“Ok, give me more, come on. I can see it. There’s more. Spill it, girl!”
“We talked, we walked in silence. We held hands. He walked me to my door…”
“He kissed you, didn’t he? I knew it. He kissed you. That’s why you are so doe-eyed. He kissed you.”
“Yes, he kissed me, but not the way you are thinking. He gave me a sweet kiss on the cheek.”
“What? On the cheek? Guess no second date.”
“No, it was sweet and perfect. I loved it. I’m tellin’ ya, he’s a true gentleman. He held the door for me, held out my chair. Girl, I can’t describe it. I can’t wait for the next date.”
We spent the next hour gabbing about this and that, but I kept thinking about Colin’s hand holding mine and how sweet the kiss had been.
Chapter 7
The weeks rolled past and summer came. Colin and I spent as much time together as possible. Weeknight dates and weekend visits by calling into The Screaming Eagle. He held my hand and guided me. We walked dinner dates by the river or at a hibachi grill, movies and walks in the park. But never once did he try to kiss me. In fact, the only other kiss he gave me was on my hand on one of our walks. He brought up my hand that was laced with his and kissed it so softly while standing and staring deeply in my eyes. I thought for sure he was going to kiss me. But instead he continued walking.
Uh…I thought he was going to kiss me. Maybe I seem too desperate or gave the impression I didn't want to go to that level. Oh hell, I don't know!
But I never let these inner thoughts show. I was a little bummed, but I was loving the time with him. How he would guide me in a restaurant or movie theater, how he would reach for my hand as we walked or the smile he gave whenever he’d give me a compliment and make me blush. Oh yes. I loved that smile; it gave my tummy butterflies reason to dance all the more every time.
Mini golf. Who'd say mini golf when asked about a romantic date? No one really, until that day.
Colin took me out on a rare Saturday afternoon date to play mini golf. Not long after we started, the laughter began. I was horrible at putting and Colin, well, Colin, wasn't trying to do anything but watch me and have fun. Which made my putting even worse.
“Really?! How come I can't get the ball in the hole? It's like it has two feet.” I grunted as my ball yet again went past the hole for like the fourth time. We were only on the third hole. Colin was trying so hard not to laugh, ducking his head down under his hat. He always wore his Stetson and looked damn good in it too. “Don't laugh. It's not funny. I think my ball is defective.”
“I'm not laughing,” he said, biting his lip. He was clearly trying really hard not to. “We can switch balls if you’d like.”
“Well, after this hole,” I said stubbornly.
So Colin walked up to his ball and tapped it. Wouldn't you know it, that little tap sent the ball the four plus feet it needed to sink into the hole!
“That's it. We're switching balls now,” I said and walked over to the hole, grabbed his ball and stomped over to my ball and switched them. Then I tapped it and it didn't go in; it skidded around the edge and pushed out, rolling four feet before bumping into the edging.
“What! Seriously? Okay. It has to be my club,” I half laughed at Collin as he just busted out laughing. “Sorry, but I've never seen such luck at, at mini golf,” he said.
“Glad I'm amusing you,” I said with some fake pouting.
Then, Colin strode the ten feet to me, captured my face in his hands and next thing I knew, he kissed me.
This wasn't a simple peck. This was passion. Anyone looking on would undoubtedly swear we were in love. Time stopped. I didn't care where we were or who was around. I dropped my club and, going up on my toes, I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck. His kiss only deepened.
The sounds of giggles pulled us back to reality. We looked over and saw a couple of schoolgirls watching from the next hole. Both were smiling cutely.
“We should probably continue playing before the next group comes up.” Colin softly kissed me again then bent down to grab my club and handed it to me.
I was still too light-headed from the kiss to register what he was saying until he was handing me the club.
We finished playing, though the rest of the day was a bit of a blur.
*********
“You a’right, Jo?” Dale was staring at me with an eyebrow raised.
“What? Huh? Oh, sorry. I'm fine.” I sounded almost dreamy and continued wiping the same glass I had been cleaning for the last 20 minutes.
“Ya sure?” he pressed.
“Yeah. Why?” I frowned.
“Because you've been kind of dazy-like all night, plus I'm pretty sure that glass is beer clean by now.”
I looked down, finally realizing I hadn’t been cleaning multiple glasses, like I thought, but only one.
“Yeah. Sorry. My mind wandered,” I said, trying to play it off as I put up the very clean glass and grabbed the next.
“Okay. Out with it. What's up?”
“What do you mean?”
“Tell me what's going on.” Dale was a bit uppity sounding.
“What do you mean, ‘What's going on’?” I immediately began blushing and trying to clean the glasses faster so I could get away from Dale's probing questions and inquisitive stare.
“What happened today? You weren't like this last night and I haven't seen Loverboy yet tonight. So spill it. What happened?”
“Nothing. He probably won't come tonight. We went out this afternoon.”
“Okay. So what happened?” Dale was beginning to get protective. I could hear it in his voice. He probably thought Loverboy, as he called Colin, hurt me or tried something.
“Nothing, honest,” I insisted, turning away to clean the bar top at the other end. Anything to avoid talking to him. But Dale wouldn't drop it.
