Chapter Six: That Fateful Date
I was all smiles as we arrived at the restaurant. Erik was a complete gentleman, and very friendly and talkative, which was fortunate since a sudden bout of shyness had taken over the minute he'd walked in the door. I was acting like I was still in high school, but for some reason, that was common behavior for me that day. It was mid-November and I had brilliantly forgotten my coat, so my darling date lent me his, which embarrassed me to no end but also pleased me. It was much too big for me, as he was about 6'2" and I, only 5'1", but it smelled good - cologne? - and was comforting.
Half-way through dinner, I was beginning to get disgusted with Deb and Bryan; all they seemed to want to do was kiss and nibble, and… ugh! PDA had to be WAY up there on my list of 'Things That Annoy Me.' After sitting in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, Erik leaned over and whispered in my ear, "I say we ditch them." Startled by his statement, although it was the exact same thing I had been thinking, I laughed out loud. A glance at the couple across the table from us confirmed that they hadn't noticed, so I stood up and announced that I had to go to the ladies' room. Deborah mumbled something un-intelligible and waved her hand, so I nudged Erik and he stood up to let me out. As I walked away, he said, rather loudly, "I have to go, too, so I'll be back." At that, Deborah and Bryan finally disengaged themselves for a minute to give him a strange look. "It's fine with us. REALLY," Deborah said, and then they resumed their former activity.
I pushed away the urge to start singing the "Mission: Impossible" theme, and smiled as we crept away together. Once outside, I wondered what exactly we would do, but Erik obviously had something in mind. "Where are we going?" I asked. He just grinned at me mischievously and took off at a jog. I wasn't familiar with that particular part of town, so I stuck close to him and took in my surroundings, trying to figure out what his plan was. After about 2 minutes my feet began to throb, so I grabbed his arm to get his attention. "Erik, wait, I have to take off my shoes." He laughed and waited for me as I kicked off my shoes, and bent over as discreetly as was possible to pick them up. "Won't you get a run in your nylons?" He asked innocently. I smiled and shook my head. "I don't care, let's go." He smiled down at me. "But we're here." Confused, I looked around. I saw a street, a few cars, and a few houses… "The park!" He said, laughing. Oh, that's what the wide, open space was that I hadn't really noticed. Well, this was good, definitely good. I liked parks. But… "What are we going to do here?" I asked, wishing I had brought Hugo. "Whatever you want, Shevonne. I tend towards the swings, but ya know, if you prefer slides…" I laughed quietly at the thought of me, sliding down a slide… in that dress! "Are you laughing at me?" He said, obviously faking the hurt in his voice. I shook my head, smiling. "Say something, silly girl, I can't see whether you're shaking your head side-to-side or up and down!" I laughed and said, "NO, I'm not laughing at you, but what if I was?" He didn't answer, but started for the swings instead, so I followed him. He stopped in front of them, walked to one end of the swing set, and then to the other. "What are you doing?" I inquired. This man certainly was intriguing! "Finding the best ones, of course!" Again, I shook my head in utter amazement. I recalled my childhood, and realized that I had done that too. I distinctly remembered walking among the other children and picking out the very best swing on the set. The perfect one so that I could hang upside-down, swing without hitting my feet on the ground, and still be able to stop by myself. "Found it!" He called to me. Laughingly I said, "did you find one for me?" "Yup, right here next to mine. See, it's short, like you." On an impulse, I stuck my tongue out at him, and to my surprise, he copied my actions. We both sat down on our swings, and I sighed, wishing that I had worn something a little different. "That dress looks gorgeous on you, Shevonne," Erik said. I turned to him with raised eyebrows. "Thank you… where did that come from?" He smiled. "Oh, I don't know. I forgot to tell you earlier, but I was thinking it."
"Oh, well, it's the thought that counts, right?"
"Right! Now, have you forgotten how to use a swing, or would you like to have a little competition?" My eyes widened slightly. "What kind of a competition?" I asked, hoping it wasn't… but I could tell it was, from the glint in his eye. He certainly did like mischief! "See that tree branch over there?" He pointed upward, and I followed his gaze to a small limb hanging over us, and forward. "Yes," I said, suspiciously. "Well, the first person to touch it with their foot wins." I sniffed. "That's not fair! What if I can't reach? You have much longer legs than I do." He laughed. "Trust me, you can reach it." Smiling, I tucked my dress between my legs and readied myself. "Ready, Set, Go!" He said. Within just a few seconds, he was twice as high as I was, and I yelled in protest.
