The T-Shirt Chronicles Pt. 03

So the two young people have a 'date'. Let's see how this progresses. Janice is still a little shell-shocked, and Daniel is trying to be a stand-up guy. Plus, he was a little leery about a rebound. There will be some 'action' in this part. (I'm not sure you can say 'sex' in "Romance". After all, it's not "Loving Wives"). But I think we'll make some progress on the "Romance" front. I want to thank all the great comments on the first two parts. I got a lot of 'new' readers checking out Part 1. Appreciate it. Watch out, "Loving Wives".

Please, read, enjoy, and comment. Sorry, it took so long. But that's the way life is.

Janice was dumbfounded. A DATE! HE HAD ASKED HER OUT ON A DATE!! Well, it was for ice cream, but it sure seemed like a date. Oh, GOD, why was she so excited? But was it just a rebound? How did he really feel?? How should she respond???

She sat at her desk and tried to work. The day dragged by. About two hours afterward, she was shuffling papers and came across the 'letter'.

'Oh MY GOD!', she thought. She had forgotten to shred her letter of resignation. She immediately went to the office shredder and fed the machine her message of remorse. Because that's what it had been. She had no reason to stay here, either at Godot, Inc. or in Austin, for that matter. She had plans to move to Florida, where her cousin told her about a few openings where she worked. Scratch that. She would have to get in touch with her cousin and tell her it was off.

She hoped.

Daniel sat at his desk, thinking. His world was turning over, and he wanted control back.

He wasn't supposed to be here, as he was supposed to be getting married tomorrow. Not gonna happen. Not now. His fellow engineers came by to commiserate every so often and give him some simple paperwork to help with. After all, he was supposed to be 'out'. It wasn't terribly taxing, and he was done with them almost as soon as they had left his desk. He looked at his watch and realized he had a few other things to take care of. He switched off his computer and stood and went to Janice's desk.

Janice sensed him coming. 'He was reconsidering. He changed his mind. Oh, GOD, I'm going to die!'

Daniel walked up and smiled.

"Janice, I have a few things to take care of. I'll see you at about 4:30 at the Creamery. Wait for me, if I'm late. I promise to be as quick as I can. Just some things I have to take care of- (he thought for a moment) for work. No biggee." He smiled at her.

She almost swooned.

"It's okay, Daniel. I'll be there and I'll wait. I promise".

'Oh, thank God he wasn't canceling'.

Daniel winked at her, turned, and left. He went out and got in his F-250 4-wheel drive crew cab, and left for his 'errands'.

He drove past the law offices where Sarah worked. Her two-year-old Lexus was in her parking space, so he was pretty sure she wasn't at her apartment. He drove past and ten minutes later he parked in what used to be his spot. No other cars around. He went up and let himself in.

She hadn't even cleaned up the mess from yesterday. And by mess, he meant 'mess'. In addition to cum-stains and wine spots on the table, there were small blobs of excrement scattered about.

'JESUS!' he thought. He muttered.

Then, 'Sorry, Lord. That was uncalled for.'

He realized that it was Friday, and her housekeeper was scheduled to come in.

She never cleaned herself, when she could have someone else do it. For that matter, she never did anything she didn't have to, if she could pay someone else to do it.

He went into the master bedroom and threw his underwear, socks, and toiletries in a plastic bag, grabbed his two sets of work clothes and two suits out of the closet. They were still hanging on her 'custom' hangers.

'Tough shit', he thought. The hangars went, too.

Then he grabbed his boots and turned to survey the apartment. There wasn't a thing here that reflected his presence. Was this what he had to look forward to in his married life?

Then he remembered the day he had come home from the pick-up baseball game. A little gamey and sweaty, with his muddy spikes tied around his neck. She had freaked out, screaming that 'he was dirtying up her home'. He had his 'Derek Jeter' model Louisville Slugger with him, hoping to put it on the mantel, over the gas fireplace. "Not going to happen", she had snapped. "What do you think this is, a locker room??".

'Maybe he had dodged a bullet', he thought. It didn't sound like a good basis for a marriage/partnership. He was letting his little head do the thinking, clouded by his heart. Thank God his brain and his eyes got a wake-up call. His brain was in control now, making 'command decisions' as it were. His 'heart' was still in turmoil, but he was pretty sure he would get over it.

Then his mind snapped.

