Alecia

“Do you always drive this fast?” Alecia said jokingly with a hint of concern as I zig zag through slower traffic on I-20 East to Atlanta. “You’re in no danger,” I tell her with a boyish grin plastered all over my face. “I have complete faith in the abilities of my car.” A quick flick of the sequential sport shift into third gear summons the engine to create a deeper, more aggressive exhaust note, making Alecia more uneasy as she grabs the passenger side strap at the top of the door seal.

“So, what happened to Chris, Michelle and Jamie?” She asks as she peers over to watch the speedometer needle bending towards triple digits. “I called everyone yesterday to make sure they were coming but I haven’t heard from any of them,” I said as I engaged the cruise control. “So, it looks like we’re going solo.” She reaches into her purse for her sunglasses as the sun eases out from behind the clouds, beaming through the sunroof.

“Are you cool with that?” I asked her while reaching for my CD case behind the passenger seat. “You mean am I cool with them not coming or am I cool with going to Atlanta with you alone?” She asked without making eye contact. “Well, the second part.” I said nonchalantly. “I think I can handle being alone with you.” Alecia says as she searches for the control button to recline the seat. Within the split second it took for her to formulate her answer I mentally prepared for the possibility ofher declining my impromptu decision to stick to the weekend getaway idea. Not that I planned it this way but it’s perfect that the rest of my co-workers didn’t return my call to confirm whether or not they were coming along with us to Atlanta. Nevertheless, my master plan of spending time with her without showing any romantic interest up to the point where she would be more comfortable taking a big step like this is coming together perfectly.

“Need some help with that?” She says as she watches me flip through my CD case. “Sure,” I said. “It’s been a habit of mine to multi-task while I drive.” I tell her as she reaches for the CD case and places it in her lap. “You probably won’t be familiar with some of those CD’s.” I told her as I pointed at the one I want to play. Are you into Poncho Sanchez?” I ask her as the CD slips into the disc changer. “Sure, I dance to it all the time at the Latino club over on the South side.” She instantly begins tapping her thigh and bobbing her head as the Afro-Cuban beat pumps through the cabin of the car. “So, where are we staying?” She asked as she flipped through more of the CDs. “We’ll be staying a glorious three days and two nights at The Intercontinental in Buckhead.” I said. “You know they say that the best way to tell if two people can truly get along is if they can ride in a car together for a long period of time without getting at each others throat.” I said as I noticed her uncrossing her legs and slightly positioning her body more in my direction. “Yeah, I’ve heard that.”Alecia says with brief eye contact and a smile.

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“I’ll have the Vegetable Fondue.” Alecia says as the waiter takes her menu. “Good choice. And you sir?” The waiter says as he writes down her order and turns to me. “I’ll have the Mandarin Fondue and we’ll both have Strawberry Daiquiris.” I said as I handed the menu to the waiter. “I can see why you like Dante’s so much,” Alecia says bright eyed as she scans the swashbuckling pirate ship decor of the restaurant bustling with roudy patrons and the smokey tones of the live jazz band.

The waiter returns with two tall hourglass-shaped glasses balanced carefully on a tray. “Here are your Daiquiris,” He carefully places the drinks on the quaint little dinning table. “If you have any requests, Rosemary will be glad to sing them.” He says with a confident smile before leaving the table. “What do you think about this weekend getaway?” I asked as she sipped her daiquiri. “Perfect timing.” She responded as she leaned back from her drink. “What would you think if I said I was interested in you?” I asked. She looked into my eyes stunned with a slight smile as if a hidden camera man from Mtv’s Punk’d emerged from the adjoining booth. “Oh my God.” She said. She looked down for a moment, collecting her thoughts, taking in everything that had occured during our time here in Atlanta. “I didn’t know.” She said, still stunned, putting her hand to her chest.

What woman wouldn’t be shocked? We’ve spent the entire weekend together in platonic bliss without a hint of romantic interest—until now. It’s moments like these that make life worth living—to carefully follow your instincts and act on them not knowing whether the outcome will end in triumph or shame.

“Well, now you know.” I said. Usually I’m very good at body language but Alecia gave no sign of acceptance or rejection as she contemplated the situation. “I had no idea,” She said as she slowly of calmed down from the shocking news of my romantic interest in her. “I mean I thought you were cute when I first saw you but I didn’t really think anything of it more than that.” I had actually put a lot of thought into showing my interest in her. The thought of dating a co-worker was unsettling at first but to have the time to actually observe someone and interact with them on a daily basis is an excellent opportunity to really get to know someone. “Well, there’s definately a mutual interest going on here.” I said. “True.” She said as she circled her straw around the rim of her daiquiri glass.

Comments

[Zen]

Veronica?????

[Romulus Burnett]

Veronica is cool. She still lives in the Bahamas.