Richonne (Short Love Stories) Do You (Chapter 24)
A/N: Request from fellow writer and Richonne lover QueenMojo as she loves Richonne first dates. Inspired by Miguel's Do You.
Scenario I
"I've got the perfect guy for you," Andrea announces.
"I don't remember asking you to find the perfect guy for me," Michonne returns. "I told you I'm never getting married again."
"That's why he's perfect for you because he's telling Shane the same thing. He doesn't want to get married again, either."
"Obviously you're not listening to me. People who don't want to get married again probably aren't interested in dating again either," Michonne suggests.
"Look, it's been a year since you and Mike called it quits. Don't you think you should get out and live a little?" Andrea asks. "I just want you to meet him. That's all. Shane is hosting a party for that big pay per view boxing match this weekend. He'll be there, so you should be there, too."
"I don't know…." Michonne begins.
"Come on. You'll have a good time even if you decide you don't like the guy. Shane's having it catered by that new barbeque place, Morgan's?"
"I love barbeque, but it's so messy and you can't be pretty while eating ribs," Michonne offers.
"So now you're concerned with looking pretty? Fine. Just get a pulled pork sandwich then. You'll look real good eating that." Andrea's voice is laced with sarcasm as the two friends look at each other and laugh. "That means you're going to meet him, right?"
It's the night of the party and Michonne arrives at least 10 minutes after the starting time. She takes one last look in the mirror and exits her car. The venue Shane rented out looks nice enough with plenty of parking space as a number of people have already arrived. She walks inside to see Shane and Andrea greeting people in the lobby area.
Andrea waves her over. "I'm so glad you made it. He's around here somewhere…"
"I don't have to meet him right away, Andrea. Let me get a drink or something," Michonne suggests.
"That's right, girl. Drink up and have fun tonight." Shane moves over to give her a hug. "How have you been?"
"I'm doing ok. How about you?" The decision on Shane is still in debate as far as Michonne is concerned. Andrea has only been dating him for a few weeks, but so far he seems nice enough.
"Keeping busy as always. Go get that drink. I'll talk to you later." He moves back to Andrea's side to greet some newcomers.
Michonne walks inside the main area and is impressed with the cushioned seats and the huge video screen as they seem to dominate the center of the room. The buffet table, bar, and DJ are set up on one side of the entire room. Looks like Shane really knows how to throw a party even though I could care less about this boxing match.
She moves over to the bar and asks for champagne. She intends to keep it light since she did drive tonight. She thanks the bartender and turns to exit and almost spills her drink on a guy as he was practically standing behind her. "I'm so sorry. I didn't spill anything on you, did I?"
"No, it's fine. I should watch where I'm going," he returns.
"I didn't see you." She finally looks up and does a double take as she locks eyes with him. Nice, curious blue eyes, a handsome face, smooth lips, not too full, but not thin either. She almost lets her eyes travel downward but doesn't want to appear too obvious.
She clears her throat, shaking herself from her reverie. "Well, glad that turned out ok. Have a good night."
He nods as she brushes by him, moving to a table near the buffet. She is absolutely beautiful. Now why couldn't I be meeting her tonight? He walks up to the bar and orders a drink, set to wait on Andrea and her friend.
Twenty minutes later, he is ready to throw in the towel and say to hell with Andrea's friend as he can't keep his eyes off of the beauty sitting at a table alone. Alone by choice because she has turned down every guy who walks her way. He can't decipher what is being said, but he has watched as she shakes her head and the guy or guys, rather, walk off. He's not sure where his confidence is coming from, maybe it's the glances she has thrown his way every few minutes but he decides to walk over and introduce himself.
"Hi. I'm Rick. We just kinda almost bumped into each other at the bar." He offers his hand to her for a handshake.
She places her flute on the table and shakes his hand. "Michonne."
"Nice to meet you. Mind if I sit down?" He asks.
Michonne retrieves her champagne. "Not at all." Damn. I hope whoever I'm supposed to meet isn't here yet. I might have to tell Andrea to cancel that plan.
He smiles as he takes a seat beside her, placing his beer on the table. The music is loud but they still manage to have a conversation without shouting at each other.
"Do you live here in King's County?" He asks.
"No. I live in Atlanta. I'm just here for the weekend. How about you?" She asks.
"Yeah, I've lived here for most of my life." He returns.
Just then, Andrea walks up with a huge smile. She greets Rick for the second time that night, then leans down to whisper in Michonne's ear. "I see you found him."
Michonne leans to the side to look into her friend's eyes, questioning her with a slight glance.
Andrea nods, then turns to Rick. "This is the friend I wanted you to meet."
Rick's eyes pop as he wasn't expecting her at all. He's not sure what he was expecting but it wasn't her. She's in a class all her own and he thought Andrea's friends were…well, like Andrea.
