My Interview With Vogue

Vogue: Let's talk about what you're wearing today.

Me: I'm wearing skinny jeans, black and white plaid flannel shirt, grey leopard print scarf and motorcycle boots.

Vogue: Trendy. Very nice.

Me: Thanks. It's my one ace-in-the-hole.

Vogue: So tell me a little about your style.

Me: My style?

Vogue: Yes, your style. For example, think of what you would wear on a typical day.

Me: Whatever is clean.

Vogue: And what would those clean clothes look like?

Me: A long sleeved t-shirt and jeans. My typical momiform.

Vogue: *Horrified.* Did you say 'momiform'? As in 'mom uniform'.

Me: Pretty witty, right?

Vogue: That's awful.

Me: Oh, come on. Think of those doctors and nurses in their scrubs. I think they rock those pretty well. And so comfortable. Maybe I should wear scrubs everyday...

Vogue: Okay, switching topics, how about the summertime? What accessories do you wear?

Me: Um, do kids count?

Vogue: *Eyeroll.* How about a long necklace?

Me: So the kids will try to swing on it? No thanks.

Vogue: How about cute, dangly earrings?

Me: So they can be ripped out of my ear lobes? I'll pass.

Vogue: Do you at least have a skin care regime?

Me: Oh, oh! Yes, I do! I use First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream!

Vogue: Now, we are getting somewhere. And what else?

Me: Um, I wash my face in the shower?

Vogue: With?

Me: Soap?

Vogue: *Sighs.* I think that's a wrap.

Me: *Nudges with shoulder.* Hey, but I do look super cute and trendy today, right?

Vogue: I'll give you that.

Okay, that wasn't really an interview with Vogue. But that is how I imagine it would go down.

Not That Other Stuff

**Previous entry with Nat and Adam can be found here.

Smug, he nudges my shoulder with his shoulder, Adam says, "See. Nectar of the gods."

"You are right." I concede.

Turning to Alex, I say, "How do keep yourself from eating all this ice cream?"

Giggling, she answers, "I don't."

We share another smile. The Sisterhood of Sweet Stuff.

Alex clears her throat. "I'll be in the back if you need me," she says, as she heads to the back room of the store.

Adam gestures to the tables in front of us. I head towards one by the front window and take a seat. Adam sits down across from me. 

In between bites of his ice cream, he says, "Did you have a place like this growing up?"

Taking another bite of ice cream, I question, "What kind of place is that?"

He states, "You know. A place where you always went with your family."

Giving it some thought, I respond, "There was this cheeseburger place. Chub's Cheeseburgers. We would go there every Sunday."

Laughing, Adam replies, "Chub's Cheeseburgers?"

Licking the ice cream off the spoon, I quip, "Yep. That was the name. Best burgers and milkshakes in town."

Adam chuckles, "Was the guy who owned it actually named Chub?"

Smiling, I say, "His nickname was Chub, but actually, he was a really skinny, tall guy. Whoever gave him the nickname sure had a since of humor." And because I am feeling a little extra bold, I say, "Want to guess how I like my burgers?"

Rubbing his jaw, Adam considers it and says, "Black bean burger with alfalfa sprouts?"

Wrinkling my nose, I respond, "Definitely not."

Taking a lick of his ice cream, he rolls it around in his mouth. He goes after another mouth full. I can imagine the wheels turning in his head.

For a minute, I'm mesmerized by his mouth. He has such nice lips. Beautiful, full lips.

"Medium well with blue cheese, mayo, lettuce, onion and tomato?", Adam questions.

My eyes snap up to meet his.

I  realize I had been staring at his mouth, with my hand holding the spoon frozen half-way to my lips.

Smooth, Nat. Super smooth.

Just because it's been a while since you've had a make-out session does not mean you are hard up.

Get it together.

He's probably like this with every girl.

I swallow. Pushing down my feelings of lust towards this guy who I barely know.

Who am I?! I don't do things like this.

I give him a brief nod as I close the distance between my spoonful of ice cream and it's final destination.

