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A Rose By Any Other Name - Part 3 By Jeremy Spencer
   "So do you think you can get a night off?" I asked nervously.  After
talking with Dr.  Bergerud I had waited another couple days before calling
Heather.  It was Friday night and I had hoped the two of us could go out.
It was a spur of the moment thing but I was still disappointed to learn
that she was working on a Friday night.
   "I can't," she answered.  "I don't make much at the bar, but it's the
only spending money I have."
   Heather had mentioned she was taking day classes at one of the local
community colleges.  I was surprised to find out she was still in school,
but she explained that she had worked as a secretary for two years after
high school and was just recently getting back into school.  She was on
scholarship, so her tuition and room and board were taken care of, but she
had little time or energy to get a part-time job.
   "Selling flowers two or three nights a week is about the best I can do,"
she explained.  "Most places looking for waitresses want more hours than I
can give them, and so this is it.  I'm sorry...  you know I'd love to go
out with you, but I really can't take the time off tonight."
   "That's okay," I said, trying not to sigh audibly into the phone.  "What
nights are you free?" I asked.
   "Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday nights are the only nights I
don't work, and sometimes when it gets busy I'll add a night if I get
caught up on my studying.  Like next week I'm working Monday instead of
Friday, but that's just a one-time thing."
   "Oh," I replied.  Sunday nights were generally bad for me because that's
when I did a lot of prep work for my own classes, and Monday wasn't any
better.  Wednesday was a possibility although I had hoped to see Heather
before then.  Once I had decided to make the call and ask her out the extra
waiting was going to drive me crazy.
   "Sorry," she said and I have to admit it was a little pleasing to hear
the disappointment in her voice.  It sounded as if she really was upset
that we couldn't go out right away.  Maybe this girl really liked me!
   "That's okay." I looked at the clock on my kitchen wall.  It was just
after four o'clock in the afternoon.  I had just gotten home from grading
more papers and I knew Heather needed to be getting to the bar fairly
quickly.  "I should let you go, so you're not late for work."
   "I guess," she said glumly.  "Thanks for calling though.  So are we on
for next week?"
   "I can't," I explained.  "I'm singing in the graduate student chorus and
we have a performance next week before Christmas break and I'm pretty
booked every night with rehearsals."
   "Okay," she sighed.  "Why don't you call me after break then?"
   "I will definitely do that," I said.  I was feeling a bit more relaxed
about things, happy that this didn't seem to be a case of the first option
not working out so the whole relationship fell apart.  "I will definitely
give you a call."
   "Cool," she said happily.  "I do have to go though.  Call me later?"
   "Definitely.  Have a good night at work," I said.
   "Yeah...  whatever...  as if I enjoy it there!  Oh well, that's just my
luck, I guess.  Talk to you later." Heather hung up the phone softly and I
went back to the living room and plopped down onto the couch, planning on
wasting another evening watching cable television.  I noticed "American
Beauty" was on one of the movie channels, which immediately let me to the
scene of one of the actresses lying on bed surrounded by rose petals.  My
thoughts then flashed to the image of Heather lying naked on the bed and a
plan started to form in my mind.
   Rising from the couch I walked back to the kitchen and grabbed the
phone. Pablo's has excellent chicken wings and I sometimes call for
take-out so the phone number was stuck to my fridge.  I dialed the bar,
happy that as always, Billy answered the call.
   "Hey Billy," I said.  "This is Daniel Parker.  One of the girls who
sells flowers there...  Heather Morris is her name.  She works tonight and
I was wondering if it was possible to buy out her basket."
   "What?" he asked.
   "Well, what happens if she sells her entire bunch of flowers?  Does she
get more or is she done for the night?"
   "The girls usually take off if that happens, but they generally try to
go through at least three or four dozen roses, so we're talking close to a
hundred and fifty bucks for everything."
   "Great," I said.  "Listen, Heather doesn't come in to work for close to
an hour.  Do you take credit cards over the phone?"
   "Sure.  Why?"
   "Because here's what I want you to do..."
   Twenty minutes later a girl I didn't know knocked on my door.  I knew
from her skirt and tuxedo shirt that she was another of the flower girls
from the bar.  I opened to let her in but she just handed me a large bundle
wrapped in paper.
   "Here's your purchase," she grinned.  "Be sure to get them in water
pretty soon, okay?"
   "I got it," I laughed.
