HOME | DD

TantonThe Troubles of Dating
Published: 2011-01-25 18:50:38 +0000 UTC; Views: 9062; Favourites: 348; Downloads: 151
Redirect to original
Description The Troubles of Dating (and Time-Travel)


I suppose she was the first girl I fell in love with because of something other than a nice pair of breasts, and therefore, the first girl I fell in love with whom I actually succeeded in asking out on a date. More than anything it was her hair, the way it was neither curly nor straight, but wavy, and in a dark and dreamy shade of red that nearly seemed black. It reached down beyond her shoulders, and I could find myself staring at the back of her head for hours during our classes, mesmerized by it. Breasts weren't half-bad either though.

And she was a nice person. At least, that was the impression I had gotten during our after-movie dinner at Alessandro's. Passionately interested 70s music, loving long walks in the wild, preferred old-school horrors to the film we'd just seen which we both agreed was tragic. All in all, we seemed to go along quite nicely. After finishing our capricosa, I led her to the car thinking this might as well have been a Hollywood style evening if what was waiting for us had been a convertible which I owned, and not my father's dented old hatchback.  

Cleverly, I drove her home by the old by-pass road through the woods, which she liked. Then I lowered our speed, and we cruised calmly by the lake, which presently was displaying a festival of colours, helped by the setting sun. This she loved. Then our car broke down, which she saw as a far to eager move from me, and did not like, until I got out of the car and told her I hadn't stopped hoping for a snog, but because an inch long nail was stuck in my front left tire. She apologized coyly, then asked me if I needed any help changing it. I thought briefly and, fortunately, quietly, that I had no idea how to change a bloody tire, and until she suggested it never considered such a thing, but instead said no, and started to rummage the boot.

I found an old tire, a well-used jack, and some other tools I half-imagined I knew what to do with, and started to work. When she saw me jacking up the car, she jumped out to make it easier, and walked around a bit. Now, say what you like about my manliness, but changing a tire gives you such a boost of y-chromosomes you may spontaneously grow a beard. On your teeth.

Sadly, she wasn't studying my newfound masculinity, but gazing upwards, at the unveiling stars. As I dropped something I had suspected might unloosen the bolts, I peeped up over the bonnet to hear her say something about a pair of parallel shooting-stars. Not thinking of anything clever to reply, I shrugged, and continued working on my punctuated tire, hoping some grease would somehow find its way to my cheek and make me look rugged.

Not knowing just what the hell to do, it took quite some time to get the old tire off. Checking that my arms were thoroughly greased, I rolled it towards the back of the car, and started to work on the fitting the new one on. The sun had now set, and my arms and hands were starting to freeze a bit. This made screwing the bolts on a proper hassle, but I got it right in the end. I think. Anyway, it stayed on for long enough to make me believe I had done it, and therefore proceeded to knock on the hub-cap, and look around to make sure she saw me clapping my hands and lifting the old tire up in the back.

She wasn't there. Had it been any later in the year, I might've suspected that she had gone down to the river for a bath. Sadly, it was far too cold for something like that. With some difficulty, I popped the old tire back in its position, and slammed it shut. Where the hell was she?

Then I heard her call my name from the woods. Turning around, and hoping I looked rugged and greasy enough, I replied. She came walking barefoot towards me, her dark, wonderfully wavy hair blowing in the chill evening breeze, and a look of half-surprise, half-suspicion on her face. Then, amazingly, she managed to overlook the magnificence of my work, and went and sat down in the passenger's seat, asking me if I could turn the heater on. Surely this isn't allowed? Surely, she has to say something?

Trying not to let my disappointment show, I sat down, turned the key, and let warm, heated air fill the cramped cabin. She looked me straight in the eye, still this look of suspicion on her face. Then she asked me the time, to which I replied there was still plenty left before the time she'd said she'd be home. Her eyes narrowed. Then she started to search her pockets for her cellphone, which she flicked open, and started to franticly hit some buttons while she hid the screen from my face. Whatever she found on the phone must've been something good, because she suddenly let out a relieved laugh, and sunk back into her seat.

