Second Impressions

Lacey Smither walked up to her parents house, knocking even as she turned the knob. "Mom, dad! I know you're here!" she yelled as she walked in. "You can't hide from me." she joked, walking into the kitchen to see them sitting at the table, having coffee and cake. "
No, we apparently can't." Her father said with a smile. "Didn't your parents teach you to knock first?" he joked.
"I did." Lacey planted a kiss on his forehead. "You must be losing your hearing, I understand that happens when you get old." she said with a grin.
"Ha! I can still hear better than you."
"I'm sure." she said dryly. "Hi mom."
"How was work?"
"It was fine. Belinda made some of the best scones in history today-she was trying a new recipe. That girl knows how to cook." Lacey ran a owned a small coffee shop with devoted regulars that came in every day. Belinda helped her by making fresh batches everyday of muffins, scones and various other bakery items that kept people coming back every day, begging for more.
"And you know how to run that place." Her dad said, defensively.
Lacey smiled affectionately. "Of course, dad. She's the one who keeps them coming back with food and I'm the one who runs the place, it works perfect."
"Exactly! You run the place! You shouldn't have to wait the tables like you do."
Lacey laughed. "I hardly wait the tables, dad. I just clear them and wipe them down. Someone's got to do and there's nothing wrong with me being the one to do it." This was an old issue with them.
"So, what do you need?" Her mother asked.
"Oh, I wanted to ask if I could use your internet for a bit."
"You should get a computer and internet at your apartment." Her dad interrupted.
"I don't want to spend the money when I don't use it much, except for e-mail and IMing." Lacey explained.
"Now, don't stop talking about all that." Her father said with a dismissive gesture. "Your mother's the one who does all that, I don't even use the dang thing." Lacey laughed. "Of course, dad. You weren't planning on using it, were you, mom?"
"No honey, go ahead."
"Okay, if you decide you want to use it just kick me off and I'll go home. I should look over some books for the store tonight, but I promised Lynn I'd IM with her tonight. I haven't talked with her nearly enough since she moved away."
"That's fine. Just go on down into the basement. The computer's already on."
"Thanks." Lacey started towards the steps that led down to the basement.
"Oh, Lace?" Her father called, "Hunter's..." But she was already gone and hadn't heard a word he'd said. Lacey jogged down the stairs and reached the computer. She shut the door behind her and sat down at the computer. She logged into her Yahoo IM account FrenchLace25. Lynn was already on.

FlirtyChick: Hey Lace! What took ya so long?
FrenchLace25: Sry! Talkin to the folks!
FlirtyChick: Oh. Thought maybe u'd gotten caught up @ work talkin to a guy!
FrenchLace25: Ha! Yeah right!
FlirtyChick: Don't knock it! It was a possibility.
FrenchLace25: As much of a possibility as you going over a week without a boyfriend! Who's the newest one?
FlirtyChick: His name's Danny.
FrenchLace25: Hmmm...
FlirtyChick: So how's ur boyfriend?
FrenchLace25: ???? Don't have 1
FlirtyChick: U know-Hunter.
FrenchLace25: OMG I'v nevr even met him!!!
FlirtyChick: Yeah, but u know everything about him!
FrenchLace25: Nuh-uh
FlirtyChick: What's his guilty pleasure?
FrenchLace25: ...chick flicks
FlirtyChick: ha! u totally like him
FrenchLace25: hello! nevr met him!
FlirtyChick: I bet he's hot
FrenchLace25: wouldn't know....omg hold on...Lynn, I think I hear something...seriously....my parents are upstairs
FlirtyChick: what kind of noise???
FrenchLace25: like, robber, murderer kind of noise
FlirtyChick: Lace, get out of there now
FrenchLace25: my parents are upstairs, i can't just leave them omg more noises
FlirtyChick: OMG Lace get out of there now!!!! I mean it! get out!
FrenchLace25: hold on....