   "Good.  So, this is pretty cool of you.  Have a good night, okay?" the
girl smiled.  I nodded and the girl spun in place, preparing to head down
the steps.
   "Hang on a second," I called as she turned to leave.  "Is everything set
at the bar?"
   "Yep!  Gotta get back there so I don't miss it.  Have fun!" she yelled
over her shoulder again as she practically skipped down the front sidewalk
to her car.
   I watched her go for a moment then quickly turned back inside.  I had a
lot of work to do before Heather arrived.
   *****
   Right on time, I thought as I heard someone knocking at my front door.
If everything had gone according to plan this would be Heather.  I checked
myself in the mirror one more time before opening the door.
   "Hi," I said, fighting to hold back the look of surprise on Heather's
face as she realized where she was.  My instructions to Billy had been to
tell Heather she had a delivery to make and I noted she was indeed carrying
a bundle of half a dozen roses in her hand.
   "Um...  hi," she finally said.  "What's going on?  Are these for you?"
she asked, holding up the flowers to me.
   "Nope.  They're for you," I said.  "Did you want to come in?"
   "I can't," she said.  "I have to get back to work."
   "Just come on in for a second," I said, holding the door open for her to
pass by me.  "Then you can decide if you want to go back."
   "I don't want to," she answered with exasperation.  "But you know I have
to...  we talked about...  this....  oh, wow."
   Heather had stepped inside and saw the results of the past twenty
minutes' labor.  The bundle the flower girl had brought over had contained
three dozen roses and I had spent nearly the last half hour filling
anything I could find to hold them.  Luckily a neighbor lady had been kind
enough to loan me four vases, and the roses were now arranged throughout
the living room.  The scent was nearly overpowering, and judging by the
look on Heather's face she had no idea what to think.
   "Those are for you too," I said as she took in the sight before her.  I
took the half dozen roses from her and quickly placed them in one of the
more empty vases.
   "They're beautiful," she whispered.  She spread out her arms and wrapped
me in a hug.  I could feel the swell of her breasts pressing against my
chest as she held me close.  "Thank you," she said and reluctantly broke
the embrace.  "But I still have to go."
   "No you don't," I grinned.  "These are your roses."
   "What do you mean?" she asked.
   "I mean these are what you were supposed to sell tonight.  I bought you
out over the phone.  You're completely sold out.  You have no more roses to
sell.  If you go back to Pablo's, Billy is just going to send you home."
   "You did this for me?" she squeaked, her eyes wide and her mouth open in
shock.
   "Well, I was hoping it would work out that I did it for the both of us,"
I grinned.  "So, what are you doing tonight?" I asked as casually as
possible.  The look on Heather's face was priceless, but I was still
unprepared and barely managed to catch her as she threw herself into my
arms.
   "I think I'm hanging out over here," she laughed.  Before I could react
she planted a kiss on my right cheek before slipping out of my arms.
   "Good," I laughed.  "I was hoping you'd see it my way."
   "Oh, I definitely do," she answered as she walked around the room,
smelling and rearranging the floral arrangements.  "What did you have in
mind?" she asked, looking down at her work uniform.  "I'm not sure if I'm
dressed appropriately for anywhere but work."
   I looked at her typical outfit - tight black skirt, snug white men's
tuxedo shirt with the top three or four buttons undone.  She had not worn
the cummerbund or tie, but she still looked gorgeous.  Heather caught my
eye and blushed as I allowed my gaze to wash over her body.
   "You're perfect," I said.  "Hungry?  I made dinner if you are."
   "I'd love it," she laughed and took my hand as the two of us walked into
the kitchen.
   Dinner was nothing more than broiled pork chops and baked potatoes with
a side of mixed vegetables, and a fruit cobbler for dessert, but with
Heather in the room I felt like I was in a fine restaurant.
   "You did all this?" she asked as she bit into her second bite of meat.
"It's delicious."
   "Ah, it was nothing," I said, waving my hand in dismissal.  "It took all
of about five minutes to get ready and maybe twenty to cook.  Put the
vegetables on the stove to heat, season the meat and throw it in the
broiler and toss the potatoes in the microwave.  Simple, easy bachelor's
food."
   "Well, it's still delicious," she said.
   During the meal the two of chatted about various things.  My life as a
graduate assistant, her days in class, various jobs we'd had.  But of
course the conversation eventually coming back around to the bar.
   "So how often do you come in?" she asked as she leaned against me. 