I asked her if everything was alright. Did she have to reach something perhaps, or was it something she had forgotten to do? She shook her head, and let out a small laugh, eyes closed. I think I might have stared at her for a while. Then I turned the key, and drove on, towards her house. She kept her eyes closed for a few minutes, before she slowly sat up properly, buckled her seat, and turned down the heater. As we neared her house, her smile grew wider and wider, and she gazed longingly at every house we drove by. As I pulled up beside her house, she even let out a small whimper, before turning towards me as I unbuckled. She put my hand in hers, and stared at me. If you are thinking this is when we kiss, then brother you interpret signals the same way as me, and sadly we are both wrong.

Instead, she started to tell me this incredible story of how this had to end tonight, and told me not to talk to her again. Her voice was solemn when she told me that though I found her hair pretty now, one day I would hate it, and that though we might seem to have the same taste in film and music, the differences would only grow larger until we disagree so much we cannot see a movie together at all. Lastly, she added chuckling a bit, as she eased her gaze at me and unbuckled her seat, her breasts would one day become unbearably saggy, and I would no longer find her even remotely beautiful. Then she turned around, opened the door, and put one foot out on the pavement. Her face was a great smile when she suddenly stopped, mid stance, and turned towards me.

The last thing she ever told me was that I did a good job on the tire, and looked quite rugged and handsome, even though I hadn't gotten any grease on my cheek.

Next week, we changed places, and I no longer sit behind the girl with the pretty hair. Instead I sit two rows behind a girl with such fiery eyes that though I only see their reflection in the window, it feels as if she stares right down to my soul. We're going on a date Friday. And, just to make sure, this time I've read the weather forecast and it should be far too cloudy for stargazing.
Related content
Comments: 141

childwoman [2013-11-19 11:06:14 +0000 UTC]

Fun!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Karinta [2012-09-17 20:07:00 +0000 UTC]

Ah. I love it. It's beautiful.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tanton In reply to Karinta [2012-09-17 20:08:36 +0000 UTC]

Cheers mate!

Thanks for adding it to your fav's also, much appreciated!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Karinta In reply to Tanton [2012-09-19 21:18:30 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome... Cheers to you!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

EmikoOgasawara [2012-09-17 17:42:49 +0000 UTC]

I like this.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tanton In reply to EmikoOgasawara [2012-09-17 17:51:45 +0000 UTC]

I'm glad you do

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Shannon-Sweeney [2012-09-16 20:52:22 +0000 UTC]

Featured [link]

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tanton In reply to Shannon-Sweeney [2012-09-17 16:11:38 +0000 UTC]

Honoured!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Miyori999 [2012-09-16 10:52:58 +0000 UTC]

Hah. I foundd it absurd that a boy wouldn't know how to change a tire...until I remembered that not everyone is raised in a family with four mechanics like me...eheh...

This story was interesting to say the least, your character's inner commentary is perfect. Very funny, although, being told by the one opposite the "Time traveler" it confused me a bit how that came into play until I read some other's comments. I'm a little slow in the "understanding subtlety" area.

Great story.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tanton In reply to Miyori999 [2012-09-17 16:12:49 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for your kind reply!

Tires I can change. But if anything else is keeping it from working, I leave it to someone who actually knows what they're doing!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

oana092 [2012-09-14 14:22:52 +0000 UTC]

you're a man now, my son! congrats

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tanton In reply to oana092 [2012-09-14 14:29:13 +0000 UTC]

Need your tires changed do you? I'll have it done in a jiffy.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

oana092 In reply to Tanton [2012-09-18 21:33:51 +0000 UTC]

i think i'd get to my destination faster by walking than by waiting for you to come and change my tires but i do appreciate the offer.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

kkoorime [2012-09-14 13:51:07 +0000 UTC]

I'm sure you're awesome at changing tires! *chuckles*

I was kinda disappointed that there weren't any major surprises in the end, and despite reading the "time-travel" full title, I still didn't understand it first (when she stepped out of the trees) until she dumped the guy.

