Romantic Short Stories

Going For It (Contemporary)

It took Griffin a long time to realize it but it finally hit him that morning, as he sat on his motorbike and pulled up to the coffee shop, he was really into Zea. He looked for her all the time, hated being at parties when she was a no-show, and he often thought about taking her places on his bike. He'd never spent so much time looking for a woman or thinking about one before her. Not one of his many girlfriends since high school - probably not all of them put together - occupied this much of his thoughts. He realized with a little laugh that he'd never pursued a girl before. They'd always just kind of fell into his lap. And now, despite his reputation and experience with the ladies, he was at a bit of a loss as to what to do and how to proceed.

Griffin had that whole bad-guy image since he was 16. It came with his shoulder length dirty blond hair, bright blue eyes, tats and the  motorcycles he was always fixing up and riding around town. All his life, girls had been lining up to date him. Most encounters started with girls asking for a ride on his bike, which he rarely agreed too. Even so, he was very popular with the girls in school. This sort of thing followed him into his early twenties; as well, but by his late twenties the women around him weren't quite so enthusiastic. Women still tried to throw themselves at him - especially at the bar - but, very few women were following him around with puppy dog eyes anymore and lining up places to see him and try and talk to him.

By his mid-thirties this changed again. He found a lot of women were chasing him for 'fun'. These girls had one thing on their mind. They wanted to have a 'bad-guy'. He'd become a sort of trophy. Only, he'd matured a lot by this time and was even less likely to give them the time of day. They didn't see that he wasn't the dark, brooding kind or a real bad-ass to begin with. He just looked the part. It put him off when the women around him couldn't see past the bike, the leather and the tats. Maybe that was why he was so reluctant to pursue Zea. The truth was, and Griffin knew it, he was a little afraid that Zea wouldn't be able to see beyond his appearance either. But even worse, what if she didn't like what she found once she got past his bad-boy image?

Griffin groaned a little at the depressing turn his thoughts had taken and parked his bike at the curb. He was just taking off his helmet when he spotted Zea coming out of the coffee shop. He cursed himself for missing this chance to hang with her. She usually frequented the place every Saturday around 10 and he made a habit of stopping in about the same time. Sometimes he got to exchange a few words with her. Once in a while a mutual friend was there and they'd all sit together. He never said much - just sat and listened to them talking. But, it looked like he was out of luck this Saturday for some reason and he felt crushed. Agitated at a lost opportunity, he took a minute to look at his watch just to be sure he'd got the time right. It wasn't even 10 yet. He felt cheated as he looked back up to see her standing outside the door of the coffee shop now. She was definitely leaving he thought with misery. Just then she looked straight at him. She was smiling and giving him a little wave. Griffin quickly returned both. At least he might get to talk to her for a minute or two before she took off. The thought helped pick up his spirits a little. However, when he strode over to the door he saw that she was talking to someone on her cell. His hopes of talking to her fled and he felt suddenly deflated.

Griffin wasn't sure why he even bothered to ask but, as he opened the door, he asked her quietly, "You coming or staying?" He watched her mouth that she was staying and he suddenly couldn't be happier. He gave her a huge grin, which she returned. As he pulled open the door he whispered, "see you in there," and left her to her call.