The Date

You text Jason back "What do you mean, who's Mike? You saw him last night. Speaking of last night, why did you leave so suddenly?"

You get out of bed and start to get ready for work. You're about to walk out the door and you see a text on your phone. "I would like to see you tonight, if possible?"

You stand still and swallow hard. You start to breathe heavily. The excitement of seeing him tonight is a lot. "Yeah, sure, at the diner as usual?"

"No, can I text the place a bit later?"

"Okay, am I going to see the illustrious Jason's face?" You send it to him jokingly but you get no reply.

(What's going on with him? Is he mad?)

You open the doors to the diner and Mike walks up to you. "Thought you might need this" He smiles and hands you a coffee, just the way you like it. "Wow, what have I done to deserve this? You remembered how I like it"

"Well, I know we are going to have a busy day and I thought..."He rubs his hand in his neck and blushes a little.

"It's perfect, thank you, Mike"

"Hey, where's mine?" Lucy comes around the corner.

"I...I....you want one? I didn't mean-" Lucy holds up a hand. "No, I see how it is" She smiles and disappears behind the kitchen doors.

"I'm sorry if I have overstepped with the coffee"

"Don't worry about Lucy, she always likes to create uncomfortable situations" You laugh and get to work. The day carries on and you find yourself thinking of seeing Jason tonight. Finally, it's your

lunch break. You sit in the corner booth. You feel more tired than usual and your throat is

a bit dry.

"I just had a great encounter with society's "better" peoples in the world..." Mike sits next to you.

"Oh, yes, I know them well. Let me guess, they wanted coffees to go and they have long perfect hair?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Oh, they like to grace us with their presence every week and make you feel as small as possible. What did they do to you?"

"Nothing much just let me know in the best possible way that I'm the scum of the earth"

"Wow, they must have thought highly of you, if you get such a beautiful compliment" You laugh and talk about your day. You hear the ping of your phone and open the text.

"Hey, can you be at Gravelly point at nine?"

"Yeah, might be a bit late. I'll try and get away earlier"

"Thank you"

(He's usually more chatty. I wonder what's going on?)

The day goes by and it's nearing the time you have to meet up with Jason. You ask Lucy to cover for you and you go home to put on something nice for Jason. When you're busy getting ready, you feel more tired than any other day. You brush it off and take an Uber to Gravelly point. When you arrive you send a text to Jason.

"Hey, I'm here, where are you?"

"I'm coming to you"

"How will I recognize you? I've never seen your face?"

"Haha! You're funny. Lookup, I'm the one in the hoodie" You look up from your phone and see him standing a few feet from you in the dark.

"Hey"

"Hey" You walk closer and he retreats. He holds up a hand to stop you.

"What's going on? Why can't I see your face?"

"A lot of people have judged me when they see my face. Could I ask you to just bear with me and get to know me first?" You look into his intense blue eyes and see a flash of hurt. "Okay Jason, but how are we going to get to know each other?"

"Will you please follow me?"

"You're not going to kill me are you?" He laughs. He has a great laugh. 'I promise, I only have your best interests at heart"

"Okay, I'm trusting you..even though I probably shouldn't" He walks in front of you and you follow him.

(Shit! He's got a nice ass!)

He leads you to a secluded area. When the bushes part you see a candlelight table with various foods on display.

"Oh my god! Jason, this is stunningly beautiful!!"

"You like it?" He rubs his neck with his hand. He's obviously nervous.

"Like it? It's spectacular. How did you do this?"

"Oh, let's just say, I have friends in high places. Please have a seat" You sit down at the table. You catch a glimpse of his face and his jawline is muscular. He sits opposite you and pushes the candle closer to you so that you can't see his face.

"May I say something?"

"Of course"

"You look so gorgeous tonight" Your cheeks turn instantly a shade of bright red. "Thank you"

"It's only a pleasure....please have something to eat. I hope you like fruits and chocolates. I got all sorts, I wasn't sure what you like"

"You really went all out...*sneeze*...Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry"

"Bless you! No need to apologize. I really wanted you to be treated tonight and get to know me"

"Thank you for this. I would really like to get to know a man that would like to treat me like this." You giggle just a little, covering your mouth. He looks at you with that intense stare of his. "Wow, you are beautiful"

It comes out as a whisper and he clears his throat. You get something to eat. "So, I have to ask, why can't I see your face? I promise I won't judge"

He looks down and then up at you again. "I just want one person in my life, that sees me for who I am and not who I'm supposed to be"

"Well, I kind of get that, in a way"

"Oh? have you been judged for your face?"

"Uhm...no, no...it's just..well my past... is not, well...ideal" You look down and realize that you shouldn't go there. "Okay, I see that's maybe a subject we shouldn't talk about"

"Yeah, may...*sneeze* again, so sorry"

"Bless you, again! Really, no need to apologize. Are you feeling okay though?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine" You are sure that you're not fine. You feel very tired. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I am. Thanks"

"So, who's Mike?"

"You met him? Why are you so curious about him?"

"Oh, well, I just...I just wonder if he is your-"

"Boyfriend??" You laugh. "No, he's not, he started working for us two days ago. He's really come through for us and helped lighten the load. He's a good guy"

He mumbles something under his breath. "Good guy...huh!"

"What?"

"Nothing...nothing...just good for him"

"Okay, so let's get to know *sneeze* Oh come on!" He reaches over the table and holds your hand. A heat spike shoots through your entire body. He looks you in the eyes. "Hey, Jennifer, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm...uhh...I'm...yeah...okay no, probably not"

"I thought so, are coming down with something?"

"Yeah probably" Your shoulders fall and you give a loud sigh. "Let's get you home"

"No! I'm not ready to leave yet and you did all this for me tonight and everything is so wonder-" He squeezes your hand and it stops you in the middle of your ramblings.

"Jennifer, look at me. I will not be the one responsible for you being sicker than what you should have been. We can do this again, I promise"

"You promise? *sneeze* Oh my god!! Urgh!! I hate to be sick"

"Bless you! I know and I'm sorry....follow me, I'll take you home, okay?"You stand up from the beautiful table and walk like a kid who's toy was taken away. Jason turns his head and sees your posture. He stops and stretches out his hand for you to hold. You stand still.

"Can I hold your hand?" You feel excitement and nervousness all in one. You reach of his hand and he laces his fingers with yours. You feel warmth and care for you in his touch. "You may"

You get to his car and is shocked by the car before you, a GMC Sierra.

(This guy must be loaded. Who is he?)