"Hello," a sweet voice sang from above my head.
I looked up from the window, right into the face of the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. She smiled at me, soaking wet from head to toe. Her long, wavy hair looked like fire, but was dripping water. She pulled out the chair in front of me and sat down. Her intense, green cat eyes shining brightly like a giddy child.
"Hey." I couldn't help but smile at this girl. She was beautiful, but she reminded me of a child about to burst after holding in a secret for too long. Her eyes darted back and forth across my face, seeming to grow wider and brighter. She cocked her head to the side, chewing on her bottom lip.
We sat there, staring at each other for a minute, embarrassed smiles plastered on both of our faces. "What are you doing today?" she asked suddenly, not even blinking.
"Um, nothing?" I broke eye contact and glanced down at the coffee cup I had my hands wrapped around. I looked up and she was still looking at me intently, her smile suddenly gone. Had I said that wrong? Wait, I thought. I don't even know this girl. How could I have done something wrong? Do I even know her?
"This is the most... forward approach I have ever made with someone." the girl said as if she had read my mind. "I normally don't just sit down and talk. But something told me to talk to you, so I did." she shrugged, a small smile reappearing on her lips.
"Because of my good looks, huh?" I teased, trying to ease some of the tension that settled after the awkward little staring contest. "Just kidding. But I do admire your confidence." I complimented.
The girl's smile grew wider, and she sat back with a sigh of relief. "Okay good, I didn't want to come off as a weirdo." she laughed.
"Don't worry about it." I assured her, the smile on my own lips growing too. "Someone as beautiful as you probably will never come off as a weirdo." I grinned.
"Oh, why thank you." she giggled, resting her chin on her hand, her index finger covering her lips. "So," she moved her index finger off of her lips and chewed the side of it. "Tell me three things about yourself."
"Anything?" I asked.
"Anything."
"Okay, lets see. Um, I ride a bike. You know, like a motorcycle? I'm a tattoo artist and uh. Um. Hm... I love running?" I finished up, chuckling. "Sorry, that's the best I could do."
"That's okay, that was good. Kinda." the girl giggled. "Okay, my turn. I have two canaries, ones name is Peaches, the other is Dolly, I'm new to this big and wonderful rainy city. And, I bet I can out run you." she smirked confidently.
I laughed and shook my head, disagreeing with her. "No way, I could totally beat you."
"Is that a challenge, mister...?"
"Roland."
"Mister Roland?" she finished, smiling brightly. "Would you like to go to the park with me?"
I looked out the window. It was rainy in the city today, and it seemed to be coming down pretty hard. I looked at all the people bustling past with umbrellas, newspapers, anything they could find to cover their heads with. I looked back at my new friend, sitting there with a mischievous, confident smile on her face.
"Oh come on," she said as she leaned closer across the table, her face close to mine. "A little rain never hurt anyone." she whispered, her breath blowing lightly into my face. It smelled like strawberries.
I looked down at her lips, having the sudden urge to kiss them. No, don't kiss her, you creep. I looked out the window, then back at her. She was still leaning across the table, gazing at me, waiting for an answer. Her lips twitched, trying to hold back the smile that touched her eyes. "Okay fine." I finally gave in, laughing as in one swift movement she jumped back and out of her chair excitedly.
"Come, on, come on." she hopped on one foot impatiently, her mischievous smile growing even wider. I thought her face was going to split.
I stood up and took a few steps toward her, which made her dance a few steps back immediately. I stopped and looked at her questioningly, feeling my eyebrow raise slightly. She danced closer once I stopped walking towards her, just barely out of arms reach.
"Okay, I say I can out run you. You don't believe me. Correct?" she asked.
"Yes..?" I replied slowly, still not sure of what was going on.
"Well then, we'll see. I'll race you to the park that was down that way." she pointed towards the west, where Del Rose park was. "No, no, we'll play tag!" she beamed. "Okay?"
"Okay, fine.Starting... Now!" I lunged forward and tried to grab her, but she darted out of my reach and out the door in a flash. I crashed through the door, chasing after her past two umbrellaed ladies. "Sorry!" I yelled out behind me.
I ran and ran, blinking the rain out of my eyes just in time to see a flash of fire disappear a few people ahead of me. This girl was right, she was extremely fast. But she wouldn't beat me. I dodged around a gay couple strolling hand in hand under a huge, clear umbrella, trying not to knock into them. Only to come close to nearly knocking down an angry looking middle-aged Hispanic man. "Estúpida mierda!" he screamed after me.
