I’m not willing to let this one go to waste. From now on, our dates will be akin to going to the candy shop. I want to get to know Helena, front to back. I want to explore every nook and cranny. I’m not keeping my hands to myself.

I get ready, throwing on my undershirt, staring at a nice suit jacket I have for special occasions. “Not yet,” I tell myself. This isn’t the time. I still barely even know the woman. If she continues to pass the test, I might go full suit. Who knows? Maybe this woman is the one.

I laugh out loud when I think those words. The one. As if that even exists. There are people who make you feel good at certain times, but that’s about it. Can you imagine spending thirty or more years with one person? Every day would just bleed into the next. The sex dries up when the kids come. The money dries up when the mortgages hit you in the balls. And when you’re old, the government does away with social security. Yep, fuck that normal lifestyle. That’s not exactly for me.

Yet, we’re always searching for the one person that gets us. Take Halloway for example. He keeps coming back to me because we spent some time in a murderous hell hole, a million miles away. That’s our connection. He didn’t even grow up here. He’s from Texas.

When I went overseas, I had a grasp on what it might be like. I knew we’d see some real dark shit. I knew it wouldn’t be like a video game, unlike most of the other soldiers. When you’re deployed, you realize you’re stuck with a bunch of loons. Some were good, some were bad, but none of us were normal.

The whole time, I kept wondering, would I ever be normal? Would I ever own a nice house? How about a nice car? Shit, would I ever own one of those fancy smart phone devices everyone seems to be able to afford nowadays? I always wondered that kind of stuff, even when the bombs started to fall all around us.

The answer is still up in the air. I say this because you never know what kind of bomb life will hit you with. Sure, you don’t plan to have a kid or fall in love, or meet someone new. But in the end, these things happen to people out of the blue. We try and justify it and say things like, “I planned this out. I always knew it would happen this way.” But that’s only because we like to see our lives as perfect stories, like we’re some characters in a movie.

We’re not characters in any movie or book, or what have you. We’re just some normal motherfuckers who have seen some shit. So no, I don’t wear the suit. Not today. I grab a freshly dried undershirt. Jeans. My work boots. These things bring me a lot of comfort, and if Helena doesn’t like me for who I am, then fuck it all. I don’t need her.

I walk out into the sun and take a deep breath. Clearly, I’m freaking out a little. I haven’t done this “date” shit in so long. Helena is the first person in a long time to inspire me to do so. I grab my phone and pace around my house. I get up the nerve to text the woman and I say, “You ready?” You ready? Is that really what I want to say? Anyway, it’s too late. It’s been sent and she’s already typing back.

“Sure. Cool if I go naked?” she asks.

I have to give myself time to do a doubletake. Is this woman serious? Then she types out, “Just kidding. Pick me up in 15.”

“Sure thing, honey,” I send, not knowing if I am coming on too strong or not.

In all honesty, I hate this texting shit. Call me old-fashioned, but I just want to communicate on a landline or in person. That’s it. Instead, I get back and everyone is so immersed in their technology that it almost seems like in a few years, we’ll all have them installed in our bodies.

She sends back a smiley face. A fucking smiley face. Of course, that sends me into a panic. Fuck! Was the “honey” bit too much? Shit.

I take a deep breath. “You’re a Navy SEAL. You’re strong. What the fuck is wrong with you? Don’t overthink it,” I tell myself, still pacing around my house. I check my phone every two minutes or so, until fifteen minutes pass and I can leave my place to pick her up.

I get into the car and drive as fast as I can, barreling down the avenues. That’s the one cool thing about living in a small town. You can practically get away with anything.

When I get to her house, she’s outside and she’s wearing this beautiful dress with abstract shapes attached to it. She looks sexy, unique, and god damn gorgeous. I roll down my window and whistle. “Holy shit, you look good!”

She blushes and gets into the car. “You look good too,” she says, playing nice.

“Let’s be honest. I look about the same as I always do,” I say, feeling a bit embarrassed I didn’t wear my nice suit. Next time, I tell myself.

“Where we off to, honey,” she mimics me and I turn a dark shade of red.

“I’m going to be honest with you,” I tell her. “There’s not much to do in this town. But I’ve got a few plans up my sleeve.”

“Surprise me,” she says, leaning back in her seat. She smiles as I push my foot against the pedal and skid out of there.

We drive about twenty-five minutes out of Canton and I’m hoping I’ve picked a good spot for us. Today is oddly foggy and has a slight eerie vibe to it. I pull into a parking lot and we get out.

“Okay, where are we?” she laughs.

“You’ll see,” I tell her, jumping out of the car to open the door for her.

She steps out and we walk toward a building. “Hummingbird Haven?” she asks me, mouth dropping slowly. “How did you know hummingbirds are my favorite?”

I smile and feel my heart start to pound with excitement. I had no fucking idea she loved hummingbirds. I simply hoped she did. “I’m very perceptive,” I say, taking her arm in mine.

We walk inside and are greeted by the owners, who agree to take us on a tour. I shell out some money and we’re soon around over a hundred feeders. It’s a foggy, cold day, but still the hummingbirds are in full effect.

“It’s amazing,” she says, looking around us. “Oh my God, they’re so cute!”

One buzzes by my ear and I fall to the ground outside, “Ah!” I scream, swatting in front of me.

“Ha!” she laughs and then covers her mouth. I laugh with her, picking myself up and dusting my jeans off.

“Terrifying little things,” I laugh.

“Aw, come on. Look at this one here,” she says, pointing. One lands on a feeder and glances at me.

“He is pretty cute,” I admit.

“Who says it’s a he?” She glares and then smiles.

“Whatever it is, I like it. The green reminds me of your eyes,” I say. She blushes and gives me a kiss on the cheek, running away to look at more of them.

They’re everywhere. They fly up and down and sometimes you can even get a glimpse of them. They’re so different from other birds. They’re so unique that I have to wonder if they’re even anything like a normal bird. When they hover in the air, they behave so abnormally. Their wings almost look like they’re spinning.

“Oh, I love them!” She comes running over to me, throwing her arms around me. When she does this, I feel… warm. I like feeling like this. I want to feel like this forever.

When we get our fix of the birds, we walk back out front. We both get back in the car and she sighs. “That was really great, Addison,” she says.

“I told you, there aren’t very many things to do in this town. Still, there’s some special spots. You just gotta keep your eyes out for them,” I say.

She looks at me, eyes glazed with happiness. I look back at her and I have to touch her. I place my hands around her waist, feeling her skin and her bones, and her pulse through her body. My cock moves and there’s a warm feeling between my legs. I want to say, “I want you,” but I know it would be inappropriate right now. Instead, we both lean forward and our lips crush against each other’s. We kiss and I feel her tongue slide against mine. She tastes so fucking sweet, like nectar. It’s addicting. Really, I have to admit that I’m hooked.

“Now what?” she asks, biting her lip.

“I didn’t plan that far ahead,” I admit, laughing slightly.

“How about we do something devious,” she says.

“Like what?” I ask her, eyes dropping to the bottom of her dress. The ends wrap around her thighs, curling right below her panties. I can glimpse some of the pink fabric and, of course, I shoot up, hard as a rock.

“I’ve got the keys to the school.” She smiles. “Want to see my classroom?”

“Woman. You have no idea,” I tell her.

I put the keys in the ignition and I drive as fast as I can to that classroom.