After dinner we had watched a movie on television and were now seated
beside each other on the couch.  I had grabbed the cobbler out of the oven
and was sitting carefully - a heating pad in my lap - as I fed each of us
spoonfuls of the hot dessert.
   "Not too often," I said.  "Once a week maybe, for a couple drinks.  It's
a good stress reliever."
   "I'm glad you came in," she said.
   "Why's that?" I asked, grinning as I forced another bite into her mouth.
   "Enough," she laughed.
   "Okay," I said, putting the cooled pan on the end table.  "So why are
you glad I came in?" I asked a second time.
   "Because I really enjoyed the meal tonight," she said with a twinkle in
her eye.
   "Oh," I answered, pretending to be upset.  "What about the company?"
   "The company was even better," she answered, leaning in toward me.  I
recognized the look in her eye and bent my head lower, quickly closing the
distance between us.  Our lips met in a soft kiss, gentle and sweet as we
explored each other with our mouths.
   "Wow," I said as we broke apart.  "Thanks for that," I said.
   "No problem," she grinned.  She relaxed against my side just looking
dreamily at the dozens of flowers scattered around the room when her eyes
lit on a picture frame sitting on an end table beside the couch.  "Who's
this?" she asked, picking it up to show me.  "An old girlfriend?"
   "No...  that's my sister.  Natalie."
   "She's cute," Heather said.  "Really pretty eyes."
   "Is she?" I asked rather naively.  "I guess it never occurred to me."
   "Why not?' Heather teased.  "You mean you had this gorgeous babe walking
around your house and you never even noticed?"
   "She's five years younger than I am," I pointed out.  "She was only
thirteen when I went off to college, and I haven't really seen her since.
Why?  Do you think I should have just jumped her bones, sister or not?" I
asked.
   "I might have," Heather teased, leaning over to kiss me soundly on the
mouth.  She moaned as our lips met and soon our tongues were fighting
together, dancing against one another as our hands roamed lightly over each
other's bodies.  The kiss finally broke and we were left panting lightly.
   Heather appeared ready to lean in for another go-round when she happened
to glance over my shoulder and saw the clock.
   "What?" I asked when I saw a look of disappointment flash over her face.
   "Damn," she muttered sadly.  "I've got to go.  It's getting close to
eleven o'clock and I need to get home.  I still have a lot of studying to
do and a paper to rewrite."
   "Don't you normally stay at Pablo's until it closes?" I asked, assuming
she worked until two in the morning, or at least until final call.  "Why
the rush to leave?"
   "I am on most nights," Heather explained.  "But I have a lot of regulars
come in and buy from me on Fridays, so I usually manage to get out of there
at a good hour.  I'm sorry," she said.
   "Well, if you must, you must," I sighed theatrically, bringing a smile
and a giggle to Heather's face.
   "I must," she agreed, bending as she stood up from the couch to kiss me
once more.  "But I had a really good time tonight."
   "Me too," I said.  "We should do this more often."
   "No, we shouldn't," Heather answered and I grimaced inside.
   "What do you mean?" I asked.  "I thought you enjoyed it."
   "Oh God, I did...  very much.  But I can't let you do this again."
   "Do what?"
   "This!" she said, sweeping her arm out and I realized she was talking
about the roses.
   "Oh, yeah.  That.  I won't," I promised.  "I don't know if I could
afford to date you if that was the case.  Don't worry," I said as Heather's
face broke out in a worried expression.  "It was most definitely worth it."
   "Really?" she asked, a grin breaking out over her beautiful face.
   "Really," I said, leaning down to kiss her on the tip of her nose,
causing her to giggle softly.
   "So we'll do this again?" Heather said.
   "Definitely," I answered.  Heather began to gather her things, pausing
at the door as I handed her a vase full of roses.  "These really were for
you," I said.  "Even if they aren't nearly as pretty."
   "You're too sweet," she answered as she left.  "Don't forget to clip the
ends."
   "What?" I asked.
   "The roses.  You have to keep cutting the ends of the stems.  If you
don't they'll wither up and die."
   I looked around and groaned as I saw I still had close to three dozen
roses scattered around my living room.  What had I gotten myself into?
   "You know...  I meant it.  I really did buy all these for you," I said
in an attempt to free myself from the added responsibility.  To my
disappointment Heather just laughed.
   "Nice try," she giggled.  "Although I suppose I could help you out."
   "You want some more?" I asked hopefully.  "Take as many as you want! 
