Jewel of my Heart

Weekend Date 1 of 2

Max

 ‘I'm bidding for myself.’

‘To have a weekend date with Ms. Maxine Braganza.’

  My jaw drop when Dranz dared to say those words in front of a lot of people. The look on my parent’s face, as well as his, both have that surprised look.

  When the emcee hit the gavel and yelled ‘Sold’, Dranz smirked at me and went down the stage. He immediately approached me; he grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the venue.

   Dranz and I got into his truck, and he drove us away, fast.

“What the hell is happening?” I asked, still confused of what’s happening.

“I’m claiming what I paid for.” He said.

  I glared at him.

“What have you done? How can you bid for yourself and just drag me out of the venue?!” I exclaimed.

“I told you to bid for me, but you didn’t. I don’t want to go on a weekend date with someone I don’t know, so I made a little research. The one auctioned can actually bid for himself, and that’s what I did.” He explained grinning.

  I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest.

“So, where are we going?” I asked him.

“Potsdam.” He said.

  I looked at him.

“Potsdam? In St. Lawrence County? It’s an almost seven hour’s drive from here. What are we going to do there? “I said.

“I know, but I want a memorable weekend date with you. I want you for myself without anyone following us, or disturbing us.” He paused.

“So I checked the place and they have a very nice tourist spots. They have these old museums and art galleries, and the Riverfront Cabin is really cozy.” He said.

  When he mentioned those, I suddenly felt excited.

“Is the cabin really nice?” I asked.

“Yes. We can take a dip or go canoeing.” He said.

  I involuntarily smiled thinking of those kinds of activities. But then I remembered something.

“We could at least stop by our house so I can pack some of my stuff. If you haven’t noticed it yet, I’m still in this puffy dress.” I told him.

“No need. I got our stuff behind.” Dranz said, pointing his thumb behind us.

  I looked at the back and I saw two duffel bags. One I recognized was my duffel bag. I gaped and turned to him.

“How the hell did you get that?” I asked.

“I like planning my schedule. I want everything organized. So when I finally thought of what I’m going to do, I called Sami. She packed your stuff while you’re getting ready. I took the bag before I went to the venue.” He explained.

  Sami? That little weasel.

“So she’s your accomplice now.” I said.

“Uhuhmmm.”

“How about our food for the weekend?” I asked.

“I brought some food with me. We can do some grocery shopping tomorrow.” He said.

  I stared at him, just looking at his relaxed demeanour.

“You’re more relaxed now.” I blurted.

“Really?”He asked, then he grabbed my left hand and he interlaced our fingers.

“I feel relaxed when I’m with you.” He said, and then he brought my hand to his lips.

  I smiled as my heart swelled with his words. Who would’ve thought that I will fall for this grumpy guy?

“You broke a couple of hopeful’s heart tonight.” I said.

  He snorted.

“It’s none of my business. What’s important to me is you, only you.”He said.

  The ride went quiet after that. I even fall asleep without noticing, because when I woke up, we just passed a road sign saying that we’re in Potsdam. I also noticed that I was covered with a blanket.

“We’re here already?” I asked, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

“Yeah.”

“Did you drive straight for seven hours?” I asked again.

“No. I drove for six hours.” He answered.

“What?!” I exclaimed.

“Relax. The road is empty that’s why I drove faster, but not Fast and the Furious kind of fast. It’s still dark, you can still sleep.” He said.

“We can sleep when get to the cabin.” I told him.

  A few more minutes and we reached the cabin that he rented. We both got out of the car, and I immediately look at the surroundings. I can’t really see much since it’s still dark. Dranz took our stuff from the car and then he grabbed my hand.

  He led me towards the cabin porch. He dropped the bags before he opened the door. He took the bags again, and we went inside. He opened the lights and I was amazed of the interior.

“Wow.”

“Pretty cozy huh?” He asked, and I nodded.

  The first thing that caught my eye was the royal blue couches in the living room. There’s also a piano next to the couch. And the kitchen cabinets looked cool with the blue paintjob.

“It has two rooms. You can take the bigger one.” He said, pulling me towards my supposed room.

  He opened the door and light, and then we went inside. The bluish gray walls made it seem cool and warm at the same time.

“You rest now. I’ll see you in the morning.” He said, placing my bag on the floor.

  I smiled at him.

“It’s already morning.” I said and pecked his cheek.

  Dranz smirked and went out of my room, closing the door behind him. I let out a soft chuckle and locked the door. Then I took off my puffy skirt, my accessories, and I let down my hair.

  Wearing only my white button up shirt, I went to the bathroom and washed my face. Using the towel on the shelf, I wiped my face dry and went to bed. This is going to be an eventful weekend, I can feel it

  Around eight o’clock in the morning when I woke up. I scrambled out of the bed when I noticed that I was not in my room. That is when I remembered that Dranz took me to Potsdam for the weekend.

  I sighed and took my duffle bag on the floor and placed it on the bed. I opened it and took out the clothes that Sami packed for me.

 I huffed when I noticed that the clothes she packed are most summer dresses, with two shirts, one pants and two shorts. She also packed one hoodie and one denim jacket, two sets of sexy two piece swimwear, and my underwear are mostly brand new. They’re all black and lacy. There’s also a pair of sleepers and sneakers, and some toiletries.

