FIRST DATE

She sat alone. Her table was on the patio there she could see the cars as they pulled into the restaurant parking lot. She waited for him and wondered what to expect.

It would be their first time alone together, without a group of friends around. Jane's heart raced as she realized what it meant to be on a real date with Eric. For so long, they had just been friends, and she wasn't sure how she should act.

She thought back to the previous week, when he'd asked her to dinner. At first, she'd thought he meant to go with everyone. None of them really had much money, so although the usual thing was to sit in someone's basement and drink, it wasn't so odd that they would all go out for pizza now and then.

But he'd said no, that wasn't what he meant, and turned her world upside down.

Eric wasn't a real boy, he was a friend. She agreed to the date more out of panic than anything, and now, with her Corona sweating in the summer heat, she wondered if she'd made a mistake.

Jane glanced over at the clock above the restaurant door; seven-forty-one. Eric was eleven minutes late already. Maybe he wasn't going to show up. Maybe this was all some cruel practical joke they were playing on her.

It would be just like them to do this. They never realized how mean they could be sometimes. They didn't care how easily they could hurt someone. They took her for granted-- always quiet little Janey to pick on whenever they needed a cheap laugh.

With a start, she realized that she was beginning to hate her friends.

Chastising herself, Jane picked up the menu and skimmed through it, trying to divert her thoughts.

She had always hated the pressure of having to pick something from the menu. After a long deliberation, she would finally decide on a dish, and by the time it arrived, she'd be convinced that something else would have been better.

Seven-forty-nine; shit! She knew watching the clock would only drive her crazy, so she resolved to ignore it.

Maybe she should just leave now and save herself the embarrassment, she thought; it was bad enough that she'd shown up early-- waiting any longer would just make her look desperate.

But if he showed up just after she left, she would feel terrible.

Eric tried the engine one more time. The charity- case of a car complained again but finally caught. He had barely used the car since winter, so it didn't surprise him that the thing didn't want to start.

As the dash lights lit up a cheap green, the clock read six-fifty-- lots of time.

He turned the radio up and stretched his arm out the window into the fresh air. Damn, he was feeling fine.

Eric had had a crush on Jane for almost nine months, but they'd always just been friends. It was never the right time to make a move but last week he'd managed to work up the nerve to ask her out. It had almost turned to disaster. At first, Jane had thought that he'd meant for everyone to go out together. Maybe she had been giving him a last chance to save face, but he'd boldly pressed on and it had come as an enormous relief when she'd agreed.

It was so hard to tell what Jane was thinking most of the time. It was frustrating, but oddly attractive. She had a quiet air- delicate dignity- that Eric found disarming and even sexy.

He was determined to dazzle her with his charms and show her how good a boyfriend he could be-- nothing could go wrong.

It was just past seven o'clock when he pulled into the Safeway parking lot.

Eric slowly paced back and forth in front of the fridge full of flowers, mulling over what would impress her most. He finally settled on the classic, single red rose.

Back in his car, Eric headed for the restaurant. They'd agreed to meet on the patio of a little romantic Italian place on the strip. It was too perfect.

He'd spent longer than planned in Safeway, and it was already a twenty after seven. As long as traffic wasn't too bad, he should make it on time, but the strip could get busy on warm summer nights. He hoped she wouldn't care if he were just a few minutes late.

Jane caught herself before she could turn to see the clock again; she had to stop thinking about it. She took another sip of her beer and decided that she would definitely leave once it was empty.

Luck was not on Eric's side and he fought his way slowly through the meandering traffic of the strip. He drummed his fingers on the wheel impatiently while some pricks in an expensive car in front of him hollered at scantily clad women on the sidewalks. He glanced at the time-- seven-thirty exactly. He was definitely going to be late.

By the time his car pulled into the parking lot, Jane was quietly seething with rage. She watched as he rummaged in his car for a second before stepping out.

Eric spotted Jane from the parking lot and bounded up the wooden stairs to meet her, hiding the rose behind his back. He was nervous and excited for his first date with Jane.

He hadn't been seriously worried until he approached the table and saw that she wasn't smiling. A lonely wedge of lemon sat in an empty bottle before her.

"You're late," she snapped before he could present the flower, or even say hello.

"Sorry, the traffic was bad, and I'm only-" he looked up at the clock over the restaurant door and couldn't find the words to finish his sentence. His knees felt weak and something inside him dropped quickly from his throat to the pit of his stomach.

The clock read eight-thirty-three.

Eric suddenly realized the gravity of daylight saving time.