His eyebrows briefly go up. "That is really how you like your burgers?"

Lifting one shoulder in a brief shrug, I state, "Well, technically, I also like bacon on it too."

Quickly, Adam snakes his hand out and grabs my hand with the spoon. He brings it to his chest.

Jokingly, he announces, "A women who loves bacon on her cheeseburgers! Be still my heart! Where have you been all my life?!"

Rolling my eyes, I quip, "Hilarious."

He answers, "I thought so." 

He is still holding my hand with my spoon smashed between our palms. His eyes twinkle in amusement.

One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. Three heartbeats.

His eyes turn dark and heady. There is a different look there now. No longer amusement. More like wanting.

I lick my lips with a sudden nervousness. His eyes follow the movement.

Breathe. Just breathe.

This is a game to him, remember?

With as much snarkiness as I can muster, I say, "Bravo. Especially those bedroom eyes. How many times has that worked?"

Adam blinks. His brow furrows. "What?", he says.

Signaling an end to the conversation, I abruptly get to my feet, grabbing my cone and few napkins. I throw them in the trash and turn around.

Shoving my hands in my coat, I say, "Okay, where to next, Mr. Man-Boy Wonder?"

Adam open and closes his mouth to say something. Then that infuriating grin is back on his face, totally unfazed.

Getting up from the table, Adam saunters towards me and throws the remnants of his ice cream into the trash, leaning close as he does so.

His closeness unnerves me. He smiles smugly as if he knows.

Then, Adam turns heads to the door and tosses out over his shoulder, "You'll see when we get there. Come along, snow bunny."

It's the snow bunny comment that ruffles my feathers. It gets me fired up, irritates me.

This. This, I can deal with.

Not that other stuff.


Oooh, I'm really liking this interplay between Adam and Nat. I think they have good chemistry but where will it lead?
Now, all this talk of burgers makes me hungry. I think I'll go get something to eat...

A Conversation With February

Me: Look. It's not working out.

February: What do mean it's not working out?

Me: It's you, not me.

February: Are you breaking up with me?!

Me: I think we should see other people.

February: What about Valentine's Day?!

Me: I'm married with kids. Valentine's Day is dead to me.

February: There's...President's Day.

Me: Really? You're going with that?

February: You can always count on great furniture sales!

Me: *Runs hand down face.* Look. We're done.

February: Come on. You don't mean it!

Me: The snow. The ice. The cold. I'm over it. I'm SO over it.

February: But-

Me: I'm going to start seeing April.

February: APRIL?! That moody wench?! She could be warm or she could make it snow Easter Sunday.

Me: Fine. I'll start seeing May. That is a safe, warm bet.

February: That's cold.

Me: No, you are.

February: That hurts.

Nectar Of The Gods

**If you need a refresher, the previous post in this story was 'Busted'.

Walking through the stockroom doors, I find Dad and Adam talking amicably as if old friends.

Shaking my head, I resign myself to spending the afternoon with Mr. Man-Boy Wonder. I clear my throat to draw their attention.

Clasping Adam on the shoulder, Dad quips, "You guys have fun."

Giving a polite nod, Adam says, "Yes, sir."

Chuckling, Dad responds, "It's Rick, okay. None of that sir stuff. It makes me sound old."

Standing on my tiptoes to give him a peck on the cheek and because I can't resist, I joke, "You are old, Dad."

Tugging at his ear lobe, he declares, "Hey, don't call your Dad old! It's disrespectful!" He grins as he says it, his eyes twinkling with humor.

Throwing my hand up in a parting gesture, I head out the door. Adam is grinning as he holds his truck door open for me.

As I am finishing buckling my seat belt, Adam climbs in, gets himself situated and we are off.

We drive in tense silence for a while, or what I imagine to be tense. But looking over at Adam, I see he is leaning comfortably back in his seat with one hand on the wheel, the other propped up on the door. He's completely at ease.

