Pete had never really been comfortable around women. Work was
fine. Relatives weren’t a problem. He got along well with
his friends’ girlfriends and wives. He had no problems with women
“friends” that had made it clear early on that dating wasn’t an
option. Actually Pete’s problem, he realized, was getting to know
new women, eligible women, the women that he wanted to date.
Not that Pete was a bad looking guy, at least not since he had turned
30 and dropped 30 pounds, calling it the 30 at 30. His improved
his self-esteem had led to a couple of promotions at work. His
career was definitely on an upward track, but his love life wasn’t
derailed, it hadn’t even left the track. Pete couldn’t get up the
nerve t ask a woman out on a date.
It all went back to Karen Saunders. She had been one of the
A-list girls in high school - - pretty and social. In hindsight,
she was the type of girl about which they had made the movie “Mean
Girls”. She was in his algebra class where Pete, something of a
nerd, was a star while Karen was struggling to pass. When she had
asked him for help, Pete jumped at the chance and helped her get a
solid B. The next year, Pete was guiding her to a B in
geometry.
She would thank him all the time, telling him that without his help,
her grades would have gotten her grounded and that she wouldn’t be able
to get into a good college. They had never done anything other than to
study together, but he thought that they were friends. Six weeks
before junior prom, Pete worked up the nerve to ask her out.
Fifteen years later, her answer still hurt. She didn’t just say
no - - she screamed, so that everyone around them could hear, “What
makes you think that I would go out with a loser like you?”
Pete heard her friends laugh and his humiliation was complete.
Now 32, Pete’s life was going well. He was in good shape having
lost his “30 at 30”, working out three or four times a week. He
was both proud of and enjoyed his job and the salary that came with
it. He would generally be considered a good catch.
On the other hand, he lacked of confidence to ask a woman out on a
date. Every now and then a friend or cousin would fix him up, but
he had such a big chip on his shoulder that it would always be over in
only a date or two. He felt that if it was a fix-up, it was
because he and/or his date was a loser.
His buddy Hal had suggested that Pete volunteer at the tutoring center
where Hal volunteered - - the program was looking for people that could
help tutor math and technology. About a year ago, Pete had met
Sarah at the center and as far as he was concerned, Sarah was damned
near perfect.
Sarah had been tutoring reading at the center for the past two years
years and had run Pete’s new tutor orientation. Despite the fact
that she was cute, Pete was comfortable talking with her about the
program. They talked about the kids, techniques, subject matter,
etc. He quickly learned that Sarah had been dating the same guy
for over a year, which made her was safe.
They didn’t see each other outside of the tutoring center.
Instead, they would chat for a half hour while munching on a sandwich
before the Monday evening tutoring sessions would begin. They
weren’t what Pete would call friends, but they were certainly friendly.
That Sarah told Pete about her break-up was more coincidence than
anything else. Pete just happened to be the first person that she
saw after she found out that her good-for-nothing, now ex-boyfriend had
been cheating on her. Pete responded in the only way he knew how
- - he listened. Sarah was clearly upset and appreciated Pete’s
non-judgmental ear. For his part, as they walked to meet their
students, Pete could tell that Sarah was still upset. Without
realizing it he suggested that they get a cup of coffee when tutoring
was over so they could continue talking. Sarah gratefully
accepted.
After tutoring, they found a late night Starbucks and by the time Pete
had spent another hour-and-a-half listening, Sarah was clearly feeling
better. Pete was really enjoying being with Sarah and realized that he
wanted to go out with her again. Should he ask her? He thought
that she might say yes, but it was too soon after her break up.
If he asked too soon, he would piss her off. If he waited too
long, he would miss his chance.
As he debated with himself, Sarah suddenly said, “Pete thanks for being
such a good friend. I’d really like to go out with you
again. Let’s go to my squash club this Saturday night”.
“S-sure”, Pete stammered, caught completely off guard.
“Great! Here’s my address. Come by my place at 5:30 and
we’ll go together. Gotta run. Bye!” and with that,
she was off.
Pete stood there open mouthed. Not only had he not botched their
“first date”, she had asked him out for the second date and a Saturday
night date at that. She was even going to take him to a place
where she was known, where she would be seen in “public” with him.
“Her squash club - oh, crap! - her squash club”, Pete thought a bit nervously.
Pete hadn’t played squash since he was in college. He had been an okay
player, but that was over 10 years ago and he didn’t have a racquet,
shoes or any of the other gear he would need to play. He decided
that when he got home from work tomorrow night, he would go to the new
Sport’s Authority that had opened three blocks from his house and buy
everything that he needed.
Pete had had to work late Tuesday so by the time he got to the store it
was after 7:30. As he walked in, the greeter asked him if she
could help him.
“Hi”, Pete responded to the greeter, “I’m looking for a squash racquet, shoes, goggles, etcetera”.
Her smile dimmed, “Oh. Sorry. You’ll have to go to one of our
larger stores. We only carry gear for the major sports at this
store”. Next stop, the mall. Pete hoped that he would get
there before this next store closed.
Over $350 dollars later, Pete had the gear he needed to
play. Earlier that day, he had called an old college friend that
he knew played squash and belonged to a club with at least two squash
courts. “Hi, Stan. It’s Pete. I need a favor”, said
Pete.
He explained his situation and Stan agreed that they could get together
on Wednesday and Thursday evenings plus Saturday morning. After
three sessions of practicing with Stan, plus a number of beers to say
thank-you, Pete felt that he had gotten in enough practice and wouldn’t
embarrass him self.
Pete realized that he had spent more money on this date than on any
other date he had ever been on and he hadn’t even picked her up.
He sure hoped that there would be a third date.
Finally, dressed in shorts and his new court shoes and with his racquet
in hand, Pete rang Sarah’s doorbell. She opened the door, looking
great and with a big smile on her face and said “I went to the farmer’s
market today. I bought a couple of great looking Hubbard squash
from one of the organic farmers. I’ve already baked them and
can’t wait to share them with the squash club. Hey, what’s with
that funny looking tennis racquet?”
This
story and the stories in this contest are works of fiction. Names,
characters, places and incidents are either products of the authors'
imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events
or locales or persons, living or dead, or to any other works of
fiction, is entirely coincidental.
