and all. You know, I didn't even tell my mom. I just told her I was staying with you tonight that way if it doesn't work ou
t, no one will know.”
“Oh, you're welcome.” She flipped through the channels on the TV. “I completely understand... I wouldn't wanna stay at home either.”
“And you're sure Jayce doesn't mind?”
“Jay? Heck no. With his work schedule, more than likely you'll be back before he is, no matter what happens on your date.”
“Okay... just checking.”
Heading over to the kitchen, I grabbed my purse, the directions, and my Razr flip phone.
“Have fun lying around and watching TV tonight, and if I don't see you when I get back, I'll talk to you in the morning,” I said, opening the door.
“I will and I'm counting on it.” She smiled.
I waved back at her before I shut the door behind me.
As I made my way to my 2006 “chameleon” Toyota 4x4 that was given to me by a friend, after he had it adapted, I looked in my purse to grab my keys. I found them easily, but what I didn’t see and couldn’t seem to find, was my medicine. I kept looking in my purse and still couldn’t find it. If it's not in my purse... where could it be? I checked my left jacket pocket, then my right. There it is!
After putting the pill bottle in my purse, I unlocked and opened the driver's side door, lowered the lift down, and carefully backed up on to it. Once I was safely and securely in the truck, I shut the door and the seatbelt locked in. I turned on the truck, put in the address, carefully and slowly backed out of the driveway, and finally left for my date.
Chapter 4
Once I found Steve's apartment building—it was red-bricked and looked like it was just built, with black iron rails on either side of the front steps and the ramp—I started looking for a place to park. After I parked and open the door, I grabbed my cell phone, turned it to vibrate, put it and my keys in my purse, which was on my lap, and lowered myself out of the truck. After I shut the door, I sat there for a minute, and took a huge deep breath.
“Here goes nothin’,” I said, then thought, Please stay with me, God.
As I drove toward the ramp, I noticed that the majority of the windows and balconies had Christmas decorations and lights on them. I went up the ramp and saw the intercom box, just left of the main doors, and made my way over to it. At first, I had a hard time finding Steve’s apartment number. When I did finally find it, near the bottom, I pressed the button and waited.
“Hello?” I heard, a few seconds later.
“Steve?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s Beth.”
“Oh, hi! Come on in, I'll be right down.”
“Okay,” I said, going over to the automatic door opener and went inside.
While I waited for Steve, I looked around. The walls were covered with all different kinds of Christmas decorations. So was the receptionist's desk in front of me. The flight of stairs to my left had a fancy iron railing. Next to the stairs were mailboxes. The elevator was across from them.
A few seconds later, while I was looking at the decorations, I heard, “Hi.”
I turned around and saw Steve coming down the stairs, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. He was gorgeous. I did still somehow manage to grin at him.
As he made his way toward me, I realized my outfit was perfect. He was wearing something similar.
“You look beautiful,” he said, after a moment.
“Thank you,” I replied, with a small smile. “You don't look too bad yourself.”
“Thank you.” He smiled back. “My apartment is on the second floor.”
As we headed toward the elevator, I noticed something different about him besides his slightly spiked hair, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. When we reached it, I finally figured out what it was.
“You shaved your beard and mustache,” I said, as we waited.
“Yeah,” he replied, rubbing his face. “I usually have one this time of year, but I decided I needed a change.”
Finally, the elevator beeped and the doors opened. I drove in and turned around as Steve came in, pushed the second-floor button, and the doors closed. When the elevator doors opened again, I saw a big room with no people. I looked around as I drove out of the elevator.
The lounge area looked comfortable. I also spotted vending machines—two for Coke and Pepsi products and one for food—on one side of the room and a dart board and a pool table on the other.
“This is the common area,” Steve answered my unasked question. “There's usually a good number of people out here, but with it being Saturday and so close to Christmas, everyone's pretty busy. This is where we get together and hang out. Also, a bunch of us are usually in here on Sundays watching the games, but I don't know about tomorrow with it being Christmas Eve.”
He directed me between two black leather couches which sat across from one another, past a matching recliner and in front of the big flat screen TV. “It’s definitely a bit narrow through here,” I observed, as I maneuvered by a black coffee table in the middle.
