Chapter Two
I had a hard time falling asleep that night. I tossed and turned, not able to get Jason out of my mind. Why had I reacted so strangely to him? As if…I had feelings for him. Never once since I had known him, had I ever had any romantic interest in him. Why had it been so different tonight?
I was exhausted the next morning, and I was grateful it was a Saturday. I spent most of the morning lazing about in bed, until Chloe called and convinced me to go shopping with her. After going to several stores, we finally took a break and grabbed a couple of frozen coffees at our local coffee shop.
I sank into the chair at our table in relief. “What was the point of going to all those stores if you didn’t buy anything?”
Chloe shrugged. “I didn’t find anything I liked.” She took a large sip of her coffee, wincing as she swallowed. “Brain freeze.”
I laughed as she leaned in closer. “By the way,” she asked, her eyes gleaming. “What happened last night? I was waiting for you to bring it up, but you haven’t said a word.”
I shook my head. “Nothing, really.” I explained to her about Caleb and his aggressiveness. Chloe’s eyes narrowed as I spoke.
“What a dick.”
“Definitely,” I said in agreement. “I just hope I never run into him again. He goes to Darrenston College.”
“I thought something more had happened,” Chloe said. “After you left, Jason practically ripped Jillian’s head off, and then left the party soon after.” Chloe’s mouth thinned out in anger. “I should have punched her in the mouth.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Why? What happened?”
“Jillian was trying to get Jason to dance with her, and he said he didn’t want to, and he wanted to make sure you were alright. She made some asinine comment about you not being a damsel in distress.” As Chloe was explaining what happened, I could tell that she was getting worked up. She was getting flushed and her eyebrows were crossed together in a vee. “Then she made some gross comment about how you should be happy someone was interested in you, and she didn’t know why you would reject someone’s advances. That’s when Jason blew up.”
Chloe’s look of anger turned into glee as she continued. “He told her that, unlike her, you had standards, and that he was sick of her following her around and begging for attention. Then he stormed off, and I heard he and Chris went home shortly after.” Chloe sighed in regret. “I told Jillian that she was a whore, and that you had more class in your pinky than her entire body. But I really should have punched her.”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at Chloe’s statement. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I don’t want anyone hitting anyone over me.”
I felt terrible about what Chloe told me. I didn’t want people getting in fights because of me, and as much as I disliked Jillian, I also couldn’t help feeling a little bad for her.
Those feelings of pity vanished on Monday, when I saw her in the hallway. Apparently, they had made up because she was back to hanging on Jason’s every word as they stood in front of his locker. I told myself that I didn’t care and to mind my own business. It had nothing to do with me if Jason wanted to hang out with a soul-sucking social vampire.
I forced myself to forget about them, and, fortunately I didn’t see them for the rest of the day. After my last class, I headed out to the parking lot alone, since Chloe had an after-school meeting for her government and politics group project.
I was surprised when I saw Jason waiting for me by my car. He looked annoyingly handsome leaning on my car door, but my pulse remained in check. I told myself that this was proof that being attracted to him Friday night had been a fluke.
“Hi,” I said awkwardly when I reached my car. Jason straightened and looked down at me, his eyes uncertain.
“I wanted to apologize for going a little batshit crazy at the party,” he said, with a rueful smile. “I didn’t meant to scare you.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s okay. I’m grateful you got that creep away from me.”
Jason’s eyes darkened. “I made sure to let his friends at the party know that he’s not welcome anywhere.”
“I appreciate it.”
Jason shifted awkwardly from one foot to another, looking uncharacteristically unsure of himself. I waited, not knowing if he had anything else to say or if that was the end of it.
“Um,” I said after a few beats of silence. It was starting to get uncomfortable as Jason just stood there, looking at me. “Well, if that’s it, I’m going to head out.”
I waited for Jason to step aside, since he was blocking my car door, but he stood still.
“Are you doing anything after school today?”
I didn’t know if he was asking me to just make conversation or if he was asking to see if I was free to hang out. I was pretty sure it wasn’t the latter, because I couldn’t remember the last time we had done anything together. It had probably been in the sixth grade, before we had started drifting apart.
“No, just going home,” I answered.
Jason rubbed the back of his neck, looking nervous. “Do you want to hang out? We could get something to eat or something.”
I suppressed my laughter at Jason’s obvious discomfiture. I was suddenly back to seeing Jason as the kid I had been friends with, and I found his awkwardness funny and appealing.
“Sure, that sounds like fun.” There was no reason to refuse and it would be nice to catch up with Jason. Our conversation at the party had been brief, and I felt a wave of nostalgia for the old days when we had been joined at the hip. After our senior year, our lives would be changing, and it would be nice to hang out with him before that.
