by Unknown
I look down and automatically my whole face burns with embarrassment as I read his response.
Nate: Anything you want, but I say clothes are always optional on our dates. ;)
I’m so glad no one else is here to see this text from Nathan.
Charlie: Umm…I’m not even sure what to say to that.
Nate: Nothing to say, babe.
Charlie: Then again, I wouldn’t know, since someone won’t tell me what our plans are for later.
Nate: Be prepared…for anything.
Charlie: Isn’t that part of the Boy Scout motto?
Nate: Who ever said I was a Boy Scout?
Charlie: Are you sure your name is Nathan?
Nate: I never claimed to be Nate, either.
Charlie: So, let me guess. I’ve got one of the other Stooges on the other end of Nathan’s phone. Right?
Nate: Oh, a wise guy, huh? And who’s to say you aren’t talking to Nate right now?
Charlie: If I were to call you right now, who would I get?
I wait for a response, but all I get is radio silence. Just as I thought, one of the guys messing around with Nathan’s phone. Typical of the Stooges. Giving up, I vow to stick to the items of clothing I’ve laid out, deciding against the heels. Who needs to fall and break a leg on their first date? So, it’s flats for this short chick. Too bad. Heels would have put me in a closer proximity to his kissable lips.
The phone rings a while later, flashing Nathan’s phone number.
“Hey, cowboy.” I greet Nathan as soon as I answer.
“Hey, short stuff,” he replies.
“Since when did I become short stuff? I thought I was your little one?” She sounds confused at my change of nicknames for her.
“You are, and you’re my short stuff, too.” I reassure her, not realizing that she liked me calling her little one over the last week or so. “The guys and I could come up with cuter names for your pint-size all day long, if that appeases you.” I tease her as the guys chuckle around me, nodding their heads in agreement.
“Great. You just gave the Stooges more ammunition against my size!” She sounds appalled by my revelation. “I’ll be the brunt of all of their short jokes now,” she pouts.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. It just means they think the world of you. Speaking of the Stooges,” I start, as I take notice that Holt and Tucker are starting to slowly back away from me. Frowning, I wonder what that’s all about. But then I turn my attention back to Charlie. “I hear you tried to reach me?” I’m worried something’s come up and she has to cancel on me. Although, that wasn’t the impression I got from Holt when he said he talked to her earlier. Still, her reaching out to me first has me overly curious. Normally, I make all of the first moves.
There’s a pregnant pause in the conversation, as I’m waiting for her to let me in on why she needed to talk to me.
“I’m guessing you weren’t fully briefed on our conversation then.” She states.
“Uh, no. Holt didn’t really say much of anything.” Narrowing my eyes at my friends, I see that they’re now too far away for me to say anything without her knowing. “Is something wrong? We are still on for tonight, right?” I quietly inhale, and then slowly exhale, wondering to myself if that came out as desperate as I thought it sounded.
“Oh, we’re still on for tonight,” she assures me. “I was just texting you to see what I should wear. Though, the response I got wasn’t what I was expecting.” Now she sounds a bit shy and unsure.
“Okay. And exactly what did they say?” Now I’m more suspicious as to what was said to get shy Charlie on the other end all of a sudden. “Did they give away our date?” If those punks ruined this, there will be hell to pay. I love a little thing called instant karma— though only when it comes to those two knuckleheads.
“No, no, it was nothing like that.” She tries to reassure me. What did they say to her?
“Okay. Mind telling me what happened?”
“Maybe you should just read your text messages. That should explain it all.”
Great, now I have to wait until we end the call to find out. I’m thinking it’s a good thing the guys took off. I should have known better than to leave my phone lying around. With Holt and Tucker, you never know what they’ll do, especially when it comes to my cell phone. Add Charlie into the mix, and that spells trouble— for me.
“I’ll be sure to do that, just as soon as we hang up,” I mumble into the phone. “As for what to wear,” I say, getting us back on track, “make sure to dress warm and comfortable, but that’s all of the clues you’re getting out of me, little one.” I playfully warn her. No way am I giving up my well-laid plans.
“But, what if I’m overdressed? Or under dressed, for that matter?” I can tell she’s back to being nervous.
“Charlie, you never have to worry about being dressed inappropriately. You, my little one, are always dressed perfectly. Now, stop biting your lip, because I’m not there to kiss those lips I love to stare at, and stop worrying yourself sick. I want you to say goodbye, then hang up, and find the best date outfit to wear with a cowboy. I’ll be there in an hour to pick you up. Can you do that for me?”
“I can do that,” she’s says on a sigh, but I can tell she’s also back to being the sweet Charlie I have come to like so much in the short time we’ve know each other.
“Sounds good, sweetheart. See you in a while.” Then I hang up before she can say anything else.
THERE’S A KNOCK AT THE front door, making my insides twist in knots. I’m not much of a dater, so I’m really nervous about going on one now. But at the same time, I’m beyond excited. I haven’t told my family about Nathan yet. That’s the last thing I want to do. I can imagine the hours of teasing they will unleash upon me. Then, there’s my mom. Yeah, time to move on to other thoughts before I start thinking about her picturing me with eight babies, a mini-van, and a white picket fence.
