anticipation
Tony and Michelle prepare for their unexpected evening together. Please continue to review!
Tony shot out of his bed, suddenly wide awake in anticipation. He grabbed the nearest pair of crumpled jeans lying on the floor and briskly slid them on. Passing by the bathroom, he debated whether to wash his face and quickly shave before departing, but he decided against it. He had to get there as fast as he could. Michelle needed him.
He fumbled through the dark hallway, not even attempting to flip on the lights. Making his way towards the kitchen counter, where he usually tossed his wallet and keys, he began to chuckle with amusement. I must look like an idiot, wandering around in the dark at four in the morning. It was very unlike most nights.
By now, his eyes had adjusted to the dark, and he could see a rough outline of his surroundings. On the counter there was a pile of various objects, mainly trash. Wrappers, empty beer cans, leftover Chinese food… No car keys in sight.
Where are those goddamned keys! He exhaled sharply, calming himself.
"I coulda sworn I left them right next to the chicken wing…" he mumbled aloud.
Michelle swung her legs out of her bed and placed them on her shag carpet she had gotten in college and wasn't particularly fond of anymore. I need to get rid of that eventually…
Turning around, she carefully made her bed, making sure everything was to perfection. She needed to impress Tony.
Michelle had always loved to clean, ever since she was very young. It was her natural instinct to keep things in order. Even after arriving at home in the early hours of the morning, she always performed her usual cleaning routine. It disturbed her to go to sleep in a dirty house.
As she tiptoed towards the bathroom, her hands began to tremble. Tony was coming to her house. Her house. Her HOUSE. While the thought was incredibly comforting, it made her a little nervous. What if it was uncomfortable, and they had nothing to say to each other? She began making a mental list of things to say to him, but her anxious thoughts were interrupted by ones even more urgent.
Was this a date? She didn't think so, it was more of a comfort session between two…acquaintances. That was the right word.
But did he think it was a date? Would he be expecting things from her? It hadn't sounded like that over the phone. Perhaps another layer of makeup just in case. She decided against it, predicting that she would probably cry it all out anyway.
She faced the tall mirror in the bathroom, scrutinizing her reflection. Michelle scooped up her messy mass of curls into an innocent ponytail, perhaps in attempt to look sweet and inviting. After modeling herself a bit in the mirror, she came to the conclusion that it was a little too… perky. She eventually chose to rip off the hair elastic and let her natural curls flow.
I'm just going to be myself tonight.
Tony racked his brain, trying to remember what he'd done with the keys. He couldn't have lost them. They must be somewhere around here…
Suddenly realization washed over him. His eyes widened with shock and horror and frustration all at once. When he'd arrived at the apartment, barely two hours ago, his laziness had taken the best of him, and he left the keys in his back pocket.
So, he angrily thought to himself, now I have to go searching through ten pairs of pants scattered through my apartment to find the stupid things.
Tony took a deep breath, wheeled around, and trudged toward the bedroom. This time, he flipped on the switch to turn on the bright florescent lights, blinding him momentarily.
Squinting, he bent down onto the cold wooden floor, causing it to creak. He began to sift through the different articles of clothing, trying to find something that resembled a pair of keys.
Finally, after rummaging through what seemed like one hundred pairs of pants, there they were. He almost jumped with joy, at the feel of the cool metal against his fingers, but then restrained himself. Back on task.
Tony leapt to his feet, stretching his aching knees, and extended his wrist to check the time.
4: 27! How could it be that late? It had been almost an hour since they had spoken. Did she think he stood her up? Oh God. He couldn't let her down. Not now.
Michelle made a pot of coffee, knowing that when Tony arrived, he'd probably want something to wake him up. It had been her fault, after all, that he had gotten up in the first place.
She breathed in the soothing, warm smell, and permitted herself to relax. Knowing that Tony was on his way made everything seem better.
Michelle eased herself into a cushioned armchair near the kitchen. There really was no living room in her house, just sort of an "area" with a couple of chairs and a small television that rarely worked. Not that she ever really had time to watch television.
Picking up the remote, she scanned the surface for the power button, and pushed down. To her surprise, the television reacted and the blank screen turned into colorful, moving lights. She was a little challenged when it came to televisions. They seemed to hate her. Computers she understood.
Sitting back, Michelle began to flip through the channels, trying to find something that would impress upon Tony that she was a well-rounded person who enjoyed a little educational television once in a while. Perhaps Food Network?
After a few minutes of forcing herself to pay attention to a bunch of people making omelets, she began to worry. It had been almost thirty minutes since their phone conversation. Where was he?
Tony recklessly tore through the empty streets, knocking over a few unfortunately placed trashcans on the way. Oops. They neighbors'll probably be pissed. He snickered, knowing that he always had hated those complaining, snively, uptight pinheads…
The vibrating ignition of his car made his wandering thoughts race back to the task at hand. Tony's foot slammed down on the acceleration, speeding up significantly. The car swerved around corners, only very nearly avoiding potential flat tires. Tony wanted nothing more than to arrive at Michelle's house. So what if he broke a limb or two along the way?
In record time, he pulled into her driveway. He had known the way by memory, having driven her home from work so many times. Though most of the street was pitch black, he could see a faint light coming from inside Michelle's house.
He eagerly threw open the screen door and was about to barge in, but then, taking control of himself, he placed it back gingerly and decided on knocking on the door instead. He placed what he hoped was the perfect, friendly, sexy, but not vulgar smile on his face, and prepared for her to answer the door.
Michelle jumped in her seat at the knock on the door. Oh my God. He's here. She moved towards the door and smiled in a let's-be-friends-for-now-thanks-for-coming-you-are-sexy kind of way. She reached for the doorknob, and turned it.