As soon as I saw the teeth, I knew. She breathed what seemed to me like a sigh of relief, and then said, "Yeah, that sounds nice." Needless to say I was on cloud nine for the rest of the day. The accident on the freeway didn't even get to me, it was just more time to reflect on my acomplishment.
Finals week crawled by, mostly because Friday was going to be the best day of my life. I just knew we had something, chemistry or sparks or whatever. Something was there. I passed all my tests like I always do, and the day finally arrived. I had arranged to pick her up at 7:00 at her house. (It was actually her parents' house, but these days in Cali, who doesn't live with their folks?)
I arrived at a respectable 7:05, not late enough to complain about, but not early either. To my shock and amazement, she was ready! I came in and sat down for a moment, making small talk with her mother, and then we departed. I'd reserved a table at Bucca Di Beppo, a homestyle Italian place that was generous on atmosphere and portions. As we were looking over our menus, (I was having trouble keeping my eyes on the laminated paper,) she stopped looking, put down her menu, looked me straight in the eyes and asked, "Why did you ask me out?"
