Chapter 1

       For some people, going out and hitting the bars is a great way to spend any Saturday night. For some reason, I started to see it a different way. With my obscene physique and my tiring ‘bodybuilder’ cover story, I was finding the dating scene to be a tad frustrating. The guys however basked in their glory and took full advantage of it. The never missed a single chance to booze up a storm, lay as many women and try to do their best Wilt Chamberlain impressions. I for one felt rather revolted at the entire concept of using celebrity to slip into someone’s bed, but I never said anything to the guys. It was their life and the last time I checked, I wasn’t their mother. When all these women start hitting them up for child support, I’m sure they’ll regret it long into retirement.

        Yet for now, there they were. Slamming down shooters like it was going out of style, and having a good time. And here I was, sitting in the background, wearing a dress shirt to hide my bulging biceps and attempting to act normal. I’ve been nursing this beer for what seems like hours and I’m not having any fun at all. After watching the guys booze it up for a few more minutes, I finally take my leave and drop a half decent tip at my table and call it a night. This isn’t the kind of life I want to have. I’m quickly approaching my thirties and I don’t want to be here partying around like a drunken teenager. The worst thing about having friends that are too deep into the party scene is that they’re never really up for anything else. Don’t get me wrong, I love the guys like they’re my brothers but would it kill them to hit a Cineplex and check out a Tarantino film, or hit a museum in the many cities we tour through? I guess it was just the way I was raised. Don't get me wrong, I like to party with the best of them, but too much of anything sucks the fun out of anything and that’s when you have a problem. I needed to find some new friends to hang out with but life on the road makes that easier said than done. At this point, even a ball and chain started to look rather attractive right now. Have some rug rats running around in the backyard while cooking up some steaks on the BBQ looked a hell of a lot more attractive at this point. But instead of being a real party pooper, I faded into the background and slipped out the back door. By now the guys were used to it, and didn’t seem to mind. They’d rather have me slip away and disappear rather than whine about being bored and what not.

       As the loud pumping music started to fade, I walked up to the coat check and left another half decent tip. She passed over my coat and I quickly tossed it on and jumped back into the busy streets. According to my watch, it was only twenty after ten. The night was still young, but I had no desire to do anything. The best idea was to head back to the hotel and get some rest. I had some bumps and bruises from work that needed attending to anyway. If I got back early enough, I might be able to wrestle a little ice out of the hotel machines and rest up while hit my favorite late night talk shows. Well, at least I had a plan in place, that was until fate took over.

       Once I was outside the bar, there were too many people on the street to even bother trying to hail a cab. Since it was rather nice outside, I decided to hike back to the hotel. It was only a few blocks away and I didn’t feel rather threatened by the idea of waking the streets. It was nice night for a walk as well, as the winds were warm and low and the moon was out and shining bright. I even stopped and ordered a chili-dog from a local street vender. It was a fantastic treat, but my trainer would have my hide if he knew I was putting that kind of crap into my system. To Pierre, our personal trainer, our bodies were temples. He gets violent just at the site of chocolate of soda pop. Yet since the other guys were flooding their temples with whatever liquor the bar had left, I didn’t feel too guilty about one measly chili-dog.

       I was half way through my chili-dog when I first heard her voice. At first I heard a loud, glass shattering scream. It was like something you’d expect to year in a horror movie. I was a little disorientated by the scream, but after a few seconds I managed to find the source of the sounds. Once I managed to focus on the source of the scream, I saw a lady across the street, and she was now screaming to the top of her lungs. “Help! Stop! Thief! That son-of-a-b***h stole my purse!”

       I turned around and saw a man running down the street with a bag that obviously didn’t belong to him. I was only a mere twenty feet away from the incident, so I dropped my processed rat dog, quickly crossed the street and hit the trail after the thief. While the weather was nice, I wasn’t exactly wearing the best foot ware for a chase. After chasing the bugger for close to fifty feet, I had actually managed to get a hold of the b*****d’s coat, but then slipped on a small patch of ice and fell down. I hit the ground rather hard, knocking the wind out of my chest and I laid there like a turtle on its back, feeble and unable to get back up. I felt like complete loser, as the purse thief made his getaway with whatever was in the lady’s bag.

 *       *       *       *

       “How did you know when it was the right time, Dad?” I asked my dad one day when we were cleaning up the garage. We were sent there once every few weeks whenever Mom felt that it had been neglected long enough with a threat of no supper if it wasn’t clean on a molecular level by five in the evening.

        He was tossing some crap into the cabinet and rolling cables when he turned back and finally replied, “Right time for what?”

        “You know, if it was the right time to be with Mom. How did you know she was the one you were going to be with?” after I asked that question, I could see my Dad let out a deep sigh of relief. It was just a question about love and wasn’t going to be one of those talks about the birds and the bees.

        My Dad was and still is the toughest man I’ve every known, so talking about sensitive stuff like love would have shocked the world, but he walked over and placed and supporting hand on my shoulder, “Many people spend a lifetime searching for that right person.” He said trying to sound poetic, “but the truth is son… you shouldn’t look at all. When love knows you’re ready, it will come looking for you.” He smiled and tapped my cheek rather gently as if I was still a young boy and not a curious teenager, “Pass me that tool set, I want to eat sometime today…”

 *       *       *       *

       I was trying to get back up, when I felt a rather sharp sting in my leg. I had strained that same leg earlier this week and chances are that injury could have helped impede my attempt to fight crime. There was on doubt falling on the sidewalk like that was going to leave a nasty bruise. Great, I thought to myself, here’s something else for Pierre to get pissed off and lecture me about. As I was sitting up, the lady who had lost her purse caught up and knelt down beside me. I was still a little dazed and just trying to sit back up. I felt a small hand grab my arm and slowly help me sit back up. When I looked back up, there was this nice looking lady who despite losing her personal belongings was there to help some dope who slipped on some ice. She was actually a very attractive looking woman. She couldn’t be any older than 30, and had a smile that looked like it belongs on the big screen or in a fashion magazine. As she was helping me to my feet and before I could thank her, a police officer strolled up to us with her purse in his hand. She seemed overjoyed to get it back.

        “Thanks for the help buddy.” the cop said to me, “We didn’t hear the lady, but your slip on the ice was hard to miss. We got the little bugger but I would recommend leaving the crime fighting to us professionals.”

        “Not a problem, officer.” I said with a smile. It was evident that the cop didn’t recognize who I was and I preferred to keep it that way. We both thanked the officer for his help as he left and she began to look through her purse, relieved everything was still there. After the police officer had left, I asked her if she was all right.

        “I’m fine, thank you.” She said with a smile, “But I’m a little rattled from what happened.”

        Since I was there, I couldn’t resist offering further help, especially since my first attempt was a big, fat, epic failure. “Would you like me to walk you home? You know, for protection from other elements of crime?”

        “Maybe I should walk you home to make sure you don’t fall again.” She slyly retorted. We giggled for a few moments, and we were having that awkward silent moment. We stood there for a moment, saying nothing and not really wanting to leave the moment and make it last a little longer. Finally she was the one who broke the ice, “Well, my nerves are shot. Care to join me for a cup of coffee? There’s a really nice shop around the corner.”

        I could hear Pierre’s annoying voice in my head, screaming for me to march back to the hotel to immediately apply ice my leg so it doesn’t bruise too badly. I was hard to pay attention to him, as I was just fascinated by this amazing woman. I was captive to her charm and couldn’t stop looking at that amazing smile. “I’d love to.”