It took Griffin a long time to realize it but it finally hit him that morning, as he sat on his motorbike and pulled up to the coffee shop, he was really into Zea. He looked for her all the time, hated being at parties when she was a no-show, and he often thought about taking her places on his bike. He'd never spent so much time looking for a woman or thinking about one before her. Not one of his many girlfriends since high school - probably not all of them put together - occupied this much of his thoughts. He realized with a little laugh that he'd never pursued a girl before. They'd always just kind of fell into his lap. And now, despite his reputation and experience with the ladies, he was at a bit of a loss as to what to do and how to proceed.

Griffin had that whole bad-guy image since he was 16. It came with his shoulder length dirty blond hair, bright blue eyes, tats and the  motorcycles he was always fixing up and riding around town. All his life, girls had been lining up to date him. Most encounters started with girls asking for a ride on his bike, which he rarely agreed too. Even so, he was very popular with the girls in school. This sort of thing followed him into his early twenties; as well, but by his late twenties the women around him weren't quite so enthusiastic. Women still tried to throw themselves at him - especially at the bar - but, very few women were following him around with puppy dog eyes anymore and lining up places to see him and try and talk to him.

By his mid-thirties this changed again. He found a lot of women were chasing him for 'fun'. These girls had one thing on their mind. They wanted to have a 'bad-guy'. He'd become a sort of trophy. Only, he'd matured a lot by this time and was even less likely to give them the time of day. They didn't see that he wasn't the dark, brooding kind or a real bad-ass to begin with. He just looked the part. It put him off when the women around him couldn't see past the bike, the leather and the tats. Maybe that was why he was so reluctant to pursue Zea. The truth was, and Griffin knew it, he was a little afraid that Zea wouldn't be able to see beyond his appearance either. But even worse, what if she didn't like what she found once she got past his bad-boy image?

Griffin groaned a little at the depressing turn his thoughts had taken and parked his bike at the curb. He was just taking off his helmet when he spotted Zea coming out of the coffee shop. He cursed himself for missing this chance to hang with her. She usually frequented the place every Saturday around 10 and he made a habit of stopping in about the same time. Sometimes he got to exchange a few words with her. Once in a while a mutual friend was there and they'd all sit together. He never said much - just sat and listened to them talking. But, it looked like he was out of luck this Saturday for some reason and he felt crushed. Agitated at a lost opportunity, he took a minute to look at his watch just to be sure he'd got the time right. It wasn't even 10 yet. He felt cheated as he looked back up to see her standing outside the door of the coffee shop now. She was definitely leaving he thought with misery. Just then she looked straight at him. She was smiling and giving him a little wave. Griffin quickly returned both. At least he might get to talk to her for a minute or two before she took off. The thought helped pick up his spirits a little. However, when he strode over to the door he saw that she was talking to someone on her cell. His hopes of talking to her fled and he felt suddenly deflated.

Griffin wasn't sure why he even bothered to ask but, as he opened the door, he asked her quietly, "You coming or staying?" He watched her mouth that she was staying and he suddenly couldn't be happier. He gave her a huge grin, which she returned. As he pulled open the door he whispered, "see you in there," and left her to her call.

Griffin ordered himself and her a coffee and then sat down in her usual spot. When she came in a few minutes later he caught her eye and held up the second cup of coffee. She came directly over and was smiling at him. "You didn't have to do that!" she said with warmth as she took the cup from him and sat across from him. He just shrugged his shoulder in reply. She grinned and asked "How's your morning been?"

Griffin didn't mean to say it but out of his mouth came, "better since I've seen you now." He blushed a little and looked out the window. Gawd, he felt like a total fool. She didn't reply. She just smiled into her cup of coffee. "You alone this morning?" he asked after a few quiet sips.

"Yes," she said.

"You busy today?" he asked, now looking at her. He had no idea where this sudden boldness on his part was coming from. Usually he never engaged her in conversation - he just smiled, nodded and laughed the odd time when she was in conversation with their mutual friends.

"No, not particularly," she said. "You got something in mind?" She was looking at him eagerly now.

He smiled back as he twisted his coffee cup around between his fingers. "Was wondering if you might like to come for ride with me down to the cove this afternoon?"

She leaned forward and with an excited expression asked, "Really?"

Griffin felt ridiculously happy over her rather enthusiastic response and couldn't help but grin at her as he said, "Yes." Boy, he thought, this little coffee time couldn't be going any better. However, no sooner did that thought cross his mind then he was second guessing himself. What if she wasn't interested in the long drive to the Cove. It'd take them 2 hours to get there. She might not be interested in spending her whole afternoon with him. Griffin frowned. He should have thought this out before he asked her. he looked at her a bit anxiously and asked, "Do you mind going on the bike all that way? It rides nice. You'll be comfortable," he said to try and make the ride sound appealing.

Zea surprised him with a big grin and said happily, "I'd love the experience! So long as you don't go too fast for me!" And she laughed adding, "I'm a bit of a chicken."

Griffin leaned forward, arms resting on the coffee table and said, "I'm no daredevil. You'll be safe with me." Gawd, he just wanted to reach out, take her face in his hands and kiss her breathless at that moment. She had the prettiest eyes of any woman he'd ever met and he loved that mischievous grin of hers.

She noticed his intense look and asked with a laugh, "What?"

He sat back a little, ran his hand through his hair, looked out the window and said, "Nothing."

