HOME | DD

Description
David had come down to the beach to relax on his day off from work in desperate need of some beach time. He worked in marketing at a large company and while he felt proud about his accomplishments, he was not so sure that he liked the sacrifices he had to make due to his job. Shaking his head for thinking of work while on his day off, he decided to lay out in the sand for a while and free his mind of the stress he had been under. David found a great spot near a rocky outcropping, not far from the limits of the tide. He took off his backpack and settled into the sand, the warm fine sand was just the perfect temperature for laying out that afternoon. David unpacked his backpack and laid out his blanket that he had brought from his downtown apartment that wasn't too far away. As he searched his backpack for his earbuds, his fingers graced against the large latex balloon. He had forgotten that the balloon was stashed away in his backpack and felt a wave of nervousness wash over him, it felt like there were a thousand eyes on him and they all knew his secret. David tried to shake the embarrassment and his fingers found his earbuds underneath the balloon, and he dropped his backpack being careful not to expose the secretive toy.

David looked around the beach and surveyed the landscape of people, he hadn't seen anyone he knew one his way from the apartment to the beach and nobody looked very familiar either. He thought he saw that cute brunette from the second floor, but couldn't be sure. "What was her name? Addison? No. Allison. Yeah that's it. She introduced herself as Allison right? No no, her name is Allison but goes by Allie. " David's inner monologue tracked through his memory of that cold spring day almost two months ago. He had tried to open the door for her as she entered the building, but tripped into the door and threw it open against her face. "Ouch, yeah that was smooth" he remembered. Allie was quite beautiful though and he had seen her a few times in passing, making sure to greet her every time he saw her. David chuckled as he remembered when he introduced himself to her after throwing open a door in her face.

"Hi, sorry about that. I'm David" he extended his hand.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm Allison" she shook his hand and David was struck by her beauty. David was very talkative and frequently dominated a conversation. He was well versed in current events, sports, politics, local affairs, and yet none of this went through his mind. All he could think about was the beautiful girl in front of him. David began to panic, he had spent far too long shaking her hand without saying anything. "Oh no, I'm drawing…a…shoot" his inner monologue was just as struck by the brunette in front of him. David realized that he needed to say anything at that moment and just said the first thing that came to his mind.

"I'm David"

Yikes, that was bad. David could now chuckle about that interaction. Very few times in his life had he been rendered speechless by a beautiful girl, and certainly not since middle school had an introduction been so painful. He and Allie hadn't exactly hit it off since, though she always seemed to be on the phone and David's work kept him away from the apartment for a week at a time. He had returned from a trade show to see a note that was slid under his door, it was an invitation to a party that Allie and her roommates were throwing. And it was three days ago. David hated his job sometimes, but the benefits were great and once he got through trade show season he would have more time to organize and maximize his free time.

David stared out at the ocean, waves rolling in and the smell of saltwater and Coppertone met his nose. He put on his sunglasses and put his head down on the blanket and stared at vast blue sky above him. This was perfect he thought as he listened to William Fitzsimmons on his iPhone. He closed his eyes and the beach noise in the background began to fade as he relished in the warm afternoon light and relaxing environment, finally he was free from the stress.

"And then he said that he needed to get another manicure Jenny! A manicure!" He turned his head at the loud conversation taking place not far from him and opened his eyes to see that a girl had taken a spot on the beach just two or three yards away. The girl continued to complain into her phone; apparently she was having some sort of relationship problem. David again focused on the sky above him and rocked his volume button higher to drown out the noisy neighbor next to him. "Still, not a bad way to spend an afternoon" David said to himself as his eyes closed once again.

"Excuse me. Sir?" The woman next to him called out. David kicked himself for not picking music that was actually able to drown out noise. "Stupid William Fitzsimmons" he inwardly cursed.

"David? Is that you?" called out the woman again. David shook his head and removed his earbuds to focus on his neighbor and found that it was in fact one of his neighbors. David looked at the girl crouched next to him and sure enough, Allie was there after all and looking absolutely gorgeous.

"Oh hey Allie, I didn't recognize you. You looked different than before." David once again was having trouble finding words to say, and was lucky getting through that sentence without saying anything too awkward.

"Yeah, a swimsuit will do that. Are you always this observant" Allie laughed, finding her joke rather funny.

"Oh ya, I guess it will. You look nice though" David found himself bolstered by her joke and was able to focus on the beginning of the conversation. He looked over at her and what he really wanted to say is that she was a goddess. The brunette haired woman was short and well proportioned, showing off her great body in a modestly sexy swimsuit. The way her curly brown hair framed her face is what really drew David in, her intensely green eyes could be spotted from a mile way it seemed. Her features were delicate, not to mention overwhelmingly cute. Her small mouth gave way to a beautiful smile bright enough to light up a room. David didn't know he could ever tire of looking into her big expressive eyes though, goodness she was stunning!

