'Something Stupid'

Today I have thinking of better times. I miss being in the throes of love and passion. I remember the early days of dating Mike, as he was known back then. He didn't become Michael to me until he moved in. In the early days he lived about 45 miles away, so an evening out meant a real evening out. We would go someplace nice for dinner. Dinner started out with drinks, and it went on for hours. We would talk about everything. That early time in a relationship is so much fun. You are getting to know the other person, and you are slowly getting to know what they like, what really piques their interest, and how they like to flirt. After a long dinner we would go for a walk, talking, more flirting, then stop to have ice cream or coffee. The ride back to his place, never mine as I had three young impressionable minds waiting, we would be reaching across, running our hands over each others. That early touch was so exciting. It almost felt like electricity. Sometime the wandering hand to hand action would "cross the line," and become more overtly sensual, resting on one's thigh as we drove.

Back then Mike shared a condo with a friend. In their back yard was a wonderful hot tub. We would pour each other glasses of wine, turn on some romantic music, and sit into the hot moving water. For me it was a time of having no other worry in the world. New love is so exciting. New passion is so much fun.

I remember one night I was on the freeway driving over to Mike's place. Mike and I had been dating about a month, and my parents had recently come into town for a weekend. A couple of weeks had passed, and as I was driving my mother called my cell phone. She could tell that I was in a very good mood, anticipating the evening ahead. She asked why I was so happy, and of course I mentioned Mike. To my surprise, my mother told me she thought he was perfect for me. The last time my mother had told me someone was perfect for me was likely when that someone was of the opposite sex. I heard the words coming from her end of the phone, and I must beamed brightly. It occurred to me in that moment, I was in love.

Later that night, after the drinks, dinner, hot tub, and wine, well, we had moved on to the sexcapades time of the night, and someone, I'm not exactly sure who, said the magic words. "I love you." I tell you, I would swear on a stack of bibles that it was Michael, and if he was here he would tell you that it was unequivocally me. What I do know is that whatever we were doing at the moment, we stopped to really flesh this out. Michael wanted to know if I truly loved him, or if this was one of those in the throes of passion moments of weakness. At one point we laughed and began singing the song that would become our own, "Something Stupid." We both made mention about the Robbie Williams & Nicole Kidman version and the fun scene with the riding crop.

Well, about a week later I was back on the road, heading to see the man I loved. I walked excitedly down the steps of the parking lot, and to the door of his condo. As I knocked on the door my left arm went directly behind me. He opened the door, and smiled his wonderful smile. My left arm came back around to surprise him with a beautiful long-stem red rose. Michael accepted the rose with an ever bigger smile, which very quickly turned into a devilish grin as upon closer inspection he realized that rose was tied up with not only a lively green fern leaf,and a fresh sprig of baby's breath, but also a black leather riding crop.