  I kissed my teeth, cannot believe how cunning that little weasel was. I took a set of underwear, and one dress, and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

 *********

  After showering and getting dressed, I just let my hair down and put on sunscreen on my face, arms and legs, before applying lip balm. I looked at my reflection on the mirror, quite satisfied with how I looked. I put on my white sneakers, grabbed my small sling bag that I found at the bottom of my duffel bag. I put my phone and some cash in it before going out of the room.

  Outside my room, I immediately smell the scent of fresh coffee. I saw Dranz setting up the table with two cups of coffee and some sandwiches. He’s wearing a simple denim pants, white shirt and sneakers. He smiled at me when I approached him.

“Good morning.”He said.

“Good morning.” I greeted him.

“I made you coffee when I heard you turn off the shower.” He said, I narrowed my eyes on him.

“I didn’t peek or anything.”He said, and I chuckled.

“I did not say anything.” I said, and he frowned.

“But you were thinking.” He grumbled.

  We sat and had our breakfast.

“So where are we going today?” I asked.

  Dranz took a sip of his coffee before pulling his phone out of his pocket.

“I made a few research, and came up with an itinerary.” He said.

“Okay, let’s hear them.” I said, taking a bite of my sandwich.

  Dranz grinned and he began reading his notes on his phone.

“Number one on my list, experience the history of Potsdam at the Potsdam Public Museum. We can dig deep into the past, through the archives and uncover letters, books, journals, cemetery records, magazines, and much more and truly discover what has lead to making this town so great. One specific thing that Potsdam is known for is its local sandstone, and at the museum, we can view the sandstone map to see where the best places in the city are to go find some.” He said.

“Number two on my list, let’s be an art critic at the Roland Gibson Art Gallery. The Roland Gibson Art Gallery contains a collection of visual arts that are accessible to students, faculty, staff, alumni and residents of New York. The collection is full of artwork from the 20th and 21st centuries and some from even earlier.”

“Third, let’s enjoy the sunshine at Lehman Park.  It provides access to the Raquette River, as well as picnic areas, boat launch facilities and open space along the river for recreational use and is a great area for fishing. The luscious green grass makes for a great scene for pictures and the vast, tall trees provide an excellent form of shade on those days that get just a little too hot.”

“Fourth, be a kid again at Swing Time Mini Golf. It is newly opened so it’s state-of-the-art, with a beautiful landscape and a quirky design that is as fun as it is frustrating - in a good way, of course! A great way to spend the day as a family, this mini course is great for children and adults as the putting greens are the perfect combination of simple yet challenging.”

“And lastly, let’s have a few beers at Backstreets Nightclub. Backstreets Nightclub is a great place to go after a day of exploring the city. Open Thursday-Saturday, this club offers a full-service bar with live music, entertainment and great people. The atmosphere at this nightclub is one that will you get you excited to hit the dance floor, with its unique combination of pub and club. And every night features a different list of drink specials that you won’t find anyplace else.”

  He looked so proud with what he planned. I smiled at him and grabbed his hand.

“Your itinerary is nice and all, but we don’t need to follow it.” I said, and he furrowed his eyebrows.

“You don’t like it?” He asked, pouting.

  I chuckled at him.

“Let’s do what you have in your list. But let’s just enjoy the moment.” I told him.

  He smiled.

“I guess you’re right. We need to buy some groceries too. Let’s do that first.” He said, and I nodded.

  So after we had our breakfast, we left to buy some groceries. We first went to Potsdam Food Co-op, to buy some veggies and bread. It’s like an old house turned shop; it’s very homey and cozy. All their food on sale is fresh. It makes me want to buy some before we go back home to NYC.

  After shopping in Potsdam Food Co-op, we went to ALDI for some groceries. The store looks nice, for its clean and well organized.

  When we were done with our shopping, we went back to the cabin. We unpacked all our purchases and put them on the shelves and fridge. And then, we left again to check out the museum that Dranz said earlier.

Dranz

  When we got to the museum, Max looked excited. She’s like a kid in a candy store. While we explore the place, she was grinning from ear to ear upon seeing textiles, documents and photos from the Civil War.

  We just walk around without worrying about the time. We toured the place at our own pace, and just enjoyed the moment.

  After the museum, we went to the Roland Gibson Art Gallery. I’m not much into art because I have no idea about it. I’m into numbers, businesses. But Max, she enjoys this kind of place. She’s in tuned with this stuff.

  I grabbed her hand and intertwined our fingers. She would sometimes lean on me while she stares at one painting. This kind of thing repulsed me before, but now I love it.

“Thank you for bringing me here.” I heard her say.

“I know this isn’t your thing, but still. Thank you.” She added, and then she tiptoed and gave my cheek a peck.

  I grinned at her.

“I think I deserve a proper kiss.” I said.

  She rolled her eyes, and she tip toed again to give me a peck on my lips. But I have other plan. I grabbed the back of her neck and gave her a more intense kiss.

  Her cheeks were pink when I pulled away from her. I smirked at her and kissed her forehead.

“Your lips are like a drug to me.” I mumbled.

  Then we continued looking around the gallery, with occasional flirting.