by Unknown
“Hello there Regina, I see you got my note. A very fine looking gentleman came in here with this right here and asked where your apartment was.” Mrs. Townsend pointed over toward a table where she would normally have new tenants fill out paperwork and sitting there was a beautiful bouquet of red roses and baby’s breath in a crystal vase. Regina had never seen anything so beautiful before in her life. “So anyways, I told him that I don’t normally tell people off the street where my residents live because you never know what they could be up to. But after looking into those eyes of his, I swear I literally was speechless they were so beautiful. So he smiled and asked me if could he leave them here with me and I said well sure sweetie. He put them right over there and gave me a smile and said thank you and left. You’re a very lucky girl Regina, that man was a handsome fella.”
Taking in the wonderful aroma of the flowers, Regina was almost in tears. Seeing a card, she took it out of its holder and opened up the little envelope.
See you for lunch!
Regina smiled and giggled with happiness, something she hadn’t done in a long time. She honestly couldn’t believe her luck today—she had met a handsome man, had her first lunch date, and gotten a bouquet of roses. What more could happen, she wondered as she walked out of the office after thanking Mrs. Townsend.
Chapter Two
“Are you ready?”
“Yes, I’ll meet you in the garage.”
Collin hadn’t been to the park in years. Most of his time was spent in the office and during the weekend, if he wasn’t working, he was too tired to do anything else but sleep. But he decided to humor her today and go along for a walk in the park. The day was an in-between day as he liked to call it, it wasn’t too hot nor was it too cold, it was right in between, which made it a perfect day to be just about anywhere in town.
“Don’t you just love days like this?” she asked him as a soft breeze blew thru the trees, lifting her hair, which in the sunlight was a beautiful shade of dark brown.
“Yes, I don’t get out much during the day though, I mean I can see everything from my window, but as far as being out in this nice air and all, I don’t get the chance much. It’s always a meeting here or a conference there, but it is nice being out here, especially with you.” Collin smiled over at her as she laughed a bit. “So where are we going?”
“To the farmers’ market, I go there when some of the vendors make food for everybody to sample. There is someone I want you to meet; she makes some of the best food around.” As they continued walking they saw some of the local farmers with their fruits and vegetable out for viewing and buying. A delicious aroma hit Collin’s nose as they came across a lady who was stirring something in a big pot.
“Regina, oh Gina, it’s so good to see you girl!” the woman said as she came from around the pot and gave Regina a big hug. She looked at Collin with a smile and in a distinctive Caribbean accent asked, “Who this you got with you now?”
“This is Collin Noonan, he works in my building. Collin, I want you to meet Mrs. Ramona, probably the best cook I’ve met around here since my mom. She cooks some of the best food from the island ever.”
“Nice to meet you Mrs. Ramona, whatever you’re cooking is making my mouth water and my stomach growl,” he told her as he took her hand and kissed it lightly causing her smile to grow into a grin.
“Girl, handsome and a gentleman and he works with you. You best snatch him up, woman, before someone else does. So what can I get for you both today?”
Walking over to the pot, Collin deeply inhaled the aroma that was steaming from it. The food smelled so good, he had to ask, “What do you have in the pot Mrs. Ramona?”
“It’s some of my famous stew; it has a little bit of everything in it. All home grown vegetables from my garden as well as some of the spices too. Everything is done up just right. Would you like a taste of it?” she asked him while she got a cup and ladled some into it. She added a spoon and handed it to him. After Collin took a sip of the broth and a bite of the chicken and vegetables, he knew he was in love with this stew.
“This is amazing; I’ve never tasted anything so good. Here have a taste,” he told Regina as he took a spoonful and let her taste as well.
“I told you it was good, we’ll take two of the stew and some bread as well Ramona,” Regina said as she helped herself to the iced tea.
Once they paid, Ramona said, “I hope you enjoy it and do please come back for me food now!”
“Thanks!” Collin followed Regina toward a tree that stood by itself near a small field. Setting the cups on the ground, she opened her bag and pulled out a blanket and laid it out before him. As he sat, he handed her the soup and she gave him tea. At first they ate in silence, well Regina was silent; Collin’s groans of pleasure filled the air as he enjoyed the stew.
“I guess you like it huh?” She giggled.
He stopped eating for a moment, realizing how he had been acting and laughed a bit himself.
“I’m sorry but I haven’t had anything like this in a while. I used to go visit my mom every couple of weeks or so and she would always make my favorite thing in the world, colcannon. You see, being the eighth of ten brothers, you don’t get the chance to eat much.”
“Ten, did you say ten brothers? That must have been a hectic life dealing with all of that.”
He chuckled a bit and wiped his mouth.
“Yeah, but we did have fun though, even when we didn’t have much, which was basically every other day. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“No, I was an only child and as far as my parents, they both passed away years ago.”
He felt bad for even asking her because the question brought about sadness in her eyes.
“I’m sorry. You can have one of my brothers or a couple of them actually. Since I have too many of them in the first place.” Collin laughed and when she started laughing too he felt good.
“Do you know all of their names?”