Jason smiled widely, looking relieved. “Why don’t we go to Albert’s?” he suggested, naming a diner nearby.
“Okay,” I agreed. “I’ll meet you there.” I reached for my car door, but Jason still hadn’t stepped aside.
“Why don’t we go in my car?” he said. “I can drive you back to school to your car afterwards.”
I shook my head. That seemed inefficient. “Why don’t we just meet at the diner? That way we can just both leave afterwards.”
Jason hesitated, seemingly wanting to say something, but then he just nodded. “Okay, I’ll meet you there.”
I watched him walk off to his car, wondering at his behavior. It was unlike Jason to not exude confidence.
It was a quick drive to the diner, and Jason had beat me there, waiting in the parking lot for me. The diner was bustling when we entered, and we were lucky to snag a booth in the corner, where it was a little quieter.
We both ended up ordering burgers, and when the waitress left after taking our order, Jason leaned back and smiled.
“It’s nice being here with you,” he said. “I think the last time we ate here together was in sixth grade.”
Jason’s words triggered a memory, and I remembered coming here with him in the middle of sixth grade. His mom had dropped us off, because Jason had insisted we were old enough to eat by ourselves. It had felt weird and new to be at the diner alone with him. We had been to Albert’s countless times together, but it had always been with either his mom or mine. I remembered feeling so mature sitting at the table by ourselves. I also remembered that Jason had badgered me to come, because by that point, we had already started drifting apart and I had been hesitant to hang out with him alone.
“Oh yeah, you’re right,” I said laughing. “I remember you pushing your mom out the door and telling her you would text her when we were done.”
“Mom never knew how to read cues,” Jason said with a smile. “I had to be direct.” He paused before continuing. “Do you remember our fight?”
“We fought?” I asked, puzzled. All of a sudden, it dawned on me that our meal here was the last time we had hung out as kids. “That’s right. We fought because your friends showed up and I didn’t want to hang out with them.”
Jason’s eyebrows furrowed. “No, we fought because you said I was a dumb jock and you were tired of having to hear about sports.”
I grimaced and let out a small laugh, feeling a little bit bad about that. I did remember saying something to that effect, but it was just because I had been so mad about his annoying friends crowding our table. “Sorry about that. I blame puberty.”
Jason seemed like he wanted to say more, but then changed the subject. “Are you doing anything during spring break?”
Spring break was only a week away, and I was looking forward to spending it holed up in my room, reading. Chloe would be going to visit her grandparents in Florida, while Monica and Tracy were attending a tennis camp, so there wouldn’t be much to do besides that.
“Just staying home. What about you?”
“My mom, Eric and I are going to California to visit my Aunt Josie since she just had a baby.” Jason paused. Eric was Jason’s younger brother, and he had been in kindergarten the last time I had seen him. “It would have been nice to stay in town so we could hang out, though.”
I nodded, but I was sure he was just saying that to be polite. I doubted we would hang out again after today.
Our food came, and as were about to dig in, Jason took his pickle spear and put it on my plate. I was impressed that he remembered how much I loved pickles, especially diner ones, and surprised by how naturally he placed it on my plate, as if he had been doing it for years.
As we ate and caught up on our current lives, I was reminded of how nice and comfortable his company was. We also spent plenty of time reminiscing about our elementary years, and the mischief we had gotten into together. Before I knew it, two hours had passed, with our plates having long been cleared and our drinks on their third refill.
“I should get home,” I said regretfully, glancing at my watch. “I still have tons of homework to do.”
We had a little tug of war over the check, until I finally relented and let Jason pay. We stepped out into the parking lot, and I turned to him.
“Thanks again for the meal,” I said. “It was fun catching up.”
Jason nodded, his hands in his pockets as he shifted from one foot to another. “Yeah, it was nice.” He looked up, squinting against the sun, and then lowered his gaze to me. “Do you want to do something Friday night? We could go to a movie or something.”
Was he…asking me out on a date? I bit my lip, unsure of what he wanted. Of what I wanted. It had felt natural and comfortable today after we had gotten over our initial awkwardness. But I didn’t know the intent of his asking me to do something on Friday.
I didn’t know what to say, and my brain was too muddled to think of an excuse to refuse, so I just agreed. “Sure. That sounds like fun.”
Jason smiled, the tension leaving his shoulders. “Great. I’ll call you about what movie and time.”
The rest of the week went by in a whir. True to his word, Jason called the next night, and after deciding what movie to watch, we ended up talking on the phone for two hours. In some ways, Jason knew me better than anyone else, and it was nice to get to know the older version of him. I wasn’t expecting a call the next night, since we had already decided on the movie and what time he was going to pick me up, but excitement coursed through my body when I saw him calling. The night after that, I tried to not expect anything, but I was pleased when he called again. I knew I would have been disappointed if he hadn’t.
