9. Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
Elise
T he next several weeks fly by. Mary starts at Perk Up and picks up quickly on all the normal tasks. Her insight into possible menu items is well-thought out and by the end of July Perk Up is offering a variety of hot food items.
I love having someone to work with in the afternoons, and the shop has been bustling as I roll out the changes. The town loves Mary almost as much as I do. She reminds me of my mom, the little I remember her.
Young Jae and I have fallen into a comfortable routine. I sneak out in the morning and he pretends to sleep through it. After I’m done working, I come home to dinner and then we go for a walk. Every Sunday we spend the afternoon together and I can’t remember the last time I’ve been this happy.
He hasn’t mentioned the moment we shared at the gazebo or attempted to make any moves. Sometimes I think I misread the situation, but then there are moments when he will brush the hair off my neck, or I catch him looking at my lips.
It’s becoming harder every day to keep my thoughts away from Young Jae and that moment. I wish I could talk about it with my friends, but I don’t know if I’m ready to hear what they have to say, mostly because I know exactly what it will be.
“Why don’t you go for it?”
“You know there’s more there.”
I’ve heard it before.
“That was a heavy sigh,” Mary prods gently. “I know that sigh. Whenever Morgan makes that sound, it means man trouble. Want to talk about it?”
Propping myself against the counter, I tap my fingers against the wood. I haven’t talked to Adeline or Rae about this, they would encourage me to make a move and I just can’t be the one to cross the boundary. I don’t know what’s holding me back, maybe the idea of my best friend rejecting me in the gentle way I know he would and the damage that would do to our friendship—I just don’t think my heart could recover.
Taking a deep breath, I huff out the air and nod. “You know Young Jae?”
She smiles, the lines around her eyes creasing. “That handsome young man who comes in here all the time? I’m familiar.”
“Well, we’ve been friends for ages, but I’ve had a crush on him since we met. I was fooling myself thinking it went away, but now that we live together, I realize I was just ignoring it.” Standing, I pace along the cabinet of treats, tidying. “Living with him has been wonderful and if anything, I think my heart is even more attached.”
Her gaze turns knowing. “You’re in love with him.”
“I think maybe I always have been. But I don’t think he feels the same, or maybe he does a little but not enough to take a chance.” I shrug. “I don’t know what to do.”
She hums. “I can see the predicament, but if I’ve learned anything, these things tend to come to a head at some point. You can decide if you want to lead the charge or if you want to wait and see.”
The bell jingles and we both turn. Jake walks in with more daisies. Groaning, I roll my eyes at Mary.
He has persistently brought me flowers every week despite me telling him to stop.
“Hey, Elise. Mary.” He greets us. I can see the sadness when he looks at me and feel bad.
“Jake,” I sigh.
“I know, but I’m not giving up.” He sets the flowers down, his eyes earnest. “Just a meal. Just one, and if you still feel like there’s nothing to salvage, then I will stop.”
Groaning, I pick up the daisies and hand them back to him. “Fine. One meal. But stop bringing me daisies. I don’t like them and they’re toxic to dogs, so I can’t even bring them home.”
His face flickers with surprise, lips turning down a little. It was always a source of contention when we were together. I wanted a dog, he said they were too much work, despite me being the one who cleaned the house.
Jake shakes off whatever is going through his head and grins, elated, taking the flowers back. “I will pick you up tonight at six.”
***
“You’re going to dinner with Jake? How the hell did that happen?” Young Jae glowers as he sits on the edge of the tub in my bathroom while I get ready for dinner. Jake should be here in fifteen minutes, and I finally told Young Jae that I had agreed to go to dinner with him.
Sighing, I meet his gaze through the mirror. “He isn’t letting up and he said if we go out for dinner and I still don’t want to give him another chance, he will quit coming around. So, I agreed. It’s one meal that will ultimately close out that chapter for good.”
Picking up my lipstick, I return to getting ready.
“Why are you putting on lipstick to turn him down?” Young Jae grumbles.
Biting back a smile, I apply the neutral color. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was jealous.
Finishing up, I head back into my bedroom with him trailing behind. Kimchi is chewing on a toy on my bed. He plops down beside her and starts playing tug-of-war with her as I go into my closet. I change quickly before rejoining them.
He looks up and shakes his head. “Nope. You look way too hot for a closure date. He’s not going to stop if you show up looking like that.”
Biting back a grin, I roll my eyes. “You’re exaggerating. I’ve worn this a ton. It’s not like it’s special.”
