One Last Time

Chapter 7 | o'clock

Reed enters my driveway with a silver Chevrolet Camaro. He comes out of the car carrying a single white tulip. He scratched his head and hands me the flower, "I thought I should bring this to make up for being late." He said he'd pick me up at five but ended up here fifteen minutes later.

I waved it off, "I'm lucky enough to be waiting at my house, so no worries. Thanks for the tulip!" I smell the flower then softly ruffle its petals. As I look closer, I found a tiny growing petal outside one of the bigger ones and stared in awe. Cute!

Reed waits for me to buckle up before driving to a place he said he recently found out about. "So, you look nice!" He said. I look down from my black converse to my ripped blue jeans and finally at my black v-necked shirt. "Really? You're the one well-dressed here," I pointed out. Reed's wearing a black button down shirt with khaki pants. I gasped loudly at the sight of his black loafers. Reed groaned as he admitted, "I have a habit of dressing up for a good impression."

"Reed, you and I both know that we've already passed that stage," I countered. We both laughed in agreement then exchange small talk through the whole ride.

Twenty five minutes later, Reed makes a turn and parks in front of a bar called Little Venus. I calmed down from my nervousness since I assumed we'll be going to a restaurant instead. Reed strides to my side, "I thought we should get to know each other somewhere we can easily chill and not be afraid to unintentional embarrass ourselves." He chose a table close enough between both entrance and the bar just in case we needed liquid courage. I picked up the menu and my mouth dropped. "Plus, I heard the food here's amazing!" Reed added.

We ordered curly fries, buffalo wings, mini burgers, and two glasses of coke with a jug of water. When we're almost finished with the last dish, Reed said, "So, I was born in California, moved to New Jersey at twenty-one, then Massachusetts only three months ago. I'm the youngest of two and my parents live in LA. They check up on me every one in a while. I graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Writing, live in an apartment not far from The Salvator Library and am currently experiencing writer's block for the first time in my career. I like dark colors and dressing semi-formal for get-togethers."

It was silent between us as we look at each other. Oh, oh! It's my turn. "I'm born and raised here in Thornridge and haven't been anywhere out of this state. I lived with my parents for sixteen years but now by myself in a two-story house. I worked as a counselor before switching as a librarian at the age of twenty-five. I love junk food but not as much as I do for reading, and I've been best friends with Ronnie Val Dayes since high school. Nothing interesting really."

Reed pursed his lips, squinting his eyes as he thinks about what to ask. He snapped his fingers, "How are your parents?"

"My parents passed away nine years ago." I stopped Reed for saying any condolences. I had enough of them. "How 'bout yours?" I asked. He glances down at his hands with a warm smile. "They're supportive of me despite not starting off that way. My older brother takes care of them more, so most of their attention is on him. I'm fine with it, though. Do you have any siblings?" He's asking questions I haven't heard in a great while. Most likely because I don't interact with people much.

"Nope, I'm an only child. Ronnie has been the only person I consider as my family other than my parents. I'm not close with any of my extended family member and have not been in contact with any of them whatsoever. It's nothing to worry about, just a family thing. Always has been, " I assured. Reed though fo his next question, "Why did you switch professions?" I bit my lower lip, blinking a few times. I blew out a breath ignoring the slight pang I felt. "It was going well at first. I eventually couldn't handle it so I quit," I calmly answered.

Reed nodded in understanding. He abruptly asked, "Are you single or are you just weird?" I crossed my arms and quirked a brow. What kind of questions is that? "I'm single and what do you mean weird?" I questioned. What does he mean by weird?

"Well, there's no denying that you're beautiful and it's only naturally for me to fear that there might be an angry boyfriend who'll hunt me down for spending time with you out of work hours." I laughed at his explanation shaking my head, "Single. Period. You? Should I be worrying for an angry girlfriend that'll soon enter through that door and rip my hair out?" I pointed to the entrance as I said that.

Reed scoffed, "I've been single for two months now. Broke up because we wanted different things. I wanted more while she wanted less." Reed stirs his straw, a somber look on his face. I think I touched a sour subject. Before I could apologize, Reed's phone rings. He gets it out of his pocket and presses the "stop" on his alarm.

"C'mon, I wanna show you something!"

~ • + • ~

We rode on the highway for an hour. It's around seven o'clock  and the moon's now out in the open sky. Reed said he knows an amazing area where we could continue our "getting to know you" conversation. I roll down the window to feel the wind rush through my hair, sticking my hand out to have its pressure dancing on my fingertips. I shut my eyes and let the coolness of the atmosphere consume me.

Reed stops the ignition and tells me to wait inside. He paces to the trunk, rummaging through whatever he put back there. He comes back carrying with him a jacket, "Here, wear this. It's gonna get cold soon where we're headed." I get out the car and hold onto the jacket he gave me. There are a bunch of trees surrounding us with the moon as our only source of light. He notices my hesitance and extends his right hand to me, "Do you trust me?" I look down at Reed's other hand carrying a flashlight and a picnic basket.

I blew out a breath of air, "Oh, what the heck." I took his hand as he lead us further into the woods.