Awesome writing, though. It made me pause, consider reading the literature (which I rarely do on dA), and then stop what I was doing so that I could give my attention to the whole thing.

The narrator was very charming, as well as the girl. It gave me the impression that the girl really likes him and just dumped him for the sake of ending what could have started from there on.

It's just sad because the way she said it was like she was describing an old couple (how far did her time-travelling go?) and well, everyone grows old and become less pretty than they were when they were younger. So, my point is.... sad, haha. Why did she have to end it like that? Poor guy had been told that his interests weren't enough to like a girl!

Oh, I'm just wondering, who did she sent the message to? Was she confirming the current date or something?

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

kkoorime In reply to kkoorime [2012-09-14 13:57:30 +0000 UTC]

Ah, nevermind! She was checking the "time".

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tanton In reply to kkoorime [2012-09-14 14:08:20 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, I think the speaker believes she checked the time and date, to certify where (and more importantly when) she was.

It is of course, possible that the girl never traveled in time at all, but rather had her own reasons for not wanting to take the relationship further. I think the "I" persona is convinced she did though, his date was going so smoothly!

Anyway thank you for reading and for an amazing response. Much appreciated!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

HaveTales-WillTell [2012-09-14 05:41:06 +0000 UTC]

This works.

Congrats on the DD feature.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tanton In reply to HaveTales-WillTell [2012-09-14 06:51:51 +0000 UTC]

thanks for that!

& Props for a brilliant username!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

HaveTales-WillTell In reply to Tanton [2012-09-14 13:15:23 +0000 UTC]

My pleasure. And thank you, in turn.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Vainamoinenian [2012-09-14 04:58:44 +0000 UTC]

Man this was sweet! You've managed to achieve a hauntingly natural and charming atmosphere from the very beginning! The way the hero intimately tells about his first date in a light and humorous way, and all the awkward situations comimg after, and how you present it all to the read is astounding! The scenery and feel of this was really natural and convincing. I could clearly see the suspicion in the girls eyes when the car broke down, and the guy trying his best to change tires and look manly at the same time was pictured so cleanly I almost felt I stood there looking at this all. I was hooked on your story till the very end, and the end didn't disappoint me as I feared it would a fresh, witty and original ending! The main problem with literature here on DA is that It's too predictable. Yours on the contrary, managed to keep the reader interested throughout the whole build-up of the story and end in an original and light way leaving a smile on my face. Great job! Wish I could read more works like this a truly deserved DD!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tanton In reply to Vainamoinenian [2012-09-14 06:54:01 +0000 UTC]

I could break off into an ecstatic love rant about this comment but I shall try to restrain myself and to sum it up instead.

THANK YOU.

and there you have it.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Vainamoinenian In reply to Tanton [2012-09-14 10:12:18 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

starryeyed-nz [2012-09-14 04:29:40 +0000 UTC]

Cool.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tanton In reply to starryeyed-nz [2012-09-14 06:54:15 +0000 UTC]

thanks!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

EmpiricaMurgalicious [2012-09-14 02:54:30 +0000 UTC]

i think this is very sweet
i read it twice and loved the way i could understand her on the second run, it made me imagine all the things she saw and did, what was she thinking and feeling.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tanton In reply to EmpiricaMurgalicious [2012-09-14 06:57:03 +0000 UTC]

There seems to be quite a few of you who have done that, so thank you for taking the time

And yeah, there could easily, easily be a story written about the same night but from her point of view. But as I've said in the description and in a few comments, I wanted to describe how weird and awkward it must be to be the first person in contact with someone who has experienced something extraordinary.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read and comment, much appreciated!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