Standing in front of my mirror, I look at the floor length maxi-dress. It’s floral with a subtle V-neck. Not too revealing, but perfect for summer.
Before he can come back with anything, the doorbell rings. Kimchi takes off, barking as she runs to the door. I grab my purse, Young Jae following closely behind.
I open the door to Jake standing there with a bouquet of roses. Better than daisies but still nowhere near my top five favorite flowers. At least I can have these in the house.
Kimchi rushes out to greet him, he stares down but doesn’t greet her. I know he’s not an animal person, but it rubs me the wrong way that he doesn’t even say hi. It’s another confirmation that he’s not right for me and I was settling when I was trying to make it work.
“Hey. You look beautiful.” Jake looks relieved as Kimchi runs back in the house to sit next to a watchful Young Jae.
“Thanks.” I start to slip into my shoes, Jake opening the door wider.
He opens his mouth to say something, faltering as Young Jae comes to stand next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “She does, not that you deserve it. If you’re trying to win her back, remembering that dahlias are her favorite flower would be a good start. Who am I kidding? You never cared about her enough to actually learn her favorites.”
Jake’s mouth opens and closes, his face flushed. His embarrassment is clear and he has the wherewithal to look a little ashamed.
“It’s too late though. You’re not going to win her back because she knows how good life can be now. So don’t keep her out too late. Remember, we have plans tonight.”
Taking in the scene before me, I realize I need to put a stop to all this.
“Jake, saying yes to dinner was a bad idea. I’m sorry, but you should just go,” I say and close the front door.
Suppressing a giggle, I gasp when Young Jae kisses me. His lips moving over mine, his tongue delving deeper.
My heart pounds as I drop my purse, my arms wrapping around his neck on their own volition as I kiss him back. My entire body tingles, electricity thrumming through me as I press into him. We kiss until the noise of a revving motor sounds.
Pulling away, I lick my lips and glance over to Young Jae. My heart pounds as I finally meet his gaze.
Young Jae smiles at me. “Well, that took care of that! You don’t have to suffer through a dinner with him and he definitely won’t be around again.”
Clearing my throat, my heart sinks into my chest. “Um, yeah. Thanks for that.”
I follow him into the house, my body still wired from the kiss.
“Since you’re all dressed up, why don’t we go for dinner?” He turns so suddenly I crash into him. His hands automatically grab my waist, holding me steady.
Staring up at him, all thoughts leave my head as he licks his lips.
“Elise?”
“Hmm?” My eyes linger on his lips until they start twitching. Lifting my eyes, I hold his gaze, his brown eyes intense on mine. He smells so good, I’m in a fog until he grins cocking his head slightly. I finally process his question. “Oh, dinner. Yeah. Sounds good.”
The drive to Cliff’s helps clear my head as Young Jae talks about the progress on the grain elevator development. His passion as he elaborates on the progress pushes thoughts about the kiss aside, but I still send Adeline and Rae a “what the fuck” message.
The parking lot at Cliff’s is packed. “If we want the town to stop meddling, we may want to go home.”
Young Jae just laughs, getting out of the vehicle. “We’ve eaten together before.”
There are people waiting to be seated when we get inside, but as soon as Cara, the hostess, sees us, she waves us over.
“We have a table ready for you.” She ushers us to the back corner where all the private booths are.
Confused, we follow her. “We didn’t book anything,” Young Jae mentions as we weave through the crowded bar.
Cara just smiles and takes us to the final booth. It’s intimate and quiet compared to the rest of the bar. I’ve never sat in this area, but it's a newer addition that Cliff added, wanting to give couples a quieter, more romantic space.
The table has a bouquet of dahlias and a lantern lit in the center. The rest of the lights dimmed.
She leaves with a promise to return with water and we sit in the intimate booth. It’s small, ensuring we need to sit next to each other.
“Did you?” I ask.
Young Jae shakes his head, looking as confused as I feel. “No. And I didn’t tell anyone we were coming here.”
“Oh my god. I did. I told Adeline and Rae.” Laughing, I look at Young Jae. The candlelight dances across his face and the words on my lips fall away. He looks so good and his lips still have a hint of my lipstick from earlier.
Young Jae’s lips twitch. “They must’ve called. Well, we were going to eat dinner anyway, and it is nice and quiet back here.”
He drapes his arm over the back of the cushion, the weight of it against my upper back.
Cara returns with water and two glasses of wine. “Wine’s on the house.” She winks again, leaving us to decide what to eat.