Just Try It

Chapter 60- Morning Workouts are Good for You

Saturday, February 18th 9:30AM

Swisher Street Apartments

When the buzzing of the alarm woke Moe, he was tempted to shut it off for a few more hours of sleep, but he was going to meet up with Korbin, and Sondra had said she wanted to go. That had been right before she had dropped off though. This morning, she might not remember, let alone feel up to it. Suddenly, he remembered her kiss, or at least he thought he did. It was possible that he had just imagined it. After a few minutes consideration he decided that it really must have happened. The initial glee he felt died when as he cautioned himself to not count on it meaning anything. After all, he had hugged her tight, and she might have misjudged or even done it on accident. Even if she had meant to give him a light kiss, it could have been because he had been one of the first people that she had seen after being kidnapped. Even with the reminders that the kiss might not have meant as much to Sondra as to him, Moe couldn't stop smiling. After all, it was still clear progress towards his goal. Since he wasn't hiding his past and getting his life back under control, he might, almost, be ready to start the slow progress toward convincing her that he would be a good boyfriend to her.  He just had to take it slow and not scare her off.

With one more stretch, Moe quickly dressed and hurried over to Sondra's, where he knocked softly.

Only a moment later, Sondra opened the door. She was carrying her tennis racket and shoes, and was rubbing sleep from her eyes, but she managed to whisper, "Shh. Grandma is sleeping in today."

As Moe nodded his agreement, he admired how beautiful Sondra was with her hair pulled back and without makeup. To his amusement, her flushed face had a sleep crease on one cheek from her pillow. It made her look so cute that Moe couldn't help giving her a hug.

This caused Sondra to blush a deep red and quickly sit to put on her shoes. After how close they had been at the airport, Moe had thought that a hug would be okay. Now, Moe worried he had assumed too much, and tried not to show his distress as he, "Is something wrong?"

With a frown, Sondra shook her head and answered, "Everything happened so fast last night. It seems like a dream. I don't even remember getting out of the car."

Relief made Moe grin as he explained, "That's because you dropped off in the middle of your grandma's lecture about taking money from Tony's account. You kept trying to change the subject by mentioning other things like working out and tennis, but it wasn't working.  When we arrived, I carried you upstairs, and wasn't sure you would be going this morning."

To Moe's amusement, Sondra gave a big sigh and muttered, "I get carried up the stairs like in "Gone with the Wind" and I can't remember it? I have so many bad memories that I can't forget, but I can't have a good memory to balance it out."

With a chuckle, Moe replied, "Maybe you will feel better if I tell you that my arms started to give out after the first couple flights of stairs, and I had to do a fireman carry the rest of the way."

When Sondra's face brightened into a smile, Moe couldn't help smiling smiling back.

Sondra smiled the whole way to the park. While she was glad to be with Moe, the main reason for her smile was relief. She had actually kissed Moe last night, but she still didn't know how he felt. She was pretty sure that he didn't see her just as someone to rescue anymore, and had impulsively taken the last step to be the one to kiss him.  Once she had, she had finally remembered that she was going to take it slow.  In embarrassment she had made it a quick peck and had hidden her face afterwards.  Now she wished she hadn't chickened out even though she still thought going slower would be safer.  At least then, she would know how he felt.  The hugs seemed like a good step, but he hadn't kissed her back. That could mean a lack of interest, lack of time, or maybe he was put off by all the people around. Who knew, a light kiss like she had given might not mean anything to someone who had dated most of the girls in their class. With that discouraging thought, Sondra's smile faded.