How many?"
   "No, I don't want more.  These are wonderful," she said, smelling the
bouquet she held in her arms.  "This is more than enough for me.  But I'd
be happy to come over and we could cut the stems together."
   "Even better," I said.
   "Call me?" she asked.
   "Of course," I answered.  Heather blew me a kiss and turned to go.  I
watched her walk to her car, following with my eyes as she drove away.  My
heart felt like it would burst from its chest and it was almost like
walking on air as I cleaned up the dishes from our evening together.  What
a day, I thought.  What a day.
   I had hoped the possibility was there to see Heather one more time over
the weekend, but our schedules never quite meshed and I was fated to spend
the next two days alone.
   *****
   "Why don't you invite her to our concert?" Dr.  Bergerud asked.  I was
sitting in his office early Monday morning, having just explained the
previous weekend's success and had asked where he thought I should go from
here.
   "Really?  You think she'd like that?" I asked.  The concert the graduate
choir was singing wasn't a fun bunch of songs in my estimation and I wasn't
sure how Heather would react.  "I don't even know if she likes classical
music in general, much less the twentieth century stuff we're singing," I
said.
   "Then this will be a good test," he answered.
   "A good test of what?  How fast she can run out of the hall during the
intermission?  I like this girl...  I'm not trying to get rid of her!"
   "I know," he laughed.  "It's a good test of how much she likes you. 
Face it; this girl thinks you're something special.  She gave you her
number, she put up with your cooking..."
   "Hey, I can cook a hunk of meat with the best of them," I defended
myself.
   "I know, I know...  so you keep telling me.  But anyway, if Heather
really likes you as much as it seems then she'll put up with the kind of
music you like."
   "It sounds like I'm testing her."
   "You are," he replied.
   "But why?  Why now?  Isn't it a little soon for that kind of game? 
We've been on a total of one date, and that was really just dinner at my
place."
   "Maybe a little early," he admitted.  "But if this girl isn't what you
think she might be...  don't you want to learn now?"
   "I suppose," I answered.
   "It's like this," he sighed.  "When I was just out of college, a little
older than you are now, I was dating a really sweet girl by the name of
Betty.  We thought we were in love, but it turned out to be...  not love.
She left me after a couple years and it took me a long time to recover from
that."
   "Is that what happened?" I teased.  "I figured she just realized what
kind of a pervert you really are."
   "What?" he huffed.  "I'm nothing of the sort."
   "Oh, come on now," I chided.  "Don't think I don't see how you look up
the skirts of half the freshmen girls in your music history classes.  I'm
onto you."
   "Humph," he mumbled.  "Give me a little credit!  Those girls are the
same age as Katie.  It's not as if I'd do anything other than look."
   It was true I thought, both about the proximity in age to his daughter
and the fact that he would never move beyond the voyeur stage.  A couple of
months before, he had introduced me to his daughter Katie.  She was a
freshman in one of his classes this semester.  It was a little strange,
because before October I'd never had an inkling that he even had a
daughter, but even though he'd never mentioned her the professor and his
daughter actually seemed very close.
   "I know...  I'm just kidding around.  Kind of touchy about that, aren't
you?"
   "Well, there was a time in my life, when...  never mind.  That's gone
and buried."
   "What are you talking about?" I wondered.  It had almost sounded like
the professor had once slept with a student, but I refused to believe it.
   "Nothing.  Nothing important.  The point was that I didn't find out
until it was too late about Betty.  I don't want you to make the same
mistake."
   "It still seems a little early," I tried again.
   "Well, Heather doesn't need to know this is a test.  She can always just
believe you have bad taste in music."
   "And we both know who to blame for that," I retorted, my finger pointed
square in his chest.
   "Guilty," he laughed, raising his hand in defeat.  "Guilty as charged."
   The two of us laughed and talked for a little while longer, but the
whole time I was thinking of the best way to approach Heather about
attending the concert later that week.  I finally just decided to drop by
Pablo's after I finished with my classes.  I had a couple of evening
sessions on Monday night so after those finished I stopped into the bar to
see if Heather was still there.
   She saw me as I entered and waved from one of the tables in back.  She
appeared in the middle of a sale so I stood by the door and waited.  As I
was passing the time, Michelle happened to walk by and made a point to stop
for a moment.
   "You come back for a real woman?" she asked, her eyes sweeping over my
body.
   "Yep," I answered.  Michelle nodded at my answer, a glint forming in her
eye.
