Imagine Going On A Surprise Date With Smitty Ryker
(Requested - Anonymous)
You'd known something was up the moment he knocked on your front door instead of slipping through your window like usual. You opened it to find Smitty Ryker standing on your porch with a fresh shave, a pressed shirt that didn't quite match the rough edges of his usual self, and a single white carnation in his hand.
"Ma'am," he said with a slight smirk, tipping his cap. "Figured I'd take you out proper. Just this once." You blinked, confused and instantly suspicious. "What did you do?"
He chuckled, stepping closer. "Nothing...yet. But I ship out tomorrow morning. Figured if I only had one night left here, I want to spend it makin' you smile." That made your breath catch. He'd told you before that he wasn't the type to get soft. Said he wasn't the kind of man you brought home to your daddy. But now here he was, trying to be both.
"...Give me ten minutes." You said excitedly before rushing back inside.
The date wasn't anything fancy. He didn't have the money or the time. However there was a charm to it...walking with him down the old Main Street where the town still smelled of summer honeysuckle and distant train smoke, where kids were playing stickball in the dying light, and every passerby seemed to know him. You noticed how many gave him a nod of respect now. Even the ones who'd once crossed the street when they saw him coming.
You both ended up at the lake, where he'd laid out two old army blankets under the stars and somehow, miraculously, produced a slice of pie wrapped in a napkin from Mrs. Redding's bakery.
"I had to do half her yard work to get this," he said as you laughed, taking a bite of the still-warm apple cinnamon pie. "Said I reminded her of her nephew."
You looked over at him then, your smile softening. "You're not what I expected, Smitty Ryker." That sudden statement caught his attention and he glanced over, leaning back on his hands. "No? What'd you expect?"
"Trouble," You answered honestly.
"I am trouble," he said, his voice low, his eyes not leaving yours. "But for you? I'd try not to be." The silence that followed was heavier than it should've been. It sat between you both, thick with unspoken things and the countdown of morning.
So you leaned over and kissed him softly, slowly, as if memorizing the shape of him. He kissed you back with something just shy of desperation. Like he knew that one night was never going to be enough.
Later, when he walked you to your door, his fingers brushed yours like he didn't want to let go.
"I don't know what'll happen over there," He said, his voice rough. "But if I make it back...can I knock on your door again."
You looked up at him, heart tight in your chest, eyes burning. "You better." He smiled. That crooked, reckless smile that always made your knees weak. Then he turned, not saying goodbye, just lifting a hand, as if a promise hung in the air behind him. And you stood on your porch, holding the white carnation to your chest, praying that Smitty Ryker makes it back home in one piece so he can knock on your door for another surprise date.
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