Alana drove down from Atlanta to Athens to visit the Botanical Gardens at the University of Georgia. The hotel clerk in Atlanta said it was worth the drive. Arriving in Athens that early morning, she decided to stop for breakfast and then start her tour of the gardens after. Pulling into the gas station to fill up, Alana decided to ask the attendant to recommend someplace to stop. Waiting in line behind a very tall broad shouldered man, Alana's mind and eyes wandered. She was trying to imagine what the man in front of her looked like and then he spoke to the cashier.
"Morning darlin, how are you doin' today?" his deep voice struck a chord with Alana.
She was really curious now to see if he looked as good as he sounded. Because she was so caught up in her imaginings, she didn't notice how close she was standing until he turned around and bumped into her. His warm hand grasped her elbow, "Excuse me, ma'am. I didn't mean to run you over." He stepped around her and walked out the door.
Alana just stood there staring out the door until the cashier clearing her throat got her attention. Snapping out of her musings, she paid for her gas and asked about the nearest breakfast diner. The cashier recommended a place called The Waffle House - fast service and good food, just what was needed. After filling up, Alana followed the directions and parked.
Entering the diner, the conversation stopped for a moment and then picked back up. A waitress approached and seated her at a booth in the back. It was on the way to the booth that Alana noticed that she was the only woman in the place besides the three waitresses. She could feel the eyes of some of the men on her as she made her way down the aisle. It was pretty flattering since she didn't normally get that kind of attention. It put a smile on her face and a little blush on her cheeks.
The waitress took her order and brought her a cup of coffee. Alana could hear the door open behind her and heard the waitress greet the new arrival.
"Well hello, honey - haven't seen you here in a while. Now you just sit down and I'll be right with you."
"No rush darlin', I'm not in a hurry."
Alana heard that wonderful voice for the second time that morning. She leaned a little out of the booth to see if she could catch a glimpse of more than his back. As she did, he turned and caught her looking. She saw long legs, a broad chest leading up to a wicked grin and laughing brown eyes. Then he winked at her!
She quickly ducked back in to the booth. She quickly took a sip of her coffee and could feel herself redden with embarrassment.
Looking back up - she could see that he had taken a seat at the corner and was looking at her in the mirror above the counter. His grin widened and he winked again. Breaking the eye contact, Alana turned and took out the journal she always carried. The journal was the recipient of all of her thoughts and fantasies - and boy did that voice give her a fantasy to write about! The waitress, Betsy came up to the table with her breakfast while she was making a quick sketch of "The Voice" as Alana had already named him.
"Well, honey that looks just like him! You're pretty good."
Alana put her finger to her lips, hoping that Betsy would catch the hint. She seemed to; she smiled and nodded before walking away. Eating her breakfast while writing in the journal, Alana didn't notice the whispered conversation between the waitress and "The Voice".
Looking up when Betsy returned to the table asking if there was anything else, Alana saw him looking at her again in the mirror smiling. Lowering her eyes, shaking her head no and gathering up her things, Alana didn't notice that her journal fell to the seat in the booth. She paid her bill and got directions to the garden from Betsy.
Arriving at the gardens, Alana parked and decided to change into her walking shoes. While she changed shoes she noticed a pickup pull into the parking lot. It looked familiar but then again every other vehicle here was a pickup truck. The truck came closer to her car and stopped. Locking up her car, she didn't notice the other driver, just heard a door slam and feet crunching on the gravel as the driver walked around the cab.
"Hey girl, did you forget something at the diner?"
At the first word her head jerked up, it was "The Voice". Turning around, Alana saw the mystery man holding her journal out to her. Looking quickly into her bag, she confirmed that it was indeed her journal in his hands.
"Where did you find that?" she asked a puzzled look on her face. He stepped closer, not quite touching her but close enough that she could smell the scent of his soap.
"You left it back at The Waffle House. Betsy told me you got directions here so I thought I'd return it to you." he said with that wicked grin back on his face. "But I'm curious, why is there a sketch of me in here under the label "The Voice"?"
A blush flooding her face, Alana looked up. "I hope you're not offended. You see I am a writer and I am always sketching and adding things to my journal. I saw you twice today and just decided to add you to my collection." Seeing his grin widen, realizing what she'd said, "I mean not my collection -- I just added you to the journal -- oh, please can I just have it back?"
"Well that's why I'm here darlin'. Now let me give you a name to go with the sketch, I'm Jim. And what's your name?" holding out his hand.
"I'm Alana and thank you for returning my journal - that was very nice of you." shaking hands and taking the journal back. "I hope that this wasn't too far out of your way."
