Chapter Four

By Friday night, Mia was so tired she almost fell asleep in the shower while she was getting ready for her blind date. Feeling revived after the shower, she took great care with her makeup and hair, and tried and discarded several outfits before finally deciding on her standby color, red. It had always been her favorite color, and she knew it complemented her dark skin. She was as nervous about meeting Rob, as she had ever been before any date before.

“Please, please let this guy not be Attila the Hun or another Octopus that I’ll regret meeting for the rest of my life.” When Rob, Ava and Noah arrived to pick Mia up, she was pleasantly surprised to see a tall, attractive man with dark hair and blue velvet eyes. He looked as if he worked out regularly, and spent lots of time in the outdoors.

The next thing Mia noticed was Rob’s vehicle, which was a company car—a large black SUV with four doors and a truck box. Mia was impressed with Rob’s good looks and his good manners, as he opened doors for her, and gave her a hand up as she struggled to climb into the high truck cab. The heat of his hands on her waist burned through her jeans, and he smoothed her red angora sweater over her shoulder as he leaned across her to fasten the seat belt.

She laughed nervously at herself, trying to regain her composure after his brief touches. “Apparently this truck was made for people with longer legs than mine!”

“Your legs are perfect,” Rob smiled as he admired the view from behind. “In fact, they run right up and make a perfect ass of themselves, Oops, sorry, that just slipped out, maybe a little crude of me, but I just wanted you to know I was impressed.”

Mia was less than impressed with the gas guzzling monster truck, in this age of everyone trying to lower their carbon footprint. Oh well, maybe he had a hybrid car at home and only brought this one to fit all four people, Mia hoped.

As if he were reading her mind, Rob actually apologized for the gas hog, “The company requires me to be out in the field often and a regular car wouldn’t be able to navigate over the rough roads to the oil rigs that I have to visit all the time.”

Rob and Noah quickly loaded the food and firewood into the truck box, and Ava stage whispered, “What do you think so far?”

“Well, he’s really hot, and I love his smile,” but that was all she had time to tell Ava before the men climbed up, and they were on the road.

Mia shot a sidelong glance at Rob as he drove. His profile reminded her of Hugh Jackman, and his cheekbones emphasized deep dimples in both cheeks, that were very pronounced when he smiled. The blue eyes crinkled almost shut when he laughed and his teeth were white and even. His lips looked like she imagined sin would look like if it could be personified. They were uneven, with the lower lip a bit fuller than the upper, and when he smiled, one side of his mouth curved a bit more than the other, giving him an endearingly crooked grin. That tantalizing hollow of his upper lip begged to be licked, and she shivered at the thought, in spite of herself. Would she get to the point of licking him before the night was over?

She always noticed hands. She focused on Rob’s because she had read in a magazine once that the size of men’s hands equated with their penis size. She had tried to ascertain if that was true, but short of getting out a tape measure, it didn’t seem to be very cool to ask. Looking at Rob’s on the steering wheel, Mia wanted to find out if that was really true, in his case. She was in for a wild ride if that was true. His hands were large and square, competent working man’s hands, she thought of them. She knew from Ava’s description of his hobbies that they were likely callused from holding his hockey stick, and from the weight lifting that helped him keep his body trim and well-muscled. She also did weights and aerobics in order to have stamina to ski all day without stopping. She longed to touch the thick light reddish hairs on his hands and arms, which she thought might tickle the backs of her knees if he ever got to that point on her body.

“What do you do on the rigs?” Mia brought her thoughts back to the present.

“I do mostly computer analysis, and I work with the pipeline throughput group back in the office. To make it simple for you to understand, just think about all the pipelines across North America, that take crude oil to refineries, and the gas pipelines that send natural gas to heat the cities. I help regulate the flow of product, so too much doesn’t arrive all at once, and we are able to divert more or less oil and gas to different destinations, depending on how much they need to fulfill their contracts. I’m in touch with engineers all over the continent in order to keep things moving.”

“I’m fascinated with the oil industry. It seems to be so exciting these days, with all the OPEC countries trying to keep prices up. I know when oil prices are high, there’s lots more excitement in the air in Calgary. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else,” said Mia.

* * * *

Rob had agreed to the date finally because he figured if she was a dog, he and Noah could at least compare golf scores or argue about their Fantasy Football pool.

A couple of times during their conversation about oil, gas and skiing, Rob found his attention wandering to Mia’s red lip-stick bow shaped mouth. He could hardly keep his eyes on the road, and kept glancing sideways at her. He could almost feel those gorgeous lips on his, pouty and soft, and then his thoughts ranged lower, toward the tight jeans and the line of her zipper, as he noticed her blood red long nails, and pictured those nails around his already semi-hard cock. Then he lost the train of their skiing conversation, as he saw, in his mind’s eye, those nails and that red mouth on his cock at the same time. His passengers gasped in alarm as he swerved the wheel, feeling his cock jump. Get a grip, Mainwaring!

