This grabs Kelly's attention, her phone forgotten as she stares up at me, a strange light in her eyes. "There are prizes?"
As I rattle through the awards for biggest to smallest and on to unique, that strange light intensifies. After I mention the TOP FLOAT prize, she's a woman on a mission. It's not something I've experienced before.
And damn if it isn't a turn-on. My usual dates are pliable rather than a challenge, with Kelly looking like she'll be the latter. She's now back to scrolling through the images on her phone, all while muttering to herself.
In the end, she holds it out, showing me the one Mary likes best. Taking my cue from her 'win at all costs' attitude, I rattle through how we can cobble everything together.
If I thought she was fired up before, it's nothing to her attitude now.
"Okay, I'm on it. Between Craigslist, the local charity shops and that wrecker's yard at the edge of town, I should be able to get hold of everything." After this, she kicks me out, because she's, "got work to do!"
Her giving me the heave ho wasn't what I'd planned on. And given her grandiose design, I'll be lucky to sleep during the construction phase, let alone have time to flirt. Just what a fire cracker she is, is confirmed when the next day there is a flurry of deliveries.
On entering the garage on my return to the site after work that day, I'm stunned. From empty but for the trailer, it's now full up to the rafters. It's organized though, I'll give Kelly that.
"How did you get on with getting hold of everything?" While waiting for her to respond, I take a sizeable chunk out of my sandwich, hungry as always. With Kelly nearby, the sandwich isn't all I'm hungry for.
A brief gesture to the odds and ends stacked in neat piles around the garage, and she goes through everything. "I did, as well as all this leftover ducting from Ethan. He also gave me some silver insulation paper for the exterior and LED lights for all the control panels."
After tipping a half-roll of insulation paper to one side, she reveals a teetering pile of small battery-powered fans. "I even got these off Craigslist."
Despite being unsure how she plans on using them, her enthusiasm says I'll soon find out, and I chuckle before swallowing my bite. "You've gone all out, huh?"
She shrugs, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "To win the top prize, our rocket needs to be as spectacular as possible, right?"
Curiosity sparked, I set down my lunchbox. "What do you have in mind?"
This has her crouching next to a large plastic container of fabrics, the most common colors being red, white and blue as I've expected. However, after sorting through them, she's soon holding up a vibrant orange piece.
"We can have fake flames coming out of the rocket. The small fans will create movement."
There's no hiding my disappointment, although I try. "That's a great idea, but couldn't we have actual flame? I can hook up a couple of blowtorches. It'd be epic."
Her mouth falls open at my suggestion. "You're kidding, right?" She drops the piece of orange material atop the more patriotic fabrics. "If we do that, we'll risk setting fire to the float."
"Damn it, you're right." I don't bother trying to hide my grin. "It'd be impressive, though."
Her expression softens when she pats my shoulder, with this the first time she's touched me without being upset. "Trust me, Zac, between us, the rocket will be out of this world."
It's when I see a flicker of determination in her eyes I realize it'll be alright. Despite her knocking back my idea of actual flame, there's no denying her passion and drive.
It's a combination I hope to exploit over the next three-and-a-half weeks, and if I have my way, there'll be flame aplenty.