Quietly Lacey eased her rolling chair back from the computer and stood up. The only light on was a small desk lamp beside the computer. The rest of her parents basement had been made into an apartment. She could here the noises coming from in there. The door separating the room the computer was in and the rest of the apartment was cracked. Lacey looked around frantically, her gaze finally resting on the softball bat from her early high school days. Carefully she picked it up and walked to the cracked apartment door. She heard fumbling noises, some bangs, and a male voice cursed. Lacey sucked her breath in sharply, heart pounding in her ears. She called herself all kinds of idiot but all she could think about were her aging parents upstairs. She saw a light flick on through the cracked door and nearly screamed. She heard heavy footsteps coming toward the door. Lacey held her breath and raised the bat.
Suddenly the door was flung open. Lacey screamed and swung. If she had of been hitting a ball it would have been out of the park.
Hunter Moore cursed and flung himself backward out of reach of the bat.
"What the-"
"What are you-"
"Are you crazy?" Hunter screamed.
"Get back!" Lacey yelled at the same time. The bat had swung into the door when Hunter had stepped back and there was now a huge whole in the door. "Step back!" Lacey cried again, holding the bat warily. Her breathing was ragged and her hands were shaking as she stood there. The man looked back her and suddenly his face cleared. "Oh, it's you." he said. This only served to scare Lacey more. When the man stepped forward again Lacey gave a test swing. He barely stepped back in time. "What are you trying to do, kill me?" He asked testily.
"I think I should be asking you that question." She snapped.
"Good grief, is that what you think? Give me that bat." he stepped forward and ducked when she swung. "Geez, you can swing that thing." he commented, even as he plucked it from her hands. Lacey took a step back.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Hunter."
Lacey sagged in relief, then straightened immediately. She'd been through too much in the last few minutes to be won over that easily.
"How do I know you're not lying?" she asked warily. Hunter sighed.
"You played softball in middle school and the first year of high school. You own Lacey's Coffee and a woman named Belinda works with you. Your favorite color is blue and your favorite movie is The Notebook. You have a friend named Lynn who moved to Chicago and you IM with her on the computer all the time. You're twenty-five years old and you-"
"Okay, okay, that's enough. Geez, my parents talk a lot." Lacey took a deep breath.
"What on earth were you thinking? If you thought I was an intruder you should have run, the door's right there." he pointed to the door behind her.
"My parents are upstairs. I couldn't just leave them." Lacey said fiercely, more than a little ticked at having gotten so scared and then finding out it was Hunter.
Hunter. She knew so much about him and yet she'd never met him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. She was irritated with herself for acting this way the first time she'd met him considering she'd constantly imagined how it would be the first time they met and if he'd know anything about her. Obviously he did. And she had acted like an idiot. Her irritation with herself came off in her voice and Hunter thought she was mad at him.
"I was here to fix some stuff in the apartment for your parents, they asked me to come. I've been here for over an hour, I had just run to the store to grab something I needed." His voice came off irritated too.
"Oh. Well, by all means, don't let me slow you down." Lacey snapped.

Hunter walked back into the apartment, irritated. Of all the times he'd imagined finally meeting Lace, he'd never thought he'd end up scaring her. He hadn't missed her shaking hands even when she'd swung that bat hard enough to take his head off. She'd actually been pretty brave, but he'd been irritated with himself for scaring her. Hunter had been working on the Smither's house for a month or two and he knew everything about their daughter, Lacey. He'd assumed all their bragging about her was just that-parental bragging. And then he'd talked to his friend Lenny.
"I know Lace." Lenny had told him over the phone. "I go to her coffee shop every day. The best coffee around and the scones are unbelievable. There's this beautiful woman who makes them, her name is Belinda..."
Hunter had rolled his eyes when he heard Lenny's tone of voice, assuming a list of the wonderful things about Belinda would follow. Lenny fell in and out of love regularly. But surprisingly Lenny had gone back to his original subject.
"Lacey's great. She runs that place, and serves all the tables herself. She knows everyones name, even if they've only been there once. She gives me free coffee sometimes, if I look like I've had a hard day. She's...nice. That's the best way to describe her, good old-fashioned nice. She can be sweet too."
Hunter had just learned she could be fierce, when provoked. Quietly Hunter cursed his luck, wishing he could have met her under better circumstances and made a better impression.

FrenchLace25: Okay, I'm back
FlirtyChick: Thank God! What happened??? R u ok?
FrenchLace25: No, I made a fool of myself.
FlirtyChick: ???
FrenchLace25: It was Hunter.
FlirtyChick: like, THE Hunter?
FrenchLace25: yes, and I made a fool of myself. I attacked him with my old softball bat.
FlirtyChick: whoa
FrenchLace25: I thought he was gonna be a murderer or something! I didn't know it was him! I feel like such an idiot. and then I snapped at him because I was embarrassed and nervous and irritated with myself. he probably thinks I'm such a freak. I feel so bad.
FlirtyChick: maybe it wasn't so bad
FrenchLace25: u kiddin? i made an awful 1st impression!
FlirtyChick: and u've wanted to meet him 4 so long! i feel 4 u!
FrenchLace25: GROAN!
FlirtyChick: So! U finally met him-what's he look like?
FrenchLace25: hold on, let me check...

Lacey pushed her chair back and quietly sneaked over to the door, which was open halfway. She pulled back quickly, before he saw her.