"Thanks David, you look nice too." Allie smiled at the compliment and flashed that gorgeous smile again. Allie looked over David and it appeared like he took good care of himself, toned muscles and well groomed facial hair. She briefly looked down at his dark blue board shorts and legs, he looks like he must run she mentally noted. "I haven't seen you around the apartment; I was beginning to wonder if you just wanted to avoid me". Allie said, catching herself flirting with David so quickly and inwardly reminding her to get a hold of herself.

"Oh I've been away on business at lot so I'm not home for very long?" David asked with sincerity.

"Oh no, I was just making a joke" Allie said as she realized that David wasn't too good at flirting. If she was going to flirt with him, she might have to be a little more forward.

"So what are you doing here David, just out catching some rays?" Allie said as she scooted a little closer to David.

"Yeah, just needed some relaxation from work. It's been really stressful lately with trade shows and deadlines" David replied, noticed that Allie was drawing closer to him. "Here, I'll make a space for you" he said as he got to his feet.

"Oh thank you David, I'm glad I saw a familiar face here." Allie once again flashed that smile and David felt a little weak in the knees. "What do you have in here, any goodies?" Allie said as she reached into his partially zipped backpack.

David's head swung around in panic and stared at Allie in a panic as the nosy girl's hand dipped into his backpack. He was frozen, he couldn't say anything again and just watched as her mouth moved but he couldn't hear the words. He glanced at her hand as it withdrew from the backpack expecting to see his secretive balloon emerge from the backpack.

"What do we have here?" Allie asked rhetorically as she withdrew her hand from snooping around in David's backpack. She felt the slick surface in her fingers and was surprised at what she saw in her grasp. "What is this?" She asked, appearing confused.

David was relieved; Allie's exploring had only discovered one of the new prototypes of foot insoles that he was marketing in San Diego the previous week. "Oh that is one of the newest insoles my company is bringing to market. It's a heat-activated material that conforms 53% better to a person's foot than standard insoles." David expertly relaying the information he had recited all week at the trade show.

"Oh cool, this feels really funny." Allie felt the gelled insole and placed it back in David's backpack. David's relief was short lived however.

"Oh cool a balloon! Do you use these in your marketing too?" Allie beamed as she withdrew the large ruby red balloon from David's backpack. David looked onward as the beautiful girl had discovered what he didn't want anyone to see. David was speechless again and didn't know what to say to Allie, wanting to find the words to brush off the balloon's presence in his backpack but his mind simply would not function. "C'mon idiot, just say yes, it is part of the marketing" his inner monologue screamed at him. David opened his mouth but Allie beat him to the punch.

"Let's see how big it gets!" David gulped loudly as he heard those words. He looked over at Allie and she was about the blow up the big balloon, giving him a mischievous smirk then turned her attention to the balloon. David couldn't just say "no!" so he gulped again and prayed that Allie would lose interest soon. He wasn't about to tell Allie why there was a balloon in his backpack in the first place, nor did he want to mention how balloons affected him. This would be simultaneous joy and torture for David and yet he was frozen, unable to act. Should he tell her that blowing up the large balloon cause a distraction? Should he tell her that he has to leave?

While David was contemplating what to tell Allie, she hadn't stopped blowing up the big red balloon and it was growing into an impressive sized orb. Allie knew the balloon was a big one, but it was already very large and looked like it could get much larger. She wasn't really sure that she wanted to invest the time to blow up a balloon this big all the way. She looked over at David through the corner of her eye and saw his obvious rapt staring.

Allie took the balloon out of her mouth and asked "how big does this balloon get? It's already huge!" She was about to put the balloon back in her mouth when David finally spoke up.

"Oh, yeah you've blown it up enough...not much bigger." David said hoping that his lying would serve him well; he just couldn't feel relaxed while this beautiful woman blew up the balloon.

"Really? Because it looks like it gets much bigger!" Allie said smirking again, and with renewed determination she put the balloon back in her mouth and started blowing the balloon up even faster than before. David's mind reeled and to say that he was frustrated would be an understatement, he cursed himself for even bringing that balloon down to the beach. While David was again lost in his inner-monologue, Allie was making great progress on getting the balloon up to size. Allie felt the underside of the balloon and could feel the latex beginning to become less pliable and more taut. The girl closed her eyes and focused only on the balloon in her mouth.

David couldn't look away but didn't want to look toward Allie, it was like a car accident. His attention was squarely on Allie but he wanted to run, jump, or fly away. He wanted to simultaneously be exactly where he was watching this gorgeous girl blowing up a massive balloon and a thousand miles away. David closed his eyes and tried to reel in his thoughts, he could hear Allie still blowing up the balloon and decided it was best to play it cool. He opened his eyes and saw just how big the balloon had become; the ruby red latex was shining brightly in the late afternoon sun. He could see through the translucent balloon and observed that Allie's eyes were closed and she probably didn't know how big the balloon was getting.

"Don't you think it's a good time to stop?" David asked weakly, hoping that this torture would come to an end.

Allie opened her eyes and could see David through the balloon. She took the balloon out of her mouth and admired the size it had gained while her eyes were closed.