   She obviously thought I was talking about her and I intended to milk
this as far as I could.  As I was talking I saw Heather finish her sale and
begin walking to where I was standing.  As she neared the door she
quickened her pace, a concerned expression on her face as she saw that
Michelle had effectively cornered me by the coat rack.
   "Really?" she asked.  "You came back for some good lovin'?"
   "I did," I said as Heather walked, unnoticed behind Michelle.  "I
decided that what I really want is someone who makes my heart sing. 
Someone I think about constantly.  Someone I want nothing more from than to
hear her say "hey there, handsome" whenever I walk in and someone who'll
give me a great big kiss.  Do you know anyone like that?" I asked.  Before
Michelle could answer I turned to speak over her shoulder to Heather.  "Do
you know someone like that?"
   "I do," she answered, bumping a stunned Michelle out of the way with her
hip.
   "Hey there, Beautiful," I said.
   "Hey there, Handsome," she grinned.  Michelle stood there, her face
almost expressionless as Heather reached up with her free arm to pull my
head closer to her face.  She puckered up and gave me a kiss that I swear
curled my socks.  We must have made a scene, the kiss lasted so long.  Out
of the corner of my eye I saw a fuming Michelle watch us for a moment
before stalking off, but all my attentions were on Heather.
   "Now that's what I was talking about," I laughed as Heather finally
pulled free.  Her faced was flushed and she appeared out of breath,
although I'm sure I looked much the same.
   "Good enough?" she giggled.
   "Definitely," I said.
   "What brings you by?" she asked.  "If you're here to buy me out you're
too late.  I'm down to a dozen or so roses tonight and besides, I really
have to study."
   "Nothing like that," I laughed.  "I just stopped by to say hello.  The
bar is on my way home from campus and I just wondered...  you traded to
have Friday off this week, right?"
   "Yeah, why?"
   "Are you busy that night?"
   "Actually I'm not, but I thought you had your concert on Friday."
   "I do...  I was wondering if you wanted to come hear me sing."
   "Oh!  Um...  yeah, sure!  I'd love to!"
   "Really?" I asked, somewhat surprised at how quickly she agreed.
   "Yeah, that could be fun.  Why?" she asked, looking at me suspiciously.
"You don't seem too happy about that.  Will I not have a good time?  Should
I bring earplugs or something?  Are you guys not any good?"
   "No.  I mean yes.  I mean...  yes, we're good.  And...  I don't know if
you'll enjoy yourself.  I wasn't real sure if classical music was your kind
of thing," I said by way of explanation.
   "It's not really...  not generally," Heather answered.  "But I would
love to come listen to you."
   "Great!" I said.  "I should let you get back to work, but can I see you
after the concert?  That's really the only time I have free this week, but
the concert should be finished by nine o'clock.  Time enough for a late
dinner at least."
   "Sure," she answered.  "But this time I cook."
   "Oh," said, grimacing as I heard this.  "Was the food not good on
Friday?"
   "No, it was great, but it's just my turn this time.  Deal?" she asked,
cocking her eyebrow at me.
   "Deal," I answered, nodding my head in agreement.  "Okay then, I'll let
you get back to work.  Bye," I said and started heading to the door.
   "Bye, and thanks for thinking of me," she grinned and waved as I left.
   "I always do," I thought to myself as I headed out into the cold.  "I
always do."
   *****
   The rest of the week was pretty much a blur of activity for me.  Heather
and I had a chance to talk on the phone for a few minutes Thursday night. I
was happy for the time we talked, because I had forgotten to tell her when
and where the concert was.  She promised to meet me in the lobby of the
performance hall after the final number, and that was about the extent of
our conversation.
   Friday finally rolled around, and as usual I was a mix of emotions.  I
have always loved singing, but have never been comfortable standing up in
front of people if I am performing, especially if I have a solo.  It hadn't
occurred to me when I asked Heather, but during this concert I had a solo
and the thought of her sitting in the audience listening only made me more
nervous.
   At the same time, I was happy to know she would be attending.  We had
really only known each other a few weeks but it was nice of her to attend,
especially since I knew the music we were singing wasn't her normal
listening fare.
   Thankfully the concert went off without a hitch.  The concert was part
of a cultural event the college put on each winter.  This semester the
theme was the culture and music of Asia, so all of our pieces had a
distinct sound.  The solo I was singing was during a Mongolian piece and
happily everything went fine.  It helped that I sang the solo from the
safety of the entire choir as opposed to being out in front of the group.