"That wasn't nothing," Zea responded with a laugh. "But, I'll let it slide this time," she said with another laugh. She leaned a little to the right to catch his eye afterwards. Griffin looked at her then and gave her another smile. He couldn't help himself. He always felt like a smiling idiot around her.

"What are you two conspiring about?" a familiar dry voice asked. It was Griffin's brother's nosy girlfriend Andrea, whom he did not like one bit. She was always poking her nose in other people's business and speaking her mind about things she should just stay quiet about. He gave her a quick nod of his head but then turned his eyes back to the window and stayed silent. "Oh, lucky you," Andrea said while looking directly at Zea. "Looks like he's in another fowl mood." Her voice oozed with bitterness, which she did not hide in the least, as she sat down next to Zea without being invited.

Zea looked from one to the other and then said, "he's not in a bad mood. He's just quiet."  Andrea just rolled her eyes. Zea watched Griffin lean back in the chair and cross his arms over his chest. He wasn't prepared to leave but she could tell he didn't like Andrea one bit. She sighed inwardly.

"Zea, are you listening to me?" Andrea asked in an annoyed voice.

Zea looked at her a little surprised and then offered an apologetic smile. "Seems I was deep in thought there for a minute. Sorry Andrea. What were you saying?" Andrea just snorted and then repeated her tale about being late for work on Friday because her alarm hadn't gone off and Eddie, Griffin's younger brother, hadn't thought to wake her when he left for his shift. Zea looked at Griffin for a second. He had a smug look on his face. Seemed he was happy to hear about Andrea's rough start yesterday. "Was the boss upset?" Zea asked sympathetically. Andrea then launched into a story about the boss and her temper and how she has a double standard and how Andrea is always getting the crappy end of the stick. Zea sighed. She'd forgotten how depressing it was to listen to Andrea. She was one of those people who was never happy about anything and was always complaining. Zea's good mood was quickly disintegrating but she wasn't sure how to get on to another topic. She kept stealing looks at Griffin in the hopes that he would alleviate her suffering.

He seemed agitated to Zea. She wasn't surprised when he stood abruptly causing Andrea to stop talking in mid sentence, and said to Andrea with little expression on his face, "Zea and I gotta get going. We've got plans." His eyes met Zea's and she smiled at him with relief.

Zea didn't hesitate. He was offering her a lifeline and she was going to take it! She got up to her feet with an apologetic smile to Andrea. Andrea looked a the two with surprise. "Are you two going out?" she asked in astonishment.

"We've got plans," is all Griffin said in reply. He didn't want Andrea to know anything about him and Zea, least of all his feelings for Zea.

Following Griffin's lead, Zea just smiled at Andrea and said, "see you later Andrea."

Zea caught up with Griffin near the door and to her surprise he took her hand and pulled her through the door with him. He lead her to his bike and pulled her around so that his back stayed to the coffee shop and she was standing between him and his bike. He was wishing he had his spare helmet because he'd offer to take her home right then. "Gawd," he grumbled, "she is the nosiest person I know." The words were out before he could think about them and the impression he was making on Zea. He stiffened up momentarily but then she laughed good-naturedly. 

Zea was feeling happy to be away from Andrea's dark mood and a little nervous, in a good way, because Griffin was still holding her hand.

He looked down at her smiling face and immediately relaxed. "Sorry," he said with a little smile, "she just rubs me the wrong way." He sighed with worry though. He didn't want Zea to think badly of him. "I hope you don't think I'm a jerk."

Zea shook her head. "Not at all. We all have people that get on out nerves," she offered sagely.

Griffin felt relieved. He gave her a genuine smile as he said, "I'd offer you a ride right now to wherever, but I don't have the spare on me."

Zea looked at the bike for a second and then shrugged her shoulder. "I've got a few errands to run right now anyway. So it doesn't matter. When will you come for me?" She asked looking at him a bit nervously.

Griffin gave her another big grin. He was so happy she still wanted to go to the Cove with him that he could not stop himself from smiling like an idiot! "Does one work for you?" he asked. Zea nodded and grinned back.

Without thinking too much, Griffin tugged a little on the hand he was holding and Zea fell into him a bit with a laugh. The laugh stopped abruptly when his other arm came around her waist and pulled her gently to his chest. Griffin kept looking from her eyes to her lips and back again. He wasn't going to be able to think straight the rest of the morning if he didn't do it - if he didn't just man up and kiss her.

He was looking at her so intensely - like earlier in the coffee shop - that Zea blushed a deep pink and found her heart was pounding like crazy. She knew he was going to kiss her. It was in the way he kept looking at her lips. She just didn't know when. The anticipation made it hard to breath.

Griffin, seeing she wasn't going to pull away or protest, dipped his head down and brushed his lips against hers very gently. She didn't exactly respond, which made him worry. So, he did it again but this time with a little more pressure. Zea kissed him back, which made him grin like an idiot again. He kept grinning while he kissed her a third and a fourth time. When he stopped kissing her and leaned back a little to look at her he whispered, "I've been waiting a very long time to kiss you."

Zea gave a nervous laugh and then put her hand over her mouth as she blushed a deep pink. "I might have been waiting just as long Grif," she replied with a shy smile but a delighted one.

Griffin couldn't help but feel like this might be the beginning to the best summer of his life and maybe, if he was really lucky, the best relationship too.

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