“There is the oldest whose name is Randy, then there is Jordan, Timothy, Kenny, Randall, Mackenzie, Kendrick, me of course, Bobby and the youngest, Gerard. The whole Noonan clan all redheads and all tough as steel. Everyone knew not to mess with any of us because if you messed with one, you messed with all of us,” Collin said with a wink, which made Regina’s heart skip a beat.
“What about your parents?”
Going into his pants pocket, he tugged out his phone and pulled up a picture that he had taken of his parents the last time he saw them, which was about six months ago. “This is my mom Alannah and my dad Randy.”
Regina had to smile as she saw a very big strapping older gentleman with graying hair, a hint of red remaining, standing beside a short rosy cheeked, brown haired woman, both wearing big smiles. They seemed so happy it made her smile even more. When she looked over at Collin, she found he was studying her face with those beautiful green eyes of his. She blushed as his gaze twinkled at her. “They are too adorable and now I see where you get your good looks from.”
Chuckling a bit, he took the phone from her, his fingertips softly touching hers during their exchange. Even though their fingers touched, it was that touch that made Regina feel like every part of her was on fire. She hoped he didn’t realize what he was doing to her at that moment. “By the way, what is colcannon anyways?”
“My mom makes it for me every time I come to visit her. It’s just mashed potatoes and cabbage, but my God it’s the best thing ever in the world, especially when my mom makes it for me.” Collin smiled as she started putting everything in a bag for the garbage. “Let me get that for you, we still have sometime before it’s time to go back to work. Why don’t we walk some more around the park and work off this yummy stew in our stomachs, huh?” he said as he held out a hand to help her up.
Taking his hand, Regina lifted herself up. After getting his jacket, Collin threw it over one shoulder and dumped the trash into a nearby trashcan. She shook out the blanket, folded it up quickly and put it in her bag
as he walked back toward her. They continued walking down the walkway.
“I do want to thank you for the flowers. How did you get my address anyways?”
His smile became broader as he started chuckling. “I made some calls and I got it. I thought a lovely lady such like you would love something nice like flowers. Did you like them?” Collin asked with a wink.
“You know you are the first man to ever give me flowers, I’ve never had a man give me roses before in my life. When I saw those flowers on that table, I was like, I couldn’t believe it and then when I saw that they were from you, I just melted,” Regina said, watching him blush, which was rather cute seeing his skin get almost as red as his hair.
While they were riding back to the office, all Regina could do was smile and Collin must have noticed.
“What are you smiling over there for?”
Regina didn’t say a word. Her arm up against the door, she bit down on her finger trying not to smile too much, but she honestly couldn’t help it. “Just thinking?”
“What are you thinking about, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Just how wonderful this has been is all,” Regina said, looking toward him when they stopped at the light.
In that small moment in time, Regina noticed his eyes seemed to dance a bit when she smiled back at him. Any other time she would have turned away from his gaze but for some reason, she liked how he looked at her. The honking of the car behind them quickly brought them back to reality.
When Collin got back after lunch, he ran into John. “So how are things going between you and the silent one? Have you kissed her yet or felt her up?”
Grabbing some notes Nancy held up for him while he was heading into his office, Collin walked inside and John closed the door them. “Everything is going fine. I like to work things slow, you know, and no I haven’t kissed her, at least not yet. I’ve been taking her to lunch and we’ve done some talking and stuff. Yesterday I sent her flowers; I’ll probably do it tomorrow as well. I think around Monday, I’ll ask her out on a real date and then probably around Thursday, I’ll ask her about going with me to the party on Saturday. How are things going with you?”
“I already asked her to the party and she accepted it right away, all I can say is that she sure can suck a mean dick. We go into my office sometimes and I’ll lock the door or sometimes we’ll go up to the top of the parking garage and park and man, whew, she is amazing as hell with that tongue.”
Collin snickered at his friend. “I’m shocked you haven’t fucked her yet.”
“No, I’m satisfied with her just going down on me. She’s a big girl and even though I don’t deal with big girls, I would be afraid of what is between those legs of hers,” John said as he threw back a hearty laugh while Collin just shook his head. “I’ll check you later man, I’ve got to go and make my rounds.”
Alone, Collin started to think, something he knew was dangerous because his thoughts tended to go out of control. He wondered what it would be like to kiss those luscious lips of Regina’s. Collin bet they were soft and juicy, he never failed to notice how lovely they looked while she talked. He knew he would have to ask her out earlier than he thought; this weekend would do just fine.
* * * *
When Friday came, they decided to go back to the park and have some more of Mrs. Ramona’s good food. After eating, they went for a walk again. “Regina, what are you doing tonight?”
Regina looked at him and shook her head. “Nothing much, I’ll probably just have something to eat and watch something on television. Why do you ask?”
“I was wondering if you would like to go out on a date with me tonight.”
Regina stopped in complete shock and Collin looked at her. She was trying to say something but the words seems to be choking her and she couldn’t get them out.
“Are you all right Regina?”