   After the concert was over I hurried to the lobby.  A few of my
professors and fellow students congratulated me on the success of the
concert, but I was distracted as I searched for Heather.
   Finally I spotted her, leaning against a wall on the very edge of the
room.  She didn't look bored exactly, but I could tell there were countless
other places she would rather be.  I grabbed my coat from the rehearsal
room and walked over to where Heather was standing.
   "Hey," I said softly.  She looked up, startled at my sudden appearance.
"How did you like it?" I asked.
   "It was...  different," she said.  "I'm sorry, it wasn't quite what I
was expecting," she admitted.  "But you were really good, and the soprano
soloist was pretty cute, even if I couldn't understand a word she was
singing."
   "That's okay," I laughed.  "I don't have any idea either, so we're even,
right?"
   "I guess."
   "Don't worry about it.  I was surprised you agreed to come and it makes
me happy just knowing you were here for it.  Do you want to get out of
here?"
   "Can we?  Don't you have people to talk to or things to do?"
   "I'm all set," I said.  "I'm already wearing my coat.  We can leave or
stay.  It's up to you."
   "Then let's go," Heather said and I laughed as she almost sprinted
toward the doors.
   To my surprise and pleasure, once we were out in the chilly night air
Heather grabbed my hand as we walked through the rows of parked cars.  It
was a fairly brisk evening and although the plan had originally been a
leisurely walk around one of the lakes on campus the two of us soon ended
up huddled together on a park bench, pressed together for warmth.
   "I thought I was supposed to cook for you," Heather said.
   I grinned in response.  "I'm not that hungry right now.  Are you?"
   "No."
   "Cold?"
   "A little," she answered.
   "Let me warm you up," I said casually, throwing my arm around her
shoulders.
   "You're such a goof," Heather giggled, taking my hand and pulling
herself closer to me.  We sat there in silence, just enjoying the evening
together.
   Eventually I noticed the time and with apologies mentioned I really had
to get going.
   "Sorry," I said.  "I have so much to do yet as far as getting papers and
assignments corrected, I'm going in on the weekend."
   The two of us walked back toward the performance hall where our cars
were parked.  As much as I hated to see Heather go, I knew there would be
other chances.
   "I really did have a good time," she said as we approached our vehicles.
"It was fun."
   "I don't know if I believe that," I said.  "But I suppose I'll let it
slide."
   "I probably had a better time than you would have at one of my
concerts," she giggled.
   "Oh?  Do you sing?" I asked a bit naively.
   "Not a bit," she said, still giggling softly.  "I'm more into...  I
suppose hardcore punk is what you'd call it."
   "Really?" I asked.  "And you seemed like such a nice girl."
   "I'm really nice," she said, squeezing my hand tightly.  "But I can be
kind of a bad girl too."
   "Hmm...  I think I like that."
   "Of course you do," she laughed.  "You're a guy." We stood in silence
for a moment, neither of us wanting the moment to end, before Heather
turned to me excitedly.  "You know, there's a show I was planning on going
to next week.  You wanna come with me?"
   "What kind of show?" I asked.
   "One of my favorite bands," she answered vaguely.
   "And you think I'll enjoy it?" I asked.  I enjoyed rock bands as much as
the next guy, but the untuned guitars and screaming singers did very little
for my appreciation of the song writing, although I certainly admired the
energy.
   "I don't know.  I bet you'll have a good time.  How could you not?  I'll
be there!" she laughed.
   "You think I'm that easy?" I teased.
   "Duh.  Of course you are.  You're a guy, but we already established
that."
   "I suppose you're right.  I am that easy.  Gimme a kiss?" I asked,
puckering up my lips as much as I could.
   "You're such a dork," Heather laughed, but she leaned over and quickly
brushed her lips over mine before unlocking her car door.
   "That's it?" I said in mock sadness.  "That's all I get?"
   "We haven't even had dinner yet," Heather replied.
   "But we still will, won't we?" I asked anxiously.
   "Of course," she laughed.  "Consider that me...  whetting your
appetite."
   "Oh, so that was just an appetizer then?"
   "I suppose so," she grinned.
   "Mmm...  then I can't wait for the main course.  What are we having?"
   "You'll just have to wait," she said as she climbed into her car.  "But
I guarantee you dessert will be even better."
   End Chapter 3
  
Rose3