On an Edge of Glass

the hall, all beaming with first date perfection: freshly shaven jaw, broad smile and a bouquet of…
    I laugh, incredulous.  “Wait.  Are those gummy bears ?”
    He looks down at the bizarre creation in his hands.  Shyness bends back his features.  “I noticed that you always seem to have a box of them in your bag, so I thought…  Is it weird?  It’s too weird, isn’t it?”
    I take them and bring them to my chest.  “No, it’s… perfect.” 
    The corners of his eyes wrinkle and the winning smile is back in place on the bottom half of his face.  “I put them on shish kebob sticks.”
    “I can see that,” I answer, examining my gift more closely.  Ben has indeed stuck dozens of colorful gummy bears on thin wooden shish kebob sticks and arranged them in a bed of green tissue paper.  It’s like a bouquet of freshly cut flowers—only better because it’s made of impaled gummy bears.  “I… I love it.  Should I put them in water?”
    Ben looks relieved that I’m joking.  His smile turns crooked.  “Maybe maple syrup.  They require an abundance of sugar.”
    I giggle.
    It’s probably a little strange to go on a secret date with the guy that lives one room over and that you’re having great sex with, but seeing Ben watch me from the doorway as I set down the candy bouquet and grab my jacket and purse, it is undoubtedly what I want.
    He doesn’t say where we’re going even once we’re in the car and winding our way past campus and the strings of houses and shops that border town.
    “Can you at least tell me how far away wherever you’re taking me is?” I ask as he turns onto the highway.
    “I suppose that I can do that.”  Conciliatorily, the dimple winks at me.  “We’ll be in the car about a half hour.”
    I tilt my head back against the headrest.  “And will heights or animal sacrifice be involved on this date in any way, shape, or form?”
    He considers this for a few seconds.  “Ellie, are you implying that you draw the line at animal sacrifice on a first date?”
    “ Ha!  Yes I am.  In fact, I’m doing more than implying.  I’m actually going to come out and declare that animal sacrifice is strictly a fourth date thing.”
    “ Hmmm… Then I may need a few minutes to rethink our plans.”
    This makes me laugh.  “Come on!  So, y ou’re really not going to tell me what we’re doing tonight?”
    “ I’m really not,” Ben says, tucking his hair behind his right ear and shaking his head lightly. “But to take your mind off of the mystery, I’ll play a little game with you.”
    I cast a wary glance toward him.  “Okaaaay…”
    He picks up his phone and fingers the display screen.  “It’s like a trivia game.  We’ll take turns playing songs from our music libraries and the other person has to guess the name of the track and artist.  Bonus points for album name and year.  The fastest and most accurate player wins.”
    “Let me get this straight,” I say , slowly lifting one eyebrow and twisting my mouth.  “You want me to play a music trivia game against you?  Ben, you’re a musician!  That hardly seems like fair to me.”
    Ben grins and dips his head .  “I do see your point, but I promise that I’ll start off easy on you Ellie.”
    Is it ridiculous that his words make me shiver ?  It’s all I can do not to reach over right this minute and grab him.
    I clear my throat , trying to regain some control.  I bend my arm on the center console and prop my head with one hand.  “Fine, but one of the ground rules is no classical music can be played.  There’s absolutely no way that I’d ever be able to tell the difference between Mozart’s 8 th and 9 th concertos.  Deal?”
    Ben stops messing with his phone and looks at me.  “Deal.”
    Five rounds later I’m thinking that I should have come up with a few more ground rules. 
    Unsurprised when he tells me the name of yet another band that I’ve never heard of, I throw my hands up in exasperation.  “I thought you said that you’d take it easy on me!”
    Ben laughs.  There’s a crease in the middle of his forehead.  The top three buttons of his shirt are undone and from where I sit I can see the lines of his neck fading into his chest. 
    “Actually I said that I’d start off easy on you.  And I did.”  He flicks his turn signal on.  “Who in the hell hasn’t heard of John Prine?”
    “ Me, apparently.  And I’d be willing to bet lots of other people