Katherine was usually impatient, and today was no exception. She sighed loudly as the light turned yellow and the car in front of her slowed to stop. "We both could have made it through," she muttered under her breath. She glanced to her left and saw the man in the car beside her smiling and shaking his head slightly. She noted his handsome profile and found herself wishing she could see more than the right side of his face. The light turned green while she was thinking, and it took an impatient beep from the car's horn behind her to break her reverie. When she looked to her left again, the handsome man was gone.
The line at the bank drive through was not too bad as Katherine pulled in behind the car in front of her. It looked familiar. Ah, the man at the light. She noticed he sat up straight and wore his hair neat. She saw him glance in the rear view mirror and smiled involuntarily. She could tell by the way his eyes narrowed and his brows rose he was smiling back. Katherine raised her index finger in acknowledgment of his attention then glanced away. She could feel the heat rising. She really wanted to see the rest of his face, especially his smile. Damn small rear view mirrors!
The mystery man finished his transaction and drove away with a wave. Katherine was a little disappointed, but chalked it up to just another pleasant moment and took her turn at the window. When the teller handed her the envelope, Katherine noticed a slip of paper peeking out of the flap. The teller smiled and said the gentleman who was in line before her had asked to have the note added to her envelope. She thanked the teller and pulled away from the window to read the note:
Meet me in the park around the corner? Joe
Katherine checked her reflection in the mirror. She had left the house in almost no make up and her shoulder length brown hair was pulled back in a loose clip. She was wearing jeans and her Steelers jersey. She would rather have been better prepared to meet someone, but she didn't want to miss this opportunity. There was something about the sparkle in this man's eyes that warranted further investigation. She put on a little clear lip gloss and ran her fingers through her hair. Then she drove in the direction of the park.
When Katherine approached the park she could see Joe's car in the nearby lot, but he was not in it. She parked a few spaces down and looked around. No sign of him. She was feeling a little nervous when there was a tap on her window. She jumped and turned, and there he stood. The sun was behind him and made her squint a little, but she could make out a tall man with light hair, maybe blond, maybe gray, cut neat. When she looked into his blue eyes she felt like she could see into him. He looked almost familiar, but Katherine was certain if she had ever looked him in the face before she would have remembered those eyes. When he motioned for her to roll down her window, she fumbled with the controls. When she was finally able to get the window down, Joe smiled at her and introduced himself.
"I'm not usually one to pass notes at the bank drive through, but I knew it was my best chance to meet you," he said.
"I'm glad you did it. It's been a long time since I got a note from a man while waiting in the drive through line," Katherine smiled.
When Joe raised an eyebrow at her, she gave a short laugh and said "okay, so it's the only time I've gotten a note from a man at the bank drive through." She hoped he couldn't see how she was blushing. She could feel the heat creeping up her neck to her cheeks.
"What happens next?" Katherine asked.
Now it was Joe's turn to be caught off guard.
"I didn't plan too far ahead since I didn't know if you would meet me or not," he said. "Want to go for a walk?"
Katherine considered this for a moment. The park was certainly public, it was the middle of the afternoon, and there were lots of people milling around. She decided it was low risk and agreed to Joe's suggestion. She tucked her phone and keys in her pocket and got out of her car. When she stood, she noticed that Joe was taller than her by an inch or two. She tried to be nonchalant about checking him out, but it was impossible for her not to smile as she looked him up and down.
"Like what you see, ma'am?" Joe hadn't missed her attention and Katherine blushed furiously at being caught.
Joe laughed softly while she stammered. "Don't worry, I was checking you out too. You just didn't notice," he teased.
Katherine's mind raced for a witty comeback. She never struggled for a reply unless she was distracted. Joe was distracting the hell out of her.
"So are we going to walk, or just stand here and admire each other?" she asked finally.
Joe smiled at the reply. He would have stood here all day and all night admiring Katherine's ample breasts, curvy hips, pouty lips. But he took her hand and lead her toward the walking path.
"Let's walk, then," he said and took her hand.
They walked in silence for a few minutes before Joe spoke again.
"You know my name, may I have yours?"
"You can call me Kate," she responded. Why had she said that? If she had been looking for an alias, she had not found a very good one. And, she hated being called Kate.
"So Kate, tell me about you," Joe said to her. "I can see you cheer for the wrong team, so tell me something else," he smiled.
"Wrong team? You must be a Bears fan," Katherine teased back.
In the Chicago area, it was hard to find a football fan who didn't bleed blue and orange. But Katherine had been a Steelers fan all of her life, and a move to Chicago had not changed her loyalty. She was used to the taunting. It had followed her everywhere she had lived. She had thought of moving to Pittsburgh just to be around her own kind, but a trip to the steel city in January one year had convinced her she was not cut out for Pittsburgh winters. Chicago's were harsh enough.
"So there's no way I can get you out of that black jersey? Even if I tell you I think you would look incredible in Bear's blue?" Joe teased.
'You might be able to get me out of my jersey, but there would be a fight if you tried to put me in blue," Katherine tried to sound tough, but her smile betrayed her.
This was turning into a very pleasant...what to even call it? Katherine didn't care. She was having a good time. She noticed they were still holding hands and was glad. She liked the way Joe squeezed her hand when he talked, rubbed his thumb in circles. Katherine found herself wanting to keep him talking so he wouldn't stop playing with her hand. She was trying to listen to what he was saying, but her mind wandered.
"What would his lips feel like?" she wondered to herself. She wanted to feel his naked chest pressed against hers. He was rubbing the inside of her wrist as he talked now. Katherine knew she should really try to listen so she could keep up her side of the conversation, but it was impossible.
"Kate, what do you think?" Joe asked, a little loudly. Had he said it more than once? She blushed furiously and looked down at he feet.
"I'm sorry, I, um, well, I...I wasn't paying attention to what you said," she stammered. She was so embarrassed to be caught!
"I know," Joe was smiling that smile at her again. "What has you so distracted?"
Could he see what was in her mind? It sure felt that way. Katherine decided to tell him.
"If you must know, I was wondering if you kiss as well as you talk," she said, in what she hoped was a playful, teasing voice.
