‘How about this Friday?’ he then asked.
‘Thursday would be better. Less obvious,’ she replied. ‘Also, is there something more casual than a restaurant? I’ve met a few more of dad’s clients since I got back and some of them might be hanging around near the harbor.’
Well, this is a first, thought Kurt, a girl asking me to think less extravagantly when I’m trying to get her into bed. Everything about the scenario was suggesting that dating Darlene was going to be very different to anyone he had dated before – and he was all for embracing the draw of mysterious waters.
‘How about the bowling alley? As long as you don’t expect me to be any good at it,’ he then suggested.
‘That sounds like a better option. Though I’d be nervous of doing it.’
Nervous of doing what? he thought. Had she seriously been so held back from youthful pursuits that she had never been in a bowling alley?
This girl was reserved; seriously so. And yet she was still saying ‘Yes’ and allowing him to lead with the suggestions, giving him the impression that he had come along at exactly the right time for what he most desired: a quest of mutual discovery.
‘As I say, it’s not something I’m great at,’ he replied. ‘Will just be nice to have your company without the parents. I didn’t really feel I could ask you about college with them there.’
He realized that response eluded to wild times she was supposed to have had that she possibly hadn’t, but it would still serve as a convenient conversation topic. The fascination as to whether Darlene was a dark horse with a more expansive lifestyle or else someone who had hardly known a man’s touch had not lessened since the dinner.
The correspondence drew to a close then. Having agreed a date, Darlene asked for his mobile number and only told him to head to the centre of Portland at 6pm on Thursday. It was clear that she was intending on giving someone the slip before seeking him out and probably because her parents would insist on dropping her off in town. All of which only made Kurt more excited.
They were playing with fire in a way, even though it was not obvious how fierce the flames were. Was Mr Furse an overprotective parent whose amiable outer shell would crack if he heard of a bad boy carting his little girl off, or would he suck it all up and carry on as normal? It was hard to read because it was hard to imagine him in a state of fury but, either way, he was not one for conducting relationships in a ‘proper’ fashion. Kurt was not about to trot up to the man’s door and ask for permission to take his daughter out to dinner. Rather he’d have as much fun as he could before be deciding whether or not it was in his interests to involve parents at all (and almost certainly not). So, sneaking around was going to be in order – if, that is, she did not turn out to be one of those girls who demanded his hand in marriage before hands were allowed below the neck and above the knee.
Anything was possible, but that was exactly how Kurt preferred life to be. Like an ocean voyage, it was all about embracing mystery and allowing fate and destiny to seek you out if it so chose.
Thursday evening came and Kurt sat parked up in the Pearl District of Portland, thrumming his fingers on his steering wheel and wondering whether to go and get a coffee somewhere.
It was 5:15 and he was early – mostly through not wanting to be late, but the traffic had been kind. There was only 45 minutes to wait, by which time Darlene should have called him and let him know where she could be picked up from. The older he got, however, the more Kurt found that he became bored very easily and so he sat in his car feeling tetchy and uncertain.
Why that might be was something of a puzzle, being the laid-back type. But it was almost as if some outside force was telling him that time was precious and not to sit idle.
As it turned out, he had nothing to worry about, because something uncanny then happened.
There he was looking out over Columbia Square when who should turn the corner but none other than Darlene heading his way.
Have I completely underestimated this girl, he thought, wondering how she could possibly know where he was? That was his first thought anyway; his second was how staggeringly dazzling she looked. If he had thought meeting her in the company of their parents and in homely surroundings had been an eye opener then seeing her out and about, with the wind in her hair, made him see that he had booked a date with a real bombshell.
She was dressed in a lilac one-piece that hung from one shoulder only and ended just above the knee. Fitting her curves perfectly, for someone of her background it probably amounted to being that dress she had always wondered if she would have the nerve to wear. Kurt thought that she looked like pure class and immediately saw that he would have to act quickly to show that she was with him. Eyes were turning her way, scanning her up and down as the male gaze does and, if he wasn’t swift enough, he might have to end up fighting several rivals off.