I looked at myself in the mirror.  The girl staring back at me was a beautiful blonde with a great body, why then did I feel so shy and modest.  I am more of a tigress personality, and normally my clothes will show that.  On any normal date, I would have my tiny black dress on, with my silver heels and my hair in bouncing curls down my back.  Tonight as I stood in my bedroom, with just my bra and panties on, I contemplated what to wear.  We were going to a casual restaurant and then a movie.  The weather was getting cooler, and the theatre might be cold.  I decided to go for casually cute.  I put on a pair of tight fitting jeans, a light pink sweater and a pair of pink heels.  I spritzed myself with a patchouli perfume and then headed downstairs to wait for Howie.

When he knocked on the door, I got butterflies.  When I opened the door, he was standing there in a park of dark blue jeans, a light blue sweater and tennis shoes.  His green eyes searching my face for something.

“Good evening, Beth.” He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.

I giggled, “Good evening Howie.”

I grabbed my purse from the table by the door, and locked up.  He took my hand and walked me to his Blue Mazda RX7, and swung the door open guiding me to the passenger seat.  I slid into the seat and the soft leather caressed me through my jeans.  He shut the door softly behind me, and got in on the driver’s side.

The engine purred to life as he turned the key, and off we went.  He drove the back roads skillfully the car responding to his every touch like they were one.  We arrived at the little sushi place quickly, and he came around and opened the door for me, holding his hand out to help me up.  I stumbled slightly climbing out and fell into his arms, I looked up into his green eyes, then immediately looked down and blushed.  He placed a finger under my chin, and pulled my face up to look at him.  His green eyes were bright as he leaned in and placed a soft kiss on my lips.  My heart melted, my knees got weak, and I kissed him back completely.  After what seemed like a decade, we pulled away from each other, closing the passenger door, he took my hand and we walked into the restaurant.

We ordered several rolls, and talked while I sipped on my drink.  Our movie was at eight o’clock, and we had plenty of time to just enjoy each other’s company at dinner.  We talked about his goals and dreams at becoming a successful lawyer and winning the cases for the innocent people that were victimized.  He had strong beliefs in dealing the greatest amount of punishments for those that killed, maimed, and harmed the innocents in the world.  He seemed like a very passionate man.  I told him my dreams of becoming a famous writer one day and eventually moving to my own private island in the Caribbean.

After dinner we walked hand in hand to the theatre around the corner.  We watched a really great horror flick, where I got to hold onto Howie in the scary parts.  After the movie, we wandered over to the arcade, and I tried to play a shooter game with Howie, and he tried to keep up with me on a racing game.  He then won me a cute little stuffed puppy dog out of one of the grab machines.  We laughed and talked on the way back to the car, the autumn breeze blowing through my hair and causing little strands to fly into my face.  We stopped at the car, and he opened the passenger side door, took my hand, and pulled me close to him.  He brushed the stray strands of hair back from my face, looked deep into my eyes, put one hand around my waist and the other under my chin, and leaned in and kissed me.  Time stopped.  I felt like I was floating, and there was nothing that would ever bring me down.  His lips tasted sweet, his tongue soft and warm, my body reacted on instinct alone, as I wrapped my arms around him.  The sound of a horn, broke our kiss, as a group of teenagers drove by hollering out the window of their car.  I smiled sheepishly at him and slid into the soft leather seat of the Mazda.  The drive home seemed dreamy, the images foggy and unclear as I sat there with the sweet taste of his lips on mine, absent mindedly I ran my finger across my still tingling lips, wondering if I could savor the taste a bit longer.  We pulled into the driveway, and he opened the car door for me.  I stepped out, a bit unsteadily, and caught myself before falling into his arms again.  He walked me to the door, with his arm around my waist.

“I had a wonderful time tonight Bethany.”  He smiled at me and his eyes sparkled in the porch light.

“Thank you for a great night Howie, I had a great time.”  I smiled back, hoping he would kiss me again.

He leaned in and placed a kiss on my cheek and whispered my name in my ear, “Bethany…, ” then kissed me softly on the lips and walked back to his car.  I stood there rather dumbstruck, my door was open and my hand on the doorknob, before I realized that I didn’t remember unlocking it, or opening it.  I turned around to the purr of the engine leaving the driveway.  I walked upstairs, dazed and sleepy, sliding out of my heels, and jeans in one languid cat-like motion.  I pulled the sweater up over my head, and grabbed a night shirt off the bedside divan.  Slipping my bra off and the shirt on, I crawled into bed, looked at the clock, it was midnight.  Wow, early night for me!  I slipped off to dream.

I woke up the next morning to a knock at my door.  I stumbled down stairs grabbing a robe on the way, and opened the door.  There standing in the doorway, was a delivery driver with two dozen roses in every color of the rainbow.

“Bethany, I presume.” He said casually.

“Yes.”  I was a bit overwhelmed, as he handed me this beautiful bouquet of roses.

I managed to mumble a ‘Thank you’ as he promptly walked away to his van.  I placed the flowers on the dining room table, and opened the card.

Dearest Bethany,

You stole my heart on a whim last night, your kisses assaulted my senses and your scent blew me away.     Please take these roses, and tell me your favorite one, so that I may send them to you everyday for as long as you will be mine.

Yours,

Howie

My breath stopped.  My heart raced.  My head was spinning.  He was incredible!  I stood there staring at the flowers on my table, and tried to choose my favorite.  It was impossible, they were all perfect, beautifully vibrant, their scent flawless, almost to pretty to be real. I reached to touch one, and my phone rang.

I looked at the caller ID, it was Howie.  What would I tell him now?

(To be continued)