Now for a Bit of Magic

Story Submitted by Etta:

Anthony and I met off of a dating website and set up a date for a lunch in a local town and a walk.

I was having a nice time with him.  We walked around and checked out various stores of knick-knacks and clothing.  He had his arm around me and we were warming up to each other pretty well.  We passed a round clothing rack filled with shirts.

He said, "Hey," and looked around, "Want to make out inside of that clothing rack?"

I liked the idea, so I climbed into the rack and made myself comfortable.  He didn't follow.  I guessed that he was making sure that the coast was clear.  After a few more moments, I peeked out to see what was up.

He wasn't there anymore.

I jumped out, looked around the store, and ran outside.  Sure enough, there he was, half-jogging down the sidewalk, away from me.

I followed him, a block or so behind, and saw him climb into his car and turn it on.  I ran and caught up to him.  "Hey!  What's going on?" I asked.

He looked aghast, then smiled and said, "I-I, er, I was just playing a trick on you."

I said, "Why not hide elsewhere in the store?  You take off like this and I'm liable to think that you're ditching the date.  Are you?"

"Oh... no!" he said unconvincingly.

"Then let's keep walking around, then."

He turned his car off and climbed out.  He was silent for most of the rest of our time together.  When we walked down the street, he fell back further and further until I said, "Date's over.  Thanks."

He said, "You mean it?"

Before I could even say, "Yes," he was already walking away.  No idea what went wrong on that one.