Finally, giving in to my fate of spending all afternoon with Mr. Man-Boy Wonder himself and deciding to play nice, I break the silence by questioning, "So where to first?"

His eyes twinkle as he states, "You'll see."

I must have given him a look of impatience because he continues, "It's a surprise. If I tell you, it will ruin it. Trust me."

"Not all surprises are good," I mumble to myself.

Totally unruffled, Adam answers, "This one is."

As we head out of downtown, he makes a left turn on the last street in the area, Marks Street. He pulls to a stop in front of a large glass window. 

Climbing out of the truck, I look through the window, finding red and white checkered tile floors with shiny black round tables with chairs to match. The back of the store is framed by a long, glass cased counter full of several different ice cream flavors. It looks like a throw back to the 1950's.

I've got to hand it to him. I am definitely surprised.

"The Cool Cow?" I question, looking at the a picture of a cow on the window wearing sunglasses, laying on a lounge chair and sipping a drink from a straw.

Grinning like, well, a kid in an ice cream store, Adam says, "I told you it was a good surprise."

Heading inside the shop, I say, "Not to spoil the surprise, but you do realize it is thirty degrees outside, right?"

Sauntering up to the counter and propping a hip against the side, Adam declares, "This ice cream is good anytime. Summer. Winter. Hot. Cold. Doesn't matter. It is nectar of the gods."

Raising an eyebrow, I state, "Nectar of the gods? That's a lofty claim."

Giving me that lopsided grin he states, "I speak the truth."

I respond, "Okay, let's see what they have."

Right on cue, a teenage girl of about fifteen exits from the back room and heads to the counter. Her brown hair is in pigtails and she has a smile that brightens up the room.

"Hello, Adam," she says warmly. Blush creeps into her cheeks.

I can see how she dreamily stares at Adam. He is probably her first real crush. She is taken by him. 

He is handsome. I'll give him that. 

Smiling, he says, "Hi, Alex. How are you?"

She answers, "Good, thanks. Spending most of my time working and dance team."

Winking, Adam responds, "Sounds like your one busy lady. Tell your brother I'll look him up when he gets back in town over Christmas break." She almost melts into a puddle on the floor.

Adam politely introduces me. "Alex, this is my friend, Nat. Nat, this is Alex."

"Nice to meet you," I say.

Smiling, she says, "Hello."

Turning to me, Adam says, "So let me guess. You're a chocolate kind of girl."

Walking down the length of the counter perusing the different flavors, I quip, "Nope. Not a big fan of chocolate. Guess again, Mr. Man-Boy Wonder."

Alex gives a small chuckle and I look over at her. We share a smile.

Stroking his chin, he gives it some thought. He states, "Okay. Challenge accepted."

Circling me like a shark circles his prey, he observes, "Hmm, let's see. You like cross country skiing. You dress conservatively. You believe family is important. You want people to think you are self-sufficient. And you like to have order to things. Am I close?" 

Raising an eyebrow, Adam quietly dares me to contradict him. He knows he has hit his mark. He has me pegged.

What the what? 

He has observed this from just being around me twice. 

Wow. He's good. No wonder the women fall at his feet.

Still.

It's nice that he noticed.

I concede, "Nicely done. But we were talking about ice cream. You never said which flavor."

Confident, Adam says, "Vanilla."

Shaking my head, I correct, "Butter pecan."

Tilting his head to the side, he pins me with his stare. Adam declares, "Hmm. Aren't you full of surprises?" 

Alex hands me a scoop of butter pecan on a waffle cone. Grabbing a spoon, I take my first bite. Closing my eyes, I savor the perfect blend of savory and sweet.

Oh dear. This stuff is amazing. This IS the nectar of the gods.

Opening my eyes, I see Adam grinning like an idiot. He can tell by the look on my face that I love it.

Feeling generous, I say, "You are right. This stuff is amazing."

Smug, he nudges my shoulder with his shoulder, Adam says, "See. Nectar of the gods."

Here's another installment with Nat and Adam. I'm really liking the interplay between them.

And now, I think I want some ice cream....