Don't Rush

The phone in her dorm room was ringing loudly. Miranda groaned and got out of bed. "Hello?"

"WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU!?" Someone yelled on the other end.

Her heart start pumping. She was both frightened and angry. "Who is this?"

"Evan! You're supposed to be covering my shift."

"Okay, calm down. Terri was covering."

"Well, no one opened the stand. The Athletics Director called Deb complaining and she called and ripped me a new one. So you need to get there ASAP!"

Miranda cursed beneath her breath. "I'm so sorry." She scrambled to throw some clothes on. "I'll be there soon." Where in the hell was Terri? She checked the clock and realized that she had to be there in less than ten minutes if she even stood a chance of having any food ready before the football game started. Snatching up her keys, her ID and a random book, she dashed out of her room, out of the building and clear across campus. The other people who were scheduled to work the same, long shift were waiting outside of the door.

"Mandy's here, y'all," one of them said. A guy called Jason.

"Sorry, everyone," she replied opening the door hastily. "I know we're behind, but let's just get to work. Please. Sorry again."

They blasted music and hurried to set up the concessions stand. "Don't forget the tip jar," someone else yelled across the long room.

"Hell yeah," Deidre said. "Let's make some money, bitches!" They all laughed.

"And don't forget the water for the tea and the coffee," Miranda said as she made sure the soda machine was working properly. Her mind was flooded with thoughts of last night, thoughts of kissing Ben, thoughts of their date that they may or may not be able to go on.

Deidra walked over to her. "Where'd you get off to last night?" Miranda blushed. "Say no more. Must be a guy."

The Athletics Director, Mr. Cruz, stopped by and asked who opened up and all eyes fell on Miranda. "Mandy, you were late."

"Yes, I know, Mr. Cruz." She was tired and wasn't going to apologize again. Not even to the AD.

"What happened?"

"There was a… the fire alarm went off in my building went off this morning," she lied quickly, "kept us out for a long time. And the key was still in my room." It didn't matter what she said, there would be no repercussions on her part. Tucker was a star athlete and in Mr. Cruz's eyes, she was still Tucker's girl. It was seriously misogynistic, but it was saving her right now.

"Oh, okay. Well, I'm just glad we're up and running," he said. "The people are filing in now. So, good luck."

"Alright, people," Miranda said looking at her team. "Let's work like one, well-oiled machine. Make sure you're signed in and before you leave, sign out."

A chorus of affirmations met her requests. The lines were even more hectic than she'd thought. The stadium was nearly full and they went nonstop for several hours. When she finally checked her watch, it was almost ten-thirty. And she wanted to kill Terri. No, she was going to kill her. She should have been just waking up and getting ready for her date. Instead, she was serving pretzels, coffee and hotdogs.

"Mandy, we're running out of cups and lids," Jason told her.

Miranda sighed, her feet were dog-tired, but she was the manager for the day. She could have sent someone else, but she wanted the time to herself. There were a lot of things floating around in her mind and she just needed to dissect them. On her way to the storage room, she saw Terri running toward her. "Mandy! Sorry! I'm so, so, so, so, sorry!"

She shook her head. "We're okay, I'm just going to get some lids and some cups."

Terri touched her shoulder. "Hey, are you mad?"

"No. Not anymore," Miranda chuckled. "Just exhausted."

"I can get the lids and cups."

Miranda held up her hand. "No, I'll do it. I'll be back." She gave Terri a smile and continued on her way. Once she returned with the items, she sat in the back and watched her team work. At least she'd get paid for the day.

Somehow Terri managed to slip away from work. "I'm really sorry."

"So you've said." She nudged her friend. "How was the rest of your night?"

Terri's eyes got wide. "Girrrl! That man knocked me out!" The young women laughed.

"I'm happy for you and everything, but you know you owe me, right?"

"I know. I know."

"Terri, we need three hotdogs and a hot chocolate," Deidre said over her shoulder.

Terri jumped up. "On it." She looked at Miranda and asked: "So, you and Ben?"