He could see the seat belt dividing those lovely round globes, covered by that red top, making them look even bigger, and he allowed his mind to roam over her body, and dream about what he would do to her once he had her beneath him.

What was the matter with him? He hardly knew the woman. What was so different about her from all the other women he had known? Why did he suddenly want to stop the car, and jump her bones? She’d be scared shitless if he did that after knowing her all of what? Half an hour? He had heard about lust at first sight, but it was amazing how hot she was making him, just sitting there beside him. She had on that ‘screw me’ red top with her jeans, and he loved her long hair and red nails, and red mouth. He wondered how he was going to hide that boner in his jeans all night long. He thought red would be his all-time favorite color from now on.

Time to get his mind off all things red for a moment, “Hey, you guys will love hearing a story that happened out on one of my rigs. The tool-push was carrying his open laptop over to the rig, when he got an email video of his newborn son spraying his father-in-law with pee, as the poor guy was changing a diaper back home. He laughed so hard, he dropped the laptop in the mud tank. He borrowed my laptop to show us all the video, which was pretty funny. His wife wanted to show everyone her dad really could change a diaper, but I’ll bet that was the one and only time he did it! I can just imagine the excuse my guy gave the materiel manager when he requisitioned a new computer.”

* * * *

Rob’s was enjoying Mia’s conversation. She seemed genuinely interested in his job, and she didn’t flinch when he made that comment about her perfect ass. She was fun, funny and intelligent. He would never have agreed to the fix-up if he hadn’t know she was a skier, so of course, the main topic between them was skiing, which hills they had been to, where they stayed at various resorts, what kind of equipment they were using, which Ski Club parties they had been to, and which bus trips to which hills they were planning for the coming season.

Amazingly Rob found they had both learned to ski at the same ski school, and hadn’t skied till they were teenagers, unlike most of their ski friends, who had been on boards since nearly infancy. He’d tried experimenting with snow boards, and was delighted that Mia had done the same and that she also loved to watch the extreme snowboard events on TV and in person.

My God, I’m in heaven. Maybe this one can last long enough to get to stage four. He figured she was already past stages one and two, even though they hadn’t slept together yet. It was just a matter of time and timing, he thought. Because they were with Noah and Ava, she was well into stage three as well. He thought, Wow, could I be falling for her this early in the game? Just maybe, I’ve finally found someone so special she might, just might get to stage four and, he shuddered, to beyond stage four.

When Mia told him that as well as downhill skiing, she was also a cross country skiing fanatic because there was no noise or traffic to spoil the peaceful treks through the Rockies, Rob had a sudden vision of a deserted ski trail, where he could slam Mia against a convenient tree, and keep his now rock hard pole warm inside her. Oh, yeah, he was in trouble tonight for sure.

Mia excitedly told Rob she was taking her First Aid course, in preparation for taking the Ski Patrol Exams. “I’m studying the whole manual every night, and taking extra classes for the practical exam,” she told him.

“Yeah, I’ve been patrolling for years but I dropped out this year,” Rob said. He wasn’t ready to tell Mia why he would give up the free ski pass which saved the patrollers about two hundred dollars per weekend in lift tickets and lunches. Thankfully she was too polite or more likely, she didn’t know him well enough to be nosy about that just yet. He knew the subject would come up sooner or later, and he didn’t know what he would tell her if she asked. He knew he couldn’t lie to her.

The trip out to the country, loaded up with firewood, food and beer, took about an hour. The four of them chatted and teased each other during the trip, like a bunch of old friends out for a good time. There was a lot of whispering, rustling and a few moans from Ava and Noah, who were already making out in the back seat, much to both Rob’s and Mia’s embarrassment.

“Hey, you two; get a room!” Rob teased them.

Noah replied “When the grandparents offer to take the kids, we’re not going to waste a minute of our time.”

Ava added, “You have no idea how it kills a romantic mood to have a kid start to cry, or worse, jump in bed on top of you to play. I love my kids, but I love how kids are made even more,” she said, giggling like a teenager on her first date. The rustling and kissing sounds escalated somewhat.

They finally reached their destination, a picnic spot that sat on the edge of a creek that fed into a man made lake. A dam, held back a large river to make a lake that was a power source for part of the city.

Mia gasped, clapping her hands over her eyes, as the SUV lumbered across a one way wooden bridge with no guardrails that had obviously seen better days. They were so near the edge, any wrong move would have hurtled them down into the muddy water of the creek. They wouldn’t drown, but the truck would be wrecked, and they’d be soaked.

“Trust me Mia, I’ve driven over temporary bridges on the way to oil rigs that were in lots worse shape than this one. We’ll be fine,” Rob reassured her. Mia asked how Rob intended to get them back across the bridge after he’d had a few beers, and he said, “Don’t worry, I won’t have too much to drink,” as if he could read her mind. Rob knew Noah would be no help.

