“Can I kiss you?” she said.Of course.A meeting at a sleepy pub with an Irish name.Her mom kissed her goodbye as she got out of the car, nervous anticipation visible and felt from a distance.A kiss for luck as well, perhaps?A shared smoke and whiskey on the warm and vacant patio. There was a bowling alley nearby.Let’s blow this sleepy joint.Orange Eight-pound balls.An old phone prank comes to mind.Nerves. A spilled drink, a too-long wait to get a towel.She’s going to think I can’t handle my liquor. This is off to a good start.“I’m just glad it wasn’t me.”A gaze into her hazel eyes sent them floor-ward, cheeks pinkening, head cocked and slowly, subtly turning.That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.A verbal slip and another. We laughed at ourselves and together.A turkey and two victories for her, followed by a 4-block wander to a bar that took a map, satellites orbiting the Earth and a compass to find… “Gossips.”“Becauze Drugz,” she wrote on his forehead in indelible ink.Sense of humor, adventurous, outgoing. Amazing.“Can I kiss you?” she stated.Of course.
At the end of the night, I dropped Tina and Shayna off at another man's house. Keith was his name. I spoke with him briefly. He asked me if I had any weed. I later learned that he was a meth dealer. A lovely end to a first date and no red flags at all!
