It was a warm mach afternoon. The clouds were few and far between. Hollis parked his truck on the street and walked up the hill to the Lost Map. A friend of his worked there and he wanted to say goodbye before he drove back across the bay to go home. He had come over this weekend because he had some friends in a punk band and they had played there the night before.
As he got close to the coffee lounge he saw that the outside patio tables were empty except for one girl. She was sitting with a lidded paper take-out coffee cup, smoking a cigarette and reading a newspaper. He passed her going in the door and she looked up at him, almost expressionless, but it shocked him anyway. Her eyes pierced through his. She had long straight brown hair falling down her back and tucked behind her ears. She wore black pants and a plain green shirt under an open black button-up sweater. He recognized her from the night before. He had watched her from time to time from across the room. She had been sitting on a big couch in the corner constantly surrounded by people who she all seemed to know, including some of the employees there. She had been wearing the same clothes as today.
As he passed by her to go inside, time seemed to slow down considerably. It gave him chills. He walked through the lounge past tables and couches holding a handful of people to the counter in the middle where his friend Mike was. Time seemed to return to normal and he felt drunk from it.
“Hollis, my man,” Mike greeted as Hollis approached the deserted counter. “What brings you back this way?” Mike was around the same height as Hollis who had black hair that was growing down past his ears and into his eyes. He was half-asian and half-white. He wore a plain white t-shirt under his work apron. When Hollis was being transferred around group housing Mike was also being transferred to the same places and they became friends.
“I’m about to head back, came to say bye,” Hollis told him.
“Cool, cool. You want a drink?”
Hollis shrugged. “Sure. Just some coffee, I guess.”
“That’s it? You make it easy.” Mike put a paper to-go cup under a coffee spout and pushed the drip button. “Did you have a good time last night? Get fucked up? Get laid?”
“It was a good show, yeah,” Hollis said. “No girls, though.” He thought about the girl sitting outside.
“Yeah it was, and there was a ton of hot chicks here. I must have gotten about seven phone numbers.” Mike handed Hollis his coffee over the counter.
“Nice work,” Hollis said, taking the cup. “Thanks.”
“Are you coming back next weekend?” Mike asked.
“I might,” Hollis replied, sipping his hot coffee. Some trendy customers were approaching the counter and a girl was taking their orders.
“Cool,” Mike said. “Maybe I’ll see you then.” They exchanged a handshake.
“Take it easy, Mike.”
“See ya,” Mike said, starting to prepare the new orders.
Hollis turned and walked out the door and stopped next to the girl. She was drawing on a picture of some people in the newspaper. She didn’t notice him.
“Hi,” Hollis said to her out of impulse.
She looked up at him and stopped drawing. He was tall, over six feet. He wore a white t-shirt over a long sleeved black shirt and black cargo pants. His hair was kept short and was dark blonde. His eyebrows almost blended in with his dark skin. He wore some black, rectangular framed glasses on his straight, pointed nose and he smiled, his lips kind of rounded in the corner above his square chin.
“Hi,” she said in return. She snubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray on the table.
Even though Hollis had his own pack he asked her, “Do you think I could steal one of your smokes?”
Taking her eyes from him and breaking their eye contact she picked up her pack from the table, took one out and held it out to him. Their eyes locked when he took it from her. He sat down at her table and took the lighter she offered to him. When he handed the lighter back to her she lit her own cigarette.
“Didn’t I see you here last night for the show?” He asked.
“You might have,” she said blowing out smoke. “I was here. Though, I don’t remember much.”
Hollis took a hit from his cigarette and chuckled. “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”
She looked at him sideways. “I was drunk,” she said.
Hollis smiled. His lips outlined his teeth charmingly with rounded corners. She couldn’t help but return the smile. When she smiled he was struck by her natural beauty. His mouth felt dry so he sipped his coffee and ashed his cigarette on the ground.
“I’m Hollis,” he said.
“Hollis?” She said. He nodded. “How old are you, 83?”
“No, I’m 19,” Hollis chuckled.
“Oh. Me too,” she said. “So what kind of superhero last name does Hollis have?”
“Day,” he answered.
“Hollis Day?”
“Yeah. Everyday is a Hollis Day.”