My gaze was drawn to my right. In the corner, was a huge Christmas tree that had to be at least eight feet tall and ten feet wide. “Oh, how pretty!” I admired.
It lit up the room with its multi-colored lights that blinked and twinkled, giving the room a warm glow. It was decorated in all different sorts of ornaments, different colored candy canes, and fat silver garland. On top of it was a white star that blinked and twinkled along with the other lights. It all reminded me of how we used to decorate Christmas trees when I was little. Under the tree was a red skirt with presents stacked on top of it. I wonder if they are real or just empty decorative boxes?
He brought me out of my thoughts as he continued, “This leads to the apartments.” He pointed to the big door slightly behind him.
I looked at where he was pointing and realized the room was L-shaped. We headed toward the door and Steve moved in front of me and held it open.
“Thanks,” I said, as I drove through.
“No problem.”
As we move down the hall to his apartment, I couldn’t help but notice all the decorations on either side.
“We're really festive around here, if you haven't noticed.” He chuckled.
“It's hard to miss,” I said, with a grin, “but I like it. I've gotta say, this place reminds me of a dorm more than an apartment building.”
“I know. That's what I thought when I first saw it, too.”
“Oh, really? I thought it was just me.”
“I think that's what the majority of people think ‘til they see the actual apartments.”
“Oh?”
“I also think that that's the way it was designed... so the people who live here can get to know each other.”
“That’s smart... so it's not so boring all the time.”
“Exactly. That's actually the reason I chose to live here. It looked like a place where I could meet some really good friends... and I have,” he said.
I started to feel more comfortable. When we reach his apartment, he stopped. After going in, Steve held the door open for me.
“Thanks.”
“You're welcome. Can I take your jacket for you?” he asked, shutting the door behind me.
“Yeah, sure,” I replied, and took it off.
After handing it to him, he hung it up in the hall closet.
“Can I get you anything to drink?” he asked, returning to my side.
“Sure.”
“Okay, I have Coke, Pepsi, tea, and water.”
“Pepsi’s fine, thanks.”
“No problem. I'll be right back.”
When Steve went into the kitchen I grabbed my purse. I took out my tiny pill bottle and a straw. I popped the lid off and dumped a pill in my hand, then snapped the lid back on and put it back in my purse before he came back with my drink.
While I waited, I looked around the room. It was quite spacious. The walls and ceiling were all white, typical for an apartment, I thought. I turned my chair to more fully take i
n the room. Behind me was a dark blue, leather couch. Above it, on the wall, were a bunch of what looked like family style pictures and I really wanted to take a better look. Moving my chair further into the room, I drove past one of the black end tables, which held a matching lamp that also went well with the couch and the two recliners in the room. I realized all three were perfectly placed to take in the flat screen TV hanging on the opposite wall.
Under the TV was a somewhat small entertainment center, which held a DVD player and a VCR as well as DVDs and a handful of tapes.
From my position in front of the couch, I could take in the full effect of his Christmas tree, which funny enough, was almost identical to mine at home. It was decorated in white, gold, and crystal. The only real difference was the blinking white star on top. Under the tree was a white tree skirt with a few presents.
In the wall to its left was a huge wooden fireplace, giving the room warmth with its burning logs. My gaze traveled back up to the pictures above the couch.
“What an ugly kid,” Steve joked, when he noticed me looking at the pictures, as he walked through the kitchen doorway with the drinks.
“No. You were a cute kid,” I replied, with a smile, as I turned to face him.
“Well, thank you.”
“You're welcome.”
“Sorry it took so long, I was checkin’ on the food,” he apologized, handing me a glass of Pepsi.
“Oh, no problem, and thank you,” I said, taking the glass.
“You're welcome.”
Holding the glass with my right hand, I put both the straw in the glass and the pill in my mouth with my left hand and took a drink. I noticed Steve had the “I want to ask about her disability, but I don’t know if I should” look. I was pretty sure where the conversation was headed.
After another moment, he asked, “May I ask you a question?”
At his hesitancy, I had to do everything to keep my eyeroll internal. His hesitancy drove me crazy, but I also knew he was just trying not to offend me. So, my lips twisted up warmly and I replied, “Yeah, sure.”
“What's that medicine for? I mean, what does it do?”
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