"Wow! This balloon is gigantic!" Allie said in genuine awe at the size of the balloon. It squeaked as Allie ran her hand out its bulbous body, which Allie knew that it wouldn't be able to get any bigger without popping. She let a little air out of the red balloon and tied its mouth shut saying "there, we wouldn't want it to pop would we?"

David smiled nervously as Allie tied off the balloon and smiled at him, he could feel the shame of why he had the balloon weighing on him as he searched for something to say. He still wanted to bolt but he also wanted to be in Allie's presence, he was in between a rock and a hard place as he looked at Allie inflating the giant red balloon. Just as David was trying to think of something to say, fortune and misfortune reared their respective heads upon the situation. David was gazing at Allie, his attention being held captive and didn't take note of the nearly see through window on the side of the balloon. Allie's strong gust of breath expanded the balloon past its elasticity and a loud "BAAANG" rung out. Allie yelped in surprise and David flinched his hands over his ears, the pieces of latex falling upon the sand in between the two twenty-somethings. A few people took note of the balloon's report, but otherwise onlookers milled about their enjoyment of the last few minutes of sunlight.

Allie looked up at David, her faintly red lips forming a smile and she started to giggle at what had transpired. "That was…loud!" She exclaimed a little too loudly, still fighting the giggles. "Sorry about the…balloon, I guess I got a little carried away".

"Yeah that was really loud…" said David as he cleared his throat "…but don't worry about it, I'm sure there are more back in the office." David didn't know why he said that, he was so relieved that the balloon was gone and didn't want to bring up the possibility of having more balloons around this goddess of a woman.

"Well, the sun is about to set and the entertainment went out with a bang, but how about getting a bite to eat?" Allie inquired, her eyes locked onto to David's as she reached for his hand. "There is a really good brewery just down the street, they have the best tapas!" She smiled at him, hoping that he would join her.

"Is that Grand Vista Brewing Company? Over on 6th and Pearl?" David loved that spot, frequently going there after work on his way back to his apartment. David was always a sucker for a good brew and good food, preferring microbreweries because of their often unique beer selections. David took Allie's hand and they stood up from the warm sand to see the sunset light up the sky in orange and pink hues. "Do you want to walk there? I just have my backpack and towel here."

"Perfect! Allie let out a slight giggle, she was excited to see David at the beach because she didn't know too many people outside of her school where she worked. She and David made their way across the beach and down a few blocks toward the brewery.

"So are you from the area, or did you move here?" David asked as they rounded the corner toward the brewery.

"No I'm not from here, I moved to here after spending a year in Costa Rica on a teaching internship. I'm from the mountains but something about the ocean, and the beach won me over. What about you?" Allie asked, recalling fondly memories of her time in Costa Rica.

"No, I moved here about two years ago. I grew up in a small farming town and after college, the company I work for relocated here and I decided I'd try out the beach-town lifestyle." David said "You had a teaching internship in Costa Rica? Are you currently teaching here then?"

"Yes I am a teacher here, I help teach third-grade and I adore it. The internship was great and really solidified my decision to pursue teaching, I had always loved kids and had entertained the idea of becoming a teacher but after the internship I knew it'd be my life's work." Allie said rather exuberantly, trying not to sound too dorky or give too much of herself away. "I just knew that this is what I should be doing, and when I was looking for a teaching position, my Aunt who lives in nearby said I should look at this school district".

"That's really…refreshing to hear. Not many people ever find their life's work, and that dedication is really, well, admirable" David smiled at the gorgeous twenty-something walking beside him. "Oh, here we are!" David exclaimed as he opened the door for Allie to enter the brewery. David was getting really excited until he saw how the brewery was decorated. Balloons were everywhere. Balloons practically lined the ceiling, and were tied to nearly everything it seemed. The atmosphere was vibrant and there seemed to be a celebration of some sort going on.

"Welcome to Grand Vista Brewing Company, how many tonight?" The attractive hostess asked the couple.

"Just two for dinner. What's going on?" Allie asked, taking in the sight of all the balloons and festivities.

"It's our 3 year anniversary today! Right this way" The hostess led Allie and David toward a booth near the back of the tap room.

David was again very nervous, there seemed to be balloons of every size either tied up or on the ceiling and there had to be hundreds of balloons. David began to wonder if the world was conspiring against him because he was finally spending time with Allie. David settled into the booth across from Allie and nervously looked up at the ceiling. Allie seemed to notice and exclaimed "they are everywhere huh?" with a smile. David absently nodded, his gaze firmed fixed on the latex orbs. Allie placed her hand on his, and David jumped slightly and shook his head. "You ok?" Allie asked.

"Oh sorry, I was…just looking at their display…it's a little overwhelming." David said still thrown off by the amount of balloons, but steeled his nerves and tried to focus on Allie and getting to know her better. "You were saying you have family in the area?"

"Yeah my Aunt and Uncle have lived here for almost 10 years, they retired and moved to the area. My Aunt still substitute teaches occasionally because she was a teacher her whole life. My Uncle just works on restoring his old cars in the shop and listening to baseball."

"That sounds great, I'd love to work on cars and listen to baseball all day!" David laughed as he saw a server approach the table.

