Beeeep. Beeeep. Beeeep. Chh-chh. Chh-chh. Chh-chh. I never expected to end my first date in an Emergency Room, but here we are. Now you might be wondering how I got into this situation. Let me tell you. I'll start at the beginning.
First semester, I met a guy in my fourth period biology class. As fate would have it, we got seated next to each other, alphabetically, Henry and Hudson. He smelled sweet and fresh like a warm summer day but had a particular coolness to him. We grew close throughout the course, helping each other with assignments and even eating lunch together in my old, silver Camry. Hudson's laugh would echo through the car everywhere I drove, a little smile creeping onto my face every time I heard it. He started coming over to my house, running up the steep driveway to greet my lab, Nellie. Then I went to his house, one time bringing a little toy car for his younger brother. In that moment, I don't know which of them was looking at me more adoringly. Our hangouts became daily and we started joining each other's family dinners.
Then one day, I saw Hudson's black truck pull up to my house when I wasn't expecting him. I opened the front door and Nellie—tongue hanging out and tail wagging rapidly—raced to see him. I leaned against the door frame watching as he clipped something to Nellie's collar at the bottom of the driveway then pointed in my direction. Nellie pranced effortlessly back up the hill to me and I reached down. A note was attached to her collar and it read: Do you want to go on a date?
Two weeks later we were at the driving range; our stomachs filled with the burgers and shakes we'd shared at lunch and our hearts filled with—well I don't know if I should say it yet. The point is: we were having a great time. However, it was in fact short lived. Hudson, the golfing pro *eye-roll*, was showing me how to swing properly when WACK. A little girl who was not quite at the age to have developed enough spacial awareness hit Hudson in the back of the head with a golf club. He yelped and pulled his hand to his head. And that's when I saw streams of red dripping down his forearm.