She said, “I don’t mind being them the designated driver tonight.”

“You won’t have to. I never drink too much. I’d never endanger people in my car or on the road,” Rob assured her. He wondered if she had some bad experiences with guys who drank too much.

* * * *

As Rob parked the car, Mia said, “What a perfect night for a cookout.” She was dazzled by the light of a million stars, along with a lovely silver slipper new moon. She felt a slight breeze, which wafted the pleasant smells of newly mown hay and fresh water toward them. She could already smell a pine and poplar fire that was throwing sparks up high in the sky to join the stars, like fireworks.

“Hi everybody. I hope you all brought a big appetite. We have enough here for a large army,” Mia shouted at everyone.

They approached their friends, who had congregated in the lee side of a large hill, with the stars and fires clearly reflected on the water of the creek. “I’m glad it’s warm enough we don’t need jackets just yet,” Ava said, “Wow, that fire crackling smells all outdoorsy. I just love it.”

“Let’s get this food out before everyone gets too wasted to enjoy it,” Ava suggested. Mia and Ava got to work setting out the food they had brought, all the while accepting oohs and ahhs from hungry partiers. Mia’s mind wandered as she watched Rob and Noah gleefully piling more wood on the fire. Rob really was nice, she thought, hoping he wouldn’t turn out to be a jerk at some point later on.

At least he’s a good driver and he says he doesn’t drink. Already he’s better than most of my bad blind dates, Mia thought.

The party was typical, with lots of good food, and copious amounts of beer and wine. Mia piled a plate for Rob, while he grilled hot spiced bratwurst for them. Mia apologized to Rob for the usual boring toasts to the woman in whose honor the party was being held, but she noticed he laughed at the raucous stories about her time with the department.

“You know, in our business, we have to laugh, or we’ll cry, so if it sounds like we are somewhat irreverent, you understand,” Mia explained to Rob.

Rob whispered to Mia, drowning out the speeches and stories, “I’m sure glad I agreed to come tonight,” sending an involuntary shiver down her spine, as she thought about the double entendre in his words.

Then there were the unavoidable presents and cards, and lots of tears from the honoree. As Rob’s words tickled Mia’s ear, she felt his lips brush lightly across her cheek and down to her jaw, making her thrill with anticipation. She could hardly wait to see what might develop between them later. She sure knew what she wanted to develop, and judging by Rob’s words and actions, he wanted the same thing.

The party was beginning to wind down, and couples were paired up on blankets around the fire. Some were making out with abandon, and others were singing along with someone’s guitar. They joined in as an old ABBA song, Dancing Queen was belted out, with varying degrees of tunefulness. Mama Mia had introduced a whole new generation to ABBA music, and Mia had seen the traveling Broadway production and the movie version just a few months ago. She watched the sparks from the bonfire spiral up to the sky, which was lit by that new moon and all those stars.

Mia turned to Rob, “Want to go for a walk?”

“Sure,” he said holding out his hand for hers. “When you’re in the city, the ambient lighting doesn’t let us see all the stars so clearly, and it’s so peaceful and quiet out here, just like when I’m sitting on a rig.” He and Mia looked up, mesmerized by the whole scene.

Pretty romantic for a first date. I wonder if this Rob feels the same as I do. So far, this blind date has been the best one I’ve ever had, Mia mused to herself. Knowing my luck, I’d better knock on wood.

Suddenly, Mia was jolted out of her romantic reverie, and there were sirens and loudspeakers everywhere, and at least four police cruisers and an SUV were flashing blue and red lights which illuminated the partiers, and all the food and beer being consumed. Police were everywhere.

“Hands on your heads, and don’t move.”

“This is the police. Stay where you are!”

Oh, my Lord. What now? thought Mia. She was momentarily stunned to find the whole party captured by strong spotlights, and the garish colors of the revolving lights. Then women started screaming, men started shouting, couples making out jumped apart, embarrassed and the entire scene was bedlam.

“What the hell?”

“Oh, my God. They’ve got guns!”

“What the fuck is going on?”

“Who called the cops?”

“Holy Crap!”

Everyone was talking and shouting at once. Mia’s heart sped up, and she was scared to death that someone would start shooting or doing something equally stupid. She looked around frantically for Ava and Noah, and when she couldn’t find them, she grabbed frantically for Rob, whose hands were already on top of his head. He whispered to her, “Quick, Mia, hands on your head, for God’s sake, hurry up!”

Guns drawn, the police surrounded the revelers, and again warned everyone not to move, and to place their hands on their heads. My God, it was a police raid! At least a thousand questions ran simultaneously through Mia’s mind. How could they be raided? Wasn’t that something out of ‘B’ movies from the Turner Classic movies about the 1930’s? People didn’t actually get raided and arrested as “found-ins” in the twenty-first century, did they?