“You’ll call me?” she asks.
“I will. I promise,” I answer.
Then, she leans forward as if to kiss me, so I meet her halfway and peck her lips.
“I don’t usually kiss a girl on the first date…not that this was a date…I mean–”
“Me either, Joe. But there is something about you. I feel safe around you.”
If you knew what was going through my mind, you wouldn’t feel safe. STOP IT! “You are,” I answer quietly, trying to sound confident.
After giving me a warm smile, she turns away, opens the door, and walks in. That’s when I feel my heart thumping. Not just feel it; I can hear it too. Stepping off her porch, I walk back to my car, trying not to look too excited, just in case I’m being watched.
***************
It’s Thursday evening, and Christina and I are going on a date. I don’t have class, so I race home to shower and change after work. When I called her on Tuesday, I suggested we catch some dinner and then go miniature golfing. She sounded delighted, so I’m picking her up at six.
I’m nervous as all-get-out standing on her front steps. Finally, I ring the bell, and a woman answers the door. She has to be Christina’s mom, because she is stunning.
“Can I help you?” she asks.
“Hi, I’m Joe. I’m here to pick up Christina.”
“Please come in, Joe,” she politely requests.
Stepping into the entryway, the house is much bigger than it looks from the outside. There is a curved staircase that leads to the second floor. On the right are frosted-glass double doors that are closed. Walking down the stairs is a giant man.
“Who’s at the door, Jess?”
“It’s Joe, dear. He’s here to pick Christina up for her date.” Then, turning toward me, she continues, “Christina is almost ready. Would you like to wait in the family room?”
“Uhm, sure. Thank you.”
Mrs. Griffin opens one of the double doors, letting me into the grand family room. There is a fireplace, completely filled built-in bookcases, a couch, and a few sitting chairs. I step into the room and look around in awe. When I turn back to the door, Mr. Griffin is standing about two feet from me, and the door is closed.
“Have a seat, young man,” he says, pointing to a chair.
“Yes, sir.” I respectfully sit down, placing my butt on the edge. My hands are folded between my legs, which I’m desperately trying to keep still, so I don’t show how nervous I am.
“How long have you known Christina?” Mr. Griffin asks.
“About three weeks, sir. We met at a dance.” That’s not entirely true, I guess, but we did dance once.
“Tell me about yourself, Joe. Do you work? Are you in school? How do you spend your time?”
“There isn’t really much to tell, sir. I work at North Hollywood Savings and Loan, and I go to Valley College at night. I’m saving up so I can transfer to a university to continue my education. I’m about six months into the program.”
“Six months? What’s your major?”
“Business management.”
“I see. What have you been doing between high school and now?”
“A year after high school, sir, I went on a mission to Africa to help build homes and teach the people.”
“A mission? How was that?”
“For the most part, I enjoyed it very much. It was a lot of hard work, but I grew to love the people and appreciate their hardships as I got to know them. To tell the truth, it was difficult to leave when the time came.”
“Very good. It’s nice to meet you, Joe. Have a nice evening with Christina.”
“Thank you, sir. It’s nice to meet you too.”
Mr. Griffin stands, so I follow suit. When he opens the frosted glass door, Christina is standing on the other side of it. My breath hitches when I see her.
Christina’s long brown hair is pulled up in a bun, with tendrils falling against her neck and resting on her shoulders. She’s wearing a French blue blouse, jeans, and high heels. When I step next to her, we’re about the same height. Around her neck is a silver necklace with a blue jewel hanging between her open collar, and a tennis bracelet with blue stones around her wrist.
She reaches up and gives her dad a kiss on the cheek and hugs her mom before we leave.
After getting into my car, Christina looks at me and smiles.
“What?” I ask.
“You seem to have survived my dad’s grilling.”
“Grilling? It wasn’t that bad. He just wanted to know more about me, that’s all.”
“Huh.” She says with a heavy breath.
“What?”
“Well, my dad isn’t usually that easy on a guy when I go out with him the first time. Most guys find his questioning very intimidating.”
***************
Our evening together has been incredible. We had pizza before we went golfing, which was a lot of fun. We are sitting in front of her house, in the car, having a good conversation as we get to know each other. Christina turns sideways and leans on the center console as we talk. In this position, my desire to kiss her is intense. Testing the waters, I lean toward her a little to see how she’ll react. She doesn’t move.
Leaning in closer, I whisper, “Can I kiss you?”
“Yes.”
An energy that I’ve never felt before shoots through me when our lips touch. In fact, every time we touch, I get some kind of incredible feeling inside. I kiss her again, but this time, she tangles her fingers in my hair and pulls me into her. When she opens her mouth, our kiss becomes intimate.
I’ve only kissed like this a few times and only with girls I’ve dated for a while. Since this is our first “official” date, I wasn’t expecting to kiss her, let alone share such an intimate moment. Then, I notice it. My…thing…is hard. It’s curled in my pants and very uncomfortable. I need to stand up so it can straighten out.
“I think I should get you home,” I say breathlessly.
“I am home.”
“I mean…uhm…I…uh–”
“Shhhh…let’s enjoy the moment.”
We lean back into each other and kiss some more. I become aware of my tongue. I want to slip it into her mouth and feel hers against mine, but I know it’s wrong. She presses her lips against mine hard, and our kissing becomes frantic. Finally, I can’t hold back any longer and slide my tongue along our converged lips. Her tongue meets mine, and they get tangled as we lose control of our emotions.
Pulling away, I try to gain my composure and speak. “Christina…we…shouldn’t…I’m–”
“Me too. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get carried away like that.”
“It’s my fault. I started it,” I apologize.
Christina leans back into me, and we kiss again. We don’t use tongue this time, but the kiss has me riled up.
Pulling away, Christina says, “I think you’re right. I should go inside.”
“I don’t want you to go, but if we don’t say goodnight…I may do something we will both regret.”
“Right,” she says as she straightens up.
“When can we go out again?” I ask.
“How about the dance tomorrow night? We can go together if you want.”
“If I want? Christina, I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I like you a lot, and I would very much like to not only go to the dance with you but continue to date as well.”
“Me too,” she says. “I was hoping we’d keep dating.”
When those words leave her lips, joy fills my entire being. I get warm inside, and my only desire is to be with her. It’s too soon to tell, but I think I may be falling in love.