15
JIMMY
My head spun as I followed TJ out of the dorm to his car. What the fuck just happened? He pulled my hand into his and drew it up to his lips, smiling as he kissed me, just a brush of his lips against my skin.
And then he was backing out of his parking spot and turning us toward downtown like it was no big deal. Like he hadn’t just turned my entire world on its axis.
At a stoplight, he let go of my hand long enough to pull up a playlist on his phone before threading his fingers through mine again. I stared at our clasped hands resting on my thigh, admiring the way they fit together. He wasn’t a big guy, but he was still bigger than me, and I liked how his slightly larger palm fit against mine. Marveled at the way his golden skin contrasted with my lighter complexion. TJ had held my hand before, but I’d never let myself think it meant anything more. It was almost as intimate as the kiss we’d shared ten minutes ago.
Was that all the time that had passed? I glanced at the clock on the dash. Just ten minutes since he’d declared that he liked me—liked me, liked me—and then kissed me. He destroyed me with that kiss and then remade me into an entirely new person. I’d been fundamentally changed.
And now we were going on a date. I’d never been on a date in my life. I looked down at my clothes. I was wearing an old pair of jeans, a hoodie, and worn black Vans. Shit. I couldn’t go on a date looking like this. I should probably be dressed nicer. Not that I had anything nicer, really. What use did I have for that shit?
I’d nearly worked myself into a panic when TJ pulled into a metered parking spot on the street. I looked around, but since I hadn’t spent a ton of time in Omaha, I wasn’t sure where we were. I mean, I knew we were downtown based on the height of the buildings, and though I’d just been in the Old Market earlier today, this didn’t look like the same area.
TJ beamed at me and squeezed my hand. “You ready?”
I swallowed. I didn’t think I was supposed to say, “No. I’m actually not at all ready,”
but I also couldn’t find my voice to say anything else. His smile faded and his eyebrows drew up in concern. “Shit. Did I go a little too hard again? We can go back to the dorm. Pick up some food and watch another eighties movie. Goonies maybe? I haven’t seen that one in ages.”
He was babbling, like maybe he was…nervous? That couldn’t be right. Could it?
But the idea that he might be flustered about this whole thing somehow calmed my own nerves. I gave him a shy smile. “I just don’t know what I’m supposed to be ready for. Am I dressed okay?”
His lips began to curve and then his smile was back, bright as the sun. “You’re perfect.”
He pressed a kiss to my lips, then pulled back, still smiling, before turning and getting out of the car.
After paying at the meter, he took my hand and we began to walk. It was a beautiful evening in mid-September, summer finally beginning to release its grip and grant us relief from the humidity that had plagued us in August. I tried to take in the sights of the city as we walked but kept getting distracted by the heat of TJ’s gaze. I’d caught him looking at me several times over the last couple of blocks, and each time, he’d offered a bright smile, given my hand an extra squeeze, then returned his attention to the direction we were walking. I didn’t know what to make of his behavior, but my heart executed a Simone Biles-worthy flip each time he flashed one of those smiles.
We came around the corner and I spotted what looked like a park a little farther down the way, though I couldn’t see much of it due to the row of food trucks parked along the curb.
“What sounds good? Thai? Tacos? Gyros?”
“Tacos? I guess?”
He chuckled. “Are you asking? Or telling?”
My cheeks heated. I had a habit of responding that way because I was perpetually afraid of giving the wrong answer. It drove Sammy nuts, which he’d made me aware of on more than one occasion, but TJ seemed amused rather than annoyed, so I deliberately made an effort to relax.
“Tacos sound great.”
He smiled and tugged me in the direction of the taco truck. The line was short, so it wasn’t long before we had our food in hand. I had been correct that there was a park behind the trucks. In the center was a green space with a large stage on the other end. We headed toward the sidewalk to the left of the green space and onto a gravel path that wound through a sculpture garden and found a bench where we could sit and eat our food.
“Tell me about your friends,”
TJ said as he unwrapped his taco and took a bite.
“Oh, um, their names are Mandy and Drea. We went to high school together.”
I took a bite of my taco, enjoying the burst of flavor on my tongue.
“You mentioned that earlier. Tell me more about them. What are they like? How did you become friends?”
I shrugged, trying to figure out how to describe them. “They were popular in school. Co-captains of the dance team. Student council officers. Pretty much everyone liked them. Mandy and I were assigned to a group project in our junior year, and even though we’d known each other our whole lives, she decided after that we would be friends. Never really gave me a choice. And Mandy and Drea are a package deal in the friend department, so she adopted me as a friend too.”
“They sound awesome. And we have the dance thing in common.”
“Drea mentioned they competed against your studio in high school.”
“Oh yeah?”
His forehead creased in thought. “The only studio I know of in Astaire is Dance Express.”
“Pretty sure that’s the only one we have.”
“Then she’s right. We probably did compete against each other. That’s wild.”
Finished with our tacos, we got up and tossed our trash. TJ grabbed my hand and tugged me close. Both hands settled on my hips, and he surprised me by dotting a quick kiss on the tip of my nose. “It’s a nice night. I thought we’d walk through the park if that’s alright with you?”
I was pretty sure I’d follow him anywhere so long as he kept looking at me like that.
I nodded, and he drew my hand back in his and pulled me down the path. We chatted idly as we walked, and I found myself relaxing even more, becoming more comfortable with speaking freely around him. He occasionally squeezed my hand when he got excited telling a story, but he never let go. At least not until we came across some giant slides built into the side of a hill that he insisted we go down. They were large metal slides, likely older than I was, and with only a little hesitation, I followed him down, laughing all the way. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d ever felt so carefree.
A long, rectangular pond ran under the street above, the water reflecting in giant ripples on the underside of the bridge. The sun was beginning to set behind us, bathing everything in a golden glow, the tips of his dark hair appearing frosted as the strands caught the fading light, fluttering in the breeze. We reached the end of the mall and turned back, walking along the other side of the pond. A man stood at the edge of a small cove, playing a song I couldn’t remember the name of—something French about a rose—on his violin. And though it was a cliché, I still thought it the most romantic thing in the world when TJ pulled me into his arms and swayed side-to-side.
And wasn’t it wild that the word “romance”
had never been one I’d given thought to until tonight, and here I was, dancing at dusk with the man of my dreams? I wasn’t this guy. I wasn’t the sort to be swept off my feet on romantic dates at sunset. But I thought maybe I wanted to be.
TJ tipped my chin up, indigo eyes dancing as he looked at me. He looked like he was about to say something but must have thought better of it because the next thing I knew, his mouth was on mine. It was a sweet kiss, just a press of the lips, over and done too soon, but when he pulled back, he smiled wide. “You feel good in my arms like this.”
“It feels good to be held,”
I said, not knowing how else to respond.
He looked at me for a long moment, then said, “I guess I better find ways to hold you as often as possible.”
And then he tucked my head under his chin and we swayed to the music until the sun faded and the stars shone bright.