HIS BASEBALL BAT!! He had forgotten it. It was in the front closet. He had been a little pissed with her sneering retort and he had purposefully put it there and left it there. He went to the closet and opened the door. There weren't many things in there, but his bat wasn't one of them.

'THE BITCH!!'. She had gotten rid of it. Well, fuck her. He slammed the closet door, grabbed his stuff, threw his key at the hall mirror (no, it didn't shatter. Rats!), and left, his anger growing and crushing any residual love he had for her. His mind was saying 'Good Riddance', while his heart was whining that she was only mad at him, but he should forgive her.

His heart soon called up to his brain and said, 'We need to burn her bad!'. His brain smirked and replied, 'Workin' on it, pal!'.

Daniel left for his 'date' at the Marble Slab Creamery. His mind and heart were still a mess. He pulled into the parking lot and shut off the truck. He took a deep breath and wiped his eyes. "ENOUGH", he said out loud. "This is getting out of hand. Thank God we weren't married yet. It's time to get on with my life." He looked around, noticing he was 10 minutes early, and saw her car in front of the store. Looking closer, he saw her sitting in the ice cream parlor, studying the people and looking out the door.

'And that might be my life right there. Let's go find out, he thought.

He climbed out and walked over to the front door, never taking his eyes off the cute young woman sitting inside. As he approached the door, her eyes found his and her face lit up. He pushed it open and walked up to her.

"I thought you weren't coming", she breathed.

"Janice, I'm ten minutes early", he smiled. "I hope you weren't waiting too long".

She stammered, then - "No, not at all. I just didn't want to miss you". She blushed. 'Dam, I'm coming across as a pathetic loser', she thought.

"What would you like? My treat", he said.

She hesitated. "How about a sugar cone with chocolate-chip-mint ice cream?", she asked.

"Well, I'm getting a waffle cone with double scoops of 'rocky road'". He grinned. "Chocolate-chip-mint is too girly for me".

She bristled a little. "Okay, but can I get a waffle cone, with my girly flavor?".

Daniel grinned. 'Oh, I could get to like this lady!', he thought. So he went and got the two cones and they got a table by the window and watched the passing crowds, such as they were. They talked, about almost everything. She laughed, quite a bit and he never once stopped smiling.

After a while, his mind absently asked, 'Sarah who??'.

At one point he touched her hand and said, "I never did thank you enough for the T-shirt. It was sweet, very thoughtful".

She blushed slightly and stammered, "I'm glad you like it. If you want to give it back, though, I'll understand." She raised her eyes and gazed deep into his.

'Oh, I so hope he doesn't want to', she silently wished.

"NO, NO, I really do like it." He hesitated. "I guess I'll just have to hold it for the right lady." 'Like you, Janice!' he thought.

"Which reminds me," he said, "I'm supposed to be making a big decision tomorrow. Or a big mistake. Depends on who you are and how you look at it. But I need help with it. So, seeing as how this is our 'first date', and I am 'terribly shaken up' with events, how about a second one? I could use a little 'consoling'."

She about lost it. She stuttered and hiccuped.

"Err,... I uhh,.... I guess so. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, how about a day trip to Brenham? I know a couple of great restaurants there, and we could visit the Blue Bell creamery, and force ourselves to eat some more ice cream."

She stared at him.

"Are you sure? I mean, you must have better things to do, and tomorrow will be very traumatic, ......considering you won't be getting married and all."

He smiled.

"Yes, Janice, I'm very sure." He reached across and took her hand.

"VERY sure." He looked deep into her eyes and smiled.

'Yeah,' he thought, 'I'm pretty sure I dodged a bullet.'

We set up a date for tomorrow. My wedding day. Just not with Sarah. I would pick her up at 8:00 tomorrow morning, bright and early.

We parted company with a chaste kiss on the cheek.

Come on, he was trying to be a gentleman. He could find out later (MUCH later!)

Saturday morning dawned grey and cloudy, much like his mood. Only the prospect of a nice day with Janice brightened his outlook. He had spent the night at his parents, as he had canceled his lease on his apartment. He got his 1967 fastback 390-cu. in. GT Mustang out of his dad's storage shed. He babied it, but seldom drove it, because SHE thought it was cheap and old. She even suggested (pointedly) that he sell it, and the truck.

'I have a better idea,' he thought.

'I'll trade women instead of vehicles. ....Maybe. At least, I'm gonna attempt to.'

Whistling, he closed the shed door and climbed into the Muskrat. That's what his dad had always called them.

