having failed with the only available older women in my life, i decide to set my sights on women my age (go figure) and see just what the scene is like on this end of the spectrum. the first choice would have to be who Ana-Lucia describes as my girlfriend, Rommie.
admittedly, i was quite smitten with the girl. and why shouldn’t i be, she’s gorgeous, short, growing her hair (which is maybe a few inches from Botticelli-esque right now), has beautiful eyes and a figure to die for, even though she thinks she needs to work on it.
we may have even been in the midst of an actual relationship by now if i weren’t so much of a sissy (thanks a lot aforementioned ladies) and afraid of rejection. we were at the point where i’d call her up and we’d spend hours on the phone sharing our lives; it felt nice being able to do that with someone you didn’t have to see everyday. she was my ground, i enjoyed the chats we had and i hope we can have more in the future. so why haven’t i try to get with her yet? maybe it is my fear of rejection, maybe i’m afraid of loosing my newest means of maintaining my remaining sanity in this hectic role of Network Technician.
am i really questioning my feelings for Rommie? is it infatuation or is it love?
so during that recent period of trying to figure out my true feelings for Rommie, i get broad-sided at my second favorite place to be, Coffeeland. for the record, i blame Ana-Lucia for getting me hooked on ice-blended coffee drinks. anyhoo, i go there one day to get what i guess was a ‘Spiced Chai Latte on ice’ and one of the girls there, Cherry-Olivia – a real cutie – comes with this:
"so i have two tickets for the circus. you want to go?" given my history with women, i assume she’s just trying to get rid of some tickets so i reply:
"Cherry-Olivia, are you asking me out on a date?"
she goes silent and stares at me; i stare at her. Maria (another Coffeeland girl) breaks the corner and i say:
"Maria, i think Cherry-Olivia just asked me out on a date!"
she laughs with a really-buried-in-there-somewhere "Really?"; in hindsight, i figure it must have been really hard to watch, let alone be part of.
Ana-Lucia and Emma-Lisa berate me when i relate the event to them and Dirty Ole Man (who we’ll just call Dirty). the whole ride back to the office, i’m told in varying degrees just how much of an asshole i am for humiliating a girl who obviously had to muster up enough courage to ask a question like that. i reply that i was joking and that i think she was really just trying to get rid of some tickets. nevertheless, the scolding continues.
so in an effort to avoid further ribbing, i decide i’ll carry this chiqui to the circus. i go to Coffeeland and leave my number with Maria because Cherry-Olivia wasn’t working that day. the phone call takes a while in coming and when it does it’s rather mundane. it’s okay, because all we have to do is set a date for the um… date! the same day as the phone call i give her a ride to work because the taxi she came to Bella in dropped her too short. during the really short trip from TECU to the Coffeeland, i learn that she’s got a dirty mouth (which i kinda like) but was unwilling to play the FFF mind game. the first time-alone period not bad.
after dropping her off, i’m bombarded by a stream of SMSeseses in a convo that runs into maybe 20 text messages. there is peace in Coffeeland.
the next week while i’m there getting an Amaretto on ice (a drink they seem to make only for me), Rosa (yet another Coffeeland girl) seems upset by the whole thing with Cherry-Olivia and we talk about it when Rommie calls. she came for me to check out her laptop and i make a crack to Rosa about Rommie being my wife. her jaw drops and i go over to greet Rommie (who was calling me from just outside the Mall). we exchange pleasantries and she, Ana-Lucia and i gather gear and hop into the van.
"this is going to be an interesting trip" i remark; both girls reply with wry smiles.
we go back to my office where we watch Talagdega Nights during lunch; Rommie seems hungry but doesn’t want to get anything to eat. i multi-task between her, her laptop, the movie, my food… she looks adorably hot with her hair growing out and her tank top and jeans. she wore slippers, her piggies well ‘pedied’. the least dressed in the room and she doesn’t feel cold, she says.
so after lunch is over, i carry her to the Mall for something to eat. we park in front and i suggest she goes in to choose what she wants while i head over to the fast service to pull some cash from my emergency card, but we end up making the trip together. she gets the usual ogling from random guys and we joke about it. at the atm we discover that i’m completely broke and my folks have my regular bank card (don’t ask why) so we head back to the van to leave; we never enter the Mall, but our ‘visit’ was noticed by who i assumed was Rosa and she relates Rommie’s "relationship" to one of the other Coffeeland girls. i give Rommie a ride to her taxi-stand and me make plans to hang for Carnival this year…
all of a sudden i’m the hot topic in Coffeeland, or so i assume by the instant silence that falls on the kiosk upon my arrival. you know, those uncomfortable silences….
.:to.be.continued:.
Crow's Scratches 