“It does smell really good, and yes, I’m starving. Unfortunately, I had to work through my lunch break today. Then again, that’s been most days lately. The store stays so busy, plus the fact that we are short-handed at the moment doesn’t help any.”
“Doing what I do is bad enough, but at least I get some downtime in between calls. I can’t imagine doing your job for eight hours with no breaks.”
“Actually, I’ve been working ten and twelve-hour shifts. Yeah, I know, I’m a sucker for punishment. I hate leaving the store short-handed by going home, so I stay and help.”
“Wow, I thought I was a workaholic, but I have an excuse. We have to stay at the station when we are on duty. Four days on then three days off, unless there is an emergency. If that happens, they call us all back to duty.”
We talked all through dinner. The food was terrific, but getting to spend time with Tom was the best thing that has happened to me in forever. Sheesh, where has he been all my life? I can’t believe how close we live to each other and haven’t run into each other before today.
“Thank you so much for dinner, Tom. I’ve had such an incredible time just sitting here talking to you.”
“Nicole, believe me when I say the pleasure has been all mine. It’s been a long time since I have enjoyed myself this much.”
“I just thought that myself. If I didn’t know better, I would think that you were reading my mind.”
“I wish I could, that way I would already know the answer to my next question. I have another day off, then back to the grind for the following four days. How would you like to have dinner with me again tomorrow? Same time, same place, a different restaurant, what do you say?”
I can’t believe he wants to see me again, even though I had prayed all through our meal that he would ask. Once we took our masks off to eat, I had a hard time not staring at him. Tom is even more handsome than I had imagined in the store. Tall, dark hair, neatly trimmed beard, and his eyes are like the most transparent blue pools of water you have ever seen.
“I would love to have dinner again. The only people I see are the crazy’s at work. Once I go home, I don’t see or talk to anyone until the next day when I go back to work. I’m an only child, and both of my parents passed a few years ago, just a few short months apart.”
“I’m sorry, Nicole. That had to be rough. You know, even though I’m at the station, we can Skype if you want. We can do pretty much anything that we want as long as we don’t leave the building.”
“Let’s see how tomorrow goes. Who knows a second date may have you wanting to run the other direction when you see me coming down the street.”
We both laughed at that, “Ah, I think you would be the one running from me thinking that I’m a creepy stalker or something even worse.”
“Hmm, at least you’re a good-looking creeper.”
That had both of us laughing even harder. We talked for a few more minutes then walked to our cars. Once we said our final good-byes, we both drove off in different directions. All the way home, I couldn’t stop thinking how good-looking Tom is and hoping that this will grow into something more. Time will tell that’s for sure.
Epilogue
Tom and I have spent every minute together that we can since our first date. It’s been three months since he came to my rescue. When we can’t meet at the park, we Skype for hours. There have been times one of us has fallen asleep with the camera still on. I couldn’t help but laugh the first time he fell asleep. I swear that man has a chainsaw inside of him as loud as he snores. One of the guys at the station threw a pillow at him to wake him up so the snoring would stop. Tom told me that they’ve done worse to him.
The pandemic is still raging on around us, but we have found sanity in the middle of the chaos. I haven’t said it yet, but I’m falling hard for Tom. All I can do is pray that he feels the same way towards me. I’m going to find out tonight. He’s on call, so he will be at the station, but we will be skyping with one another.
So far, we have told each other everything about ourselves. We have teased each other a little bit at the sexual tension we both feel. Lord knows he has starred in many of my dreams. I’ve masturbated to thoughts of him while listening to messages he has left on my voicemail. I sent him a message earlier to be someplace in the department where he is alone when he skypes me tonight. I ordered a sexy teddy online that arrived in the mail today. It’s all lace with a tiny bit of satin trim and a thong.
I can’t wait for him to call, is he ever going to be surprised. Then again, he can’t be any more surprised than I was that I could find Mr. Right in the middle of a pandemic. Finally, my laptop is ringing, letting me know that he is calling. Time to surprise Mr. Right, tonight I’m going to tell him that I love him and see what happens from there. If I am lucky, he loves me too, and we will both get a happy ending while we watch each other masturbate.
Tapping the mouse on Skype to answer the call, I can see that Tom is indeed alone. That’s when I step in front of the camera so that he can get a good look at me. The butterflies in my stomach were almost my undoing until I heard the moan escape his lips. That’s when I knew, pandemic or not, love would find a way to burst into flames when given a chance.
The end…for now.