'Always liked that nickname for Stangs,' he thought. He turned the key, and his now favorite girl growled to life.

'At least she's faithful'. He was looking to upgrade his #1 favorite girl position, so for now he would just promote 'Annabelle' to #1. (That was his name for his car. Or baby, depending on how he felt.) As the gauges came up to normal, he blipped the gas a couple of times, shifted into gear, and eased out of the long gravel driveway. He didn't need to announce his departure, and his cell phone was turned off and secreted in the full console.

When he turned onto the street, he goosed it and they snaked off towards his future.

The Mustang was a classic, but not stone stock. It had a 390 cu. in. engine, but stroked to give it a little more torque. The heads were milled and the valves were slightly oversized, so the compression ratio was 10.4 to one. Holley four-barrel, and a medium riser aluminum intake manifold. A dual-point Mallory unit was substituted for the stock distributor. All the other engine parts: headers, fan, water, and oil pump, came from an old "Muscle Parts" catalog that his dad had. Expensive, and sometimes hard to obtain, but still all Ford parts. He kept the original 2.80 to 1 ratio rear, because it gave it a high top speed and decent gas mileage, but had it beefed up and overhauled. Disc brakes all around, and Koni gas shocks, with two extra leafs in the rear, to eliminate that 'Mustang sag' in the ass end. Add to that a snow plow spoiler up front, and she was a thing of beauty.

The only gas that wouldn't hurt it was low lead 110 octane Av-Gas. So he had a 200-gallon tank in the storage shed. The gas tank was modified in the classic Mustang manner, by taking two tanks and combining them top to top, increasing the capacity from 16.1 gallons to 30 gallons. The fuel filler was now inside the hatchback, with a custom Ford logo covering the outside door area. It wasn't hard to do because the gas tank was actually the floor of the back. Removing the original and dropping the double one in was a 'piece of cake'. The spare tire was relocated to a custom mount where the back seat used to be. The car was definitely a two-seater.

The interior was reworked and custom recovered, and the front seats were replaced by Recaro's. The paint was Snow Shoe white with Banner Blue racing stripes. Classic Ford paint colors, in the traditional U.S.A. International Racing scheme. A functional, low-profile hood scoop completed the cosmetics.

Externally it was a decent, clean, restored '67 Mustang. Underneath, it was a sleeping beast. Coupled with a 4-speed top loader with a 'steel' clutch, the car was a joy to drive. But he only drove it on special occasions, like a first date with a new, pretty girl. So, not much, lately.

Now, you may wonder why all the details and descriptions of a car.

Okay, you can leave now.

Contrary to popular opinion, guys don't think about girls all the time.

Most of the time, but not all the time.

The Mustang was Daniel's go-to fantasy. So, he went there. And like I said, he didn't get it out or want to drive it all the time. Special occasions only. Like when he was down, and depressed. Or taking out a special lady. This fits the bill on all accounts.

As he drove, the car warmed to him, and he to it. He started thinking about the shit show. It had only been two days since his life had disintegrated. He was supposed to be changing his life today, his wedding day.

Maybe he was.

Pulling up to the stop light, he shifted into neutral and sighed. He thought about what had happened and what she had done. It was time to get on with his life.

'Let's see if Janice is going to be a part of it,' he thought as the light changed. He shifted into first gear, side-slipped the clutch, and burned rubber for about three seconds.

"YEAH', he thought with a grin, 'Take that Sarah Fucking Wilson!!'

Janice was special. As noted, she was cute. Attractive. Not spectacular like Sarah. Sarah was, well, wow. She was cheerleader sexy, gorgeous, stacked, leaking lust from every pore of her body. The PROBLEM was-

She knew it.

She was spoiled, used to getting her way, entitled, narcissistic, so sure her shit didn't stink.

Not anymore.

Daniel was pretty sure her shit stank. He smirked as he remembered the spectacle at her apartment.

'Yeah, it smelled, alright!', he thought.

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Sarah Wilson was fuming. She had convinced herself that a 'one-off' with Hector was something she owed herself. The stupid fuck had to have her ass, though, because he was sure that Daniel had had her pussy. It wasn't like she had never done that before, just not with Daniel. But he was not very gentle, romantic, or caring. If it hadn't been for Daniel walking in unexpectedly, it would have been over quickly. But the excitement, the thrill, the sheer lust involved, (not to mention the bottle of wine and the grass consumed) just pushed her over the top. And the stupid fuck just couldn't get over the fact that she was getting a little on the side.

