Essays and Vingettes

5. Just a Touch

Daisy checked her makeup in the harsh glare of the bathroom lights one last time, paying excruciating detail to the makeup she'd slathered on her neck. Thankfully it looked like the thick concealer hid the marks from last night's amorous encounter. A smile danced on the corners of her mouth as she thought about the way Jason had apologized when he'd realized he'd left red hickies up and down her neck.

They were totally worth it.

She checked the time on her phone, slipped it in her back pocket and headed for the front door. She stepped over and around the dogs and cat, giving them all a stern "Stay!" before she slipped out the door.

Her keys jangled nervously in her hand as she walked the half a block to her car. She was on her way to meet Jason at a local burger joint for his lunch break. They'd only been talking for a few days, but it felt like there really was a connection between them.

The drive to the burger joint passed in an eyeblink. Daisy pulled into the parking space, a solid ten minutes early, and stared nervously at her reflection in the rear-view mirror. Silently she called herself crazy for being so jittery. It wasn't like he might not be interested! She had the proof on her neck!

The thought of her neck made her pull down the visor and flip up the mirror to check her makeup.

Her eyes took in the large blotchy spots all over her neck and widened. Desperately she scrubbed at her neck. This couldn't possibly be happening! But it was! The makeup that had blended so well in the light of her bathroom, glared orange under the sunlight! And not just a little orange either, the carrot-orange splotches were a nightmare of teenage inadequacies made real in her adult life!

Frantically she glanced at the clock, then let her breath out in a whuff as she thanked her lucky stars and her parents for teaching her that it's always important to be early. If she rushed, she might could get home to fix it before Jason showed up.

What if Jason showed up early too?

Her eyes danced around the parking lot looking for the distinctive red color of his car. When only a flood of greys and whites met her eyes, her heart slowed just a little.

She slammed the car back into reverse, checked her mirrors, and pulled out with as much haste as she could safely manage.

She spent the drive back to her house frantically counting the seconds. She pulled into her driveway and dashed up her steps, cursing as she fumbled her keys.

The dogs inside barked, not expecting her back so soon. She pushed through their writhing bodies, ignoring their demands for affection, and ran to the bathroom. Just as before, the makeup blended well in the harsh light, but she knew better now. She grabbed a wet washcloth and scrubbed frantically at her neck. She'd rather show off the various hickies than that horrible coverup.

Finally, after some judicious use of make-up remover, the bruised marks were visible again and the orange had been fully eradicated. She threw the washcloth in the hamper and bolted for the door.

This time, she didn't have the luxury of extra time. She found herself hoping that Jason would get caught in traffic and be just late enough to get there after her.

She pulled into the same space as before, breathing a deep sigh of relief that she'd beat him. Just as she went to check her eye makeup one more time after that mad dash, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned and smiled as Jason pulled into the parking space right next to hers. She'd beat him by mere seconds.

She smoothed her hand down her shirt, turned off the car, then got out to greet him.

"Hey you!" She said, her voice happy and her previous stress hidden.

He smiled back at her, "Good timing!"

She chuckled as she stood close to him, her heart beat nervously at his nearness.

"I'm glad to see you" She smiled up at him.

He tentatively moved to put his arms around her, "I'm glad to see you too." His smile grew as she leaned into his arms.

She looked up into his face, reminded herself that he definitely was interested in her, gathered her courage, stood up on her tip toes, and kissed him lightly on the lips.

His arms tightened around her shoulders and his eyes glowed when they parted.

"Hi" he said again, quietly.

"Hi" She breathed.

A car passed by and burst the moment.

Daisy started and stepped out his embrace, suddenly nervous and embarrassed. To cover it, she turned and led the way into the burger joint, talking pointlessly to distract him from her nerves and probably just making it more apparent.

He followed behind her, his quiet eyes watching her and nodding when she paused for breath.

They ordered their food, separately of course because she had a strong policy on not allowing someone to buy her meals for the first several dates, that way she wouldn't feel obliged to go on another date with them if they didn't mesh well.

She glanced at Jason out of the corner of her eye as she filled her cup. They got along surprisingly well, and she wondered how long it would be before she relaxed her policy. Probably not long. She snorted to herself.

She stood off to the side and they spent a minute asking each other "Where would you like to sit?" Eventually though, her stubbornness won and Jason picked the table.

Daisy worried a little as she sat down that conversation might be a little awkward after last night's events, but she needn't have worried.

After Jason apologized, again, for the hickies, conversation flowed naturally and time passed much faster than she thought it would, until he glanced reluctantly at his phone. His shoulders sagged and he gave her a look with his eyes full of sadness "I guess I have to go now."

Daisy checked the time and startled. She hadn't expected time to go that fast, but he was definitely pushing the boundaries of his lunch 'hour'. "Yeah, you probably should. We don't want to get you in trouble."

He sighed gustily, but stood up and took both of their trays to the trash.

They walked side by side back to where their cars were parked. Daisy looked out at the sky and reflected that this hour had been one of the best she'd had in a long time.

The sensation of someone casually taking her hand startled her out of her reverie. Her head whipped around to look up at Jason, who smiled shyly down at her. She followed the line of his arm with her eyes and saw that he was holding her hand.

Emotions she could barely name welled up inside her. It had been so very long since someone had so casually held her hand, since someone had shown such public affection, she wasn't even sure how to deal with it.

Her heart beat fast, and her brain ran in little circles while they hugged, kissed, and got in their respective cars. Daisy watched Jason drive off, her heart in her throat. With just a touch, he'd managed to shatter her definition of herself. He'd allowed her to open her heart to the possibility of being part of a pair. With just the touch of his hand on hers, he'd opened the door to the next chapter of her life.