I didn’t know Tommy Cochrane, so I had no idea what he had planned for the evening. Lots of guys wanted to go to a movie so they could grope me in the dark, so a walk in a forest was refreshing. I came from a small rural town and missed being around nature. My apartment was situated in a concrete wasteland with little greenery.
“That sounds good. Are my sandals okay?”
“They should be fine. The paths are wood chips and easy to walk on, and there are no steep sections, except for one, and I can take your hand when we go down that.”
The forest was lovely! The constant hum of traffic faded away to the soft sounds of birds tweeting within minutes of entering the park. A canopy of leaves shaded the sky with occasional beams of light, creating a sun-dappled effect. It was like the city had disappeared. The path was spongy from the wood chips and easy to walk on. Lots of people were walking the trails, young couples, old people, joggers, dog walkers; you name it. I had no idea such a lovely place existed in the city. Tommy Cochrane chose wisely!
We slowly walked the perimeter of the park. It was such a beautiful summer night and so peaceful in the forest that I didn’t even notice the time and was surprised and disappointed when we arrived back at the park entrance.
Tommy looked at me and smiled. “What did you think?”
“It was great! I didn’t want it to end. I can see why you like to come here.”
“I walk here a couple of times a week after supper. Would you like to come with me? I could pick you up.”
That sounded great! “Really?”
He grinned. “Sure!”
“Okay. Call me. I’ll be waiting.”
Tommy looked at me. “Are you hungry? I’m always hungry after a good walk.”
I hadn’t noticed, but now that Tommy mentioned it, I’d worked up an appetite. We’d been walking for an hour, although it didn’t seem like it.
“I am.”
“Do you like homemade pie?”
I loved pie. “Yes.”
“Peach pie?”
Peach pie was my favorite. “Yes.”
“Okay. Let’s go home and eat!”
My stomach was salivating on the ride to Tommy’s.
There was a large peach pie staring at us on the kitchen table. It looked delicious, and I couldn’t wait to chow down. Just then, Tommy’s mom entered the room.
“Oh, you two are back.”
His mom looked at me and then turned to Tommy and smiled. “She’s just as pretty as you said, Tommy!”
I smirked when Tommy looked like he was going to die from embarrassment, but it was nice to know he thought I was pretty.
His mom turned back to me. “Hello, dear. I’m Betty, Tommy’s mom.”
She shook my hand.
“Tommy always has some pie with vanilla ice cream after his walks. Would you like some?”
I was practically drooling. “Yes, please!”
“Ice cream?”
“Yes, please!”
Tommy’s mom cut two huge pieces of pie and spooned several large scoops of ice cream. I just about died in pleasure when the pie entered my mouth! The crust was soft and crumbly, and it melted on my tongue, and the peaches were just the right sweetness. Mmmm! Mmmm! Mmmm!
“This is delicious, Mrs. Cochrane!”
“Don’t thank me, dear. Tommy made it. I had four kids and had to work full time to pay the bills. There was no way I was going to do that and come home and cook every night. So I showed all the kids how to cook, and we took turns making supper. Tommy and his sister have sweet tooths, so they were always asking me to make pies. Finally, I got tired of it and showed them how to make pie crust. Tommy makes a better pie than I do now.”
Unbelievable! He made pie, really good pie. I loved pie.
I was so enthralled eating my pie I didn’t notice Tommy clearing his throat. But, eventually, I did.
“Yes?”
Tommy pointed at my chest. Oops! Several crumbs of pie crust were buried in my cleavage. I picked them out and ate them. They were too tasty to waste.
“Thanks!”
Most people would have been embarrassed but not me. I’d always been a messy eater. Food always seemed to fall off my utensils onto my body somewhere. I even wore a bib at home. A few pie crumbs on my boobs weren’t going to slow me down! I continued to eat my pie and ice cream.
“Looks like she likes your pie, Tommy!”
Tommy grinned. “Ya, mom, it looks like it.”
I licked my chops after I finished my pie.
“Would you like another piece, dear?”
I did want another piece but didn’t want to seem like a pig. “No, thanks.”
“Would you like to take a piece home for later?”
Yes! “That would be nice! Thank you!”
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Tommy was at my place one night and asked if he could use my PC.
“Sure. Why?”
“I started a process and want to make sure it’s still running okay.”
“But how can you see it from my PC?”
“I’ll drop down to shell and ssh out to the server where the process is running.”
“Okay. I have no idea what you just said but help yourself.”
A few minutes later, Tommy bellowed for me.
“Marcie!”
“Yes?”
“Your PC is taking forever to boot! Is it always this slow?”
“Sorry, but it’s old, and ever since I upgraded to Windows 11, it’s been slow.”
Tommy shook his head. “It’s not slow; it’s terrible. It’s like waiting for paint to dry. I don’t know how you stand it.”
“I stand it because I don’t have any money for a new PC.”
He grumbled as my PC slowly booted up and returned about ten minutes later.
The next night I got a call from Tommy.
“Can I come over?”
It wasn’t a good night. I had an exam to prepare for. I told Tommy.
“I won’t stay long and won’t interfere with your studying. I just want to look at your PC. Okay?”
“Okay.”
He arrived with a big green garbage bag.
“What’s in the bag?”
“A new computer.”
“A new computer?”
“Well, it’s not new, but it’s newer than yours. It’s my sister’s old PC, and she’s gone. It should be way faster than yours.”
I was concerned. “I’m not going to lose my old stuff, am I? I don’t want to lose anything!”
He smiled confidently. “Trust me, Marcie. I’ve done this before. You won’t lose a thing. Is it okay if I proceed?”
I was a bit nervous but gave him the okay.
An hour later, Tommy emerged with a satisfied look on his face. “Come see.”
I sat in front of the new PC. It was off.
“Press the power button!” Tommy said excitedly.
I pressed the button, and the PC booted up like lightning. Wow! It was so quick. Then I opened up Google, and it opened instantly. Wow! That used to be good for a pee break. Then I opened up Gmail and got the same quick response.
“This is amazing, Tommy! It’s so quick!”
I gave him a spontaneous hug, and when I pulled back, he had a goofy look of embarrassment on his face.
I loved his shy smile!
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I was confused.
Tommy and I seemed to be getting along great. I knew he liked me because other than the first time when I asked him out, he was the one pursuing me. For example, he invited me on the walks. And he asked me if it was okay to come to my place. And he asked me if I’d like to go to his place. Plus, I could tell. Trust me. He liked me!
We were getting to know each other better every day, and the more I knew him, the better I liked him, and I’m ninety-nine percent sure he felt the same way about me.
But, nothing physical was happening. I patiently waited for him to give me goodnight kisses, but he never did. He often looked like he wanted to but then turned and left.