"Oh, God! What time is it?" Miranda checked her watch. It was way after noon. "Ben! I'm supposed to be on a date right now."

"Lunch?" Terri said.

Miranda grinned. "It was supposed to be this cute, corny thing and I'm late. He's probably looking for me. And I'm here."

"My bad."

She signed out and grabbed her stuff. "Okay, uh, sign out, clean up and lock up, please. Bye, everyone." They waved her off and Miranda hurried toward her building. She kept an eye out for Ben, but she didn't see him and was a little disappointed. He was probably gone. Getting off of the elevators, she walked to her room. At least she'd be able to sleep. Looking down the hall, she saw Ben sitting against wall, his head down. Her heart leapt. The day was turning. Taking a deep breath, she sat next to him. "Hi, stranger." He lifted his head and looked at her, his eyes low. "You good?"

"Yes, ma'am."

He stood up and held out his hand, helping her up. "You?" They stood there jittery. "Are you good?"

She opened her room door. "Tired. I had to work."

"I thought Terri was covering."

She looked at him and rolled her eyes. "I did, too."

"Oh." He sat on her chair. "Are you still… up for lunch?"

"Yes," she said. "But I need to shower and change."

"I can wait the downstairs."

"I'll be super quick."

"Don't rush," he told her. She nodded and he left.

Miranda really tried to hurry up, but she also wanted to look nice for Ben. This was a real date after all. Their first one. Pulling her braids into a high ponytail, she slid into her boots, grabbed her purse and headed to the lobby. In the elevator, her hands were sweating. She hadn't been on a first date in a long time; hadn't really dated anyone other than Tucker. It was really starting to make her nervous.

But when she saw him, talking to some people by the door, she relaxed. He ended his conversation and came over to her. "You look beautiful," he said simply, eyeing her blue sweater coupled with blue jeans.

She took in his outfit, a pair of blue jeans and a cute grey shirt. "You look nice, too."

"Ready?" He reached for her hand and pulled her in for a hug. She giggled. "I wanted to do that earlier, but I wasn't sure," he whispered in her ear. "Is it okay?"

"Yes," she said.

"Good." They went to his car and Miranda asked where they were going. "Um, I had a place in mind, but if you have a preference..."

She shook her head. "After the morning I had, I am game for anything. As long as the food is good. I'm good."

"Is that the way to your heart?" He asked zipping out of the parking lot.

"I'm not telling," she laughed. Ben turned on the radio and Miranda put her head back, closing her eyes.

She felt the car stop and opened them, stretching. "Where are we?"

"Well, Sleeping Beauty, we're in the next town over at this little hole in the wall." Miranda made a face. "They have good food."

She smiled. "Lead the way."

They walked into the semi-packed building and sat down at an empty table. Miranda picked up the menu and looked it over. There wasn't anything that this place wasn't serving. Her stomach rumbled. She'd only had a hotdog and some water anticipating her lunch date. "I don't know what to get," Ben said.

"Me either."

"Let's order for each other," he suggested, staring at her over his menu.

Miranda tried to pretend like this wasn't a cute idea. She tried to play it cool, but her smile gave her away. Once the waitress had taken their drink order, she leaned on the table. "I think you're in the mood for octopus," she told his eyes go wide. "I'm kidding."

Ben moved his chair around the table, positioning himself right next to her. "I think you want the shrimp and chicken pasta."

She nodded. "Sounds good." He took her hand. "And you obviously want the… oxtails and cabbage. Do you like oxtails?"

"Yes." Miranda looked down at their hands. "It, uh, took me a long time to fall asleep this morning."

"Oh?" Ben nodded slowly. "Why's that?"

"You."

"Me? What'd I do?"

"I kept replaying the night. And how lucky I got that you showed up to the party." Her cheeks flushed and she was thankful to the waitress for placing their glasses on the table.

"Do you know what you want to order?" They asked.

"He wants the oxtails, cabbage and plantains," Miranda told her.

Ben squeezed her hand. "She wants the chicken and shrimp pasta, extra sauce on the side."