"Welcome to Grand Vista Brewing, can I get you two something to drink?" the served asked the couple. David saw his trusty standby Scottish brown ale that the brewery served and quickly ordered that, while Allie said she would need a few minutes still. The server said she would be right back and walked away, while David looked over at Allie, who was studying the beer menu rather intently.

"What kind of beer do you like?" David asked the beautiful brunette sitting across from him.

"I'm looking for something a little on the lighter side. My family home-brews a lot of beer and I am kind of picky" Allie said, before seeing something that caught her eye. "I think I'm going to try their Mexican spiced lager!"

"Ah, you like fancy Corona!" David joked.

The two laughed and pretty soon the server returned with David's beer and Allie ordered her own. David sipped on his beer while Allie told him about her family back in the mountains and how even though she missed skiing, she loved the beach. Allie told him that she has an older brother and an older sister, who both work in the healthcare industry and about her cat, Gizmo, who she got at a rescue. David told her about his family, he had an older brother who works as a commodities trader in Chicago, and what growing up in a small, farming town was like. His family had sold the family farm after David had gone off to college because it was just his parents trying to run the farm.

The two talked for almost an hour when Allie's phone started blowing up and she excused herself to answer a call. David took a look at the empty beer before him and ordered another, as well as a few of their tapas. Allie returned and listened to David tell her about the company where he worked, he was one of their marketing managers and oversaw their events and promotions division. Allie was impressed at his humble yet driven attitude toward his career, and of course it didn't hurt that him that he was tall, had dark hair, and was handsome. The two ate their tapas and enjoyed their beers, continuing to talk about their pasts, their families, and ambitions. David could feel a connection and wanted to get to know this girl better and better, but Allie said that she had to go so she could prepare lesson plans for the upcoming week. David looked down at his watch and saw that it was already a quarter after nine, they had been talking about nearly two hours! David paid for the meal and the two started making their way out of the brewery, when suddenly David tripped rounding a corner and tried grabbing anything he could to steady himself. As David fell, he had grabbed a hold of a bunch of strings of balloons that was tied to a banister. He pulled them clear off the banister and the helium balloons of course did nothing to stop his fall. Allie turned and saw David falling toward her and backed into a server making her way across the brewery. The server fell backwards and dumped the load of beer and food on some patrons in a booth next to the aisle, Allie caught herself from falling but had beer and food in her brown hair. David was getting up from the floor, still clutching the balloons. He sheepishly looked around as he realized that he had inadvertently caused the ruckus and wanted to crawl into a hole. He looked at Allie, and saw she start laughing and the two made their way outside the brewery quickly apologizing as they went.

"What's…what's so funny?" David asked as they walked out of the brewery.

"Oh nothing, you just look…adorable holding onto those balloons." Allie said, still laughing at the scene a little.

"Sorry about that! Sorry about your hair, I think I see a little sour cream over your left ear" David laughed slightly.

"Oh well I needed a shower anyway. And this is nothing, you should see some of the kids at school and the messes they created. The day Miguel discovered the stashed away glue was a particularly messy day. I'll survive a little beer and sour cream." Allie was taking this in stride, David thought for sure he had blown it. "Did you get those balloons for me?" Allie said as she offered her right hand toward David.

"Oh these, no…I just grabbed on to them as I started to fal…oh, I mean yeah of course!" David recovered and nervously tied the balloon strings to Allie's dainty wrist. "I wrangled them myself!" David smiled as his gaze once again met Allie's gorgeous green eyes.

"Oh well thank you, you're such a gentlemen getting me balloons on our first…" Allie stopped and got really silent. Her inner monologue was chiding her for getting ahead of herself, thinking that this was a date.

David stared at Allie and didn't know what to say, but laughed nervously and asked her if he could walk her home.

"Well I'd hope so, we live in the same apartment complex!" Allie once again laughed at David's nervousness.

The two walked the few blocks to the apartment complex and after negotiating the entry way with the balloons, they walked up to the second floor where Allie lived. He stood next to her as she unlocked her door and she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I have to work on lesson plans otherwise I'd invite you in" Allie said genuinely disappointed. "But thanks for the meal and of course the balloons, nobody has got me balloons since I was little" Allie flashed him a million-watt smile and said good night. David just stood there for a few seconds, thinking of the night and what would have been great to say to Allie but she had already closed the door. David was beaming ear to ear as he climbed the stairs to his fourth floor apartment, opening the door to the studio apartment that he called home. He settled in and turned on his light in his room, completely forgetting about the balloons he had resting on his bed. David drew a large red balloon just like the one that was in his backpack and turned off his light. His thoughts were consumed with Allie and their time together as he blew up the balloon.

Meanwhile downstairs, Allie tied the balloons to her headboard and started working on her lesson plans. She remembered the balloon that popped on the beach and wanted to see David again soon but realize that neither of them had got each other's number or had even set up a time to see each other again. After a quick Google search of party stores in the area, she made a note to swing by there after work tomorrow. She hatched a plan to see David again and how to give him her number.

