As long as you like

7

He took us through the Burger King drive-thru. After we drove off with our order, he started up the road again. He turned into a state park with bench tables and grills on the grass. He stopped the car, grabbed the bag of food and I carried our drinks over to a bench table.

We sat and ate, talking about the music we each like and favorite colors. "Mine is Sea Foam green." I teased, mouth half full of fries. He chucked an onion ring at me. I laughed, "No, seriously. I love green! Just not Sea Foam green." I looked around for an example. "Like the leaves on that tree." I pointed up to the tree above us. The leaves were a deep, natural green.

He looked up, then back down at me. "Why do you like green?" He asked.

I shrugged, "It's just a beautiful color. When I see green I think of nature, natural beauty. But, sea foam is where I draw the line. Now, you have to tell me your favorite color."

He paused for a moment, pondering. "I guess I never thought about it. I know which color I hate, not too sure on my favorite." He was still thinking about it. "Maybe red." He shrugged.

"Oh, come on!" I cried out, jokingly. "That's the response I get? 'Red'? Why red? What about red makes it your favorite?" I pressed.

"I don't know. I guess I just gravitate more to red. It's..." his voice trailed off. "Red is my favorite color." He simply stated. I grinned at him. Our bag of food was now empty and we discarded the bag and wrappers in a trash can. We sat back down at your bench table, neither of us ready to go home.

He took my hand in his, warm and calloused fingers intertwined with mine. "Arabella," he started. "I don't-" he took a breath. "I don't want you to think that I only want to see you when I want something." I nodded assuringly. "I guess what you said on the phone earlier really sat with me. I do want to get to know you and let you know me, but I'm...."

"Complicated?" I finished for him. He chuckled softly but it wasn't of amusement. It was something else. Shame? Embarrassment?

"To put it plainly." He nodded, looking me directly in the eyes. "I'm a recluse. I go out to that bar with my friends just to get out of the house. And I had seen you there before. The first time I saw you, you sang this one jazz song." He let go of my hands and places his hand on his chest. "Your voice struck me right away. I wanted to talk to you, but you seemed too cool."

I laughed out loud. Me? Cool? Yeah, okay. But, he continued. "I took my chance the other night. And I'm glad I did."

We sat on the bench and spoke for a few hours. He told me about his childhood. How he took guitar lessons from age 10 to age 21. He loves music but especially loves playing guitar. His mom and dad both died years ago in a car accident and he isn't close with most of his family, except his older brother. Then he said something that made my stomach sink.

"I was in love once. In my whole life. Then, I found out she was sleeping with her boss and I just lost it." He shook his head. "I moved out while she was at work. Sent her screenshots of her conversations with her boss to explain why I wouldn't be home when she got there. She never responded so I assumed I didn't mean that much to her."

"When was this?" I asked curiously. He looked at me as though he was surprised I was listening.

"5 years ago. We were together for 7 years." He admitted. "Sometimes I still think about her. Wonder what she's doing, if she's still with him. But, then I think about what she did and I don't think about her again for a while."

"Welp," I tried to sound cheerful. "Sounds like you're better off without here. If I sat around thinking about every guy that's done me wrong or cheated on me, I wouldn't have time for anything else." He offered a weak smile.

"Tell me about you." He turned to sit with the bench between his legs to face me.

"Well, I like to sing obviously." I figured starting with the obvious would make it easier for me to talk about myself. "I don't have any siblings. I speak to my mom all the time but my dad disappeared before I was born." He gave me a sympathetic look. "Honestly, I was fine with just my mom. And Minnie. We've been best friends since diapers. She's my go-to for anything." I smiled in adoration for Minnie. "You wanna know a secret?" He nodded. "Her real names Minerva. She hates it!"

He chuckled. "I'll be sure to call her that when I meet her." He joked, but I was taken aback.

"You want to meet her?" I asked him and he nodded. Such a simple gesture, but it cause butterflies in my stomach to flutter. "I'm sure we could make that happen sometime. But don't call her Minerva!" I pointed a finger at him. "Or it's my ass for telling you."

A mischievous grin spread on his face. "We'll see how I feel that day then." He glanced over his shoulder. "Look at that." He said turning around and putting his warm hand over mine. "Isn't that nice?" He was looking at the sunset. The way the orange faded to pink and the pink to red. "That kinda red." He stated, "That's my favorite color."

I looked at his face. His features were sharp against the glow of the sunset. He must have felt my gaze on him, because he looked back at me. His grip on my hand tightened. His eyes were magnetizing as they held my stare. He rested his forehead on mine for a moment. Before he pressed his lips to mine. Locking me into a kiss that made me want to melt into him.

When he pulled away he said, "It's getting late and I have to clock in at 8 a.m.. I should get you home." I nodded. As much as I wanted to stay here with him, I had to work tomorrow too. I stood with him and we walked to his car. Again, he opened and closed my door for me.

When he turned into my apartment building, I told him to keep going straight instead of parking by the leasing office. I directed him to my apartment parking lot. "That one's mine." I pointed to a window two stories up. "The one with the green curtains. You can park here next time."

He smiled at me. "Works for me. Now you won't have to walk as far." He got out of his seat and around the car to open my door for me. He helped me out of the car and kissed my hand. "I'll call you tomorrow." He promised then he placed a soft kiss on my lips.

"Goodnight, Dean." I said as I started to walk away.

"Goodnight, Arabella." He said back and got back in his car.