Shelby stepped out of the shower, dried off quickly, and put on her bath robe. Coffee was calling her name ever since she opened her eyes. She was surprised that she had the fortitude to shower before bothering to go downstairs and make the coffee, but she wasn’t even awake enough to do that yet. Sometimes a hot shower was what the doctor ordered just to initiate the waking up process.

She stumbled downstairs and started up the pot of coffee. She was all set to begin making her breakfast when the doorbell rang.

She answered the door, mildly annoyed that somebody was ringing the bell on a Saturday morning. If they didn’t get throat punched they should consider themselves lucky. She pulled the door open angrily and saw no one. She stepped out and looked around.

She was about to go back inside when she saw a gold envelope glistening in the morning sun. Picking it up she continued to look around to see who might have left it there, but the person had vanished like a ghost.

Shelby walked back inside her home and opened the envelope. Inside was a piece of paper with some fancy writing on it. She read the message carefully several times.

Meet me at the park at noon. Take a chance, unless you’re scared.

Scared? Shelby Wilkes was never scared. Although, right now she was a bit creeped out. It had to be Aaron. She didn’t know him well, but she knew that he loved to play games as much as she did and it looked like she had finally found a worthy opponent. How did he get her address? The internet most likely. That would be really creepy if that were true, but she had told him her full name and he knew the neighborhood she lived in. She had never seen him around there except that one day, so she was thinking that he had to live at least a couple blocks down the road from her. Greenway Park was a fairly good sized community.

Her phone buzzed just then.

It was a text from Michelle. “Worst hangover ever!”

She replied back to the text. “That sucks. I just got an envelope from that guy, Aaron, left on my doorstep. Creepy. How does he know where I live?”

Michelle’s text replied. “Because I kind of told him.”

Shelby dialed Michelle’s number. She answered on the second ring sounding like death.

“What do you mean you told him?” Shelby asked.

“I saw him at the club last night. He is so fine! I was a bit drunk and felt like you were being ridiculous with these games you are always playing. I didn’t want to see you chase another great guy away with this crap.”

“What are you talking about? I wasn’t chasing anyone away. And that is a huge invasion of privacy. It’s weird. I almost had a heart attack when I saw that letter.”

“Why? What did it say? Something kinky?”

“You are so perverted. No, he wants me to meet him at the park at noon.”

“Sweet, I’ve never done it in a park before. Well, not since high school, but I was really drunk.”

Shelby burst out laughing. “Michelle, you are disgusting. Really, you truly need help.”

“I know this. I’m not going to get any.”

“I don’t know what I should do,” Shelby said.

“What? Are you nuts? You are going to meet him and you are going to have fun. You are going to let down that mega bitch guard of yours and let someone in. It is going to be sweet.”

“I am not a mega bitch!”

“Yes, you are. This Aaron guy is totally hot, and totally into you. Give him a chance!”

Shelby thought for a second.

“Ok, mom. I’ll go.”

“I think you still need a mom telling you what to do,” Michelle replied.

After she hung up with Michelle she poured her coffee and sat down to do some reading with breakfast. She was thinking about the date she had with Aaron. Maybe Michelle was right. She had been keeping guys at bay and always afraid to let anyone in.

Well, Aaron Davis today is your lucky day.

* * *

She arrived at the park about five minutes late. She was dragging her feet to this thing, but she knew that she needed to just let go and enjoy herself. Aaron was standing there in a grassy open spot with a picnic basket and a large blanket. The whole gesture was far more romantic than she had imagined and she was touched by the sweetness of the idea.

The food he had prepared was amazing; he had chicken salad sandwiches, potato salad, some fresh fruit, and a few beers. Shelby ate until she was stuffed beyond the telling of it. Every breath now hurt as her belly pushed food against her diaphragm.

“That’s how a woman is supposed to eat,” Aaron said. He seemed proud of her as if she had just finished first in a disgusting eating contest. She supposed it was cute.

Actually, the more time she spent with him the cuter everything he did seemed to be. She loved the way he set up his jokes, and the way the punch line was always something seemingly unrelated to the joke until you thought about it for a while. She loved the way he was genuinely interested in her and not staring off into other directions when she was speaking. And she loved how focused he was on her, so much so that when two sexy looking girls walked by and gave him flirty glances he completely ignored them.

They spoke at length about their lives up to this point. He told her about growing up and exactly how he had gotten into fighting, and how he had been forced into early retirement due to a shoulder injury.

“You want to see the scar? It’s beautiful to look at when you’re eating,” Aaron joked.

“I’ll pass. I can just take your word for it that it is a beauty,” Shelby said.

“Ok, just let me know if you change your mind.”

“So, what happened after you got hurt?”

“Well, I was really bummed when the doctor told me that I would never be able to fight again or else I’d injure the shoulder permanently and have limited use in my left arm. I had to make a choice.”

“Wow that is so tough.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty hard to deal with when you are suddenly told that the very thing you’ve dedicated your whole life to is something you can’t do anymore. It’s a tough pill to swallow that’s for sure.”

“I don’t know what I’d do if I for some reason wasn’t able to write anymore. I don’t know how to be anything else,” Shelby said.

“That’s awesome that you are dedicated to a craft like that. You can understand kind of what I went through then with my own ordeal. So many people wander through life not knowing who they are or what they want out of life. They just exist. I’ve never seen how anyone could just do that and not go for it, you know?”

“Absolutely. You can’t drag me away from the keyboard most days. I just love what I do and I only want to do that. People don’t get that. It’s why my relationships keep failing.”

“I can understand that. I’ve been in love a few times, but it ended up not working out because the other person couldn’t understand my dedication to my craft.”

“I totally get that,” Shelby said and she really did. She was actually enjoying this conversation and getting to know Aaron almost as much as she enjoyed writing. That never happened.

Walking back to her place she had a newfound appreciation and feelings for Aaron Davis. She didn’t want the date to end and she was already thinking about the next time she was going to see him. As she stood on her doorstep and said goodbye, Aaron grabbed her suddenly, but gently and leaned forward planting his lips on hers. He tasted good, and strong. She felt his warmth and his presence.

“I’ll call you,” Aaron said.

“Ok, great.”

Shelby ran into the house to call Michelle and Rachel. She was so happy that she couldn’t stop giggling.