"Y'all should get something to eat. Fight's on in about 30 minutes. Well, have fun. Guess I'll see you two later." She smiles as she walks off with a knowing look.
Rick is trying hard not to stare now that he knows she was the woman he was intended to meet. "Would you like me to get you anything? I've been dying to try the ribs from Morgan's."
Michonne almost laughs as food was the last thing on her mind, but being in his presence for the last several minutes has her starving. "Let's go."
Hours later, Rick is escorting Michonne to her car. They shared a meal and even sat together during the boxing match although neither of them paid much attention as they kept talking to each other.
"Would you mind if I called you? I'd really like to see you again if that's ok," Rick suggests.
Michonne smiles. "I'd like that. I'm not leaving for Atlanta until tomorrow evening, so if you wanted to meet for breakfast or lunch, I'm free."
"Breakfast it is," Rick confirms as he can't wait to see her again.
They quickly exchange numbers. He opens her car door for her and waves as she exits the parking lot.
Five minutes later, her cell phone rings. It's Andrea so she answers after the first ring.
"Well?" Her friend inquires.
"Well, what? You knew a man like that was walking around single and you're just now saying something about it?" Michonne has to laugh at herself as she hasn't felt this giddy about anyone since high school.
"I guess that means you like him?" Andrea asks.
"I like what I see, yeah, but I do need to get to know him. We're meeting for breakfast in the morning," Michonne tells her.
"Damn. I guess he likes you too then," Andrea remarks.
"Well, all I've got is thank you, friend because this was definitely an interesting evening."
Have you ever felt alone
Do you still believe in love
Do you like hugs
It's what we're gonna do
Scenario II
It's not like you have anything else to do. Come on, man. You gotta start getting back in shape and getting out more," Shane tells his best friend.
"Whatever. I know the kind of workouts you do and I haven't done stuff like that since…I don't know high school, the academy?" Rick returns.
"Which is why you should get back into it. I won't laugh too hard if you decide to start out on the treadmills or something," Shane jokes.
"How about I start out on the track? Jogging? That might be good for me," Rick ponders.
"Let's go, man."
Thirty minutes later, they arrive at the gym only to have Shane abandon Rick. He does actually work out at this gym but he also utilizes it as a social hour, chatting up any female who will indulge him.
Rick just shakes his head and makes his way to the rear exit in search of the track. He finds it with ease and looks around to gauge what the other runners are doing. He sees a few of them stretching so he decides to emulate them as he can recall loosening up before exercise is supposed to be best for your muscles.
Everyone seems to perk up and become animated as a shapely woman, wearing spandex rushes over to them with a greeting. She starts stretching as well.
"Everybody ready?" She asks after a few minutes.
Rick looks around nervously as he's not sure what exactly is about to take place. He is surprised when she singles him out and moves over in front of him.
"Newbie, huh?" She asks.
"Well, yeah. I was just gonna go around a few times. I'm not really ready for the serious stuff." He can look at her and tell she's serious about her health and body. What a body it is. He shakes his head and gives her a sheepish smile.
"Nonsense. Just stick with me. Everybody here was where you are at some point, but look at us now," she says proudly.
The group agrees with her as Rick looks around at them cautiously. He figures he doesn't have anything to lose as they start making their way to the track. They all start out slow and he is even more surprised that she is scaling back and jogging alongside him at his pace.
She coaches him on his breathing and posture and asks if he can increase his pace just a bit. He obliges her and they complete the first lap in no time. The second lap was more difficult but he pulled through. It was the third lap that did him in as he has stopped at their starting point, breathing heavily and resting his hands on his knees.
She continues to jog in place as she asks if he is ok.
He nods. "Just…need to….catch….my breath."
"Well, you did great. Three laps is a record for a first timer. I'm impressed. I still have more laps to do, so see you around." She smiles and takes off at a sprint.
All Rick can do is watch in amazement.
He is telling Shane about his experience as the two of them are making their way to Shane's truck. He spots her walking to her car as well and yells out, "Hey. Thank you."
She looks up and smiles when she sees him. "No problem. Hope to see you back here to tackle it again."
"If I can even move tomorrow," he jokes.
She laughs and waves again as she enters her car, preparing to leave.
"Damn. I didn't even get her name," Rick thinks out loud.
"Michonne," Shane provides.
"How do you know?" Rick asks.
"Really man? I know all the hot chicks at this gym and she is one of the hottest," Shane offers.
"You don't mean….you and her…?" Rick asks with a frown.
"I wish. I tried it, but she wasn't having it. She's cool, though. I like her. So she helped you out with your jog, huh?" Shane inquires.
"Yep. She was very helpful. I might just start this on a regular basis. We coming back tomorrow?" He wants to know.
Shane laughs. "She won't be here tomorrow. She'll be here Wednesday, though. She swims on Wednesdays." He laughs at Rick's pondering look. "Let me guess. Swimming might be good for you too?"
