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I Have To Work In The Morning
“That was fun.” Meredith said as they pulled out of the Hannons’ driveway. “Don’t you think?”
“Sure.”
“Ivy’s nieces are silly.”
“Mm-hmm, nice kids.”
“They seemed to like your collection.”
“Yeah.”
“Is this where we’re at now?”
“Huh?”
“Look, I’m sorry I freaked out earlier. I understand if we’re…”
“If we’re what?” He turned a corner, dodging a pothole. “I honestly don’t understand where we’re at.”
“Toby, I’m sorry about that. I don’t… I never… This is…”
“Yeah, it’s weird for me, too. This is usually where my Sentinelsmania kills any chance of getting another date.”
“Do you want to?”
“To what?”
“Um…” She couldn’t bear to look. She kept staring at the passing houses. “Date?”
“Of course, I do.”
“I was afraid.”
“You were a lot of things, Meri. I’m sorry if I didn’t know how to process that.”
“Neither did I.” She watched the passing scenery.
“I guess that’s something else we have in common.”
She turned. He glanced at her and kept driving.
“What should we do now?”
“Can we talk?”
“Sure.”
“Toby, I…”
“That’s a good start. Let’s see how it plays out.”
“Oh, now you’re making me nervous.”
“There’s nothing to be nervous about, Meri. It’s just you and me driving around. Tell me what you’re feeling.”
“I’m nervous, Toby.”
“What about?”
“I like you.”
“Same.”
“I know I freaked you out earlier. I don’t want to spoil things.”
“What happened earlier wasn’t just you. I was already on edge because of Dad’s nonsense. You were having some kind of, I don’t know what, and you wouldn’t tell me.”
“I couldn’t make sense of it to explain it to you.”
“Sure, feelings are feelings. They don’t have to make sense. I’m sorry if I was putting pressure on you.”
“I’m sorry I scared you.” She reached out to put a hand on him, but she pulled it back. “I was so overwhelmed with happiness and contentment and…”
“Those are good feelings. I want you to have those kinds of feelings.”
“You gave them to me.”
“That is the best thing anyone has ever said to me.” He pulled up to an intersection as the light turned red. “I’m glad I could give you that, because you’re giving all of that to me, too.”
“You’ve got a lot more experience dating than I do.”
“Not that much.”
“I haven’t been out with anyone since my prom.”
“That’s surprising.”
“It is? Why?”
He took a deep breath. “I don’t want to ruin things.”
“What? Why would you ruin anything?”
“Meri, you are so drop dead gorgeous, I can’t imagine that there aren’t guys lined up around the block trying to get a date with you.” The light turned green. He pressed on.
“No, I’m not.”
“I’m not going to argue about it. I think you’re stunning, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.”
“You’re so nice.”
“It’s easy to be nice when you’re with somebody you like.”
“I never wanted to feel how I felt ever again.”
“Wait, what?”
“Sorry, I’m talking about something else.”
“Uh-huh.”
“If I tell you about it, I’m afraid you might not like me.”
“I doubt that would happen, but if you’re not ready to tell me…”
“I want to. I don’t want to keep anything from you, Toby, but I don’t want to scare you away by giving you a giant brain dump.”
“I don’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable with. No pressure. If you feel like telling me, great. If you need to save it for later, that’s fine, too. I like you. I can’t imagine anything would change that.”
“I think you’re right. I should probably save it for later.”
“Okay, great. That’s a topic for another day, whatever it is.”
“You’re so unbelievably sweet.”
“Like I said, I like you. No pressure, no expectations, no demands. I just like you as you are. When you’re ready to talk, I’m ready to listen.”
“Bobby wasn’t like that.”
“Who’s Bobby?”
“He was my prom date.”
“Oh.”
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing.”
“No, that meant something. What did you mean by that?”
“He tried to get you to do something you didn’t want to. That happens a lot.”
“Did you?”
“I went stag.”
“Who goes to a prom without a date?”
“Hey, I wasn’t judging you. Be nice.” He turned another corner. “It’s not like I didn’t try. A lot of the girls were spoken for.”
“Okay, I’m sorry.”
“Anyway, what about this Bobby guy?”
“I thought he was nice.”
“He wasn’t?”
“No.”
“Sorry.”
“Toby, I thought we were friends and he…”
“I’m sorry he hurt you.”
“I know you wouldn’t, Toby. It’s hard for me to trust anyone after what he did.”
“Sure.”
“But I trust you.”
“You can. I wouldn’t try to push you into anything.”
“Besides, it’s not prom anymore. We’re not kids.”
“No.”
“Have you ever?”
“Have I ever…?” He glanced at her. “Oh, hey, that’s a little… Wow.”
“I didn’t mean to pry.”
“I didn’t mean to overreact. It’s just kind of… You know.”
“That’s okay. I haven’t, either.”
“Wow. We just had that conversation. Okay, wow.”
“Are you mad now?”
“What? No. I’m not mad. I’m pretty uncomfortable.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know how to…”
“Okay, okay. Let’s not worry about it. It’s out in the open. Covered and done with.”
“I freaked you out again, didn’t I?”
“It’s not territory I expected to cover today. No problem. Nothing to worry about.”
“Sorry.”
“So, how about this weather, huh?”
Meredith hung her head. “Yeah, does this place ever get warm?”
“Warm? Sure. Hot and muggy, too.”
“I’ll have to crank the heat when I get back to the hotel.”
“Oh, gee. I’m sorry.” He turned the knob on the dashboard. “I don’t usually keep it hot while I’m driving.”
“It’s fine. You can turn it down some, if you want to. We’re almost there, I think.”
“Yes, we’re pretty close.” He edged over to the right lane.
“You can come up, if you want to.”
“I’d like to, but I have to work in the morning.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“No, it’s not a problem. Maybe we can get dinner or catch a movie?”
“Give me your phone. I’ll put my number in.”