Dream Date

by Ivan Kendrick

  “That looks great on you,” said Rachel, entering the bedroom. “I can see I selected the right size.”

  “Marissa gave you an estimate, right?”

  “Yes. And I’m thankful. No offense, but you don’t look as tall as you do in photos.”

  Amanda did the facial equivalent of a shrug. She knew she was just tall enough to be a model. An inch less and she wouldn’t qualify.

  After Amanda dressed, Rachel spent a good time fixing her hair and makeup.

  “Let’s go outside first. That shoot will be shorter.”

  The weather outside was pretty cold, but Amanda’s clothes kept her well protected. She and Rachel spent over half an hour taking photos. Despite the chilly weather and slightly gray clouds, it didn’t look bad outside. The trees, thankfully, had barely lost their leaves. Amanda knew they would go balder soon.

  The two women then went back to the apartment to shoot a few photos inside. ‘A few’ turned out to take almost a half hour. Rachel struck Amanda as a talented photographer. She definitely knew her trade.

  After the photograph session was over, Amanda thanked Rachel. She assured the former that the photos would be e-mailed in a few days to be posted on the Tumblr blog. Rachel would also post some of the photos to her personal Web site.

  Ashton pulled up in a parking lot outside the Frontier Field in Rochester. Grecia looked up at the stadium once he opened the door for her and she stepped out.

  “Wow. You brought me to watch a game?”

  “Yeah. I thought you’d like it.”

  “Understatement. I love it,” Grecia said, beaming.

  “Jeez,” Ashton said once they were walking towards the stadium hand in hand. “If I’d known you like going to games so much, I’d have brought you sooner.”

  Grecia chuckled. Ashton walked over to the trunk of his car and opened it. Inside were a couple of Redwings hoodies, a red one and a gray one.

  “Let’s put them on. Which one do you want?”

  Grecia grabbed the red one. Ashton smiled and took the gray one. As he closed the trunk, Grecia took off her purple jacket and replaced it with the Redwings hoodie. Ashton wasn’t wearing any jacket, so he just put the hoodie on. He then opened the backseat of his car for Grecia to leave her jacket.

  “Let’s go watch the Redwings win.”

  Grecia looked curiously up at Ashton. He gave her a quizzical look.

  “Their name reminds me of buffalo hot wings.”

  Ashton guffawed.

  “Are you hungry? If you are, I can buy you food.”

  “That’s okay, I’m not hungry now.”

  After buying their way in, Ashton and Grecia entered the stadium. There were already a lot of people walking around, waiting for the game to start. Close by, Grecia saw a couple of hot-dog stands, a Budweiser stand, and an ice cream stand.

  “Look,” said Ashton. He pointed to a spot where there was a faceless, wooden guy in the Redwings uniform, brandishing a baseball bat. In place of the face, there was a hole where anyone could stand behind and see through. “Let’s take some photos there.”

  “Okay,” said Grecia, ready for some fun. “You first.”

  Ashton walked behind Mr. Flat Guy and poked his face through the hole. Grecia had to admit, he looked good in baseball garb and a helmet. She used her smartphone to snap photos of him, laughing when he made faces. Ashton then put on a face of concentration so funny that Grecia was having a hard time containing her laugh.

  “It’s your turn, girl. Give me that,” he said, reaching for the phone in her hands. Grecia pulled her hand away, still laughing.

  “You have your own!”

  “Oh, right,” said Ashton, pulling his phone out of his jeans pocket. Grecia walked over behind the baseball guy. It was Ashton’s turn to have fun snapping photos. She poked out her tongue. Ashton didn’t miss it.

  “I’m so going to put that one in Instagram,” he said, smiling a wicked grin. Grecia narrowed her eyes playfully. Ashton snapped that photo. “And that one too.”

  Grecia rolled her eyes.

  “No, you won’t.”

  “Yeah. Even better…I’ll put it on my wall,” Ashton said, meaning the post wall on his social profile page.

  After they had enough fun there, Ashton and Grecia walked in the direction of the stadium.

