The next few days went by too slow and Max was aching for Saturday to finally come. He spent every night outside Jenna's apartment that week, fantasizing about what would happen on their date. He played so many different scenarios in his head. He couldn't wait.
Work was long, the days dragged, the evenings dragged even more since Jenna hadn't been to Greg's since he'd asked her out. She apparently had a lot going on at work before she got her two week winter break at school.
When Saturday did finally come, Max couldn't contain his excitement. He was up early, after barely sleeping at all. He had gotten back from watching Jenna's place around 3 a.m. He had trouble sleeping and gave up and got around at 7 a.m. He used his bundled energy to shovel the driveway; they had had a big snowfall the night before. He did about 200 pushups and ate breakfast.
He went through his clothes several times over before he decided on a pair of jeans, a grey undershirt and a blue and black button up flannel. The blue in the shirt made his brown eyes look almost black. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. He looked at himself in the mirror for a long time, deciding he looked menacing, but only when he frowned. He looked over his features, to himself; he was a scary looking man. But he hadn't scared Jenna away, not yet. Furthermore, he knew he wouldn't be frowning tonight, so he decided to keep the outfit.
He changed out and laid the outfit on his bed, he didn't want to stain or wrinkle it. He did more pushups, then he showered and for the first time since he'd been out of prison, he completely shaved his beard off. Afterwards he looked at himself and instantly regretted it. He looked like a completely different person. He looked about ten years younger, his skin was pale and he didn't recognize his cheeks or chin. They weren't things he saw often. 'Jenna's going to think you look disgusting,' he thought to himself. 'Fuck, I've ruined everything.'
Max stood in his room stressed about his beard for over an hour, he kept slapping himself in the head telling himself how stupid he was. He paced the small room like a lion in a cage. He felt like he was in prison again. But then he'd tell himself, 'no maybe she'll like it.' He contemplated this over and over until he noticed it was already time to get ready and go.
He got dressed, ran his fingers through his wavy hair a few times, sprayed on some cologne he had bought, stopped at the store and picked up a bouquet of pink roses and headed to Jenna's. His nerves were shot; his heart was beating harder than ever before, his stomach churned with anxiety and butterflies. He was worried, excited, nervous and turned on, all at the same time. When he made it to her door he took a big deep breath and knocked.
Max stared at the flowers in his hand, waiting for the door to open, he tried to control his breathing, but it was tough. He heard shuffling inside and then the door opened. He looked up and there stood the most incredibly gorgeous human being he'd ever laid eyes on. Jenna always looked beautiful, but tonight she looked her best.
Max looked over her body, taking in her perfect shape. She had black leggings on, hugging her body beautifully. She was also wearing a tight navy blue sweater. He looked up at her face, flawless and glowing. Her cheeks were flushed, he didn't know if it was makeup or her natural tone, but it was adorable. Her full lips were tinted slightly with a dark pink and looked so soft. Then he met her eyes, her blue eyes wide, outlined with black liner and mascara, her lashes full and long. They sparkled as she smiled at him.
"Hi!" she said, opening her door up for him. She looked over his face, then down to the flowers. "Come in." She stepped aside and let him in; he stood for a moment by her door before handing her the flowers.
"Here, these are for you." Max said. He felt like an idiot, standing there, shoving flowers in her face. 'Smooth,' he thought.
"Oh, thank you Max, they're beautiful. I love them."She gushed as she took them and walked into the kitchen. As Max kicked off his shoes, Jenna placed the flowers in a vase she got out of a cupboard. Max stood near the door, unaware of where to go next. He felt dumbfounded. He just watched her as she went about the kitchen. She looked over at him and smiled, "Come in, silly," waving her hand for him to come over. He nodded and walked towards the kitchen. Jenna smiled up at his face, looking him over. "Hey, wow, you look...so different with your face shaved," Jenna's eyes scanned over his skin, the smile never faltering.
"Oh, yeah, I don't know why I shaved, it doesn't look all that good," Max muttered rubbing his jaw.
"What? No, it does. You look...you look very handsome. I mean, I like the beard, but this is nice too. You can see your dimples better now." Jenna reached her arm up and gently placed her hand on his newly shaven cheek. Max froze and stiffened at her touch. Just as soon as he stiffened he relaxed. He leaned his head against her hand, but suddenly there was nothing there. She had quickly pulled her hand away. She smiled, with a look of embarrassment on her face and turned away to the table.