“Jo, out with it. What did he do?” His concern was apparent.
“He kissed me. All right?” I practically shouted from the other end of the bar. The few customers stopped what they were doing to see what was going on, then went back to their own lives when they realized it was nothing.
“He kissed ya?! Ya mean he hadn't yet?” Dale was chuckling and laughing. “So you're all gooey googly-eyed and space-cadety because he kissed ya?” he asked, laughing all the harder.
“See? That’s why I didn't want to tell you. I knew you'd make fun.”
“Then ya shouldn't’ve been actin all weird. I wouldn't’ve known somethin’ was up.”
I could tell this was only the beginning of what would no doubt be torment for at least the next week.
*********
“We were playing minigolf. Well actually he was playing and I was pouting because I couldn’t get it in the hole and he kissed me—”
“Wait, what? Slow down girl.” Layla was laughing at my babbling.
“Sorry, he took me to play minigolf yesterday and I was having a hard time putting, so I was pouting. Next thing I knew, he was kissing me.”
“Like silly kiss you to get you to stop pitchin’ a fit?”
“No like world-stopping kiss.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah”
“So it was good?”
“Omg! That kiss…good doesn’t even come close to describing it. Ya know how in the movies the guy just walks over and kisses the girl passionately?”
“Uh huh…” I could tell she was hanging on every word.
“Like that. He literally dropped his club and strode over to me and tilted my face towards his and kissed me. I swear the world stopped. No joke.”
“Wow!”
Chapter 8
As the months rolled by, I could tell feelings were growing, though neither of us had verbalized anything. There hadn’t been many weeks where we had not gone out; in fact the only times we didn’t was when he was in the field training. We had fun getting to know one another. We went to the movies, dinner, get togethers with friends, and even some silly and
fun dates at the minigolf park and go-kart track. We spent hours talking and laughing. It was amazing to be with him.
What would most people think of as the best place to hear the words, I love you? Restaurant, movies, after an intimate time together. Not many would say the batting cages, except for me. Time flew by; next thing anyone knew, summer was in full swing with the fourth in a week.
Colin and I rarely met up for dates on the weekends with my schedule at the bar. So when he took me to the batting cages on Thursday, late afternoon, it was nearly empty. I was not one to go out for sports in general, but Colin really wanted to go, saying he “missed hitting balls” like he did back home.
He went first to show me how easy it was. I stood behind the fence safely away from flying balls. He missed the very first ball.
“I thought you said you did this all the time.”
“Remember it's been a while. So let me warm up before you go busting my chops.” He reset himself.
I shook my head thinking he was just being typical over exaggerating his skill to impress a girl.
CRACK! The sound of metal connecting with the ball shut my thought down. And my mouth dropped open.
Lucky shot. He's just trying to prove ...
CRACK! My thoughts were broken by another ball being hit.
Five more booming cracks of impact echoed through the air.
One after another, he hit the ball. I just stood there looking completely dumbfounded.
“I stand corrected.”
Colin looked back at me with his side grin and tipped his head down and winked. “Your turn. I've warmed it up for you.”
“Yeah. Thanks. I'm good watching.”
“Nope. You got to try this. Just hit a couple balls and we'll call it and grab some ice cream.”
Ooh, he knows my weakness.
“Okay, fine. But only a couple of balls. Right?” I asked as I slowly made my way around the entrance into the cage.
“Promise. Hit a few and then ice cream.” He leaned his bat against the back fence and grabbed the other one. “This should work for you.” He handed it to me.
I set myself up while he walked to where I had been watching from.
The machine made a noise and the ball was ejected at what seemed like a thousand miles per hour. I swung and royally missed, practically spinning myself around. I caught Colin, trying not to laugh.
“Nice try. Try again. The first one can be tricky.”
Another sound, another ball, another swing. Another miss.
“Okay. Time for ice cream,” I said as I set my bat down next to his.
“Not yet.”
“But you said a couple of balls. That's two. I tried, I missed. Time for ice cream.”
“I said hit a couple of balls. Then we'll go get ice cream.”
“We'll be here all night.”
“No, you'll be fine. Just square up your feet. Lift the bat with your elbows. Parallel to the ground. When you hear the sound, count to three and swing.”
I just looked at him. He's got to be nuts.
Colin, shaking his head and chuckling, came from behind the fence and behind me. Placing his hands gently on my hips he moved them to fit to his, then he wrapped his arms around me and placed his hands over mine on the bat.
“Just breathe slowly. Watch for the pitch. Keep your eye on the ball,” he whispered softly in my ear. Closing my eyes, I breathed in his aftershave. Oh, did he smell amazing. Then I heard the ball exit the pitching machine. Opening my eyes and trying again to hit the ball, I missed, nearly toppling us. I was laughing so hard... I almost missed it.
“I love you, Joleene!”
Stumbling from his words, I could hardly believe what I had just heard. No way, he didn’t really just tell me he loves me, did he? I guess I was looking at him strange for too long, as he began to pull away from me.
