After a few weeks of my new situation, I was becoming relaxed and confident. Work was going well, I was loving the party scene at the new place and for the first time since leaving I actually thought that maybe I could make a future here. One night after work the crew was going down to Cascade Pizza for happy hour. It was a place I had become very familiar with since arriving. Half of it was a pizzeria and the other half was the best night club around, I had been to the night club many times but never while the restaurant was open, this would be my first time while both were open. During the happy hour (which would last 2 hours) they would bring out a variety of different pizzas to enjoy, and as soon as one was gone a waitress would bring out another. I was at the bar getting a round for everyone when the waitress comes in the side door with a new pizza, my world instantly froze as I laid eyes on the most beautiful girl I had ever seen! She had dark hair, a petite frame and the most memorizing turquoise eyes the world has ever known. One thing was for sure, I had to talk to her. While she was putting the pizza in place I casually went over for a slice and tried to think of something clever to say. With nervous excitement I opened my mouth and through what felt like a mouth full of marbles, I was able to squeak out a “hey”. She looked at me and said “hey” back then turned and went back to the restaurant. What a choke! I had never felt so lost for words when talking to someone but then again, this was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Somehow I felt that this would not be the last time I would get the chance.
I felt as if I were in a haze, i could not get this girl out of my head. I started to go down to the happy hour more regularly but every time I would see her, I would just freeze up and only come up with simple greetings, nothing witty or clever. About the only thing I accomplished was eating lots of pizza, not such a bad thing as the pizza was very good but my goal was to get the courage to ask her out and I was getting no closer to that during happy hour. One night while at the dance club, i was talking to the manager Nick about getting some work. He told me that I could have a job as a bar-back and that when a bartending job opened up, I could have that. Good enough for me and I took it on the spot and asked when he wanted me to start? I was stoked! Not only did I have an additional source of revenue now, I would be working with my dream girl and hopefully become more comfortable talking to her.
The first week went by and I had worked 70 hours, good money but no time for anything else as I was tired all the time, this would have to change. I went to my boss at the construction site and explained about the new job and having to work until bar-time. He was very cool about it and told me that I could work 25 hours instead of 40, now I would not have to be there until eleven in the morning, plenty of time to sleep between jobs. For the next few weeks this arrangement worked perfectly, i was making great money, getting plenty of rest and I was starting to have conversations with my dream girl who were more than ‘hey’. I found out her name was Rosie, she was from the area, had her own car and lived with a room-mate just a few blocks from me. One night while chatting with Rosie I felt things were going well and I mustered the courage to ask her out, you can imagine the excitement I felt when she said yes! we decided on going out-of-town for dinner and took the Chuckanut Drive scenic route up to Bellingham for a nice steak dinner. Things were going great but when I ordered a beer, the waitress asked for my I.D. I showed it to her and she said thanks and was off to get me a beer, but Rosie wanted to see it to see my picture and when she saw the name she asked why it was not the same as the name I used at work? Crossroads! Do I lie and make something up or do I spill the beans on my conundrum? I decided that I liked this girl too much to lie and that she was cool enough for the truth ( she liked to smoke the ganja as well ) so I explained my predicament to her. She was very sympathetic about it and I felt relieved that she knew, the rest of the night was great and when she dropped me off I gave her a nice kiss on the cheek and said goodnight.
The next few times I saw Rosie things were a bit strange, she was torn about what I had told her. On the one hand, she liked me and wanted to hang out but on the other hand, did she want to chance falling for a fugitive? One night while chatting about television programs I mentioned to her that I had not been able to watch T.V. since I moved and she told me that she had an extra one that I could borrow. I stopped over to her place the next day to pick it up, she invited me in and we smoked a bowl together. This was the first time I had been to her house and she gave me the full tour, even showed me her bedroom. After another bowl and some fruitful conversation, I told her I had to go, when she saw me to the door I went to give her a hug and at the last moment I planted one firm on her lips, my gamble paid off as she started kissing me back, for the next five minutes we were doing the tongue tango and it was heaven! I was lost in my amazement of kissing this goddess when all of a sudden she pulls away and tells me I have to go then pushes me out and closes the door. What just happened? I left feeling both confused and excited, I didn’t know what this meant for the future but at least i had a T.V. to watch now. My patience would not be tested long as later that night I got a call from Rosie saying that she found the remote for the T.V. and that she would bring it over if I wanted. I said sure and fifteen minutes later she was in my basement and we had picked up right where we left off. The difference this time is that instead of pulling away, she followed as I slowly lead her to my bedroom and once inside we tore off each others clothes and became one. it was amazing, more than my fantasies could have prepared me for and when we were finished and laying in each others arms panting, I knew right then that I was head over heels for this girl, an unsettling development given my current reality.
I was able to bury that uneasy feeling down deep as things really started to blossom with Rosie, we were hanging out a lot and usually naked, she was keen on keeping out relationship on the down low and I had no problem with that. I was starting to feel the pinch of time with two jobs and an angel in my bed so one day I told the boss at the construction site that since the job was nearly finished and they did not need me so much anymore that I would be quitting at the end of the week. It was cool with him and I left on good terms with that crew. Now I had more time to concentrate on Rosie! The next few weeks were a magical time i will always treasure as Rosie and I got to know each other completely and I found myself falling harder everyday for her. Work had become a dead-end as there was no bartending shifts for me and none for the foreseeable future. Nick offered me a job working the door at the dance club but I knew that would be a one way ticket back to Wisconsin. The club was very popular and there would inevitably be a drunk or two that had to be thrown out, sometimes they would not go quietly and the police would come, bottom line is that I would have had to deal with police on a regular basis and with a fake I.D., that would not last long so I said thanks but no thanks and told him I would be quitting after the current schedule was complete. He said he was sad to see me go but that he understood and wished me good luck in finding what I was looking for. I went from two jobs making lots of money to no job all within a month, but I was not the least bit troubled because I had my dream girl and all was good.
A Continuing Story About Life On The Run