To be continued...

Description
David had come down to the beach to relax on his day off from work in desperate need of some beach time. He worked in marketing at a large company and while he felt proud about his accomplishments, he was not so sure that he liked the sacrifices he had to make due to his job. Shaking his head for thinking of work while on his day off, he decided to lay out in the sand for a while and free his mind of the stress he had been under. David found a great spot near a rocky outcropping, not far from the limits of the tide. He took off his backpack and settled into the sand, the warm fine sand was just the perfect temperature for laying out that afternoon. David unpacked his backpack and laid out his blanket that he had brought from his downtown apartment that wasn't too far away. As he searched his backpack for his earbuds, his fingers graced against the large latex balloon. He had forgotten that the balloon was stashed away in his backpack and felt a wave of nervousness wash over him, it felt like there were a thousand eyes on him and they all knew his secret. David tried to shake the embarrassment and his fingers found his earbuds underneath the balloon, and he dropped his backpack being careful not to expose the secretive toy.

David looked around the beach and surveyed the landscape of people, he hadn't seen anyone he knew one his way from the apartment to the beach and nobody looked very familiar either. He thought he saw that cute brunette from the second floor, but couldn't be sure. "What was her name? Addison? No. Allison. Yeah that's it. She introduced herself as Allison right? No no, her name is Allison but goes by Allie. " David's inner monologue tracked through his memory of that cold spring day almost two months ago. He had tried to open the door for her as she entered the building, but tripped into the door and threw it open against her face. "Ouch, yeah that was smooth" he remembered. Allie was quite beautiful though and he had seen her a few times in passing, making sure to greet her every time he saw her. David chuckled as he remembered when he introduced himself to her after throwing open a door in her face.

"Hi, sorry about that. I'm David" he extended his hand.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm Allison" she shook his hand and David was struck by her beauty. David was very talkative and frequently dominated a conversation. He was well versed in current events, sports, politics, local affairs, and yet none of this went through his mind. All he could think about was the beautiful girl in front of him. David began to panic, he had spent far too long shaking her hand without saying anything. "Oh no, I'm drawing…a…shoot" his inner monologue was just as struck by the brunette in front of him. David realized that he needed to say anything at that moment and just said the first thing that came to his mind.

"I'm David"

Yikes, that was bad. David could now chuckle about that interaction. Very few times in his life had he been rendered speechless by a beautiful girl, and certainly not since middle school had an introduction been so painful. He and Allie hadn't exactly hit it off since, though she always seemed to be on the phone and David's work kept him away from the apartment for a week at a time. He had returned from a trade show to see a note that was slid under his door, it was an invitation to a party that Allie and her roommates were throwing. And it was three days ago. David hated his job sometimes, but the benefits were great and once he got through trade show season he would have more time to organize and maximize his free time.

David stared out at the ocean, waves rolling in and the smell of saltwater and Coppertone met his nose. He put on his sunglasses and put his head down on the blanket and stared at vast blue sky above him. This was perfect he thought as he listened to William Fitzsimmons on his iPhone. He closed his eyes and the beach noise in the background began to fade as he relished in the warm afternoon light and relaxing environment, finally he was free from the stress.

"And then he said that he needed to get another manicure Jenny! A manicure!" He turned his head at the loud conversation taking place not far from him and opened his eyes to see that a girl had taken a spot on the beach just two or three yards away. The girl continued to complain into her phone; apparently she was having some sort of relationship problem. David again focused on the sky above him and rocked his volume button higher to drown out the noisy neighbor next to him. "Still, not a bad way to spend an afternoon" David said to himself as his eyes closed once again.

"Excuse me. Sir?" The woman next to him called out. David kicked himself for not picking music that was actually able to drown out noise. "Stupid William Fitzsimmons" he inwardly cursed.

"David? Is that you?" called out the woman again. David shook his head and removed his earbuds to focus on his neighbor and found that it was in fact one of his neighbors. David looked at the girl crouched next to him and sure enough, Allie was there after all and looking absolutely gorgeous.

"Oh hey Allie, I didn't recognize you. You looked different than before." David once again was having trouble finding words to say, and was lucky getting through that sentence without saying anything too awkward.

"Yeah, a swimsuit will do that. Are you always this observant" Allie laughed, finding her joke rather funny.

"Oh ya, I guess it will. You look nice though" David found himself bolstered by her joke and was able to focus on the beginning of the conversation. He looked over at her and what he really wanted to say is that she was a goddess. The brunette haired woman was short and well proportioned, showing off her great body in a modestly sexy swimsuit. The way her curly brown hair framed her face is what really drew David in, her intensely green eyes could be spotted from a mile way it seemed. Her features were delicate, not to mention overwhelmingly cute. Her small mouth gave way to a beautiful smile bright enough to light up a room. David didn't know he could ever tire of looking into her big expressive eyes though, goodness she was stunning!