The girl chuckled and reached her arm across the table, ashing her cigarette in the ashtray. “Claire,” she said
“Claire?”
“Mmmhmm.” She brought her cigarette to her lips and smoked it.
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Claire.” Hollis held out his hand and she shook it firmly as she blew smoke from her nose. At the touch of her soft hand Hollis felt himself getting excited. He smoked his cigarette.
From inside the Lost Map, Claire’s friend Amanda who was working with Mike said to him, “Look, your friend is talking to Claire.” Mike looked outside and Amanda continued. “He’s not going to get anywhere with her.”
Mike chuckled. He knew guys who had tried to get with her and get shot down. “I dunno, Hollis doesn’t get interested in a lot of girls. We’ll just have to see.”
Outside Hollis asked Claire, “So what are you doing here by yourself?”
“I’m waiting for one of my friends to get off work so I can bribe her for a ride home,” she told him, smoking.
“Bribe her? With what?”
“Smoke,” she said.
“Not cigarettes,” Hollis guessed.
“That is correct,” Claire said smirking and ashing her cigarette.
“I could tell because you have a Bic lighter. People who smoke only cigs usually have those cheap, clear lighters,” Hollis said.
“This is true,” she said. “You’re very sharp.”
“Why thank you,” he said, crushing his butt on the sidewalk under his shoe.
Claire flicked her butt into the street, blowing out a cloud of smoke. Hollis watched her.
“Have you been waiting here long?” He asked.
“A couple of hours,” she told him.
“Damn,” he remarked.
“Yeah, and I’ve got a few hours left to wait.”
“Oh,” he said. “Where do you live?”
“I go to the University across the bay. I live in a dorm.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Claire said, looking at him.
“I live nearby the University,” he said slowly. “I’m heading back that was. I could give you a ride.”
She lowered her eyelids, examining him. “I don’t know…” she started, “taking rides from someone I’ve just met… especially some guy named Hollis of all names…” she trailed off.
“Hey, I’m perfectly safe,” he insisted. “Convenient, too. I’d also be up for your bribe.”
“Ah,” Claire said. “I see where this is going.” She stretched her long body in her seat and put her hands behind her head.
Hollis grinned. “Well, you could sit here waiting for your friend, drawing in the paper like you were, or you could get going home much sooner.”
“True,” she said. She sat up and looked around, contemplating the offer. She picked up the newspaper and folded it back together as he watched her. He wanted her to go with him so they could be alone in his truck for forty minutes and get to know her. He couldn’t think of a better way to spend his day. It’s funny, he thought. He’d only just met this girl but he didn’t want to leave her. He drank his coffee as he watched her methodically fold the newspaper and set it on the table perfectly folded.
She looked over at him and stood up. “Well, let’s go then?” She said.
He blinked at her and stood up. “Alright,” he said. “I’m parked this way.” She picked up her purse and put its long strap across her torso and followed him down the hill to his silver truck.
Their friends saw them leave from inside the Lost Map. Mike turned to Amanda and smirked and Amanda said, “He’s leaving with my friend, and my hook up!” Mike laughed. Mike and Amanda understood seeing them leave and were not surprised.
Hollis unlocked the passenger side door with his key and opened it for Claire. Claire got into the truck and pulled a leg up close to her torso. Hollis opened the driver side door and got in. He started the engine and looked at her. She was looking back at him with an expression on her face that he couldn’t quite place. He pulled out into the street and started the trip with Claire in his truck. On the way they smoked two joints she had in her purse.
“Where exactly am I taking you?” He asked once he started driving.
“Do you know the south entrance?”
“Yeah. Actually I work a few blocks from there.”
“Oh yeah? Where at?”
“Harrison Auto,” he told her, looking over at her.
“You’re a mechanic?” She asked, passing him a lit joint.
“Yep. Only the best in the city,” he said, grinning at her and taking a hit.
“Good to know,” she said to him, taking the joint he passed back and looking around at the inside of the truck. She smoked the joint and opened his glove compartment, finding a gaggle of cassette tapes. He watched her in his peripheral vision as he drove, taking back the joint she passed to him.