The time change had never seemed such a big deal before. Other than bars being open an extra hour in the fall, it hadn't really affected his life. He always walked to work in the summer and when he went out, someone in a nicer car usually picked him up. It was an understandable- if not forgivable- oversight. Jane glared silently at him, and he supposed that she might not see it that way.

With nothing to do, and no worthy explanation, Eric gave up hope. He dropped into an empty chair and buried his face in his hands. The rose fell to the deck and he hit a new low.

The anger that had been building in her for over an hour was on the edge of bursting forth, but with the look on Eric's face as he saw the clock, Jane's rage collapsed into heartbreak. Tears welled up and ran down her rosy cheeks, shattering her composure.

"Why would you do this?" she sobbed at him. Amidst the tears, it seemed suddenly clear to her how deeply she cared for Eric. That the reason she'd been so nervous earlier was that she wanted everything to be perfect- like on TV- where he'd arrive and sweep her off her feet, and they'd get married and live happily ever after.

Eric's head snapped up when she spoke and his woes were forgotten as he saw her tear streaked face and heard the disappointment in her voice. Nothing else seemed more important than easing her pain.

Springing into action, he leapt out of his seat and snatched the rose off the deck. He quickly stepped over to her side and put a comforting arm around her, the flower in his other hand in front of her.

"I brought you something," he offered gently, squeezing her shoulders.

Jane slowly looked up at him. His eyes were red and his brow was knotted with concern. She sniffled and took a few deep breaths, looking back down at the rose. Just as she bit back the last wave, a new flood of tears washed over her and she pressed her face against his warm chest. The tears wouldn't stop and her hands came up under her chin to grip the front of his shirt.

"Why would you do this?" she couldn't think of anything else to say.

Eric's hands caressed her back and he mumbled something unintelligible.

"What?" her head tilted up slightly.

"I forgot to change the time in my car."

For a second Jane wasn't sure if she was laughing or crying. She pulled at his shirt and cried into his chest, "I hate you!"

Against her face, she could feel Eric's chest jerk and she realized that he must be crying.

"I'm so sorry, Jane. I never meant to hurt you- I wanted this to be perfect. I messed up, I'm so sorry. Don't hate me-- I love you."

Calming down, Jane drew back a bit and looked into Eric's beautiful, watery eyes.

"I love you, too." she smiled weakly.

Time stopped as Jane's fantasy became reality. Their eyes were locked through a veil of tears but it was a moment they would both remember as one of the happiest of their life together.

They skipped dinner at the fancy restaurant and instead fed each other drive-through in a quiet park with the stars above winking in approval. Jane had never felt as comfortable with another person as she did with Eric and it filled her with joy.

With her head on his chest as they laid on the grass, the smell of Eric's clean scent filled Jane's lungs. She slipped a hand under his shirt and stroked his smooth belly.

Leaning up on an elbow, Jane lowered her lips to his and they kissed deeply, tongues exploring each other's mouths.

It was unlike Jane to be so forward with a boy, but this time was different. They were destined to be together and she could feel it. Her hand dropped lower to the growing bulge in his pants and she squeezed his cock with mounting passion.

Eric's hips thrust upwards, encouraging her to continue and his own hand began massaging her breast. Unfastening his pants, Jane repositioned herself to give him access to her aching pussy.

With only the slightest hesitation, Eric moved his hand down to the hem of her skirt and slid up the inside of the thigh. Her cotton panties were already damp.

Jane managed to open Eric's pants enough to free his hard cock and she stroked it lovingly, squeezing just a little tighter as her fist reached the head. She felt his fingers playing with her lips and it sent sparks up her spine to the back of her head.

It wasn't long before she could take no more and wanted his sweet dick to fill her. She pulled his reluctant hand from between her legs and straddled him. Her cunt made contact with his bare cock and she paused just long enough to grind into him before reaching down to get him in position.

With Eric's cock in place between the lips of her pussy, she bent to kiss him and slowly slid down. He was just big enough to stretch her a little without hurting. It was the second snapshot-perfect moment for them that night as they each savoured the penetration in their own way.

Their lips parted and Eric had to bite the tip of his tongue to keep from cumming too soon. Jane cut loose completely and started bouncing wildly on his cock. Drunk with love for her man, the sex was a continuous orgasm for her. Even after he pulled her face back down to his and groaned into her mouth, exploding in her cunt, Jane kept riding him.

It wasn't until his energy was totally spent and his dick was too soft that Jane stopped her motions and lay atop him, still enjoying the warmth of his flaccid cock on her pussy. She took a few deep breaths and ran her fingernails lightly over his scalp.

Eyes closed and completely exhausted, Eric whispered softly into her hair.

Jane traced his jaw line and whispered back, "I love you, too."