Rick laughs as he and his friend enter the vehicle and prepare to leave.
Wednesday rolls around and Rick is at the gym with Shane again. He opted to drive his own vehicle as Shane likes to stay at the gym for hours. He is waiting patiently for her to arrive and decides to try his luck on the treadmill. The equipment faces the entrance and you can see patrons coming and going as the entire front wall is glass.
Ten minutes later, he was so engrossed in his jog that he didn't see Michonne enter the gym nor the fact that she had noticed him. She walks over to him with a smile, admiring his stance on the treadmill. She waits patiently for him to notice her and has to laugh when he falters just a little at the sight of her.
He recovers quickly and switches the treadmill off. "Hi."
"Hi. So, is this a warm up or were we too hard on you out there?" She asks.
"Actually…I guess….I'm just….warming up. Not….sure what I'm….going to…do today." He is a little breathless, but manages to bring it under control quickly.
"I don't know how you feel about swimming, but that's what I'll be getting into today. There's another group of joggers out on the tracks if you want to try that again…or there is an apparel store here if you wanna purchase some swim trunks and join me," she suggests.
Rick smiles and decides right then and there that he'd rather purchase a new pair of trunks than let her know he had already planned to swim with her and had a bag complete with swimming apparel in a locker in the men's area. "That sounds great. Where's the store?" He steps down off the treadmill, preparing to walk with her. "I'm Rick, by the way. Rick Grimes."
"Nice to meet you, Rick. I'm Michonne."
Thirty minutes later they are walking to the pool together and Rick is trying his best not to check her out in her bathing suit. Michonne is suffering from the same malady as he is looking rather fetching in his swim trunks. They put their towels and flip flops to the side, then enter the pool cautiously, trying to get used to the temperature.
Michonne starts them out with straight laps the entire length of the pool. She is quite impressed with Rick as he appears to be a strong swimmer and finishes each lap before her. They decide to take a break and are wallowing in a deserted corner of the pool, talking.
"So, how long have you a member here?" Rick asks.
"About 2 years now. I moved here from Atlanta to take over my dad's law practice when he retired," she offers. "What about you? I haven't seen you here before."
"Shane and I are partners and best friends and he convinced me to give this place a try. I haven't been actively exercising in a while," he admits.
"You work for the Sheriff's department?"
He nods. "Going on ten years now." They continue to share small talk and after a while, notice that they're just about the only ones left in the pool.
"I guess we should get back to why we're here, huh?" She suggests. "Although I think I need a challenge right about now."
"Are you saying I'm not challenging you?"
"No, not at all. I'm challenging myself. You've beat me every lap, so I gotta step up my game and beat you at least once."
Rick laughs. "A little competitive, are we?"
She smiles as she wades over and prepares for another lap in the pool. "You ready?"
"I'm ready alright. Let's go."
They complete at least 4 laps and Rick wins each time. They are on their fifth and last lap almost at the end and Michonne doesn't know where the impulse comes from but she crosses over into Rick's lane and pushes him down into the water by his shoulders. She laughs out loud as he comes up sputtering, gasping for air. She makes a move to swim to the wall, but he grabs her by the waist and gives her a dunking.
The two of them come up, laughing and sputtering.
"I'll call that last one a draw if it'll make you happy. I mean, playing dirty like that just doesn't look good on you. I didn't trip you up out there on the track, did I?" He laughs, still holding her by the waist.
She places her hands at his shoulders. "What can I say? I'm a sore loser, especially with a newbie." She laughs with him, then falters as she realizes how close they are. It felt so natural to her that she didn't even think about it. She pulls back just slightly.
"Guess I should quit while I'm ahead, huh?" Her eyes dart around almost nervously.
Rick picks up on that immediately and almost cringes as her nervousness pulls his to the surface. "Well, thanks for another great work out."
They separate reluctantly and exit the pool, grabbing their towels to dry off.
"So, um…would you like to grab a salad or something for dinner?" He swallows nervously and cannot believe he just asked her that, but part of him feels comfortable with her while another part of him is anxious around her.
Michonne stops in the middle of drying off to give him her full attention. "A salad? With the way we just worked out, I'm voting for a burger. If you're on a health kick, I'll settle for a turkey burger, but we're having a real meal, Grimes."
He laughs with relief as she indirectly accepted his invitation. "So, we'll meet out front in about 30 minutes?"
"Works for me," she agrees as they walk off to the locker rooms.
Forty minutes later, Rick is escorting her to his truck, promising to bring her back to her vehicle after dinner. Shane walks out of the gym and witnesses the two of them together. He rubs his head as Rick glances his way with a smile. He shakes his head as the two of them drive off. "Well, I'll be damned."
What about matinee movies, morning secrets
Midnight summers, swim private beaches
Rock, paper, scissors, wait best out of 3
My mama said the greatest things in life are free
What about lust, what about trust
What about love?