“No,” I pulled him closer. “Sorry, I didn’t expect to hear you tell me that you… that.” I choked on the words a bit, not wanting to repeat them in case I misheard.
“Tell you what? That I love you? I do.”
“Oh Colin, I love you! I wanted to tell you so many times, but I was afraid I would scare you. Please don’t think I don’t love you, I do. I was just surprised is all.”
Colin looked into my eyes and smiled. Time seemed to slow. He gently slid his left hand to the back of my neck lowering his soft lips to mine. Tenderly our lips touched in the most dulcet kiss imaginable.
Chapter 9
“So he said it? He actually said it? He told you he loves you?!” Layla was on the edge of the couch, almost spilling the glass of wine in her hand.
“Yes he did, now watch your glass, girl. Yes, he told me he loves me. Girl, I can’t even tell you how shocked I was. I thought I heard him wrong or I was dreaming. Then time just stopped. When my brain started working again I told him I loved him too. And the kiss he gave me… oh my.” I was smiling like a silly schoolgirl with a crush. I closed my eyes, the touch of his lips still fresh in my mind.
“It was so soft and sweet. Slow and romantic. Like in the movies. No, not like the movies, better! I could feel his love in the kiss.”
Setting her glass on the table and sitting back, Layla just stared at me. A smile crept across her lips.
“So when are we planning the big day, hmm?”
“What? No. We’ve only known each other a few months. I mean, yeah, sure someday I want to get married, but I am not thinking about that right now and I doubt he is either. No, we aren’t getting married.” I took a sip of my own wine. I hadn’t even entertained the idea of marriage ever, but now that Layla said something…
*********
The next morning I couldn’t stop thinking about what Layla said. I even dreamt about marrying Colin. A simple wedding, maybe at a park with our closest friends and his family. I could always talk to Dale to see if we could have the reception at the bar. Hmm… Oh what am I thinking? He only just told me he loved me. Snap out of it, girl! Just enjoy this time. Besides, he will probably get stationed somewhere else soon enough and are you gonna follow him? I mean really? No, not really.
Chapter 10
Colin had been in the field for close to three weeks and I was working my sixth straight day. I had found picking up extra hours helped pass the time while he was training. Bonus: it allowed me the chance to take some time off when he wasn't training.
I wasn't expecting him back until Saturday afternoon at the earliest. I was cleaning up, following my normal routine, when the jukebox began to play Bed of Roses. I knew the bar was all but empty, so I turned towards the jukebox and found Colin leaning against it in his tucked-in black t-shirt and nice fitting jeans. And of course, his Stetson. He tilted his head and gave me his famous crooked smile. I shook my head and walked over to him. What a surprise!
“When did you get back?” I grinned as I got to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He didn't return the embrace and that's when I realized his smile had vanished. I stepped back. My breath caught in my chest, panic washed over me. He'd been gone for nearly three weeks and unexpectedly showed up.
Oh no, he's going to break up with me. He decided he doesn't want to seriously be in a relationship. This is gonna suck. I love him so much…
My internal rant almost made me miss...
Wait… what’s h...
I gasped and unconsciously tucked my hair behind my ear.
Huh? he's... he's down... He's down on one knee. Oh! My! What?
There Colin was on one knee staring up at me. “Joleene Nicole Henderson, will you do me the honor of making me the happiest man and spend the rest of your life with me?”
Honestly, I couldn't breathe. Then I was having a hard time seeing as the tears blurred my vision. Blinking, I finally saw him holding open a tiny black velvet box. Light glinted off the small diamond. I had no words. How could I possibly speak? I couldn't breathe. And I'm pretty sure my brain had fully stopped. I just nodded my head, afraid words would fail me, and held out my
left hand.
Chapter 11
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep...
I hit my phone multiple times to turn off the alarm. I was only partially able to see. Finally I located the spot to stop the annoying sound. I flopped back over, trying to figure out why my alarm was going off. Like I said, I wasn't fully awake, so my brain wasn't firing on all cylinders yet.
“Why did I set my alarm today?” I was rubbing the sleep from my eyes and then a lightning bolt hit me and I sat upright, fully awake.
“I’m getting married today!” I was screaming as I bounded from my bed. I grabbed my phone, double checking the time. I was meeting Layla to get our hair done at ten.
Oh good, it's only eight. I didn't oversleep. I was grinning and looking at my lock screen picture. It was Colin and I at the batting cages. I spun around, so happy.
There was a knock at the door that stopped me just before getting too dizzy. I floated to the door in my nightshirt. I so didn't care. Nothing could spoil this day.
“Delivery for Joleene Henderson,” the delivery guy stated. As I opened the door, he was holding a gorgeous bouquet of flowers, roses mixed with carnations and baby's breath, which smelled amazing.
“I'm Joleene,” I said, reaching forward as the guy handed me the bouquet. “Thank you.”
He was already leaving when I called out, “Have a fantastic day.”
Closing the door as I smelled the flowers, I smiled. “Who are these from?”
I found the card, but before I could read it, there was another knock at the door. I turned back and opened it and there was the delivery guy holding another bouquet of flowers. Daisies and carnations this time.
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