We had talked so much during the days leading up to Friday night, that I was no longer nervous about our date, and just felt anticipation. Well, if it was actually a date. Our phone conversations hadn’t hinted at any romance, but I wasn’t sure if he would have been calling me every night if he wasn’t interested. I wasn’t sure if I was interested in anything more than friendship, but I decided not to worry about it and just have fun.
I felt a flutter of excitement when my doorbell rang Friday night, and I couldn’t deny a thrill at seeing Jason standing there when I opened the door. He was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome.
“You look nice,” he said with a smile. I suddenly felt unsure of my outfit. I was wearing jeans and a simple blouse, and I wondered how Jason’s other dates dressed. They probably dressed up way more than I did.
I shook off the negative thoughts. There was no point in comparing. Besides, I wasn’t even sure if this was a date or just two friends hanging out. I tried to convince myself that I preferred the latter to take the pressure off.
We had decided on a spy thriller that was getting rave reviews, and I insisted on buying the popcorn and drinks since Jason had already bought the movie tickets. We made our way to our theater and sat near the back, as was my preference.
“If you get scared during the movie, you can hold my hand,” Jason joked, grinning at me.
I rolled my eyes at him. “The movie isn’t supposed to be scary. I doubt I’ll need to hold anyone’s hand.”
“I’m just saying,” Jason said, wiggling his fingers at me. “These are free for your use.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Sure. I’ll keep that in mind.”
The theater was filling up, which wasn’t surprising since it was a Friday night. We killed time waiting for the movie to start by playfully arguing about the merits of different concession foods, while eating our popcorn.
Pretty soon the movie started, and I became engrossed in the plot. It had been a while since I had seen a movie in a theater, and I forgot how immersed you could get. I held my breath at a particularly tense moment, but then had to suppress my laugh when I saw Jason wiggling his fingers next to me.
“I’m not scared,” I protested in barely a whisper to not bother others. Jason grinned and just shrugged his shoulders.
The movie was over before I knew it, and we were walking back into the fluorescent lights of the lobby.
“That was even better than I expected,” I said as we threw our popcorn bucket and drinks away. “The car chase scene was crazy. I’m so glad we saw it.”
“Yeah, I enjoyed it even more the second time.”
My eyebrows furrowed as I looked at him, confused. “What do you mean, the second time?” All of a sudden, realization dawned. “Wait! You’ve seen this before? They why did you say you wanted to see it, too!”
I had been the one to suggest the movie, saying that I had been wanting to see it. When Jason agreed, I logically assumed that he hadn’t seen it either.
“Well, I did want to see it,” Jason said. “ Again. ”
“Jason!” I said exasperatedly. “You know that’s not what I meant. It was a waste for you to see it in the theater again.”
“It wasn’t a waste. I enjoyed it even more the second time.”
I bit my lip, stopping myself from asking who he saw it with the first time. I decided I didn’t want to know.
“Sure,” I said unconvincingly, and Jason laughed at my disgruntled look.
“Let’s get some dinner,” he suggested. “How about some sushi?”
My eyes narrowed. “I don’t know. How do I know you haven’t eaten dinner already? Like you’ve already seen the movie?”
Jason laughed, putting his hand on my arm and guiding me outside. “C’mon. I promise I haven’t eaten dinner yet.”
I went willingly, hiding a smile as we got back in his car. Even as a kid, I had loved sushi, and I had been the one to introduce it to Jason in third grade, and he had followed suit in his love of it.
We went to a local Japanese restaurant, and was lucky to snag the last table. It was a bustling Friday night, and it felt cozy in the corner of the restaurant.
We ordered a large sushi platter to share, as well as some udon and tempura. We argued over points of the film as we ate, trying to decide whether the villain was a sympathetic figure or not. I couldn’t remember having this much fun over dinner, so I agreed to getting ice cream afterwards, even though I was stuffed. I didn’t want the night to end.
“Let’s share something,” I said, as we studied the flavors in the ice cream shop. “I’m so full, I don’t think I can eat more than a couple of bites.
We agreed on coffee mocha chip in a cup with a generous helping of whipped cream. We argued about who would pay, since Jason had gotten dinner, but I finally gave in and let him pay when it seemed like he wasn’t going to relent. The ice cream shop had no seating inside, so there were tons of people milling about outside, the outdoor tables already full. We decided to eat the ice cream in his car, since the crowd was getting loud.
“This is really good, but if I eat any more I’m going to burst,” I said after three spoonfuls, wrapping my spoon in a napkin. “The rest is all you.”