  “Let’s go find our seats now. The game’s starting in less than ten minutes.”

  Ashton led Grecia towards the bleachers. They found a spot halfway down, behind a safety net.

  “Can I see the photos you took?” she asked.

  “No, can do. You’re just going to delete them.”

  “I’m not. It was fun.”

  “You want to see them, I’ll email them to you.”

  Grecia laughed.

  The game started. Someone made announcements, and then the players took their positions.

  “I think it would be fun to be a pitcher,” Grecia said. “Look at the way they throw the ball.”

  “You’d like to be a pitcher?”

  “Not seriously. I’m not sure I’d make a good one.”

  “I think you would. You do throw some curveballs.”

  Grecia laughed.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Hey, I’m just sayin’.”

  The pitcher threw the first ball. The player with the bat missed it, but the one with the glove managed to catch it. He threw it back to the pitcher.

  Ashton and Grecia were silent as the game progressed. Five minutes into the game, the player with the bat struck the ball at an odd angle. It was sent flying into the sky and out of the stadium boundaries. Grecia watched it disappear with her mouth open.

  “The guy’s got a mighty swing.”

  “Yeah,” said Ashton, who was watching the pitcher receive a new ball from someone a few feet to his left.

  “When I was little, dad would take me to baseball games. I always marveled at how the players would never run out of balls when they flew out of sight,” Grecia said, her gaze reminiscent.

  “Ha.”

  “I wonder if they track the balls down after the game ends. Hey, they got to cost something.”

  “I’m not arguing with you. They have to track the balls down, or eventually we’d run into them every corner. A few people do take some of the balls.”

  “Have you ever taken one?”

  “No. What would I want with one? I mean, they’re not even autographed or anything.”

  The two continued watching. Some moments after, a player from the Redwings team managed a homerun.

  “Go Redwings!” Grecia yelled along with Ashton and the rest of the spectators.

  “We’re winning,” he said, looking at the scoreboard.

  An hour into the game, Ashton asked Grecia if she wanted something to eat. She nodded, and he suggested they go to the hot dog stand. Grecia told him how she wanted her food, and stayed behind to continue watching the game. She looked up when Ashton returned.

  “Here,” he said to Grecia, handing her a paper plate with her hot dog. “Just the way you like it.”

  “Thank you,” said Grecia, turning back to watch the game. She took a bite of her hot dog. When she noticed Ashton looking at her, she blushed.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. I—I’ll just remind myself not to starve you too much.”

  Grecia laughed, continuing to eat her food. When she finished, Grecia handed Ashton her plate. He put it on top of his empty one.

  “I’ll throw this away when we leave,” Ashton said, and then reached into his pocket.

  “What are you doing?” Grecia asked. Before she could say anything, Ashton whipped out his smartphone and snapped a quick photo. Grecia blinked, confused.

  “What was that for?”

  “I just couldn’t not shoot that photo,” he said, turning the screen of his phone towards Grecia. She saw herself staring back at her with a puzzled look, a spot of melted cheese on the corner of her mouth, near her cheek.
r />   “You clown.”

  “I’m definitely setting this as my caller ID photo for you. It’s perfect.”

  “As you wish. But you watch. I’m going to get you back for this,” said Grecia with a grin on her face, poking his shoulder with her index finger.

  The game ended with the Redwings winning.

  “We did it,” said Ashton, taking Grecia’s hand and leading her back to the parking lot.

  “We did not do it. Our team did.”

  “It was a figure of speech, you smart mouth.”

  Grecia couldn’t shake the smile off her face as Ashton opened the door for her. She got in and he walked around the front of the car to the driver side. Ashton entered.

  “Thanks for bringing me,” Grecia said to him. “I had a lot of fun.”

  “Anytime,” said Ashton, revving the engine.

  Grecia leaned towards him. Ashton turned to look at her and was met with a kiss.

  “Sorry for avoiding you these past few days,” she said when she pulled away. “But you have to understand me. I get jealous when you flirt with other women.”

  “Back before I met you, I only flirted with women when I wanted to be in bed with them. Now, I may only flirt for fun.”