"Thanks David, you look nice too." Allie smiled at the compliment and flashed that gorgeous smile again. Allie looked over David and it appeared like he took good care of himself, toned muscles and well groomed facial hair. She briefly looked down at his dark blue board shorts and legs, he looks like he must run she mentally noted. "I haven't seen you around the apartment; I was beginning to wonder if you just wanted to avoid me". Allie said, catching herself flirting with David so quickly and inwardly reminding her to get a hold of herself.

"Oh I've been away on business at lot so I'm not home for very long?" David asked with sincerity.

"Oh no, I was just making a joke" Allie said as she realized that David wasn't too good at flirting. If she was going to flirt with him, she might have to be a little more forward.

"So what are you doing here David, just out catching some rays?" Allie said as she scooted a little closer to David.

"Yeah, just needed some relaxation from work. It's been really stressful lately with trade shows and deadlines" David replied, noticed that Allie was drawing closer to him. "Here, I'll make a space for you" he said as he got to his feet.

"Oh thank you David, I'm glad I saw a familiar face here." Allie once again flashed that smile and David felt a little weak in the knees. "What do you have in here, any goodies?" Allie said as she reached into his partially zipped backpack.

David's head swung around in panic and stared at Allie in a panic as the nosy girl's hand dipped into his backpack. He was frozen, he couldn't say anything again and just watched as her mouth moved but he couldn't hear the words. He glanced at her hand as it withdrew from the backpack expecting to see his secretive balloon emerge from the backpack.

"What do we have here?" Allie asked rhetorically as she withdrew her hand from snooping around in David's backpack. She felt the slick surface in her fingers and was surprised at what she saw in her grasp. "What is this?" She asked, appearing confused.

David was relieved; Allie's exploring had only discovered one of the new prototypes of foot insoles that he was marketing in San Diego the previous week. "Oh that is one of the newest insoles my company is bringing to market. It's a heat-activated material that conforms 53% better to a person's foot than standard insoles." David expertly relaying the information he had recited all week at the trade show.

"Oh cool, this feels really funny." Allie felt the gelled insole and placed it back in David's backpack. David's relief was short lived however.

"Oh cool a balloon! Do you use these in your marketing too?" Allie beamed as she withdrew the large ruby red balloon from David's backpack. David looked onward as the beautiful girl had discovered what he didn't want anyone to see. David was speechless again and didn't know what to say to Allie, wanting to find the words to brush off the balloon's presence in his backpack but his mind simply would not function. "C'mon idiot, just say yes, it is part of the marketing" his inner monologue screamed at him. David opened his mouth but Allie beat him to the punch.

"Let's see how big it gets!" David gulped loudly as he heard those words. He looked over at Allie and she was about the blow up the big balloon, giving him a mischievous smirk then turned her attention to the balloon. David couldn't just say "no!" so he gulped again and prayed that Allie would lose interest soon. He wasn't about to tell Allie why there was a balloon in his backpack in the first place, nor did he want to mention how balloons affected him. This would be simultaneous joy and torture for David and yet he was frozen, unable to act. Should he tell her that blowing up the large balloon cause a distraction? Should he tell her that he has to leave?

While David was contemplating what to tell Allie, she hadn't stopped blowing up the big red balloon and it was growing into an impressive sized orb. Allie knew the balloon was a big one, but it was already very large and looked like it could get much larger. She wasn't really sure that she wanted to invest the time to blow up a balloon this big all the way. She looked over at David through the corner of her eye and saw his obvious rapt staring.

Allie took the balloon out of her mouth and asked "how big does this balloon get? It's already huge!" She was about to put the balloon back in her mouth when David finally spoke up.

"Oh, yeah you've blown it up enough...not much bigger." David said hoping that his lying would serve him well; he just couldn't feel relaxed while this beautiful woman blew up the balloon.

"Really? Because it looks like it gets much bigger!" Allie said smirking again, and with renewed determination she put the balloon back in her mouth and started blowing the balloon up even faster than before. David's mind reeled and to say that he was frustrated would be an understatement, he cursed himself for even bringing that balloon down to the beach. While David was again lost in his inner-monologue, Allie was making great progress on getting the balloon up to size. Allie felt the underside of the balloon and could feel the latex beginning to become less pliable and more taut. The girl closed her eyes and focused only on the balloon in her mouth.

David couldn't look away but didn't want to look toward Allie, it was like a car accident. His attention was squarely on Allie but he wanted to run, jump, or fly away. He wanted to simultaneously be exactly where he was watching this gorgeous girl blowing up a massive balloon and a thousand miles away. David closed his eyes and tried to reel in his thoughts, he could hear Allie still blowing up the balloon and decided it was best to play it cool. He opened his eyes and saw just how big the balloon had become; the ruby red latex was shining brightly in the late afternoon sun. He could see through the translucent balloon and observed that Allie's eyes were closed and she probably didn't know how big the balloon was getting.

"Don't you think it's a good time to stop?" David asked weakly, hoping that this torture would come to an end.

Allie opened her eyes and could see David through the balloon. She took the balloon out of her mouth and admired the size it had gained while her eyes were closed.

