Chapter 5

The next morning was like any other Friday, or any weekday for that matter. Around 8:00 Allie stood on the bus corner waiting for me to come by and she got in with a smile and a "Good Morning" She no more than sat in the seat and she looked at me and said, you were with Mary last night. I can smell her cologne, Vanilla Fields."

"Yes, we played tennis last night and we both showered at the club, so she probably put on fresh cologne, maybe even here in the car while she waited for me, I was last one out. You should be a detective." I mused.

"I think she loves you." She said quietly, embarrassed that she made the remark.

"No Allie, she loves the idea of me, but she is much too complex a person to be anyone's "love". She and I are great friends, in the fact we trust each other to no end, would do anything for each other, but love in the sense beyond that of a brother/sister type doesn't work, oil and water." I explained.

"How about WD-40? Oil and water and it mixes and does well when used for its intentions." She said still staring straight, uncomfortable she was involved with the conversation, which she had started through her own inquisitiveness.

"But WD-40 is never a permanent fix. It only lasts so long before you have to use it again, or get to the crux of the problem with a real oil fix."

"Touch'. I only ask because you asked me out on a date and I don't want to jeopardize my job by going with you. I've tried to gauge her relationship with you, but I only see she has great affection for you." She said turning her head to get my reaction.

"And I for her. But if what you think were true, do you think we would go 1, 2 and 3 weeks sometimes without seeing each other, talking to each other. When our lives come together we do well, but what you think we are would never be. If you think my going on a date with you would be a problem, ask her." I challenged.

The car got quiet for another block or two when I "confessed" my intentions.

"Allie you are a beautiful and attractive woman. I am a red blooded American man who feels attracted to you, but not just from a physical standpoint. You have a sexy shyness I find alluring, plus you are quite smart and have such a creative mind that I can't help but think that complexity might translate into other parts of your personality. I think you would be interesting to know and from there we'll see what develops. I'm just interested to see what we might be together. Then after one or maybe two dates we might want to expand our relationship more, or perhaps decide to keep it as we are."

"How old are you?" She asked.

"Twenty six."

"Hmm, you seem much older, maybe mature is the word I want. Ummm, ... how about tonight for a date? I'm sorry for the short notice, but I've put off this conversation all week." She surprisingly said.

"I have no plans tonight. That would be fine. I'll get you around 6:00." I said.

"I'll be on that corner, no need to come to my house. I'd like it that way. OK?"

"That's fine, decide what you might like to see."

I went through the day happy that this was going to happen. I hadn't been out on a date with a woman besides Mary for quite a few months, and when I say "date" with Mary it was usually to play tennis or racquetball, a post "drink" rendezvous, or sometimes a movie if something comes out that looks interesting to both of us (rare).

Last Fall I met Lindsay, a faculty member from WPI, a woman of about 28 or 30, at the coffee bar on the second floor. We happened to be in line together a couple days in a row after seeing each other at the paper stand, getting the same papers, the Boston Globe and the Wall Street Journal. We chuckled that we were both creatures of habit, of like tastes and I asked her to sit a drink her coffee with me instead of running off to her bus. (Students and faculty alike would park downtown and use a university issued bus pass to get to campus. It alleviated traffic and parking problems at the Institute) We got along very well and eventually I asked her to dinner and that turned into going to a wine festival in Boston where I found she was interested in sports and we went to a few Bruins games in the winter and Sox games in the summer. We had sex after a month or so, but never really had a marathon session like young lovers tend to do once they become accustom to each other. I looked forward to a weekend we might just spend in bed, but it never happened. She seemed to like sex, was active in bed, sucking, fucking, playing around, but if she or I stayed the night, when I woke up she was already up and showered and dressed. Those romantic mornings just never happened. We were great, but just never THAT great. We just kind of grew apart, cordially. I still see her for coffee a lot and she always says, we should get together, but unless she asks me out, it won't happen.

I'm a good looking enough guy that I don't have to remain celibate. If I want to frequent a club, I can usually score, or come close, or get a good phone number. I don't really have a lot of time for screwing around, but I'm definitely no saint. If not for Mary hitting my relief valve, I might be more active in the female chasing sport, but overall I'm happy. But, Allie was an exception. She is a fox, smart, and although she may be a lesbian, according to Mary (I wondered about the context of what she heard), I might hope she's a bi-sexual who can join another team and become a key contributor.

At the Cine Six all showings of the four "hit" movies started between 6:15 and 6:45, the other 2 were animated kid or family movies. Allie was prompt at her corner when I got there. She was dressed in short-shorts and a second skin top with a halter type sweater over it. She was, in a word, sexy.

"Well, you certainly look very nice tonight. What movie did you pick?" I asked just after she got in the car.

"Is Chloe a good choice? It's pretty new and supposed to be a thriller with Liam Neeson."

"I haven't seen it, sounds good to me. I think that one starts at 6:30 so we have plenty of time. I was going to take you to Pizza Bistro afterwards. Their pie is great and they have a great wine list with pairings for different type pizza."

"That's different, I usually drink beer with pizza." She laughed.

"And you can," I added, "whatever you like. It's just their specialty."

We made small talk before the movie and got our popcorn, drinks and she wanted Junior Mints. The movie was much sexier than I thought it might be plus it featured Julianne Moore whom I find incredibly alluring and Amanda Seyfried who had a resemblance to Allie. Besides the regular sex in the film, there was a scene where both women made love and I was mad I wasn't aware of this, I didn't want to see her feel uncomfortable, but wondered if she knew and it was why she picked it. I speculated she picked it to give me a message and all this, when in fact it was all coincidence.

After the movie I asked her what she thought of it and she expounded for 10 minutes while we drove to Pizza Bistro about the relationships, the acceptance of a man cheating on his wife in some situations, just the whole gamut of things pictured in the film. She definitely had an analytical mind and showed me a glimpse of her creative brilliance as she peeled the onion of the plot and outcome. It occurred to me at one point that her in depth diatribe may have been a cover for making small talk, as she had little to say to me in fear of bringing up the blatant SEX mood the film cast on its viewers

We started with a Coppola Rosso wine, which is a favorite of mine, it's neither too sweet or too dry, just a leathery grapey finish that goes well with anything, but with the pizza (Pancetta, caramelized onion, and ricotta) we ordered, it was recommended. She drained her glass before he pizza arrived and when the waiter went to refill her she hesitated, but let him do it. But after her first slice of pizza and half of her wine gone she looked at me very cutely, almost blushing and asked, "Would you mind if I switched to beer? The wine is good, but I guess I'm just a beer girl."

Of course I had no problem with that, whatever made her happy. We enjoyed the pizza thoroughly with her eating 3 pieces and I 4, leaving the last for the sweepers. While I just had 2 wines, she had 1 and a half, and then 2 16 ounce beers. I thought she was handling it all well, but after a small scoop of gelato she seemed to be slurring a bit. I didn't want her to have a problem and I offered coffee, which she accepted and drank about half of before excusing herself to the ladies room. I worried because she staggered walking away. She seemed to be gone a long time and I was afraid she may have gotten sick, but when she returned she insisted she hadn't and looking at her closer, I could see she had been crying.

It was quiet in the car as we headed home and I finally broke the ice by asking the obvious.

"Allie is there something I said or did to upset you? I see you were crying and I hope I didn't do anything to make you feel bad."

"No, I just drank too much, got drunk and thought too much about making a fool of myself. I should never have come tonight."

"What? You didn't have a good time. You seemed to love the movie."

"Can we just not talk, and bring me home. I'm so fucked up." She said turning to the window.