I looked ahead, and aha! There was a red light. I sped up, weaving through people as fast as I could without ramming anyone down. I was just one person behind her when the light changed, and she sprinted ahead three more people. Damn was this girl fast. It didn't help that since she was smaller she could maneuver through people better. I glanced at the street quickly, measuring the distance from the small strip of the curb to the street where speeding cars and taxis whizzed past.
"Now or never," I muttered and plunged through the people, landing in the street and gaining speed. "Ha!" I yelled as I caught up along side of her. I was about to reach out and tag her whenBEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! An extremely close, and extremely angry, taxi whizzed past, spraying even more water into my face.
"Don't think so, get out of the street!" she laughed as she bolted ahead and through the crowd once more. I jumped up onto the edge of the sidewalk, squeezing into the little room that was there.
I really think she's going to beat me.
We finally got off the busy streets, and onto the calmer roads leading to the park. She was, of course, still ahead of me. Every time I sped up, she sped up even faster. So I just slowed down, letting her think I had given up. Since it was raining, there was barely anyone in the park, or even outside. I followed her into the park to the way, far back. Her speed gradually slowed, and I slowed mine more as well. She glanced behind her shoulder routinely, checking to make sure I was still jogging along behind her. We were heading towards a giant, towering oak. After a few more minutes, I sped up again, grabbing her around the waist.
"Nooo!" she cried, struggling to break loose.
"Ha ha ha!" I laughed, tightening my grip on her. We got to the oak and she finally wriggled free, spinning around and throwing herself onto the trunk of the tree. I landed against her, our chests touching, my hands pressed into the trunk on either side of her head. "You're. Fast." I panted.
"You're uh. Pretty fast too." she also panted. "But not. Faster than. Me." she managed to pant out a laugh and leaned her head back against the tree, looking up at me. Her full, pink lips were right under mine, the sweet smell of her strawberry breath drifting into my face again. She smiled and lifted her hand up, softly placing her index finger on my lips. "I'm River." she whispered.
I stared down at her, her green eyes piercing through me like an arrow. I smiled under her finger, kissing the tip gently. "Nice to meet you, Miss River."
We had been sitting in the rain for what seemed like hours, just talking. From favorite movies, to favorite quotes, authors, music, bands, cartoons as kids. Even to singing "This is the song that never ends..." for what also seemed like ages. We talked about where we grew up, and how we ended up in New York. I don't think I've ever learned so much about a person in such a short amount of time.
"Alright. Um, Digger the Dane or Nifty the Kitty?" River asked, resting her head on my shoulder. She had a piece of her fire hair in her mouth, chewing on it gently.We were sitting in the grass, leaning back against the oak tree's broad, thick trunk.
"Definitely Digger the Dane. Do I look like a girl to you? What man likes kitties?" I taunted her, and began to tickle her sides.
"No, no you don't look like a girl to me!" she giggled, falling over into the wet grass. The rain had finally let up some, coming to a light drizzle, but it barely reached us under the wide shading of the oak tree. It really wouldn't have mattered if it had though, we were already soaked through to the bone.
"What? What was that? I can't hear you." I laughed, rolling on top of her and tickling her stomach.
"No. You don't. Look like. A girl." she gasped out, kicking her legs as she tried to fight me off. "No. Tickles! Please!" she squealed.
I snickered, rolling off into the spot next to her. "Fine, fine. I'll stop." I took a long lock of her hair and stared at it, rubbing it between my fingers. "Your hair is really soft."
River giggled, nuzzling her head against me. "Thank you babes. Its real too. Like, the color. And the length, I guess. You know everyone with their hair extensions now a days." she shrugged, groping the ground above her head for a leaf. She found one and brought in front of her , and began pulling it apart slowly. "Everyone has fake things now. Hair, nails, eyelashes, noses, boobs, butts. Just bodies in general." she turned her head, staring at me keenly. "Why don't women love themselves, Roland?"
"I.. don't know." I stared back, surprised she had asked me that question. "There's just so much pressure in today's society, I guess. Women feel the need to be perfect to get the love of a man. They think we want something perfect. But we don't. We love messy hair, when you wear our t-shirts," I picked up her hand, spreading out her fingers against mine before dropping it again. "chipped fingernail polish."
River looked away, staring straight up into the branches of the oak tree. "I love myself." she said simply. "And that's all that matters."
I continued to look at her, wondering why more people weren't like River. She was out there, funny, smart. Her imagination was wilder than PeeWee Herman's, and most of all-- she loved herself. That is what women lacked most, the love and respect for themselves.