It wasn't the first time. As a matter of fact, she had been running around on Daniel for the whole length of their engagement, to the tune of three or four times a week. Usually at work, with Hector or that cute mail-room guy. Lots of time at her place on the weekend when he had to work. It's not like he wasn't capable of doing the same thing. Just because he wasn't aware of her feelings about fidelity (or lack of it) doesn't mean she couldn't have her cake and eat it, too. Or eat HIS sausage. Or have someone else sample her pie. She smirked.

Well, Daddy was incensed. He had already filed a civil lawsuit. The existence of the video didn't seem to make any difference. He was sure that Daniel would cave rather than risk public ridicule. He didn't know, or like Daniel that well. Not at all, if truth be known. But he had spent so much money to put on this shindig for his daughter's and wife's pleasure, he would be dammed if the inconsiderate little shit was going to get away with it.

She still didn't know why she had agreed to marry Daniel. She didn't really love him, although the sex was very, very good. But she liked sex; no she loved sex, and she wanted lots of it.

Her parents both disliked Daniel and did not think he was the one. She being the person she was rebelled and insisted that she would marry him despite anything and everything they would do or say. So her father caved and planned an extravagant wedding for his only daughter. Now, that appeared to be in the toilet. Her father didn't believe that Daniel would walk away. Sara wasn't so sure. But if you look up 'Delusional' in the dictionary, ....... You guessed it.- 'See Sara Wilson, et al'.

So Saturday morning, she rose and went to get her hair done and a spa day. Her father picked out his tux (one of many) and her Mother started to arrange the thousand and one things to be done before the ceremony.

Like I said, Delusional- the whole family. They dressed and sat down to a very nice, light 'brunch', and prepared to get to the church at about 2:00 p.m.. Oh, boy!!

__________________________________________________________________________________

One thing Daniel had done, taking a page from his Dad's dating history, was to look for a little glass 'vase' that his dad had scavenged from an old '50's era Buick Roadmaster. It is mounted on either side of the car, on the door frame and you put small bits of flowers in them. His Dad got one and put it on the center dash in his Fairlane, while he dated and married his Mom. He kept it filled with flowers for his Mom.

Usually, in the old Buicks, there was one on either side of the car. Unfortunately, the best he could do was a plastic 'replica', mounted in a little gimbal affair. He got one, and, affixed it to the center of the dash, figuring he would wow Sarah with flowers when they went on a date. Unfortunately, he couldn't get her to ride in the 'old wreck', as she called it. Hell, she didn't even look sideways at the F-250 pickup. And she was a Texas girl. Go figure!

Anyway, he stopped down the road from Janice's apartment, and there in a small field alongside the road, was a mess of Texas bluebonnets, the State Flower of Texas, flowers that grow wild in Texas. Jumping out and racing over, he grabbed a handful and returned to the Mustang. He grabbed a small bottle of water from the small cooler he kept on the floor behind the driver's seat, poured a bit into the plastic vase, and put a few blooms into it. The rest he gathered into a small bouquet.

The prospective groom pulled up to Ms. Janice Toller's apartment, over by the college campus. He shut down the Mustang and climbed out, setting the alarm and the electric door locks. One of the things he had retro'ed into the car because he worried about someone wanting it worse than him. He mounted the stairs to Apt. 312, and knocked on the door, the small bunch of Bluebonnets in his hand.

Janice answered the door and smiled as Daniel handed her the flowers. She blushed and smelled the fragrant blooms and squealed with delight. She jumped at him and hugged him, bestowing their first kiss on him. Not much as passion goes, but it was nice. Very nice. And slightly unexpected. He reluctantly pulled away and smiled at Janice. 'So far, so good', he thought.

She went to get a small glass of water for the flowers and placed them on her kitchen table.

"Thank you, Daniel. I wasn't expecting anything." She giggled.

"I don't have any flowers for you" she coyly said.

"That okay, you're company will be more than enough payback. She we go?" Good line, not too heavy, and the smile he laid on her felt right. She, on the other hand, just about swooned. She took his hand, closed and locked her front door, and they left for Brenham.

As they walked up to the Mustang, Janice stared in awe.

"Oh, Daniel, it's so pretty! And the paint is just so, so, fitting! She looks like she's rushing down the road just sitting still!" She turned and stared at him.