On shaky legs, I make my way to the front door and unlock it to let Nathan in. My giddiness ratchets up a notch as he stands there with a crooked grin on his handsome face. Just looking at him, and seeing how pleased he is at the sight of me, helps to uncoil the knots that had my stomach in jitters all day. I step back out of the way and let him in.
“Hey, beautiful.”
“Hi,” I barely get past my lips.
“What did I tell you?” he says, as he checks me out, from head to toe and slowly back up again, a satisfied smile prominent on his face. “You look perfect, just like I knew you would.” He reaches out and pulls me into a quick embrace, and then lets me go shortly after. “You ready, little one?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” I try for a flirty response, but yeah, I’m not good in this category. I grab my purse, jacket, and keys off the couch before turning back to Nathan. “Where to, cowboy?” The second flirty response is a charm, right? I hope so. Can he tell how giddy I feel?
“Cowboy. I really like when you call me that.”
“Good.” We step out onto the landing in front of my door so I can lock up. Then I boldly reach out to take his hand and lead us to the parking lot. I’m sure he can feel the slight tremor that’s taken up residence in my hand, as I’m trying for assertiveness and hoping to calm my nerves. I need to let go of my shyness, as much as I dare— for the moment anyway. After all, it’s only our first real date of being alone together.
He helps me up into his 275 Ford extended cab, with his hands on my waist, when it hits me. This is our first date. Alone. This will be our first time without the guys acting as comic relief, or the girls as my safety net. As he shuts the passenger door and rounds the front of the truck, I start to wonder if he feels just as nervous as I am, and what his expectations from this date will be. As he climbs into the main cab of the truck, I pray we can overcome the awkwardness I’m feeling. Does he feel it, too?
“Feel free to change the station to whatever you want. Make yourself at home whenever you’re in my truck.” He winks at me, before he puts the t
ruck into drive and pulls out of the parking lot.
I sit over on my side of the truck, with this big, gaping, void in between our seats. It’s awkward already, and I have no idea what to do next, so I reach my hand out to the radio, searching for my favorite country station before settling back into the nice, semi-cushy, leather seats. I’m still striving for calmness and confidence, which I’m lacking in both departments for the time being.
“Are you okay all the way over there?”
“Peachy.” I give him a tentative smile that I know spikes his curiosity.
“Any reason you’re practically hugging the door?” He chuckles.
“Sorry,” I give him a sheepish look. “Just a little nervous, I guess.”
“No need to be, I’m not planning to bite.” I sneak a glance at him to see he’s got that crooked grin on his face again. “Probably. I can’t make any promises though.”
To avoid getting caught in this mouse trap, I decided to find out where we’re headed.
“Sorry, you’ll just have to be patient until the ride’s over.”
“One thing you should know about me— patience isn’t my strong suit.”
He laughs, probably thinking that I’m joking. He would change his tune if he got anywhere near my siblings.
“You feel it too, right?” I suddenly feel the urge to ask.
“Feel what?” His eyebrows pull inward, as he looks over at me with a confused glance.
“How awkward this is. You know, without our friends here?”
“Only if you make it that way. You know what would help remedy that?” his voice holds a bit of amusement in it, and something else I’m studiously trying to ignore as I calm my traitorous heart down.
I’m afraid to ask but I can’t help myself, and fall for the bait, hook, line and sinker. “What?” I softly say.
“If you scooted that cute bottom of yours across the seat and sat right next to me. I’m finding that I don’t like the distance sitting between us, and I really want to hold your hand,” he says as he pats the seat right next to him.
I really want to, but I also really don’t. Not because he scares me— more like I’m scared of how fast my feelings towards him are growing. I swallow hard and decide that no harm could come by just sitting by him, and who am I kidding? I would regret not sitting next to him. So I scoot over and latch the lap belt around my body as he pulls me snuggly against his side, leaving his arm around my shoulders. A girl could totally get used to this.
“I know you’re nervous,” he quietly says, “to be alone for the first time with me. I really wish you wouldn’t be. I like you. You like me, I hope.” He chuckles, as I know he doesn’t doubt my feelings towards him. “I’m trying to make this a special date for you, and it would help me out if you could relax and pretend you like it —or me for that matter.” He wiggles his brows at me, cracking me up. “Tell me about your day,” he changes the subject, trying to make me feel better with small talk.
“Are you trying to distract me? More than you already are?” I nudge him with my shoulder.
“If I wanted to distract you,” he whispers in my ear, as he gives my shoulder a squeeze, “I would find better methods than talking.”
So I sit back, trying hard not to blush as I relax in his loose hold on me. We have a pleasant, run of the mill, conversation about our day as we drive through town and out into the country.
Eventually, I pull up to a nice-looking iron fence with the ranch’s brand on the front. I park the truck, hop out to open the gate, then get back in and drive through. I get out one more time to close it, and then take us down a long and dusty dirt road. Soon we come to a stop, and I park us as close as I can to a big, man-made pond.
“Where are we?” Charlie asks, as I watch her survey our surroundings from the window.
