Willfully Blind

CHAPTER 2 Metrosexual Man

Heading towards the bathroom, Lisa glanced at her watch. Dirk had easily been in there close to thirty- minutes. It was time to hurry him along. En route, she stopped short, hearing the sound of crickets coming from his cell phone – his incoming text notification. Don't do it! She knew she was wrong, invading his privacy. He hadn't even done anything to make her think he was up to no good. But, of course, curiosity got the best of her, and she flipped the phone over. A text message from a coworker of his asking about a meeting the next morning. Then, there came the guilt. Why did she even allow herself to get caught up so easily? She placed the phone down in what she was almost certain was the exact position and continued towards the bathroom.

Lisa could hardly breathe or see for that matter as she moved towards the shower curtain, acutely aware she needed to make her exit soon before she ended up losing her curls. There was no way she wanted to flat iron her hair all over again and would not have been opposed to brushing it back into a ponytail, although Dirk would have had a fit since it was not his preference.

She pulled the curtain back and found Dirk's entire body lathered. With the amount of condensation in the bathroom, it was apparent the water running down his long muscular back had to be nearly scalding. She never understood how he could bear it.

Lisa watch him frantically lather up like he had been exposed to some nuclear chemical. The multi-colored scarf she had been looking for covered his tied-up dreadlocks.

"Ahhh...Dirk?"

"Yeah?" he asked, head spinning around towards her. Soap covered his face, and eyes remained closed as he spoke in her direction.

"What, Lisa? Why are you always sneaking up on me?"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to sneak up on you, and I hate to interrupt, but..." Lisa strained to see her watch.

"...at this point, you're reaching the thirty-minute bathroom mark, and we need to make it happen. Aren't you supposed to be helping your frat brother barbecue? It's going on 3 o'clock."

"Stop exaggerating, Lisa. You know I haven't been in here that long. But alright, I'm getting out now."

Lisa had to admit Dirk's over-grooming tendencies were at times irksome. It was a bit much. He managed, most often, to spend more time in the bathroom than she did. He had great taste, though, and for the most part, she appreciated how well he took care of himself. She'd made sure to keep herself up too and not just for him, but of course, he certainly benefited from it. She had a standing hair and nail appointment every two weeks. Eyebrows were always arched and because he "liked seeing her in make-up" she wore it daily. They were both at the YMCA working out at least four times a week, though rarely at the same time. As a professional dancer, she didn't have much of a choice. Working out was not an option.

Twenty minutes later, he was dressed in a pair of Nike sweat shorts, a Polo t-shirt and a pair of Nike gym shoes he'd probably dropped a few hundred dollars on. He stood in the mirror, spraying on one of her favorite colognes. It was a simple look, but he somehow made it look like a million bucks.

Lisa approached Dirk from behind as he stood in the mirror, putting the top back on his cologne bottle. She wrapped her arms around his waist, peeking around him, getting a full view in the mirror. Eyes connected, they both smiled.

"You look nice." Lisa placed her face against his back and drew in a deep breath. "And you smell good, too."

"Yeah, I know." he responded, watching the mirror waiting to see her reaction. Sure enough, Lisa leaned back around, pausing to see his expression.

"Psst!" She let go of his waist and attempted to pull her arms away.

"I'm just playin'." Dirk pressed his arms down against hers, preventing her from pulling away. He turned around laughing and pulled her into his chest, standing close to a head over her, at 6 feet 2. The perfect height for her. He held her for a moment before pulling away, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Alright, let's get out of here. My frat, as you like to call him, is probably ready to cuss me out by now."