It was 6:00 and Nick was starting to get butterflies. He was picking Liz up in one hour from her house. Why was he so nervous? He had been on plenty of dates before. He walked to his closet and pulled out a pair of loose khaki pants and a tight black shirt. He got some gel and slicked his hair back. He walked to the bathroom to brush his teeth. As he looked in the mirror he thought to himself, “nah…” He took his fingers and swirled them around in his hair. “Perfect.” It was a bit spiky, very rock star like. He splashed on some Cool Water and went downstairs to get the keys to the Durango. He walked out to the garage and flipped on the light. There she was….his baby. Nick thought for a second and ran back in the house. When he returned he had the keys to the Prowler in his hand. He cranked her up and pulled out of the garage. He looked at his watch, 6:45. He put the car in drive, and headed to Liz’s house.
Nick pulled up and cut the car off. He sat there for a second trying to collect himself. Suddenly he was startled by something outside. He got out of the car and saw something moving in the bushes. “What the...” Nick walked up and pulled the branches apart. Cowering next to the house was a small baby pug. Nick smiled, “Hey little guy…come here.” Nick reached down and picked up the puppy. As he stood back up he heard the front door open. “Oh hi….I was just um…the dog…he….”
“I hope you’re Nick.”
“Nick? I hope I'm Nick?” he shook his head, “I mean yes! Yes I’m Nick. Nice to meet you Liz”….then he mumbled a quiet “damn” to himself.
“What was that?” Liz asked.
“What was what? Oh that? I said….ma’am….see I’m polite. Brian didn’t tell you that did he.” Nick grinned as he looked at Liz again. She looked amazing. Her hair was down, and she had on a black spaghetti strap dress. She had a perfect tan, like she had been in Florida all her life.
“Oh! Scrappy! How did you get out of the house?? Liz reached for her puppy. Man I’m glad you found him before he wondered off. I don’t know what I would do. You like dogs?”
“Do I like dogs? I love the little rascals. I have several pugs myself. They’re my favorite.”
Liz laughed, “Yeah, mine too, they’re so ugly they’re cute.” She looked down to see that the puppy was shivering. “Awww…you cold little guy?”
“Here…let me.” Nick took the pug and cradled him like a little baby. He wrapped his arms around it and held them there until the puppy warmed up.” Liz looked on and couldn’t believe how sweet they looked. Maybe this was going to be a good night after all.