  “No,” said Grecia, shaking her head. “Please stop it. I want to be the only woman in your life.”

  Ashton sighed.

  “As long as I’m with you, I’ll be faithful,” Ashton said. “But a little temptation is harmless.”

  “Just don’t take it far, okay?”

  “Okay,” said Ashton, kissing Grecia. He then broke the kiss, placing his hand on the side of her face. “You’re lovely, did you know that?”

  “I may have heard it before.”

  They laughed together. Then Ashton pulled out of his parking space and drove back to Ithaca.

  Amanda sat in the living room, reading a book. She was waiting for Kellan to leave her alone. As soon as she had an opportunity, she walked towards his bedroom. Before entering, Amanda looked around to make sure no one saw her. She closed the door behind her, being careful not to make noise.

  Kellan was highly protective of her, particularly at the moment, so Amanda knew she didn’t have much time. Amanda looked in his closet. She found suits of varying colors, particularly dark ones, as well as dress shirts and a few casual clothes. The closet had two sections, as Kellan shared the room with Grayson.

  Amanda looked at the top part of the closet, where there was a section to store stuff. She saw nondescript boxes in there. Amanda gingerly took one and put it on the floor. She opened it, and saw smaller boxes inside. Several ones were clearly of ammunition. The larger box to the side contained a gun.

  Amanda closed the box and put it back where it had been. She then grabbed another one. On opening it, she thought she’d found what she was after.

  The box contained a pair of walkie-talkies, as well as other tiny equipment that wouldn’t be out of place in a spy or CIA movie.

  With her ears alert for any sign of Kellan approaching, Amanda grabbed a small device from the box. It appeared to be some sort of spy microphone.

  This is just what I need.

  Amanda put the microphone in her jacket pocket. She then looked at the other items. Amanda was not familiar with that stuff, so she had no idea what all those other devices were for.

  Thinking she’d already lingered long enough, Amanda closed the box and put it back. She listened for sounds outside the door. The coast was clear, so she walked back to her bedroom.

  Once inside, Amanda removed the tiny microphone from her pocket. She took off her jacket and then her two blouses. Amanda had only seen stuff like it in movies, so she hooked the device to the strap linking the cups of her bra. Amanda didn’t know how to tell if the device was listening, but she wasn’t a Luddite. There was a little button that made a faint green dot of light turn on atop it when pressed.

  After putting her clothes back on, Amanda walked to her bathroom. She looked in the mirror and fixed her hair, then decided that washing her face with water would be a good idea. The day had tired her.

  Amanda dried her face with the towel. Just when she finished, she went out in search of Kellan. Amanda saw him when she walked into the living room.

  “Amanda, where were you?”

  “I was in the bathroom,” Amanda replied. She walked past him. “I’m really kind of exhausted right now. I’ll sleep early today.”

  “You go rest. I’ll hold the fort.”

  Amanda smiled, and she walked to her bedroom. She needed to think about the plan she was going to put into motion. Hilbert would fall soon.

  An unknown amount of time later, Amanda woke with a start. She felt a hand covering her mouth. Before she could register what was happening, someone lifted her up. Amanda tried to scream, but couldn’t.

  “Make one sound and you’re dead,” a voice warned. With dismay, Amanda recognized it as Hilbert’s. He was using a rag to keep Amanda from trying to bite him.

  What time is it? Is Kellan here right now? Or is it already Grayson’s turn?

  Amanda desperately tried to think of a way to get out of Hilbert’s grasp. She remembered that Kellan had made good on his promise to give her a Taser. It was now inside her purse, which was on the coffee table. Amanda hoped she could get to it.

  Hilbert walked quietly through the living room. Amanda looked around. Everything was dark. It seemed the same outside, too. Amanda turned her glance towards the clock. It was after midnight.

  Damn. I didn’t count on this.

  Amanda was determined not to let Hilbert get away with it. She waited for him to walk past the coffee table. When he did, she grabbed her purse. Hilbert didn’t notice. He was too busy looking around.