“We’re on a friend’s ranch out in Dixon. She let us have use of her pond here for our picnic.”
“It’s beautiful.” I can hear the awe in her voice as she looks out the window, and I fully agree with her assessment. It really is a beautiful piece of property full of green grass, different types of colorful flowers, big shady trees, and some landscaped rock areas around the clean, blue colored water. It’s the perfect setting for our picnic, as it’s peaceful back here— with no interruptions from our nosey friends or loud music from the DJ.
“Calissa, the owner of this ranch, is a good friend of mine. We grew up together, and went to the same schools. Though, she doesn’t get out much—especially to Texas Jacks.”
“Why is that?”
“She’s busy with the ranch, her horses, and lately it seems like something else is up, but she won’t talk about it. I’ve been too distracted myself to really be a nosey friend and pry.” I give her a pointed look so she knows exactly which distraction I’m talking about. She blushes and turns her head, but I still catch that small smile that pulls at her full lips.
“So, you brought me all the way out here for a picnic?” She’s trying to use the same ‘distraction’ tactic I used on her, and I let her have her way.
“Anything for a pretty lady.” I open the door and hop out, before she has time to respond, then reach up and offer my services to help her down. Like that’s a hardship, I smile inwardly. I love it when she has to depend on me to get in and out of my truck. Any opportunity to get my hands on her, I fully plan to take advantage of.
I help her down and then close the door before taking her hand and walking us around the truck, towards the pond. There’s a blanket already spread out with a basket sitting on it. All around the blanket are strategically placed mason jars that hold candles in them for later when the sun goes down. I lead her over to the blanket and help her sit, then go back to the truck. In the back, I have more blankets and a bouquet of flowers for her.
I can feel her eyes on me the entire time as I make my way back to her, with one hand behind my back holding the flowers. I drop the extra blankets off to the side and sink to my knees, bringing out the bouquet. Her eyes widen in surprise, then light up with excitement when she gushes over the beautiful gift. I watch her bring them to her nose, smelling the intoxicating fragrance.
Placing the bundle on the blanket, she leans over on her knees, bringing a hand to my shoulder to balance her as she gives me a peck on the cheek. We stay in this position for a few moments longer, as we stare into each other’s eyes, before she retreats to her original seating position. I really wanted to take her into my arms right then and kiss the day lights out of her—which I fully plan to do before this date is over.
“Thank you. I love Stargazer Lilies. How did you know?”
“I didn’t. But I’m glad I do now. I love the smell of their perfume, and I couldn’t resist getting them for you. Beautiful flowers for a really beautiful woman.”
“They really are beautiful. My oldest sister, Jennifer, grows them out on her property. I love going to her house and being able to walk past, breathing in the wonderful aroma. It’s one of my favorite things when I go out to see her family.” She smiles fondly at the memories running through her mind.
I’m not ready to delve into the topic of family, just yet, so I move us along to the topic of dinner. “Are you hungry? I asked Leti, Calissa’s cook, to make us her specialty.” Winking, I tell her as I pull the basket in between us. “I couldn’t resist sharing something I really enjoy with you. It would be too selfish to keep it all to myself.” I playfully tell her, causing her to laugh as I start taking out the dishes of food and naming them off as I go.
“Grilled buffalo chicken sandwiches, potato salad, watermelon, and lemonade. Though, I hope you save room for dessert, as she made her chocolate coconut mound bar brownies. I hope you’ve brought your appetite!”
“I don’t know if I can out eat you,” she teases. “However, I did bring a healthy appetite. Everything sounds delicious, and that sandwich— it really smells good, too.”
We sit across from each other, enjoying the scenery, the food, and each others company
in a comfortable silence as we eat. It seems as though the awkwardness has finally left Charlie.
Well, on second thought, it was going well, but somehow we have managed to fall back into that weirdness that Charlie was so worried about, I realize as I sit on my side of the blanket gazing over at her. The sun is starting to set, and we’ve been sitting here for quite some time making small talk, but nothing really important enough to care about.
“It’s strange, isn’t it?” I ask her.
“What’s strange?”
“Being able to sit here, with you, without being bombarded with noise, jokes, loud music, and all of those other annoyances we deal with when we have the whole gang around.”
“You mean, there’s no one to cut the tension with?” She giggles.
“Okay, fine, you were right. But I’ll deny it if you ever tell the guys I said that!”
“What, you think little old me would be such a tattle-tale?” she fakes innocence on her part, but I bet anything that she’s far from that when it comes to this subject.
“Why do I not believe you?” I laugh when she makes her best shocked face.
“I have no idea what you mean by that.” She turns her face to the side, biting her lip.
“Uh-huh. Sure. So, back to what I was saying. You were right—it is a bit weird to not have everyone surround us all of the time. I have to admit, I don’t like that we have this strange lull between us at the moment.” I stop talking and watch to see what she will do. The longer I wait, the longer she sits there, with an indecisive look about her. I can tell she wants to do something about it, but at the same time, she’s nervous to make the first move. Although, she did try to earlier, she still struggles with being so bold. That’s fine; I have no problem going for what I want.