"That's not fair!" Before I knew what was happening, he had jumped off his swing and was pushing me from behind. "Now, that's not fair either," I said, but didn't protest any further. Soon I was swinging so high that, at the highest point, I was nearly parallel with the bar on top of the swing set. Erik was no longer pushing me, so I leaned back and let my hair fly in the wind, watched the sky and trees go topsy-turvy, and felt the cold air enter my nose and mouth, refreshing me and quickening my breathing. I felt like a kid again, and it was not an unpleasant feeling. As the swing slowed, I felt a sense of disappointment that the moment hadn't lasted forever.
Still a bit dizzy, I placed my feet on the ground to stop the swinging motion and looked up at the sky. Beautiful… "It's beautiful, isn't it?" I jumped at the sound of Erik's voice. I had nearly forgotten that he was still there… how could I have forgotten that? And how did he always manage to echo my thoughts? "Yes, it is," I murmured, deciding I would ask him later if he was psychic. I glanced around, looking for him, and found him leaning against a tree about 20 feet away. "I'm sorry, I got a bit caught up in the moment," I apologized, and stood up. "Oh, don't worry about it," He said solemnly. "So did I." I cocked my head to the side, wondering what he meant, then realization came over me and I felt the corners of my mouth lift. He walked over to me, and the smile on his face erased all previous somberness. "What's the smile for?" He asked. I hesitated for a moment, not wanting to sound cheesy… but for some reason I thought he would understand. "This night… it's so beautiful. I haven't had this much fun, nor felt this contented and peaceful for a very long time." He looked down at me and within seconds I found myself hypnotized by his beautiful eyes. They weren't just blue, they had flecks of gold in them, and hints of gray. It was an unusual shade, like none I had ever seen occur in nature. "I understand," were his few, simple, honest words, and I reveled in them.
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We walked back to the restaurant at a leisurely pace, this time with our arms linked. It had seemed silly at first, but neither of us wanted to hold hands so soon, and we - at least I - felt the need for some physical connection. As if in respect of the words we had shared earlier, we were silent, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. It was a silence we shared, understood, and loved. Arriving back at the restaurant, I slipped back into my shoes and we stood outside the door, knowing that when we stepped inside, the magical atmosphere would disappear. "Shevonne…" Erik's voice came, not as an intrusion to the silence, but a peaceful, welcome part of it that seemed natural and good. I looked up at him, not wanting to break apart the two worlds of perfection that had just joined. "Thank you." Confused, I finally whispered, "for what?" "For this…" And he didn't need to speak another word, for I understood. I just nodded and offered a smile. He leaned down so that his face was perhaps half an inch from mine at the most - an agonizingly pleasant closeness that I both praised and cursed - and stayed that way. A smile spread across his face, and a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. Leaning a little further, he planted a soft kiss on my cheek, and then quickly walked inside. I stood, confused, pleased, and exasperated all at once, then realized I was freezing and ran inside after him.
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As I had predicted, Deb and Bryan hardly noticed we were gone, and were still sitting at our table when we returned. They had been "waiting" a whole of about 5 minutes, and were done eating, so we headed home. The earlier silence having been broken, we all talked enthusiastically, and somewhere along the line Deb asked us where we'd gone. "The park," Erik said, and I laughed. Deb raised an eyebrow at us, and both her and Bryan simultaneously proclaimed, "ooh, the park!" Then Deb, "What did you do there? Have a little fun??? Hmmm?" Erik laughed and volunteered, "Well, Shevonne took off her shoes, and we had a little contest…" I elbowed him and felt very thankful that it was dark, because I was sure my face was every shade of red imaginable. Changing the subject, Bryan worriedly announced that the roads were icy and that they couldn't stay when they got to my apartment because the ice would just get worse as it got later. "Sounds ominous," Deb said, and we all sighed. As we arrived at my apartment, Erik nudged me and said he would walk me inside so that I could wear his coat until we got to the door. Laughing, I agreed, and we both got out together. "We'll be right back," I said, and received a few "sure, sure" type comments in return. "Watch out for the ice on the steps," Erik warned as we started up them. I clung to his arm until we reached about the 5th step of 11 or 12, then let go to turn and look at the sky one more time, a strange impulse that had struck me. I took another step and Erik yelled, "watch out for that patch of i-.. Shevonne!" I felt myself slip and suddenly I was tumbling down the stairs I had just walked up. I hit my head once, and after that everything was a little blurry, but I felt a sharp pain in my side, and then heard a cracking sound and pain shot up my leg. I heard Deb yell, "Shev!" as I hit my head a second time, and then I fell into dark oblivion.
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