Or, How Ann Discovered My Basement
How could anyone NOT kiss a set of lips like these?
One thing Ann had neglected to tell me before accepting my invitation to watch Casablanca was the fact she had asthma and a wicked allergy to cat hairs. So for her, coming into my townhouse was like entering the Valley of the Shadow of Death.
We watched the movie, me blissfully unaware of her problem, stroking my cats as they sat in my lap, which, of course, just threw more dander into the air.
After the movie, we sat on the couch and discussed Erica Jong's book, Witches. All of a sudden, she had to leave suddenly. No lingering, no gradual rising from the couch, she just bounced up and made a beeline for the door.
I should point out that my front door was immediately adjacent to the door to my basement, at right angles to it. I thank her for coming, reached over and kissed her lightly on the lips which she was obviously not expecting (either that, or I was a better kisser than I thought!). That made her more flustered and in her flustered state, she opened the door to my basement and rushed through it before I could stop her. (I did try). After she descended a few stairs, she realized what she'd done, which made her even more flustered as she rushed back up and out the door.
I just shook my head, thinking, "Well, I guess I won't have to worry about a second date with her!" (She later claimed she didn't really consider it a date, which was why she was so flustered).
The next day, our slo-pitch team was playing in a tournament. In three games, she never said "boo!" to me. However, that night, sitting in the bathtub, the phone rang. It was Ann, inviting me over to watch a movie at her place. The movie we choose was Jewel of the Nile (another romantic movie about star-crossed lovers - is there a pattern developing here?)
We stayed up until about 2 a.m., she told me about her allergies, and as Rick said to Louie at the end of Casablanca, it was "... the start of a beautiful friendship."
That friendship certainly was put to the test when I decided to go camping and canoeing with Ann ...