"Wow! This balloon is gigantic!" Allie said in genuine awe at the size of the balloon. It squeaked as Allie ran her hand out its bulbous body, which Allie knew that it wouldn't be able to get any bigger without popping. She let a little air out of the red balloon and tied its mouth shut saying "there, we wouldn't want it to pop would we?"

David smiled nervously as Allie tied off the balloon and smiled at him, he could feel the shame of why he had the balloon weighing on him as he searched for something to say. He still wanted to bolt but he also wanted to be in Allie's presence, he was in between a rock and a hard place as he looked at Allie inflating the giant red balloon. Just as David was trying to think of something to say, fortune and misfortune reared their respective heads upon the situation. David was gazing at Allie, his attention being held captive and didn't take note of the nearly see through window on the side of the balloon. Allie's strong gust of breath expanded the balloon past its elasticity and a loud "BAAANG" rung out. Allie yelped in surprise and David flinched his hands over his ears, the pieces of latex falling upon the sand in between the two twenty-somethings. A few people took note of the balloon's report, but otherwise onlookers milled about their enjoyment of the last few minutes of sunlight.

Allie looked up at David, her faintly red lips forming a smile and she started to giggle at what had transpired. "That was…loud!" She exclaimed a little too loudly, still fighting the giggles. "Sorry about the…balloon, I guess I got a little carried away".

"Yeah that was really loud…" said David as he cleared his throat "…but don't worry about it, I'm sure there are more back in the office." David didn't know why he said that, he was so relieved that the balloon was gone and didn't want to bring up the possibility of having more balloons around this goddess of a woman.

"Well, the sun is about to set and the entertainment went out with a bang, but how about getting a bite to eat?" Allie inquired, her eyes locked onto to David's as she reached for his hand. "There is a really good brewery just down the street, they have the best tapas!" She smiled at him, hoping that he would join her.

"Is that Grand Vista Brewing Company? Over on 6th and Pearl?" David loved that spot, frequently going there after work on his way back to his apartment. David was always a sucker for a good brew and good food, preferring microbreweries because of their often unique beer selections. David took Allie's hand and they stood up from the warm sand to see the sunset light up the sky in orange and pink hues. "Do you want to walk there? I just have my backpack and towel here."

"Perfect! Allie let out a slight giggle, she was excited to see David at the beach because she didn't know too many people outside of her school where she worked. She and David made their way across the beach and down a few blocks toward the brewery.

"So are you from the area, or did you move here?" David asked as they rounded the corner toward the brewery.

"No I'm not from here, I moved to here after spending a year in Costa Rica on a teaching internship. I'm from the mountains but something about the ocean, and the beach won me over. What about you?" Allie asked, recalling fondly memories of her time in Costa Rica.

"No, I moved here about two years ago. I grew up in a small farming town and after college, the company I work for relocated here and I decided I'd try out the beach-town lifestyle." David said "You had a teaching internship in Costa Rica? Are you currently teaching here then?"

"Yes I am a teacher here, I help teach third-grade and I adore it. The internship was great and really solidified my decision to pursue teaching, I had always loved kids and had entertained the idea of becoming a teacher but after the internship I knew it'd be my life's work." Allie said rather exuberantly, trying not to sound too dorky or give too much of herself away. "I just knew that this is what I should be doing, and when I was looking for a teaching position, my Aunt who lives in nearby said I should look at this school district".

"That's really…refreshing to hear. Not many people ever find their life's work, and that dedication is really, well, admirable" David smiled at the gorgeous twenty-something walking beside him. "Oh, here we are!" David exclaimed as he opened the door for Allie to enter the brewery. David was getting really excited until he saw how the brewery was decorated. Balloons were everywhere. Balloons practically lined the ceiling, and were tied to nearly everything it seemed. The atmosphere was vibrant and there seemed to be a celebration of some sort going on.

"Welcome to Grand Vista Brewing Company, how many tonight?" The attractive hostess asked the couple.

"Just two for dinner. What's going on?" Allie asked, taking in the sight of all the balloons and festivities.

"It's our 3 year anniversary today! Right this way" The hostess led Allie and David toward a booth near the back of the tap room.

David was again very nervous, there seemed to be balloons of every size either tied up or on the ceiling and there had to be hundreds of balloons. David began to wonder if the world was conspiring against him because he was finally spending time with Allie. David settled into the booth across from Allie and nervously looked up at the ceiling. Allie seemed to notice and exclaimed "they are everywhere huh?" with a smile. David absently nodded, his gaze firmed fixed on the latex orbs. Allie placed her hand on his, and David jumped slightly and shook his head. "You ok?" Allie asked.

"Oh sorry, I was…just looking at their display…it's a little overwhelming." David said still thrown off by the amount of balloons, but steeled his nerves and tried to focus on Allie and getting to know her better. "You were saying you have family in the area?"

"Yeah my Aunt and Uncle have lived here for almost 10 years, they retired and moved to the area. My Aunt still substitute teaches occasionally because she was a teacher her whole life. My Uncle just works on restoring his old cars in the shop and listening to baseball."

"That sounds great, I'd love to work on cars and listen to baseball all day!" David laughed as he saw a server approach the table.