EmpiricaMurgalicious In reply to Tanton [2012-09-15 16:58:28 +0000 UTC]

i liked reading it very much ^^
it also reminded me of a story i once saw about a girl from another planet looking for a robot that escaped to earth from the point of view of a simple human. It was very confusing at first, but later you realize what is going on.
I think those kind of stories engage your imagination the best, so thank you for writing such things

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

KloKloShoo [2012-09-14 02:38:47 +0000 UTC]

ohhhh mmyyy

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tanton In reply to KloKloShoo [2012-09-14 06:57:54 +0000 UTC]

thank you!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

spkdog [2012-09-14 02:13:09 +0000 UTC]

This is really well-written, I love it!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tanton In reply to spkdog [2012-09-14 06:58:15 +0000 UTC]

Thank you ever so much for that!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

spkdog In reply to Tanton [2012-09-14 12:19:19 +0000 UTC]

You're very welcome

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

TheArtistOfWords [2012-09-14 01:56:19 +0000 UTC]

When I saw this, the first thought that came to mind was 'Dr. Who'

👍: 0 ⏩: 2

Tanton In reply to TheArtistOfWords [2012-09-14 06:59:35 +0000 UTC]

and it was devilishly difficult to keep a blue phone booth out of it, I assure you.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

TheArtistOfWords In reply to Tanton [2012-09-15 18:43:28 +0000 UTC]

I don't know why, but I started laughing like crazy when I read your reply. Then again, I'm irrationally odd, so it's not all that surprising.

Love the piece though. Even with the lack of blue phone booths.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

spkdog In reply to TheArtistOfWords [2012-09-14 02:12:54 +0000 UTC]

Same here

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

LockmanCapulet [2012-09-14 01:50:55 +0000 UTC]

Wow! Excellent!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tanton In reply to LockmanCapulet [2012-09-14 06:59:46 +0000 UTC]

Thanks for that!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

OceanSilverBreeze [2012-09-14 01:50:19 +0000 UTC]

Wow. This was great! I've wondered what it would be like for someone who just had time-travels; how diffrent would they be? How would they see things now? I think this was a very good description of what it would be like. Good job!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tanton In reply to OceanSilverBreeze [2012-09-14 07:00:55 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

That was exactly my intention; sure, there are a lot of stories of people experiencing amazing things, but what about the people they meet when they get back?

Thanks for taking the time to read and comment, much appreciated!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

OceanSilverBreeze In reply to Tanton [2012-09-15 19:04:43 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Kailani-e [2012-09-14 00:52:04 +0000 UTC]

I must admit, I'm slightly confused, but the story is amazing. Yet again, I am slightly confused. Still, great piece.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tanton In reply to Kailani-e [2012-09-14 07:03:59 +0000 UTC]

It is, when all is said and done, the story of a date, as told by a boy. Of course you are confused!

Thank you for reading and commenting, much appreciated!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Kailani-e In reply to Tanton [2012-09-14 22:27:35 +0000 UTC]

xD Okay! Your welcome ^^ I enjoyed reading it!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Moonhawk47 [2012-09-14 00:38:15 +0000 UTC]

Wow, that was really amazing! It was funny too, I LOVE how you described what the person was thinking, it really drew me in.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tanton In reply to Moonhawk47 [2012-09-14 07:06:02 +0000 UTC]

Cheers for that!

I tried to write it as if this was a story you were told first-hand by the speaker. That way, some mysteriousness of the girl is increased, and I just find it easier and more entertaining to write

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Gravitywheel [2012-09-14 00:35:38 +0000 UTC]

Very nice. It's always refreshing to find quality writing on DA.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tanton In reply to Gravitywheel [2012-09-14 07:07:42 +0000 UTC]

Thanks for that!

Much appreciated that you took the time to read and comment!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

4sauce4 [2012-09-14 00:08:46 +0000 UTC]

Nice work! And congratulations on this Daily Deviation!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tanton In reply to 4sauce4 [2012-09-14 07:08:45 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

And thanks again, took by complete surprise, as you might imagine

👍: 0 ⏩: 0


| Next =>