Jason didn’t answer, concentrating on the ice cream. But instead of eating it, he was just swirling his spoon around, seemingly lost in thought.
“Are you okay?” I asked, as the silence continued. I could hear the muffled conversations outside of the car, but inside there was nothing being said.
I was growing concerned when Jason still hadn’t said anything, and was about to ask again, when his gaze suddenly lifted, his blue eyes piercing into mine.
“How do you feel?” he asked, his voice low.
“What do you mean, how do I feel?” My pulse raced. I was unsure of what he was asking, but the tone of his voice made my senses tingle.
“About us.”
I swallowed hard. I hadn’t expected this question from Jason. And honestly, I didn’t know how to answer it. I would be lying if I didn’t admit I had been incredibly attracted to him tonight. I couldn’t help but notice the scent of his cologne when he leaned in close to say something to me in the theater, and I couldn’t stop glancing at his hand on the console while he drove, finding even the veins in his hand attractive.
“I don’t know," I said, knowing it was a copout answer. “How do you feel?”
I knew it was cowardly to put the question back to him, but I didn’t know what else to say. I was on pins and needles as I waited for him to answer. I started to doubt he was going to reply when the silence continued, but then he finally spoke.
“I never thought we’d get to spend time together like this,” he said quietly, his gaze steady on mine. “It seemed like you always avoided me in the hallways at school, and when you did speak to me, it was nothing more than a hello.” Jason took a deep breath. “I don’t want to waste this chance. This is how I feel.”
Before I could even process what he was saying, he had pulled me towards him, putting the ice cream cup on the dashboard. My breath hitched as he gently cupped the back of my head with one hand, bringing me even closer as he leaned in. My eyes fluttered shut of their own accord, and before I knew it, I felt his soft lips brushing against my mouth. His lips clung to mine as he kissed me, soft and questioning, giving me a chance to pull back. But instead of pulling back, I leaned deeper into the kiss, no thoughts in my mind except enjoying the sensations awakening inside me.
Jason made a sound of approval when I leaned in, increasing the pressure, his other hand on the small of my back. We were as close together as the center console would allow us to be.
Desire strummed through my veins when I felt his tongue caress my lips, seeking entry. I opened my mouth, welcoming the intrusion. His tongue was cold from the ice cream, and I could taste a hint of coffee and cream. I shyly grazed his tongue with my own, and soon they were intertwined, caressing each other with growing desire.
This wasn’t my first kiss, but it was unlike any other kiss I had experienced before. I had gone out on a few dates during high school, and had experienced some lukewarm kisses, but it was nothing like I was experiencing now. My body felt hot from the unfamiliar desire pulsing through me, coupled with an increasing ache inside me. I felt like I was melting, and soon I would be nothing but a puddle.
Jason suddenly broke the kiss off, breathing heavily, his usually brilliant blue eyes looking dark and intense.
“Daphne,” he said, his voice gravelly and deep. He said nothing more, just my name.
It was as if we had been in our own little world during the kiss, but I abruptly became aware of the people outside in the parking lot again. I pulled back, falling back into my seat and glancing around outside, wondering if anyone had seen us. I felt confused. Was this Jason’s way of telling me had feelings for me? Why else would he kiss me?
I looked at him and his gaze felt like it was searing through me. “Jason,” I said, not liking how unsteady my voice sounded. “I think you should take me home.”
Jason was silent as he studied me, and then simply nodded. He grabbed the melted ice cream from the dashboard, as well as my spoon that had fallen on the floor during the kiss, and exited the car to throw them away in a nearby trash can. In his absence, I took a few deep breaths, willing my pulse to slow down and my heart to stop beating so hard.
The drive back to my house was silent as I racked my brain of what to say. I was confused and didn’t know how I felt. Senior year would be over soon and we would be going to different schools. If Jason was interested in pursuing something, would there even be a point? Did I want to pursue something?
My mind was still awhirl with uncertainties when he pulled into my driveway. Jason put the car in park and turned to me.
“We should talk.”
I knew he was right, but not tonight. I was too confused. I needed to sort out my feelings before we talked.
“Okay,” I agreed, “but can it wait? Not tonight.”
Jason frowned, but he nodded. “Okay, tomorrow then.”
I wanted more time than that, but I would agree to anything at this point to escape the car and his questioning eyes.
“Tomorrow,” I agreed, as I opened the door, wanting to get inside my house as soon as possible. “Thanks for tonight and driving me home.”
Before he could say anything else, I got out of the car, not looking behind me, as I made a concerted effort to not sprint to my front door. Right before I stepped inside, I couldn’t resist one quick glance behind me, and saw him watching me, an inscrutable expression on his face. I gave him a weak wave and went inside, shutting the door behind me.