She picked up each tape, reading the label and putting it back to pick up the next. They were mostly old punk tapes; Bad Religion, Minor Threat, Agent Orange, Dead Kennedeys, The Ramones, Dag Nasty, Crass, Black Flag, Bad Brains, the Descendents, Flipper, the Cro-Mags, Suicidal Tendencies and the likes. She picked up a random tape and put it in the tape deck, turning it on. The Clash blared out with the Magnificent Seven. He passed back the joint which was almost gone. He smirked to himself, liking her initiative to play a tape without asking.
They were crossing the bridge now, listening to the Clash. She snubbed the joint out, put it away and lit a new one. Hollis was digging on her. He liked the tone of her voice, the words she chose to say and every movement of her body.
Her body. He loved her body. She had curves and a really nice rack. Not to mention her hips, legs, ass. Her arms, back, and neck. She was all curves and straight lines, probably 5 foot 8 inches stacked tall of beauty. All his life he’d been around super skinny, malnourished, cracked-out girls who bleached their hair and wore layers of make-up and revealing clothes. This girl was a natural, laid back beauty and he wanted to see more of her. He hadn’t felt excited about a girl for a long time.
He smirked at her as she passed him the new joint. To his surprise she smirked back. She pulled her other leg up into her seat and sat Indian style. She knew what this guy was getting at. She’d been in numerous situations like this one. She couldn’t decide quite yet if she would give it to him. She found herself attracted to him, which didn’t happen much to her. Most guys she met were all alike, but this one was different. He didn’t look like anyone else she’s met or seen before. She felt drawn to him like a magnet. She had to turn her head away from him and smoke the joint while looking out the window before he could read her thoughts.
“So that’s a pretty good school you’re going to?” Hollis asked.
“Yeah, I guess. It’s expensive, too.”
“Yeah, no shit,” Hollis agreed.
“My folks pay for it. My dad’s a dentist and oral surgeon and makes mad bucks on people’s vanity,” Claire told him.
Hollis chuckled. “What are you studying?”
“I’m a chemistry major,” she said passing him the joint.
He took it. He was impressed. “Chemistry? Sounds tough.”
Claire shrugged, blowing out a cloud of smoke. “It’s not too tough.”
“What are you going to do with it?”
“I dunno,” she said. “There’s a lot I could do with it, I guess.”
“Yeah, well, that’s still cool,” Hollis said to her. She smiled at him and took the joint back, hitting it. It was almost dead and they were almost at the university’s south entrance.
“Do you live around here?” She asked.
“Yeah, kind of. A couple of miles away,” he told her.
“Oh,” she said. They had reached the entrance. He parked in a red zone next to a fire hydrant across the street from the entrance.
“Well, here we are,” Hollis said.
“Yeah,” she said. She unfolded her legs and left the roach in his ashtray. “Thanks for the ride.” She smiled at him.
“Thanks for the smoke,” he smiled back at her.
“Well, maybe I’ll see you around.” She moved to get out.
“Claire,” he said, stopping her.
She took her hand off the door handle and turned her face to his. She looked interested.
“Do you,” he paused. He knew what he wanted to ask but suddenly he was scared of her. “Do you want to go out with me sometime?” He finished.
“What, like on a date?” Claire inquired.
“Yeah,” Hollis said.
Claire looked at him. She reached over and lifted his glasses from his eyes and looked into them. They were gray. She smirked at him. “Alright,” she said into his eyes. He smiled at her. “When?”
“Are you free tomorrow night?” He asked. He wanted to see her again as soon as he could.
She paused. “Yes.” She placed his glasses back on his nose. He raised his hand and put them back into place, smiling at her.
“I finish work around 5. Uh,” he paused, thinking. “Can I come get you at 6:30?” Claire nodded her head yes. “Should I find you at your room on campus?”
“Um, it’s kind of confusing to get there. Do you know the campus?”
“Not really.”
“Okay. Why don’t I just meet you here, at this exact spot?” Claire suggested.
“Sounds good,” he said, their eyes still locked.
Claire turned and opened the door. The Clash tape had turned over and started again.
“Well,” Hollis said to her, “see you tomorrow.”
She turned to him, smiling. “Bye,” she said and got out of the truck, shutting the door behind her and walking through the traffic. Cars had to stop a swerve not to hit her. Hollis sat watching her until he couldn’t see her anymore. His truck felt empty now that she was gone. He merged onto the street and drove home.
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