The first afternoon

It was never a cold day in the city that he lived. A tropical metropolis, the sun was always blazing and buildings kept their climate control temperatures to the minimum. But today wasn't so hot. In a rare break of clear sky in the midst of the rainy season, the day was relatively cool. It was too nice a day to stay indoors, a rare opportunity to be outside and still be comfortably so, without the sweat soaking heat.
He opted to go out. Waiting for the elevator, he was pleasantly surprised when she walked out into the lobby, clutching a tiny purse and handbag in tow.
"Going out?", he asked.
"yeah, need to go do some banking and stuff", she said with a smile. "where you off to?"
"Nowhere, really. Its just too nice to stay indoors", he had said. "Want me to give you a ride?"
He drove her to the nearby bank, in a neighborhood he had not been to in recent years. From the parking spot, they walked along the boulevard lined with shady trees and parked cars. He remarked about how long its been since he last had anything to do with the place, while she updated him with the times when she used to work in that area, and how there were places she'd visit to between breaks. He'd looked at her intently as she spoke, watching how easily her lips would part themselves into a smile at almost every sentence. Her voice was melodic; lilting in tunes at every nuance of her speech, breaking into little giggles as she spoke. He was at ease with her, as she with him.
There wasn't a queue at the bank, and he sat at the seats while she filled in the forms and walked to the counter. He watched her every move, every step that she took. She walked with her head held high, at ease with her self, confident with her abilities. And the smile that so easily formed was always there, even as she broke into conversation with the teller. He continued to watch her every move even as they had lunch, and even as they exchanged conversation.
The conversation continued as they walked to the car, two people lost in each others company, so lost that they did not realize his hand slipped into hers; and they continued to the car, retracing their steps, hand in hand past the rows of parked cars in the shade of the trees.
It wasn't until he reached the car and was about to fish out his keys that he realized he was holding her hand; in one quick reaction, he pulled his hand away. His ears turned red and his face began to flush when he realized it was her hand he was holding. He wanted to apologize (what for?) he wanted to say something, but he was far too lost for words. He just stood there, embarrassed grin on his face, trying to stammer, or not to stammer, after all he didn't have the words anyway. And she looked at him, coy, that wonderful smile forming in the corners of her mouth. And she mentioned his name in a half whisper as she placed her hand behind his neck, and pulled his face to hers and planted a long, warm kiss on his lips....