Without writing anything down, the waitress walked away. Miranda excused herself and went to the bathroom. In it, she took some deep breaths before washing her hands and making sure she still looked as good as she had earlier. Back at the table, Ben got up and went to the bathroom. When he returned, she asked: "So, Tea Cake, what are you doing after this late lunch?"

"Depends on what you're doing, Janie."

"Well," Miranda said taking her hand from his and lifting her drink to her lips, "I was going to do some work, maybe take a walk, but since I didn't get much rest sleep, I'm going to start with a siesta." She studied his face. "I lead a fabulous life, right?"

"Magnificent," he responded, his voice cracking a little. "Any room in your schedule for me?"

"Maybe. What are you gonna do?" Their food arrived and Ben kissed her cheek and moved back around the table. They talked in between bites. She forked up a piece of her shrimp, rolled it in a noodle and held it out toward him. He cocked his head to the side and she batted her eyelashes. "If this is a test…"

"Just eat it, man."

Ben tasted it, wiping his mouth. "Oh, I like that." He offered her some of his food, sliding two oxtails on her plate.

"It's official, I love this place."

"I knew you would." They both laughed loudly, in sync and carefree. "Dessert?"

She shook her head. "I am full."

He nodded and gestured for the waitress to bring the check; he paid it and they grabbed their leftovers. Walking hand in hand toward the car, he opened the door for her and she slid inside. "Thank you for joining me for lunch," Ben told her as they took off.

"Sorry I was late."

"Don't apologize. You're a woman. I expected to have to wait."

Miranda waved her hand at him. "But you never answered my question," she said as he picked up her hand. He kept his eyes on the road and raised an eyebrow. "About what you're doing later."

"Um, I guess if my academic rival is studying on a Sunday, I should be, too." His smile made her look out of the window, blushing. "But I was also going to see my grandmother. Maybe have dinner with her." He lifted his shoulders and the coolness of it all turned her on. "We're almost back to campus, do you want to get something else before we do?"

Miranda almost panicked. She didn't want the date to be over. "M-maybe some ice cream?" She said.

"That's a really good idea."

"You think so? It's a little chilly today."

"That doesn't bother me," he laughed.

He pulled into the first place that looked like it would have ice cream and headed to the frozen section. "Should we continue our tradition of choosing for each other?" She asked.

"It's our thing now," he said.

"Okay. Turn around." He did as he was told. Miranda reached into the freezer and pulled out two ice pops, one orange and one purple. "Your turn." She spun around, keeping the cold treats in front of her.

Soon, she felt his chest against her back. "Finished,' he said, the bass in his voice rattling her skin. He kissed her cheek and she almost dropped the pops. Miranda turned and saw him holding up a pint of vanilla ice cream and squinted. "What? You don't like vanilla?"

"I do."

She held out the pops. "It's my favorite."

"Really?" He nodded. "Mine, too."

Ben started to pay for their stuff, but she stopped him. "What?"

"I got it."

"My grandmother would kill me."

"Tell your grandmother that I'm a woman of the times and I got it."

He held up his hand and slid a pack of gum onto the counter. "That, too, please." Miranda rolled her eyes and slid a five to the cashier who also gave her a few plastic spoons. "Thanks."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." At the car, she leaned against the passenger side door while they opened the ice pops. He reached for the handle and she didn't budge. "What's happening here?"

"I'm waiting."

"For?"

Miranda's heart raced. She didn't want to have to spell it out for him. It was embarrassing to ask to be kissed. "Nothing."

"Nothing, huh?"

Standing upright, she put her hand on the door. Ben touched her hand, putting it on his shoulder. "Am I getting warmer?" She nodded as he pushed his lips against hers. The artificial flavors mixing together was extremely pleasant. Miranda ran her free hand over his scalp, deepening the kiss. When they pulled apart, she noticed that some of the ice pop had fallen on his shirt.

"Whoops."

"A small price to pay for such a good kiss."

Back in front of her dorm room, she said: "Thank you for walking up with me."

"I will always walk you to your door."

He was so sweet and she had to actively stop herself from kissing him again. "Call me later?"

"Will do."