Walking over toward a swinging bench, she sat down and he took a seat beside her. “I’m sorry. I just had to sit down for a moment, I was getting lightheaded. Did you just ask me out on a date?”
“Yes, I wanted to know if you want to go out with me tonight,” Collin repeated. As she looked into his concerned eyes, knowing she had to calm down.
“I don’t know what to say. I never expected anyone to ask me out, especially someone like you,” Regina said trying to hold in a smile.
“Well, I have to say that I do like you, I mean you’re the nicest girl I’ve met and I consider you a friend. I would like to go out with you and show you a real good time tonight, so what do you say?”
Girl if you don’t take him up on his offer and go out with him, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. Go for it!
“All right, what time will you be picking me up?” She smiled as he grinned back at her. He took a hold of her hand, which was the first time he had done that, and she found herself gripping it while they continued their walk that afternoon.
* * * *
“You got a date!” Maxine giggled with delight at her friend’s luck while they were driving out of the parking garage.
“I know, I can’t believe it either, I almost had a heart attack when he asked me out. And I don’t have any night clothes to wear, what am I going to do Max?” Regina asked anxiously.
“First off, we are going to the mall right now to pick you out a killer outfit and some shoes too. Pull over there and we’ll go find you an outfit.”
After work, they went to several boutiques before she and Maxine found the perfect date night clothes as well as shoes. Regina never thought that she would be able to pull off such a look because she had never worn anything so pretty. Maxine decided they would go over to her hairdresser and get Regina’s hair done, something Regina honestly never gave a second thought to because she normally put it in a bun.
“Now when you get home, just wash yourself up and get your clothes on and watch the fireworks go into motion because when he sees you in that outfit, I swear you’re going to get laid.” Maxine laughed as she got out of the car when they made it to her apartment. “I want details you know.”
Regina drove off with a smile on her face. She quickly got to her apartment, parked, and went inside. He told her that he would pick her up around seven. Looking at the clock, she noticed that it was only six-fifteen and knew she had to start getting ready so she didn’t have to rush. Tonight would be Regina’s first official date with Collin Noonan.
* * * *
Collin had gotten out of the shower, and dried himself off before wrapping the towel around his waist. Humming to himself in the mirror, he ran a comb through his wet darkened red hair before blow drying it out. In a way, he was kind of excited about tonight, but didn’t understand why though because it was just another date. After he dried his hair, he started brushing his teeth and gargled with some mouth wash.
Going into his bedroom, he had already laid out his clothes for the evening. He wanted to take Regina out to a nice restaurant, some place different than the other places they’d been in town. So he decided to wear a pair of khaki pants and a white shirt without a tie, he brought a blazer just in case it got too chilly later on that night. Checking himself in the mirror, he made sure everything was straight. “Looking good son, now all we have to do is just put on the shoes, get my watch, and coat. Plus I have to get that flower out of the fridge and I’ll be off on my date,” Collin said to himself as he buttoned the last button on his shirt and did exactly what he had planned on doing.
The ride to her apartment was a long one but at least he remembered how to get there from last time when he delivered her flowers. When he arrived to the apartment, he got out with flower in hand and made sure that by the time he got to the door, that his breath still smelled fresh and he looked good. Ringing the doorbell, he waited for a moment before soon he heard her voice on the other side asking, “Who is it?”
“It’s me, Collin.” He heard the door unlock and whatever else being opened. When Collin looked up and saw her, he was in a comple
te transformational shock as she stood there in the doorway.
“Hi. I was trying to find something real quick, come on and sit down while I get it. Make yourself at home.” And with that, she walked into one of the rooms, leaving Collin in a daze. When she came back into the living room with her shawl, he was standing in the same spot she left him. “Are you all right?”
Collin was still taken aback about how she looked, gone were the long skirts and jeans, gone were the sweaters and the oversized shirts and gone were those black sneakers she wore. Before him stood a curvaceous ebony goddess wearing a lovely sleeveless turquoise dress with jewels outlining an empire waistline. Her legs were long and brown and she wore a pair of black shoes with a little heel to it, giving her just enough height. Her hair wasn’t in a bun like it normally was. Tonight her dark tresses swung freely along her shoulders with just a little bit of curl.
Who was this beauty before him, he wondered, this couldn’t be Regina.
“Oh I see you noticed the outfit.” She giggled as she wrapped a shawl over her shoulders and got her purse from off the counter in the kitchen. “I thought since this was our first date and all, I should probably wear something nice.”
Collin came out of his dreamlike state. “Well, I have to say that you look incredibly beautiful. This is for you.” As he handed her a single rose, she smiled and put it in a vase with water. She locked the door behind them as they walked out of her apartment.
“So where are we headed off to?” He led her to his car and opened up the door for her.
Collin smiled. “It’s a surprise.”
* * * *
Regina looked out of the window during their ride, wondering where they were headed off to. The entire time she found herself smiling, thinking about Collin seeing her dressed up for the first time. His reaction was like nothing she had ever seen from a man, she rather enjoyed how he looked at her. It made her feel like he honestly saw her as a woman and not some kind of weirdo.