It was about 7:30 in the morning when we were waken by a heavy knock on the door to our hotel room. I rolled over and rubbed my eyes and the knock repeated. “Kate, get the door...” I mumbled still half asleep.

Kate rolled out of the bed and slowly walked to the door, looking as if she was sleep walking. The knock echoed three more times before she finally got to the door, opening it to find Matt.

“Good morning,” he smiled.

Kate yawned and rubbed her eyes. As soon as I heard his voice, I sprang out of the bed and ran up behind her. Pushing her out of the way, I pulled the door open further. “Hey!” I smiled.

“Sorry to wake you up so early, but I was just in the neighborhood...” he joked, presenting me with a single white daisy he held behind his back.

I laughed at him, “It’s ok, since you were in the neighborhood and all,” I joked back. I rubbed the flower against my cheek and smiled. “Thank you, it’s beautiful.”

“Why don’t you throw on some clothes and come to breakfast with me?” he asked sweetly.

My hair was a knotty mess, I was wearing sweats and no make up. I looked down at myself. “Uh, waking up a girl at 7:30 in the morning and telling her to ‘throw something on’ when she looks like crap isn’t a good idea,” I teased.

He grinned, “You look fine! Just put on some jeans and a shirt and meet me downstairs. Ok?” he convinced.

“Ok...I’ll be right down,” I said, closing the door. I ran full speed to my suitcase and started rummaging through the pile of wrinkled clothes. At a time I needed my friends, they of course had to be passed out cold. I quickly slid on a pair of tight fitting jeans and a brown tank top. On my nightstand was a pony-tail holder that I quickly slung in my hair. I gave myself a quick once over in the mirror, slid on my shoes, grabbed my purse and was out the door in record time. I flew down the steps and found him waiting at the bottom.

“I didn’t know a woman could really get dressed that fast,” he chuckled.

Laughing, I struck a pose. “When you look this good, you don’t need a lot of time.”

He stood up and held his hand out to me. Grabbing his warm hand, he led me over to a black K5 Blazer. He let go of my hand as we approached and grabbed the passenger side door handle, pulling it open for me. “Hop in,” he invited.

My jeans were so tight I couldn’t get my leg up into the high seated truck. I kept trying and after my third attempt, Matt grabbed my legs right under my butt and hoisted me up.

“You in?” he asked.

I began to laugh hysterically. “Yeah, thanks. I guess Calvin Klein didn’t design his jeans for great stretching distances.” He laughed at me as I got comfortable, shutting the door. I was so giddy and excited, jittering around in my seat. As he approached the other door, I quickly calmed down. He grabbed the steering wheel and pulled himself up. “I guess you’re not wearing Klein,” I joked.

Matt looked at me and gave me a smile as he started the truck. “I hope you’re hungry.”

Several minutes later, we arrived at the small cafe. “It’s not the IHOP, but it’s just as good,” he promised.

We went inside and were quickly seated at a booth in a back corner. I couldn’t resist sneaking a small peek as Matt sat down. He had on a white, cotton button-up shirt with the top few buttons left loose with a black wife-beater underneath. I could see a small amount of skin on his chest and felt my stomach jolt at the sight. From what I could see, this guy was stacked. The waitress handed us menus and left to get our drinks.

The restaurant was quaint and cozy. There were a few older couples sitting scattered about, reading newspapers and quietly chatting as they at their breakfast.

“Their food is good here. Anything you order is a sure bet,” he assured.

The waitress came back, placing a glass of orange juice in front of both of us. “Have you decided on what you’d like?” she asked.

Matt looked at me, “You ready?” he asked.

“Um, yeah...I’ll have a bowl of oat meal and some toast, please.” I said.

“And for you, sir?” she asked Matt.

“I’ll have two eggs, over easy, some bacon, and pancakes,” he answered.

“Ok, I’ll have it right out,” she told us.

“Wow...how do you eat like that and have such a great body?” I blushed a little when I realized that I just told him he had a ‘great body’. It was true of course, but embarrassing when you think about it.

His eyes were all I could see as he took a sip of orange juice, he started to choke in laughter. “I work out like crazy. I only eat the greasy stuff in the mornings, that way I’m guaranteed to burn off all the calories by the end of the day. But enough about me, I never did catch where you were from.”

I sat down my glass of orange juice lightly on the table, that’s all I needed was to spill it all over me and look like a klutz. “I’m from North Carolina,” I told him.

“Ah, NC. I’ve been there a few times. What part?” he seemed interested.

“Wilmington,” I finished.

He sat back in his seat and cocked an eyebrow. “Never been there. I might have to check it out sometime.”

About that time, the waitress returned with a tray full of food. She carefully sat down the plates. “Anything else I can get for you two?” she asked.

“No, I’m good,” I answered.

“We’re set, thanks.” Matt replied.

For the first time since we had met each other, we were silent as we started to eat. He was so mannerly as he ate-the napkin in his lap, holding his knife and fork the “proper” way. It was nice to be eating a meal with a man that didn’t slop around in his plate like a pig.

About 20 minutes later, we had finished our meal and stood up from the table. I was wondering what was going to happen next. Was that it? Or was there more?

“You wanna come hang out at my house with me for a while?” he asked.

My brain was screaming ‘HELL YES I WANT TO GO WITH YOU!’, but I had to remember to keep composure. “Sure,” I answered calmly.