"Welcome to Grand Vista Brewing, can I get you two something to drink?" the served asked the couple. David saw his trusty standby Scottish brown ale that the brewery served and quickly ordered that, while Allie said she would need a few minutes still. The server said she would be right back and walked away, while David looked over at Allie, who was studying the beer menu rather intently.

"What kind of beer do you like?" David asked the beautiful brunette sitting across from him.

"I'm looking for something a little on the lighter side. My family home-brews a lot of beer and I am kind of picky" Allie said, before seeing something that caught her eye. "I think I'm going to try their Mexican spiced lager!"

"Ah, you like fancy Corona!" David joked.

The two laughed and pretty soon the server returned with David's beer and Allie ordered her own. David sipped on his beer while Allie told him about her family back in the mountains and how even though she missed skiing, she loved the beach. Allie told him that she has an older brother and an older sister, who both work in the healthcare industry and about her cat, Gizmo, who she got at a rescue. David told her about his family, he had an older brother who works as a commodities trader in Chicago, and what growing up in a small, farming town was like. His family had sold the family farm after David had gone off to college because it was just his parents trying to run the farm.

The two talked for almost an hour when Allie's phone started blowing up and she excused herself to answer a call. David took a look at the empty beer before him and ordered another, as well as a few of their tapas. Allie returned and listened to David tell her about the company where he worked, he was one of their marketing managers and oversaw their events and promotions division. Allie was impressed at his humble yet driven attitude toward his career, and of course it didn't hurt that him that he was tall, had dark hair, and was handsome. The two ate their tapas and enjoyed their beers, continuing to talk about their pasts, their families, and ambitions. David could feel a connection and wanted to get to know this girl better and better, but Allie said that she had to go so she could prepare lesson plans for the upcoming week. David looked down at his watch and saw that it was already a quarter after nine, they had been talking about nearly two hours! David paid for the meal and the two started making their way out of the brewery, when suddenly David tripped rounding a corner and tried grabbing anything he could to steady himself. As David fell, he had grabbed a hold of a bunch of strings of balloons that was tied to a banister. He pulled them clear off the banister and the helium balloons of course did nothing to stop his fall. Allie turned and saw David falling toward her and backed into a server making her way across the brewery. The server fell backwards and dumped the load of beer and food on some patrons in a booth next to the aisle, Allie caught herself from falling but had beer and food in her brown hair. David was getting up from the floor, still clutching the balloons. He sheepishly looked around as he realized that he had inadvertently caused the ruckus and wanted to crawl into a hole. He looked at Allie, and saw she start laughing and the two made their way outside the brewery quickly apologizing as they went.

"What's…what's so funny?" David asked as they walked out of the brewery.

"Oh nothing, you just look…adorable holding onto those balloons." Allie said, still laughing at the scene a little.

"Sorry about that! Sorry about your hair, I think I see a little sour cream over your left ear" David laughed slightly.

"Oh well I needed a shower anyway. And this is nothing, you should see some of the kids at school and the messes they created. The day Miguel discovered the stashed away glue was a particularly messy day. I'll survive a little beer and sour cream." Allie was taking this in stride, David thought for sure he had blown it. "Did you get those balloons for me?" Allie said as she offered her right hand toward David.

"Oh these, no…I just grabbed on to them as I started to fal…oh, I mean yeah of course!" David recovered and nervously tied the balloon strings to Allie's dainty wrist. "I wrangled them myself!" David smiled as his gaze once again met Allie's gorgeous green eyes.

"Oh well thank you, you're such a gentlemen getting me balloons on our first…" Allie stopped and got really silent. Her inner monologue was chiding her for getting ahead of herself, thinking that this was a date.

David stared at Allie and didn't know what to say, but laughed nervously and asked her if he could walk her home.

"Well I'd hope so, we live in the same apartment complex!" Allie once again laughed at David's nervousness.

The two walked the few blocks to the apartment complex and after negotiating the entry way with the balloons, they walked up to the second floor where Allie lived. He stood next to her as she unlocked her door and she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I have to work on lesson plans otherwise I'd invite you in" Allie said genuinely disappointed. "But thanks for the meal and of course the balloons, nobody has got me balloons since I was little" Allie flashed him a million-watt smile and said good night. David just stood there for a few seconds, thinking of the night and what would have been great to say to Allie but she had already closed the door. David was beaming ear to ear as he climbed the stairs to his fourth floor apartment, opening the door to the studio apartment that he called home. He settled in and turned on his light in his room, completely forgetting about the balloons he had resting on his bed. David drew a large red balloon just like the one that was in his backpack and turned off his light. His thoughts were consumed with Allie and their time together as he blew up the balloon.

Meanwhile downstairs, Allie tied the balloons to her headboard and started working on her lesson plans. She remembered the balloon that popped on the beach and wanted to see David again soon but realize that neither of them had got each other's number or had even set up a time to see each other again. After a quick Google search of party stores in the area, she made a note to swing by there after work tomorrow. She hatched a plan to see David again and how to give him her number.

To be continued...