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A smirk comes across his lips, lighting up his eyes. “Same,” he tells her, taking my menu from me and handing them both to her.
While we wait for our food, it’s not awkward at all.
“Well, I guess I realized I know nothing about you, considering I didn’t expect you to show up on a motorcycle, and no one usually likes the weird options on the menu like I do.”
The corner of his mouth turns up in a smile. “I forget it’s something people don't automatically know. How was it?”
“Not as scary as I thought. I’m glad I wore pants today.” I lean forward, resting my chin on my fist.
A curious expression washes over his face for a second before it clears. “Okay, so you know I own a motorcycle now. What else do you want to know?”
Wow, that’s a lot of pressure. I haven’t been on an actual date with anyone besides my high school boyfriend, Grayson, and those feel different than this. Maybe I should have made note cards like Avery joked. I’m not sure what to ask, so I say the first thing that pops into my mind. “If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?”
“Hmmm.” He looks toward the ceiling, pondering for a moment. “I don’t know much about different places. I’ve only ever been to California. But I do think it would be cool to go to the airport one day and just buy a ticket for the next available flight.”
“Wow, that’s the definition of spontaneous. I’m not sure I could do it.”
“Life is too short not to take a chance. I mean, sometimes you can make a decision on purpose and not like where you end up, so why not chance all of it?”I suppose that makes sense in a twisted way, but it sounds a little too stressful for me. I’m more of a reason and logic type of girl.
“Where would you go?”
“Anywhere and everywhere is on my list.” I pause for a moment before I add, “As long as I know where I’m going before I go.”
“You’re no fun,” he plays. “Okay, my turn, what are you most afraid of?”
I’m not sure if he’s looking for an answer along the lines of spiders or heights, but I decide to say what first comes to mind. “Graduation. I have no idea what I want to do after I finish school.”
“You’re a psych major, right?” He leans back in his chair, and sips on his water, eyes fully focused on me.
“Yeah, I took a psych class in high school and loved it. There are so many different routes I can take with it. I’ve considered a few options, but nothing has been speaking to me. I guess I always thought I’d take a year off to travel before settling down, but I doubt that will happen.”
He questions me. “What makes you think it won’t happen?”
“It was something I planned to do with my best friend. But she jumped ahead to the settling down part, found the love of her life before the rest of us, ya know?”
“Yeah, I know how that goes…” he trails off at the end. The look in his eyes tells me he does know, although I’m not sure in what sense. He goes quiet after that. When I think he’s about to open his mouth and say something else, our food appears.
I get on his motorcycle again, this time with a lot more ease. Partially because it’s no longer my first time on a motorcycle, but also because I feel comfortable around Troy. There’s a warmth about him that makes me feel like I can talk about anything. He also has this fearlessness I want to explore. I don’t ask him where we are going, although I hope it’s not home. Considering he hasn’t asked me where I live, I’m guessing the date isn’t over.
We slow down when we approach what looks like the entrance to a hiking trail. A sign off to the side says “Skinner Butte.” I’m surprised when he doesn’t park the bike, but then realize the paved path continues up the side of the hill. This lookout point over the city has been on my list of places to check out, but I’ve never made time to come here. Once he parks, we get off the bike and walk to the edge of the circular viewpoint that's lined with a black barred barrier. “Wow, it feels like you can see the whole city from here,” I whisper.
The sun hasn’t quite set, but I can see the glow coming from the houses below. I don’t need light to feel him stepping closer. It always seems warmer when he’s nearby, especially whenever he closes the distance between us. Within a few moments, the goosebumps covering my body under my sweatshirt start to fade away. He’s only a few inches away from my face, close enough I can smell his cologne. I can’t place the notes, but it’s a little sweet and a little spicy.
Even though no part of his body is touching mine, I get the feeling he might try to kiss me. Considering I don’t know what’s normal for dating these days, I’m slightly hesitant. I mean, I am in the middle of nowhere in the dark, with someone who is practically a stranger. I kind of hope he leans in anyway. His eyes flash to my mouth for a moment, but then he pulls back a little, as if he was too close to focus on me. He angles his body away from me slightly, shifting his gaze back at the city. “It’s one of my favorite places here. I stumbled across it right after I got my bike.” His eyes pull away from the view toward me as if he was referring to something different all along.
A few more minutes of comfortable silence pass. I can’t tell if I’m disappointed he didn’t kiss me–it’s probably too soon for that–but I know I am not disappointed with this view. It’s beautiful out here, a blend of green, yellow and orange trees enclosing the town in front of us and the shadows of small mountains behind it all. I should come here more often. There’s something about looking out into the world that puts into perspective how small you are in the grand scheme of things. It almost convinces you everything is going to work out fine, even if it's only temporarily.
“Carley told me you were going to chicken out of asking me to hang out if she didn't talk you into it. Do you think you would have?” The words come tumbling out of me, breaking the silence before I can stop myself or know why I am saying them.
His eyes sparkle slightly in the orange glow of the sunset. “I guess we will never know.”
“This is a date, right? I mean it feels date-ish. But just because she’s not here, I’m not trying to misread this situation.” Dear God, Maci, stop talking.
He laughs, wrapping his arm around me and squeezing my shoulder. Pressing his lips into my hair softly, he kisses the side of my head, “Definitely a date, but it’s getting late. I should get home so I don’t sleep through class again tomorrow. Ready to go?”
It’s not that late, and I’d rather stay out here for hours than get enough sleep for school, but I nod instead.
We aren’t very far from my apartment, so I nudge him from behind, directing him on the few turns he has to take to get me home. He pulls up in front of my first floor apartment door and flips the kickstand out, without turning off his bike. I swing my leg over, pulling my helmet off for him. He removes his too, while reaching for mine. Pulling me into a hug, he whispers in my ear, “Thanks for the adventure, Maci.”
