Lying full length on his recliner, hands behind his head, legs crossed at the ankles, and a deep frown on his brow, Russ contemplated the enigma that was Melanie. In repose, she looked like a sweet girl next door, but that girl sure had a tongue on her. Why the needling comments? He had thought they were past the coffee incident. With her big brown eyes and long wavy auburn hair, a disarming smile when she chose to show it, and a smattering of freckles across her nose, she could easily be described as 'cute'. She really intrigued him.
That crack about his hair being too short made him want to let it grow long enough for a ponytail, just to see what she'd have to say about that. He had chosen to wear it short when he was at university to save money on haircuts, and had just never bothered to change the style. Maybe it was time to rethink the matter.
What am I doing? It's none of her business how I wear my hair! He couldn't believe he had been on the verge of changing something about himself - just for her.
He had dated a bit in high school and university, but nothing too serious because his entire focus was on getting his degree doing what he loved best - designing buildings. He'd been playing with building blocks long after the other little boys were on to bigger and better things, but he just liked to see the different shapes and designs he could construct, using his imagination. With studying now behind him, he was often amazed at how the image for a proposed building would form in his mind long before he put pencil to paper.
He realized that he was really looking forward to the meeting he had arranged with Melanie for Tuesday and describing his proposed home to her. If she would just watch her tongue. Maybe she'd like to visit his lot some day and maybe she'd even like to try and catch a trout. And maybe she'd let him cook it for her supper...
Whoa! Slow down, boy. You just met her. Maybe she has a boyfriend or maybe she's engaged to somebody. As he pulled himself upright and went back to his drawing board for a couple of hours work, he became aware that thoughts of her had started to crawl into his thoughts a little too much.
* * *
Tuesday had finally arrived and Melanie was also reviewing their last meeting and was still upset with herself for the way she had spoken to him. Knowing why she had done it didn't excuse her behavior. At some point, she was going to have to apologize and explain her behavior to him, like it or not.