Volunteering and Fun

Friday morning and Gracie is a little groggy from the night before. Her alarm buzzing at seven am. She looks at her phone then realizes she signed up to Volunteer for the food drive. She sees notifications from the dating site. It is Peter, “I enjoyed dancing with you last night, we should do it again.” Gracie decides not to respond right now. The woman gets ready for the day. She makes it to the food drive at nine. Paxton is in the parking lot loading canned food onto a utility cart. He comes over to greet her and take her box of donated food. Gracie checks the list which has her assigned to help sort canned goods. Gracie and several others are sorting through bags of goods donated. Paxton appears and is assigned to a different group, where he is with several women. He seems a little flirty with them. Gracie did not know Paxton would be here. She feels a little awkward. Then Peter walks towards her section as he is assigned to the same group. Oh, now this is more awkward, Gracie thought to herself. As the group continues going through the goods, Peter and Gracie reach for the same can. They look at the can, their hands, his hand is wrapped over hers, then they gaze into each other’s eyes standing across the table from one another. Gracie then retracts her hand. Paxton happened to glance over at the same time. He shrugs it off and continues to focus on his tasks. The woman laughs it off, “whoops you can have that one.” Gracie feels nervous over Peter, his energy is overbearing yet desirable like the night before. She feels some pull towards him. Remembering Paxton is a couple tables down to her right, the pressure is on. Even though she plans to leave for a year soon. About an hour later the sorting is done. Then they are prepared to be picked up by families. Peter is distracted by another woman so she can make a dash for it without interacting with him in front of Paxton. As Gracie heads to her jeep, Paxton is walking hurriedly towards her. “Hey Gracie,” she stops and waits for him as they share a hug once he reaches her. “So about tomorrow, Delilah is in heat, so she cannot go to the dog park. We can take Gunner or do something else if you would like.”

“Ok, I will think on it. Do you want her to have puppies? Gunner is purebred, registered and has had health testing done.”

“Hmm, that is going to be a lot of work, can you help when the puppies are born?”

Gracie’s face lit up with excitement. “Oh my gosh, that will be so fun!!!! Absolutely!!!”

“So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?” Paxton says smiling.

“I’m going to see some family.” Gracie replied.

“Ok, have a good time.” The tall handsome man responded.

“Thank you, and yourself, what are your plans?”

“I have to show some houses.”

“Ok, well I hope all that goes well.”

“Thanks! I’ll check back with you about tomorrow.”

Gracie goes to the feed store to get some more dog food for Gunner. Peter is approaching in the parking lot. He sees her as she opens the back door to her jeep. He races over to lift the heavy bag for her. “I will get that for you.” He carefully places it in her vehicle. She looks up at him, his hair red tinted in the sun. The blue jeans he is wearing look faded and he is wearing an outdoorsy T-shirt with western boots. He is a handsome fella with a southern accent. She is taken back by his appearance and energy. She feels embarrassed, shy yet confident. “Thank you,” Gracie says smiling at him.

“You are very welcome, ma’am. What are your plans tonight?”

“I am not sure yet, I am going to see some family in a little while. Why?”

“Do you want to go out to eat tonight?”

Gracie a little hesitant as he is associated with that obsessive classmate from middle school she barely knows.

“Ok, what time?” Gracie asks as she tilts her head.

“How about six?” Peter inquires with confidence.

“That should be fine,” Gracie says with a smile.

“I am in the mood for steak tonight, what about you? Peter mentions with a charming smile, and empathetic eyes.

“I could go for steak for dinner!” the woman responds enthusiastically

“There is a steakhouse off Bandera and 1604, want to meet there?” The fairly tall handsome man asks.

“Ok I will meet you there at six!” Gracie exclaims!

Peter steps around to Gracie’s door to open it for her.

“Thank you,” Gracie smiles sweetly at Peter, He grabs her by the hand, spins her around, then quickly gently places his hands over her jaw and kisses her pink glossy lips. Her strawberry lip gloss wears off on him, he licks his lips. Smiles and says, you taste delicious.” Peter takes a deep breath to calm his desiring energy for the lady. Gracie, a little stunned, enjoys the moment. She climbs into her jeep. Peter walks over to his beat up work truck to finish loading his purchase. Peter is a landscaper, which is more than just mowing yards. He designs yards, pools, and helps create curb appeal. He takes his business seriously with a respectful demeanor and likes to go above and beyond for his customers.

Gracie is at her parents' house for the afternoon in Helotes. They are working remotely because of COVID. Her mom, Cheyenne Mabel, who Gracie is a spitting image of, has prepared lunch for the three of them. Her father’s name is Atticus.

“Your sister is not going to make it, the kids are sick.” Cheyenne says showing a disappointed expression on her face.

“Oh ok.” Gracie replies casually.

Her parents get back to work, she goes into her old room and looks around. It is sweet her parents have not redecorated yet. She has been coming and going for years while seeing the world. Gracie has been enjoying her independence after college. She is twenty-seven, so after her tentative year in Alaska she may want to settle down. She has not decided where she wants to live yet but does like colder climates with winter wonderlands. The Texas summers are often very hot, and the rest of the year is pretty warm, once in a while it will snow. Gracie longs for a different place to live but appreciates Texas and it’s wonderful culture while she is there.

She meets Peter at the steakhouse. They sit down together and order drinks. They discuss their lives. Peter has no intention of moving anywhere anytime soon. She mentions how she has traveled as well as plans to see Europe then spend six months to a year in Alaska. Gracie cuts her juicy tender steak, dips it in steak sauce and savors it sensually. Peter takes notice.

“Are you enjoying that?” Peter asks with empathetic eyes.

