Blind Date (6/10)
An hour into the trip, they were both getting restless.
"Are we there yet," Donna whined, turning to Josh.
"Please. It's too early to start with your whiny voice," answered
Josh, flicking on the radio.
"I only do the whiny voice when I'm bored," said Donna, reaching to
start flicking the radio channels. After she'd flipped successfully
through them all, she started at the beginning again.
"Can you just find a station and stick with it?" asked Josh.
"Is this annoying you?" asked Donna, flipping the station again.
"Yes," growled Josh.
"Well, then, I must continued," smiled Donna.
Josh snorted and changed lanes.
"Did you bring any cd's?" asked Donna.
Josh looked over at her briefly. "Knowing your penchant for changing
channels every ten seconds, what do you think?"
Donna reached behind him into the backseat and pulled his backpack
into her lap. "I can only imagine what sort of twisted musical
selection you envisioned us enjoying on this trip," Donna said,
rifling through his bag.
Buried under files, Donna pulled up five cd's rubber-banded
together. "Aha," she said triumphantly. She zipped his bag back up
and placed it at her feet. "Let's see what pathetic music choices
you've made."
"Excuse me, but I do not have pathetic musical taste."
"Oh that's right. I forgot. You have no musical taste what so ever."
Josh smirked. "You're not funny. I make one musical blunder and it's
forever tarnished my record."
"One musical blunder?" scoffed Donna. "I'd say burning a cd that had
Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks and The Hanson's on it is grounds for
your dismissal from the human race."
"Hey! It was my first time stealing music off the Internet. I didn't
know what I was doing."
"Whatever," laughed Donna, undoing the cd's. They spilled into her
lap. As she perused the choices, she realized they were not as
horrible as she'd imagined. In fact, there were many of her favorites
in the pile. She lifted the first cd up for his approval.
"Eurhythmics?"
"Nope," said Josh shaking his head. "Not in the mood."
"Okay," said Donna, lifting the next cd. "INXS?"
"Nope. Not in an 80s mood."
Donna looked at him incredulously. "Since when are you a big 80s
music fan?"
"Since your Flock of Seagulls cd got stuck in my cd player and I had
to listen to them all the way back on the plane from Budapest."
"Oh," said Donna, amazed that he hadn't just come over to borrow her
80s cd's instead of buying his own. "How about the Moody Blues?"
Before Josh could even respond, Donna interrupted him. "I know for a
fact that you don't like the Moody Blues. What is going on here,
Josh?"
Loath to tell her that he had scoped out her cd collection during a
party she'd had a few months ago, he lamely said, "Um. I like that
one song of theirs."
"What song?"
"You know. That song," said Josh, frantically scrambling to come up
with the name of any Moody Blues song.
Donna narrowed her eyes at him and smiled. "Okay, Mr. Lyman. We'll
skip the lecture about your complete inability to remember song
lyrics and move on."
Josh wiped his brow and smiled. "I graciously bow to your superior
lyric memorization skills."
"You can kiss my ring later," said Donna teasing. "What about the
Counting Crows?"
"Nope."
"Well, that leaves only one choice."
Josh knew very well what his last choice was. It was the cd with a
song he and Donna had danced to a few months ago at an Embassy party.
"Al Green it is," said Donna, sliding the cd into the player and
adjusting the volume.
Soon the smooth sounds of Al Green slid out of the speakers.
"I never would have pegged you as an Al Green fan," said Donna,
softly humming along with "Tired of Being Alone."
"Yeah, well, it's a recent obsession," answered Josh, risking a
glance her way. Her face was utterly relaxed and a smile was teasing
the edges of her mouth. He wondered if she remembered their dance.
Donna was smiling for exactly that reason. She couldn't remember
which song they had danced to, but she definitely remembered the feel
of Josh's hand at the small of her back as they swayed to the music.
She also remembered feeling him sigh into her ear when she'd moved
her face closer to his. She also remembered the scent of him when
she'd laid her head down on his shoulder. It was a unique scent that
was all Josh and completely male. He never wore cologne or
aftershave, so some days the way he smelled would drive her to
distraction. She also remembered the way Josh had whispered her name
and pulled her closer when she'd tangled her fingers into the curls
at the nape of his neck. She remembered wishing they could stay on
that dance floor forever.
Donna's reminisces were broken into when she heard the song. It was
the song they'd danced to: "You Ought to be With Me." Her head
snapped up. "Hey. I remember this song."
Josh just nodded. He was too busy with his own memories. The way
their bodies seemed to fit together when he pulled her into his arms
to dance. The way the room was filled with cigarette smoke, but she
smelled clean and fresh. The shock he'd received when he'd realized
that her dress had an open back and he could feel her soft, silky
skin. The way she'd trembled in his arms when he'd stroked her back
in time with the music.
Lost in their revelries, they continued driving in silence for the
remainder of the cd.