She of the Sea

25 of 53 - A First Impression

The storm was intense but short lived. It hit the Gulf coast with forty mile per hour wind gusts and dropped four inches of rain in an eight-hour period. Technically, it wasn't strong enough to be classified a hurricane, but Cassie thought it was going to blow the roof off her apartment.

It had started around dinner time, just like the weather lady on TV had predicted and ended during the middle of the night. Cassie huddled beneath the covers listening to the wind howl through the cracks of her old building and the rain pelting the roof. When the wind finally eased around two, she fell into a deep sleep and didn't wake until ten the next morning.

The long sleep did her good. She felt much better than the day before. Her lungs still burned when she breathed deep, but her sore throat had all but healed. The aftereffects from the storm still made the sea too choppy to work in. Just as well. She wouldn't be able to dive given her impaired lung capacity. She would need another couple days to be back in top shape.

By noon, the skies cleared and the day warmed. The weather lady declared the next few days would be spectacular, but two more tropical storms were brewing in the Gulf and might make landfall by the end of the following week.

Rafe was due to pick her up at five. By four, Cassie had become frantic, unable to decide which of the two dresses to wear her aunt bought for her the day before. She wanted to be perfect for him.

Both garments had high hemlines to show off her legs and with modest tops. She had followed her aunt's advice about not showing skin in both areas. Besides, she was self conscious about her breasts which she considered to be unimpressive in size. One dress was red with short sleeves, the other teal with three quarter length sleeves.

Rafe had been secretive about where he was taking her, only saying they would be spending some of the time outside. She worried she would be cold after the sun went down and the breeze kicked up, so maybe the teal one with the longer sleeves would be better.

She finally decided on the teal one and slipped it on. If things worked out and they had a second date, she'd surprise him with the red one.

At five, she finished her makeup and sat on her sofa waiting. She knew she was nervous because she started playing with her braids, a bad habit of hers when anxious. The knock came at ten after and Cassie's heart started racing.

She recalled Aunt Marnie's final words of advice. "Just be yourself and everything will be fine."

Cassie opened the door.

"Cassandra, wow!" Rafe exclaimed when he caught sight of her.

His goofy grin and the way he looked at her left no doubt he liked what he was seeing. She liked the way he looked too, untucked button-down shirt with the top two buttons open exposing his chest hair, and snug fitting trousers.

"Would you like to come in or should we leave now?"

He eyed her. "I made reservations, so we should go." He paused. "On the other hand, you could convince me to ditch the reservations and stay here all night with you."

She blushed. "Nice try, but I don't think so." Not this time, anyway.

"Darn."

"Am I going to need my hoodie?"

"Bring it. We can leave it in the car if you don't need it."

A few minutes later Rafe was driving her south on U.S. 19. He drove a four-door sedan that resembled a cop car to her, but it was sparkling clean inside and out. She wondered if he spiffed it up just for her. "Can you tell me yet where we're going?"