"Well, that was a pleasant trip, wasn't it?" Johan said. "It's been really fun but the rain kind of spoiled the evening. I think I'll go home and take a nice hot shower. Thank you for a wonderful time, Lucy." A silence followed as Lucy simply sat in the passenger side seat. "Lucy, I have to go home now, so why not head on home yourself?"

Sitting there with a bewildered look, "For one thing, you said you didn't want me to leave, so I stayed."

"Oh, I did? Ha ha. Well, I wouldn't worry about that."

"I don't know, I'm plenty worried right now."

"No, it's fine. Adults do it all the time."

"I don't think adults do that regularly." Johan scratched the side of his face as the awkwardness of the situation prolonged. "I had a feeling you didn't want to hang out with me anymore. When you didn't contact me last time, I got worried and then realized that you probably didn't want to chat either. That's why I was so happy when you invited me out again, but even in the trip you seemed so uncomfortable." No response as he kept staring at the fogged-up windows. "Do you really want me to go away? Don't you like me?"

"What, no!" he said abruptly as he turned his head.

"So you do like me?"

"Well... 'like' is a very vague term..."

She put her hand on his knee causing him to jump a bit, "I really enjoy being with you, Johan. I've never had so much fun before. I don't want it to end, not like this."

"Lucy, I didn't say..."

"I don't know why you don't want to continue hanging out with me, but I would prefer if we remained friends. That's why I keep asking you to contact me after you go home. Because I don't want you to just disappear."

A desperate look was on her face, sad and dispirited, that he could not help but feel despondent himself. "Lucy, I hope you don't think I hate you or anything of the kind."

"I don't. I'm sure you like me too. After all, you wouldn't have done all those nice things for me if you didn't. I just don't understand why we can't be together. I don't understand why you don't want to see me anymore, but all I want is for you to be happy." The passenger side door opens, "Thank you, Johan. I will never forget you.”

With those words fluttering in the cold rain, Lucy stepped out of the car.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The End

"The End?” Johan utters. "No, Lucy wait." Hastily unbuckling his seat belt, he reached out and rammed his hand on the passenger side door before Lucy could close it. "I didn't mean to make it sound like that. Please, trust me, I'm not trying to get rid of you, because I do like you, Lucy. I really do. If there was a chance to go out on a date, I would jump at it without a second thought. It's just that there's so many things going on at once and I'm struggling to figure it all out. I know I sound ridiculous right now, and that's because I'm just so confused. I really don't even know what to think. I don't want to lose contact with you Lucy, so please don't think that this is over." A great look of desperation and remorse was on his face contrasting the one of shock and surprise on hers.

After a few moments of standing in the rain with the door open, Lucy replied, "Did you just ask me out on a date?"

"What?"

"You just said it. 'If there was a chance to go out on a date, I would jump at it without a second thought'."

His mind was trying to process what he was being told but he could not recall all the words that were uttered in that moment. "I think you misheard me."

"I heard it clearly. You asked me out on a date, didn't you?"

He wanted to doubt that was the situation, yet he had no proof she was mistaken either. Deep down, he had a feeling that the words may have slipped during his pleading without him realizing. "Well, whether I said it or not doesn't matter. It's everything else, about how things are complicated and not even adults have all the answers. That's what I'm trying to tell you.” Lucy couldn't help but giggle as Johan was in panic mode, stretching out his arm and waving it in front of her. "No, no, wait. You don't understand-"

And she takes his hand and locked her fingers within his, "I would love to go out on a date with you, Johan." He was instantly inflicted with a minor case of catatonia as he could not believe what he was just told. When she let go of his hand, "I gotta go. The rain is getting worse. Call me when you get home please." She waved goodbye and headed off toward her building.

She pranced all the way to her apartment and into the shower all while singing a lovely tune. Spinning and dancing back to her room she opened her closet and started going through all the clothes she owned. One by one she looked at every piece of clothing, trying to guess what Johan would think, and giggling throughout. It was so humorous that she laid on her bed, continuing to laugh and smile. With tears of joy in her eyes, cuddling herself, she quietly said, 'I love you, too.'

–

"Huh?" Johan said as two taps on the driver-side window snapped him out of his spell. "Where am I? What's going on?"

A bright flash of light blinded him. "Sir, we got a report that you have been parked here for half an hour. Do you have any business being here?"

When the bright light was removed from his sight, he saw a police officer standing next to him with a flashlight.

"Oh, no, I'm done. I have to go home now."

"Then move along, please.” Johan started his engine and drove off.

Despite his recovery, denial was still in his head but even he could not refute what he had heard from Lucy. Taking his left hand from the steering wheel, he looked at his trembling sweating palm. "Maybe the story should have ended at that time."