Calli

I waited until Finn’s car had disappeared around the corner before I squealed. I would have hopped up and down, but the last thing I need is to reinjure my ankle. I kicked off my shoes and immediately dialed Penny.

“How’d it go?” She inquired with genuine curiosity.

“OH. MY. GOD. It was the perfect first date.”

“Well give me the DEETS! Don’t leave me hanging.”

“Well. He picked me up. On time might I add.”

“Impressive, impressive.”

“Then he took me downtown and let me pick between four restaurants.”

“Good man. Food always makes you happy.”

“It gets better. I said something sounded good from every restaurant, so he ordered what I wanted from each one and we went to eat in the park.”

“Seriously?! How romantic! I hope you got down on your knees right then and there and…”

“Woah woah woah. It’s a little early to be giving out blow jobs.”

“I was going to say propose. You’re the perv here apparently.” I let out a high pitch giggle that was mostly the result of my extreme excitement.

“And…. Did you kiss?” I cleared my throat a little. I wasn’t sure why he didn’t kiss me. Part of me wishes he had. The other part is grateful he didn’t push my boundaries. Maybe that was a good sign.

“I kissed him on the cheek. Nothing earth shattering.”

“Huh. Well, that’s fine. You have time. So, what’s next?” Penny asked.

“Well, he said he’d call me tomorrow and already asked me on another date. We’re going out again on Saturday.”

“Awe. I’m swooning over here Calli! Come catch me!” We laughed together and talked a little more before the endorphins ran out and I became extremely tired. I fell asleep thinking about the lingering tingles on my lips from when I pressed them against his cheek.

The next morning I woke up later than usual again so I decided today would be the day I would do something with my life. No more moping around with my sore ankle. So I opened the windows, blasted my music and started cleaning my house. I had been cleaning for hours before my stomach started to grumble. I got lost in the productiveness of my morning and totally forgot to eat. I was just starting to dread trying to find something edible in my kitchen when I heard a knock on the door. I peeked through the window to see who it was before opening it. I couldn’t stop the giant smile on my face when I saw Finn. I swung the door open and there he stood. How does he make jeans and a t-shirt look so freaking good? And his smell! God, I want to take a bath in his cologne.

“Well, to what do I owe this pleasure?” I asked him teasingly. He gave me a sheepish smile and held out some plastic bags for me.

“I brought you some groceries. Last night you said you hadn’t been to the store. I didn’t like the idea of you not having enough food.” At his words, I felt a crack in the barrier that was surrounding my heart. No one had ever done anything so thoughtful for me. Sure, my parents would have gotten me groceries if I asked, but Finn took it upon himself. He didn’t wait for me to ask; he anticipated my needs. I had to fight back tears and cleared my throat before I could speak.

“Wow, Finn that’s so thoughtful of you. At least let me pay you.” I turned to grab my wallet and he reached for my wrist.

“Absolutely not.” He gave me a hard look, like he was daring me to argue. Honestly, I didn’t want to argue. It had been so long since someone had tried to take care of me, and I didn’t want to fight it. I just wanted to enjoy it. I took the bags from him and set them down. Before I could stop myself, I was launching myself at him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him tight. He stiffened for a minute before wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me into him. I felt him place a gentle kiss to the top of my head and my heart thumped loudly. I pushed my ear into his chest and, sure enough, his heart was beating wildly too. The thought made me smile.

“Thank you so much.” It came out barely a whisper, but somehow, he heard.

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.” I cleared my throat again and pulled away while looking up at him.

“Would you like to come in?”

“Ah, I’d love to sweetheart, but I need to get back to work. I’m on my lunch and only had enough time to drop this off. I got you a sandwich though from my favorite deli for lunch. It’s in one of the bags.” I was much more disappointed that he couldn’t stay than I thought I would be. The thought made me nervous. I shouldn’t be falling so fast for this man.

“OK. Thanks again, Finn. Really this is amazing.” I gave him my best smile and he gave me one back. We sat just looking at each other for a minute.

I feel like I’m in high school again.

He leaned forward and kissed my cheek while running the back of his hand along my bare arm. The connection made goosebumps erupt over my whole body and I couldn’t stop the shiver that wracked me. I think he noticed, judging by the cocky smirk he flashed me.

“Can I still call you later?” I didn’t trust my voice, so I just nodded.

“Ok. Bye, sweetheart.”

“Bye Finn.” I closed the door slowly behind me and didn’t wait to squeal until his car left. I don’t know how, but I’m pretty sure he heard me since his booming laughter seemed to fill the entire street.

Great. Like that’s not embarrassing.

I couldn’t stop thinking about how sweet and caring he was, how he respected me, I had yet to receive a dick pick and for once, I probably wouldn’t be offended by it.

How ironic.

The emotions were starting to overwhelm me, and I had to talk to someone so, I dialed Penny.

“What’s up, buttercup?” She answered. I couldn’t stop the tears from falling and all she could hear was my sobbing.

“Oh my God Calli what happened? Are you ok?”

“He bought me groceries Penny! Groceries! I told him I hadn’t been to the store because of my ankle and he brought me GROCERIES!” I sobbed harder.

“Who, honey? Finn?”

“Yes, Finn! He used his lunch break to bring me food. And a sandwich!”

“Well, why are you crying then? Did he get you the wrong kind of bread? How could he know you like that weird shit with all the nuts in it?”

She sounded as bewildered as I felt.

“No! It’s not that it’s just… no one has ever been that sweet to me. I don’t know how to process it.” She sighed and thought about what she would say next for a long time.

“You deserve it, Calli. Just enjoy it.”

“What if he’s sweet at first and then changes. Like Paul did. What if he makes me fall in love with him and then starts beating me? I can’t do it again, Penny. I can’t. It’ll break me.”

“I know, honey. I know. But you have to trust him. If you don’t take the leap, think of all the good things you could miss out on with him.”

Her words were like a breath of fresh air and I was able to stem my tears.

“You’re right. I have to give him a chance.”

“Yeah, and while you’re doing that could you see if he has a brother or any friends equally as hot and sweet as him?” I chuckled.

“He has a little brother actually. You know, I would really appreciate it if you could have some boy problems so I could stop being the whiny, dramatic one in this friendship.”

“Oh sweetie. You’ll always be the whiny, dramatic one in this friendship.”

We hung up and I went to put my new groceries away. I stopped dead when I saw the bread, he got me. The weird one with all the nuts in it. If that wasn’t a sign, I didn’t know what was.