Under The Bridge

Its warm out. Warm for spring, and a bright sky full of wispy clouds. I'm not going to melt and I'm not going to freeze. Everything is open and loose and flowing. A group of college students toss a frisbee over the grass and laugh at the guy who didn't catch. He slipped and face planted, so I get it. It is kind of funny. I glance at my phone. It's after the agreed upon time, but only five minutes or so. Everyone gets five minutes or so. Even I took a good minute and a half after the moment. I play with the piercing on my tongue as my fingers tap against the ones on my brow. That does help the rising clench in my stomach. Not a lot, but it keeps me from bolting.
But I check my phone again, just to be sure. Still five minutes or so. Still waiting on a park bench watching people my age play right next to the group of mothers and children doing something similar on a jungle gym. Different actions, different structure, different audience but still the same.
It's still not enough to calm myself down. Its nerves, plain and simple. It's that little churn in my stomach that doesn't quiet down. I look down the path, and she isn't there. I look down the other way and spot something like her for a moment, but it's not. It's just someone who kind of looks like her. I sink my phone down into my pockets. Its crept back up and I don't need it. Time is flowing and it will come to pass. I figure 20 or so minutes after the time is a good place to call it. I would have spent about half an hour sitting in the park on a beautiful day. Not quite as good as a date, but still a decent use with an afternoon chunk. Might go over and see if I can join the frisbee gang.
"Hey Mac," says a voice I can't see, "Sorry I'm late. Missed my train."
I jump a bit as a ripple crawls up my skin. The nerves got to me and cracked through my resolve. She laughs. She doesn't mean to, but her own nerves must be doing something.
"Don't worry about it, Kaori," I manage to get out, "I was late too."
"Good to know. Now we both know we're bad at time. So, where to?"
I manage to come to standing despite my weak knees. I'm also a bit stuck to the bench. She looks good. A few steps down from when we first met, but that's to be expected. She's missing a few of her piercings and her makeup is done with a much lighter hand. It works better under the midday sun. Her first version was done under strobe lights and lasers and smoke machines. The skirt's longer too, which I am a little disappointed with. The top makes up for it. Tied off and showing just a line of her stomach. I learn she has a belly button piercing as well.

"Down there," I say, "Ever heard of Powder