Gracie still chewing, nods her head smiling with her mouth closed. Once she is finished chewing, “Remind me again what you do for a living.”

“I run my own landscaping business, I’ve been at it for about seven years.” The man replies in a deep masculine southern voice.

“And your 30?” Gracie asks casually.

“Yes ma’am.” Peter confidently responds.

They chat in between bites, both chewing completely before speaking.

“Do you like traveling?” Gracie inquires.

“Yes, I was a truck driver and took a lot of road trips. I have been all over. I have not been out of the country.” The man says happily.

“Oh, how fun! I want to see Europe! I think I need to plan a trip there very soon.” Gracie hints at Peter.

“I might join you if you want. We will see.” The handsome fella mentions.

“Ok, perhaps!”

“Do you want any desert?” he asks.

“No, thank you.”

“Do you want to go to a drive in theater?” Peter looks at Gracie with a charming smile.

“Ok, sounds fun!” Gracie exclaims.

They cruise along highway sixteen, Gracie following behind Peter. Peter turns down a road and then into the parking lot of the drive in theater. He parks and so does Gracie.

“Do you want to take my car or yours?”

“We can take yours!”

Peter gets out and opens the passenger side door of his leisure time truck. He holds Gracie’s hand as she steps up into the truck. He closes the door once she is in. Peter walks around to his side of the truck and gets in. They drive into the movie theater, get snacks and find a spot. Peter reverses into the parking spot and opens the door for Gracie, then he places a cushioned mat, blankets, and pillows for them to lay on in the bed of his truck. He places pillows so they can sit up against the back of the bed.

“Well, you are prepared, aren’t you!” Gracie says with enthusiasm.

“Yes, ma’am!” Affirms Peter.

Gracie climbs in the bed of the truck and sits with her back against a pillow. Peter hands Gracie her drink and the snacks. He holds his drink while he climbs in. They watch the movie and eat the snacks. The sky is nearly pitch black with few lights from the concession stands, parking lot, and movie screens. Gracie looks up to see the stars covering the sky. Peter leans towards her and kisses her, massaging her tongue with his. Gracie returns the kiss. Peter slowly retracts his tongue and presses his lips against hers. He wraps his arm around her and looks up at the stars with her. He feeds her some popcorn, and she feeds him a few pieces as well and they smile at each other. Gracie cozy in his arms, feeling his desirable arousing aura, smelling his woody cologne, relishes the moment. Gracie falls asleep in his arms as she barely slept the night before. Peter notices and falls asleep next to her.

Its two in the morning and a worker from the theater comes over and wakes them up, letting them know they have closed. Gracie startled, wakes up and sits up. Peter awakens and apologizes to the staff, letting them know they will leave. They climb out of the bed of the truck, Peter folds up all of the blankets and mats and places them in the backseat. Gracie gathers the trash from the snacks and throws them away. Peter watches her walk towards the trash can, admiring her canter and physique. He opens the passenger door for her to get in, then drops her off at her jeep. He kisses her again before she gets out. “I had a great time, thank you.” He quietly says.

She steps out of the truck as Peter opens the door, wraps his arms around her waist, lifts her up against his body and spins around with her in his arms, her head above his. She kisses him sweetly with a lustful yearning for him. He takes notice to this and takes a deep breath in to calm his excitement. He turns around, lowers her back down until her feet gently touch the ground. She opens her door and says farewell.

“See you again soon I hope.” Peter with a hopeful voice.

“Maybe.” Gracie says with a smile.

Gracie returns home, freshens up and snuggles Gunner.

“Well Gunner, I had a nice time with someone, we will see if one of the guys will my boyfriend soon.”

Gracie then falls sleep with Gunner in her arms. Before she knows it, Saturday morning has arrived. She missed a text from Paxton last night. She responds, “how about jet skis at the lake?”

“Ok, sounds fun, I will pick you up in an hour. We can rent jet ski’s at the lake. I will make a reservation really quick just to make sure there are some available. Will you be ready in an hour?”

“Did you eat yet? I am making steak and cheese omelets, do you want one?”

“Ok yes, I will have one.”

“Some wheat toast and berries as well?”

“Yes, I will have some of that also!”

“Wonderful it should be ready by the time you get here.”

Paxton arrives, with a bouquet of flowers.

“Howdy, ma’am, these are for you.” Gracie breathes them in, as her eyes light up with joy.

“Thank you, come on in. Breakfast is just about ready.” Gracie walks over to the kitchen and finishes preparing breakfast and sets the table.”

They happily eat breakfast, then Gracie gets her things together for a day at the lake. She has a dry bag packed with a boating suit, swimsuit, towels, extra change of clothes, sunscreen, bottles of water, and granola bars. Paxton has a cooler and plans to BBQ for lunch. After they arrive at the lake, they ride around on jet skis. Gracie has a blast. They take a break. We have them for the whole day. Paxton begins to make lunch. Grilled chicken with bar-b-que sauce, with potato salad and beans. They quietly each lunch and give time to digest.

Suddenly, two boats bumped into each other, they were not going that fast it seemed. Paxton hurried on the jet ski to see if anyone was hurt or needed help. It seemed everyone was ok. Paxton came back over to Gracie, who was watching the scene.

“So, they are ok!”

“Yes, it appears so. Let’s be careful, next time we go out on the water. Do you want to try water skiing? I can pull you on the jet ski, we can take turns.” Paxton asks.

“Alright let’s do it.” Gracie exclaims. The hills surround the dark blue water. The woman soaks in the scenery, feeling at peace.

Gracie struggles to stand on the skis and wipes out a few times. She soon gives up and lets Paxton take his turn. He manages to get up and stay up for a little while. Before they know it the sun begins to set. Paxton returns the jet ski’s and takes Gracie home.