FrenchLace25: 1st 5 second impression- beat up Carhart's, a long sleeved blue tee over muscles-lots. he reminds me of Matthew McConaughey, blond/brown shaggy hair. man he's good looking!!!! ahh!
FlirtyChick: Who? McConaughey or Hunter???
FrenchLace25: Hunter...oh, man...I feel like such a jerk
FlirtyChick: aw, Lace
FrenchLace25: U weren't there! I snapped at him! I was so rude. Lord, I feel so stupid. I can't believe I did that! Idiot!
FlirtyChick: Stop it! I mean it! U r amazing! it was an honest mistake
FrenchLace25: I know, but I was really looking forward to meeting him! and now I've totally botched it and given a terrible 1st impression!!!!
FlirtyChick: Maybe...
FrenchLace25: what?? plz help me? I really want to make a good 2nd impression at least!
FlirtyChick: Go upstairs, get him a beer or soda or something and apologize. But don't tell ur parents what u did. knowing them, u'd never hear the end of it.
FrenchLace25: ur right...all right, I'll try it, stay online and I'll IM u after and tell u what happens...if ur not doing anything???
FlirtyChick: u know I dedicate Thursday nights 2 u! go, go, I'll e-mail Danny.
FrenchLace25: kay, wish me luck on my 2nd impression!!!
FlirtyChick: Luck Luck Luck!

Lacey jumped up from the computer desk and ran upstairs, already coming up with a normal way to have met Hunter, to tell her parents about.

Hunter heard Lacey leave and walked into the computer room. He saw the instant message page up. It would be prying, he knew. But the page was already up and he was dying to know what she'd said. And more importantly if she'd said anything about him. He'd heard her fingers racing across the keys from the other room. The first thing that caught his attention was her screen name. FrenchLace25. God, that sounded hot. He sat down and read what she'd written with her friend, both before he'd scared her and after. Hunter was amazed to see it was all about him. And even more amazed by what she'd written about him. He felt terrible about having scared her. And hated that he'd made her feel stupid when she'd met him. He hadn't meant to. Quickly he walked back into the apartment, where he was putting new cabinents in the kitchen, determined to make a good second impression-just like Lacey.

Lacey paused at the apartment door, two cans of soda in her hands. Twice she'd turned back when on the stairs, ready to just forget it, but she'd made herself continue. She took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Hunter was struggling to hold a cabinet on the wall with one arm, while reaching for a drill behind him on the counter. Lacey walked forward quickly and put the drill he'd been searching blindly for into his hand. He took it, not noticing someone had handed it to him and drilled screws into the cabinet, holding it to the wall. When he'd finished he turned back around, and was startled to see Lacey there.
"Hey." he said.
"Hi. Listen,...I'm, uh," Lacey cleared her thoat and went on smoother. "I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to swing the bat at you like that, I didn't know it was you or I wouldn't have done that."
"It's okay." Hunter said quickly when it looked like she was going to go on apologizing. He smiled and trying to break the ice looked at the two sodas in her hands. "You gonna drink both of those?" he asked with a grin.
"Huh? Oh! Right, um, no. One's for you." Lacey handed him the soda and opened her own, then took a deep breath. "You've really done a lot, fixing up this apartment and all. I hope my parents aren't underpaying you."
"Oh, not at all. I really like them. They've been really nice and it's been great working for them. I just moved here a few months ago, and all my family's back home so it's been nice that they've been willing to sit and talk to me."
"Where's back home?" Lacey asked, even though she already knew.
"Chicago." he answered, even though he had a feeling she already knew.
"My best friend just moved there a few months ago."
"I know." he told her. Lacey shifted uncomfortably.
"So, um, what have my parents talked to you about?" she asked, having a sinking feeling she already knew.
"Oh, everything. This town, your coffee shop,...you."
"Oh, uh, right." There was a period of uncomfortable silence. "Well, I guess I'll let you get back to work." Lacey said finally, turning back to the door. Hunter hesitated a moment, then on impulse called her back.
"Hey Lace." Lacey turned, surprised.
"Yeah?" She asked, hoping it hadn't sounded to eager.
"Would you like to go to dinner with me? Tomorrow night? If you don't have anything else to do, I mean." Lacey grinned.
"That would be great! How about dinner and a movie?" she suggested. "I'll get the movie if you'll get the dinner."
"No." Lacey blinked, surprised. "I get all of it." Hunter told her. She smiled.
"All right, if you want." She turned back to the door and walked forward. Her father came down the steps as she reached the door. "Hey you two." He said, then stopped, looking at the door. "What on earth?" Lacey looked at the door, there was a hole in the middle.
"Oh, that." Hunter started. Lacey cringed, knowing she'd never hear the end of it from her father.
"That was my fault." Hunter went on. "I was hanging a coathanger on the back of the door and I messed up on my swing."
"Oh, okay. What was that scream earlier?"
"Lace was just startled when it happened, that's all. I'll fix it though, don't worry." Lacey's father looked satisfied at the explanation and went upstairs.
Lacey shot Hunter a grateful smile. "Thanks." she mouthed, knowing her father would hear her from the steps otherwise. Hunter winked and turned back to his work. Lacey ran to her computer.

FrenchLace25: Hey!
FlirtyChick: So?????? How'd it go?

Lacey typed her answer, smiling, then signed out and shut off the computer.

FrenchLace25: Dinner and movie tomorrow...Great 2nd impression!!!!!!

The end...for now.