  Surreptitiously, Amanda slipped her hand inside her purse. She felt around, managing to find the Taser. With relief, she dropped the purse. Hilbert’s head whipped to look at her. He couldn’t protect himself in time. Amanda pressed the Taser into his side.

  “Aaaarghh!”

  Hilbert’s body jerked. Abruptly, he dropped Amanda. She landed on the floor. She quickly rolled away to prevent Hilbert from falling on top of her. Then Amanda stood up, looking at him.

  Grayson came running into the room. He had his gun in hand.

  “What the hell was that?”

  Amanda looked at Grayson, then back at Hilbert. The former looked down, and understood. He gasped.

  “The bastard’s here?”

  Grayson quickly advanced towards Hilbert, kneeling down. He turned to Amanda.

  “Go get me something to tie him with.”

  Amanda nodded, leaving the room. She went into the bodyguard’s bedroom, looking for something suitable. She found a roll of duct tape and grabbed it. Then she returned to the living room. Amanda grabbed a pair of scissors from her bedroom along the way.

  Grayson extended his hand when Amanda handed him the duct tape.

  “You cut it.”

  Amanda grabbed the tape again and extended a portion. She cut it.

  Just then, Hilbert reacted. His hand knocked Grayson’s gun away. Then Hilbert aimed another punch. Grayson was barely able to dodge it. The blow grazed his jaw.

  “Grayson!” Amanda gasped, dropping the tape and scissors. She stepped back as Hilbert got to his feet. He bent down and grabbed Grayson by his collar. The two started to fight. Grayson landed a number of blows on Hilbert’s body. He just seemed to shrug them off. They only had the effect of making him more furious. He kicked Grayson in the abdomen. The force threw him over the coffee table, crashing on the floor.

  Amanda turned to bolt. Hilbert was too quick for her.

  “No, you won’t,” Hilbert said. He grasped Amanda’s shoulder, stopping her.

  “Don’t touch her, you bastard!” Grayson yelled. Hilbert held Amanda with an arm under her chest. With his free arm, he pulled out a gun.

  “No one’s going to stop me from taking Amanda. She’s mine,” Hilbert declared.

  “Let
me go! You’re insane,” Amanda said. She struggled to free herself. Grayson stood watching them. He was waiting for an opportunity.

  “Who knew women acted so hostile to a man wanting to give them the world?” Hilbert asked.

  “You’re not a man, Hilbert. All your money and your status have given you a twisted perception of reality,” Amanda told him.

  “My reality is that I love you.”

  “I can’t love a man who sleeps with every young and innocent woman he can find!” she snapped.

  Hilbert’s jaw fell. Grayson looked at Amanda with a mix of fear and shock.

  “What did you say?” asked Hilbert, trying to mask his utter disbelief. “What did you say!?”

  “I know what you do, Hilbert. You sexually harass almost every model at the agency.”

  “What nonsense is this? Are you trying to buy yourself some time?”

  “Don’t lie to me, Hilbert. I know the kind of greedy garbage you are.”

  “You’re trying to play tricks with my head, right?”

  “Does your dad know anything about what you really do with your time? He might have a heart attack if he found out his son is a serial rapist.”

  “You’re lying!”

  “And you thought you could seduce me as well. I’m such an idiot for having no idea what you really wanted me for.”

  “I love you!”

  “Stop saying that! All you wanted from me is sex. You see me as the ultimate conquest.”

  “You’re completely mistaken, Amanda! None of those women have anything on you. You’re the only one who was able to make me fall in love.”

  Amanda almost laughed. She thought Hilbert was being pathetic.

  “Nothing that you can say will work on me. I’m on to you, Hilbert.”

  “Shut up! Let’s not waste any more time. You’re coming with me.”

  “I won’t go anywhere with you!”

  “Do you think I’ll let you keep living here? No. Not when that lowlife is just next door.”

  Amanda struggled fruitlessly.

  “Drop your weapon, Grayson,” Hilbert demanded.

  “Let Amanda go.”

  Hilbert pointed his weapon at Grayson and fired. He collapsed backward on the floor.