That Girl in the Diner

3 - First Date

3-first date

They met at the trail head just before lunch time. The air was crisp and not too hot, and birds twittered up in the trees, almost as if they were feeding off of their excitement. Madeline's heart had been pounding in her chest ever since he had asked her on the date and she was pretty sure that it could be heard from a mile away. She hardly knew what to feel. She was anxious and excited, and she didn't want to screw things up. She had not stopped thinking about Julian since he had left the afternoon before. His face filled her mind, the song he'd been singing had been stuck in her head, she just couldn't get that smile off her face. She hadn't been treated that way in so long. Madeline wanted to get to know him so much better. Julian was just as eager. He'd practically had to tear himself away from her the day before, he was thrilled that she was going out with him. He couldn't remember the last time a first date had meant so much to him. Of course, he went on dates pretty regularily. Except, not recently because he couldn't bring himself to care. But Madeline was sweet to him, and he couldn't not ask her out. He grinned widely as he pulled up to the trail, seeing her sitting on a rock outside, waiting for him. This was going to be fun... provided he didn't totally make a mess of himself. Impressing girls he actually cared about impressing had not usually gone very well with him before. Hopefully today it would work out better than it had during the past twenty years.

"Hey. You found it okay!" He said brightly as he closed the door of his rustmobile.

"I almost got lost, it's a good thing I got here early. I've never been up here before."

"Really? My parents used to take us up here for camping trips all the time. How long have you lived in Los Angeles?"

"All my life. My parents aren't exactly all that appreciative of the great outdoors." She laughed. "We only ever went camping once, and that was more than enough for them."

"Well, we can make up for the lack of dense forest exploration now, I guess. Let's get going." She slid off the rock and shouldered the small backpack she had brought with her, full of snacks and a couple of sandwiches and juice to keep them going. She figured they might need it.

"So, you know where we're going?"

"Not really." He admitted. "I mean, I've been up here before, but never up this trail. It should be nice though. I always liked this area. It's full of little lakes and secret trails and stuff. I always used to sneak off when I was little and go exploring. Which my parents loved, of course. If they had a dollar for every time that I've freaked them out like that, they'd be billionaires by now."

"Tell me about your family. I mean, I've told you a little about mine. How many brothers and sisters do you have?"

"Five. Yeah, I know, it's pretty big. You should see our family get togethers. Eight Torreses plus all the little hyperactive nieces and nephews I have, it's... well, it's never dull, I'll say that much. I'm the youngest. There's two sisters and three brothers. We all get along with each other pretty well. Most of them live in Las Vegas, which is where I grew up. Only one of my sisters lives in LA with me."

"The one you were talking about that brings you food?"

"That would be her, Casey. Does your family live around here?"

"My parents do. My brother's in Africa, he's a doctor and he runs a bunch of clinics in little villages around the coast. I don't see him much. And then, there's my sister. She runs a vacation resort on a beach in Brazil. I'm the only one who stayed close to home. But we were never very close, so..." She trailed off, shrugging. "What did you do as a kid with that many siblings, anyway? Just play guitar? I'll bet you got picked on a lot with two older brothers."