21
Chad
I didn’t know what it was about this woman that had me so captivated. She was vastly different from the girls I had dated in California. It was obvious that underneath her reserved demeanor, she was a loving and passionate woman just waiting to spread her wings. There was also something quite beautiful about her understated look. She didn’t need to spend a lot of time on her hair and makeup to make her self look prettier, like so many girls do, because she was organically beautiful.
Emily had been stymied in a passionless relationship for too long, and it was time for her to experience how incredible things can be between a man and a woman. Unleashing her passion might take time, but I knew she was worth the wait. I wanted to be her knight in shining armor. It wasn’t anything I could rationalize. Something had compelled me to call her that night. I was glad I did, because I’d had a really good time.
I was a popular guy growing up and didn’t have any problem finding girls to go out with. Screwing around with a lot of girls never interested me, though. I liked being with one girl at a time. I didn’t give in to drunken one-night stands. I always felt like it cheapened the girl as well as me. I also never wanted to be known as a player. I thought it was an embarrassing stigma.
My folks were married a long time. They were great friends and, I assumed, great lovers. Their example made me want what they had one day. I’d had only two girlfriends in high school and two in college. Many of my buddies weren’t even sure how many girls they slept with. I wasn’t that kind of guy.
When I first came to New York, I wasn’t sure I would meet someone I wanted to date. I knew I would need to make law school my priority. Besides, it was a much different way of life than I was used to. People warned me that life would be more hectic on the East Coast, and in many ways they were right. Not only had I grown up in California, but I’d gone to college there too, so I was used to a more relaxed way of life.
New York was anything but relaxed. There was this frenzied vibe that emanated around every corner. It was exciting and, at times, overwhelming. I’d never traveled to that part of the country before I’d interviewed for law school in New York. I knew I needed a change of scenery, and New York was a definitive change from what I was used to.
I had a little sister named Nora who wanted to come to the East Coast for college. She was planning to visit me over break and see what New York had to offer. Her dream was to go to Columbia. My parents were planning to send her here next month so I could go on a tour of the campus with her. She already contacted the college and set up an appointment. She also set up a time to meet with someone from NYU. She figured she should check out more than one college while she was here. Her grades were fantastic, and she scored really well on all of the standardized tests. She played soccer, volunteered, and played the piano. She was planning to apply early decision. I thought she had a pretty good chance of getting in.
My older brother, Tate, went to the University of Colorado and moved back to California when he finished. He got two bachelor’s degrees: one in biology and another in psychology. He got a job as a pharmaceutical rep right after graduation and was doing great. Apparently he was a born salesman. I also heard he was dating a great woman he met at a hospital. My mother just told me about his new love. I needed to call him and see what was going on.
My mother was a very successful interior decorator. She owned her own company and had two assistants who worked for her. She had made quite a name for herself and was very busy. She had been talking about expanding the business and hiring more decorators, but she didn’t want to lose the personal connection she established with her clients. I had a feeling she would keep her business the size it was. I couldn’t see her risking her quality of work for more business. It wasn’t her style.
Our father worked for the San Francisco Parks Department and had been working there for over twenty years. His passion for the environment prompted me to focus on environmental law. Neither of my parents wanted jobs that required them to sit behind desks. They’d always enjoyed a more active lifestyle.
We’d spent a lot of time outdoors while I was growing up. My whole family loved to sail, ski, and hike. My parents didn’t let us turn on the television very often. Instead they encouraged us to play games, read, or play outside. I was so glad that was how I was raised. It seemed like nowadays kids were so wrapped up in video games, their computers, and their cell phones that they had forgotten how to play.
I wasn’t sure how Emily would react to my suggestion to go paintballing. I was so glad she was receptive to the idea. We spent so much time sitting in classes and in the library studying that I needed to do something fun and physical. It was how I dealt with the stress of being cooped up all day. I knew she appreciated my suggestion. We definitely laughed a lot, and it was obvious she had a great time. I was going to have to come up with some other ideas of things to do with her if our relationship continued in the direction I hoped it would.
I was excited to feel how responsive she was to my kiss. I hadn’t planned on kissing her. The plan was to take my time. She just moved out of her boyfriend’s place, for Pete’s sake. I figured it was too soon. But she seemed eager to kiss me back. There was a sexual naiveté about her that I found incredibly appealing. I felt like a high school kid embarking on his first crush. It was a great feeling.