"Its getting kind of late," River said, interrupting my thoughts. "Its dangerous to be out in the parks at night, and to ride the bus home all by yourself when you're just a helpless little lady." she giggled. "But in all seriousness, I don't want to ride the bus home too dark, its kind of a scary walk to my place from the bus stop. And from the coffee shop to the bus stop."
"You really think I'm going to let you walk alone to the bus stop from Joe's?" I shook my head in disbelief. "I wouldn't do that to you. That is pretty dangerous for a pretty girl like you." I smiled and touched her chin with my thumb. "Come on," I stood up and reached down to pull her up too. "I'll take you home."
River's eyes widened, looking like a surprised little girl. "You mean, on your bike?"
"Well what else would I mean by? That's my only means of transportation." I laughed. The faces she made were so cute. Shut up, you sound like a girl. I told myself.
"Oh, okay. Then.. I guess.." River's eyes showed her concern, but her lips were smiling confidently.
I put my arm around her shoulders and lead her away from the tree, heading for the exit/entrance of the park. 'Don't worry, I won't let you get hurt. I promise."
"Now, here's your helmet." I sat on my bike and handed River my helmet, waiting for her to climb on. "Do you remember what I told you?" I asked as I kicked up the kick stand and steadied the bike with my foot.
"Um, lean with the bike? But not too much." River squeaked from underneath the helmet. She climbed onto the back, her arms clutching my waist in an iron grip.
"Exactly." When I started up the bike I felt River flinch, and her grip around my middle became even more tighter. If that were even possible. "Okay, calm down. There's nothing to be afraid of. And loosen the grip a little, you're going to strangle me."
River didn't say anything, just loosened her grip a little bit. "Okay, here we go." I told her. I pressed the gas clutch, and shot off through the parking garage. We zoomed out and down the street, stopping at the first red light. "River, I'm going to need you to tell me where you live." I yelled back to her.
"Um, on 245 and 4th East Street." she yelled back. Whoo. I let out a low whistle, lunging forward when the light turned green. That was a really nice place, and lucky for River, who I could feel trembling against me, was very close.
River slid off of my bike, her arm reaching out and grasping onto me to support herself. "That was... fun." she pulled off my helmet and handed it back to me, a shaky smile on her lips. Her face was even paler than normal.
"No it wasn't. You look like you've gotten the life sucked out of you." I put the helmet on the handle, kicking the stand down and getting off of the bike. "I felt you trembling. I'm sorry."
"No, no. Once I got over the fact of how fast it was, it was actually really fun. And you see how little I am, it was the shivers running through the bike that trembled me." she laughed. "I had a fun time on it after a minute, I promise." River held out her pinkie, waiting for mine.
I eyed her finger, then chuckled and linked my pinkie with hers. "Okay, good. Was it fun enough for maybe another ride, soon?" I asked hopefully. I really wanted to see this girl again, but I was nervous she wouldn't want to see me again. Or my death trap on two wheels that most girls found hot. But that's what made River special, she wasn't like most girls.
"Definitely." River's smile widened as she threw her arms around my neck, going up on her tippytoes and giving me a hug. I smiled and wrapped my arms around her waist, hugging her close. When we parted she stepped back, taking my hand into hers. "Will you walk me home? Well, to the elevator?" she giggled.
"Sure thing beautiful." I grinned. We slowly walked into her building, stopping in front of the elevator doors. "Well," I said, turning to her. I didn't want to let her hand go.
"Well." River smiled, taking my other hand. "Thank you, for a wonderful rainy date." she bit her lip and looked down at our hands for a minute. "Can we go on another one? Say, on Tuesday?" she asked as she looked back up at me.
I smiled, my heart beat speeding up like it was on meth. "Yes, but... Preferably a dry date? I'm kind of cold." I laughed, a small shiver running through my body.
River giggled and nodded her head. "Yes, definitely a dry one. Be here.. say two?"
"Two." I repeated.
River leaned closer, her eyes growing larger as she did. She laid her head on my chest for a minute, releasing a huge sigh. "Really Roland, thank you for this." she lifted her head, her sweet strawberry breath on my lips. "For giving a stranger a chance." she whispered. River let go of my hands and wrapped her own around my neck, pulling my head down to hers, and pressed her soft lips into mine.
At that point, I knew that I loved her. The electric surge I felt go through my body was nothing that I have ever felt before, leaving my lips tingling when she stood back. She pressed the elevator button, her eyes never leaving mine until the doors opened. "See you," she whispered with a smile. When the elevator doors closed, I stood there. Staring at them. Still in shock from what I had felt when she kissed me. It was only my first time meeting her, our first "date" and yet I knew what that feeling I felt was.
"I love you," I whispered to the closed elevator doors.