Jeremy smiles, but there’s a sadness there now. “That’s life sometimes, right?” I nod. “Lets watch for it. I’ve only seen it a few times.”
I turn my eyes back towards the setting sun, which is now over halfway sunken in the horizon. It suddenly becomes very important to see the green flash, even if itisan illusion. Because what is life if you can’t hope to see something special. My eyes burn when I focus hard on the sun as it continues to dip in the sky.
And just as the last little bits disappear, I lean forward and…
Nothing.
“Did you see anything?” I ask him, sure that my tired eyes must have missed it.
“Nope. Not today,” he replies. “But that’s the great thing about living so close to the coast,” he says as he stands and tugs me up behind him. “Every day is a new chance.”
I smile up at him, happy to see that the sadness in his eyes is gone. “That’s a pretty romantic concept, Mister Jameson. I didn’t think you had it in you.”
He smirks, his playful side reappearing suddenly. “You have no idea what I’m capable of, pretty girl.”
* * * * *
An hour later, we’re sitting in light traffic, destination unknown, at least to me. After wrapping up the sunset, we walked back to Jeremy’s car and took a little detour through McDonalds. He was a little surprised when I ordered a triple cheeseburger and large fries. I just shrugged. I plan to take advantage of my ridiculously fast metabolism while I can.
“So where is this mysterious part two?” I ask as I take another huge bite of my cheeseburger and groan. “Seriously, I know this is made up of like, body parts, but it’s so. Dang. Good.”
Jeremy laughs and I chuck a fry at him.
“Well, we’ve got a few options,” he says, flicking his blinker and changing lanes.
“Oooooh, I like options. Hit me.”
“Well, first, we could go where I had originally planned, which is up into the mountains. September is a great month to possibly see meteor showers, but there’s too much light pollution in the city to see them.”
“Okay, stargazing. What else?”
“There’s a drive-in movie theatre in Alhambra that does 9pm showings.”
“Oh that sounds awesome,” I say, balling up the wrapper and shoving it into the paper bag.
“Or, we could head back to my place, and you could change. And we could watch a movie there.” He says this last option almost reluctantly. Which doesn’t make sense to me.
“Mister Jameson,” I say, flirtatiously. “After all your showboating and innuendo yesterday about having agood timetonight, are you a little shy about the idea of taking me home?”
He laughs, a little self-consciously. “Well, I just…” he clears his throat. “I’m having a great time tonight, and to be honest, Charlie, I would love nothing more than to take you home.” He puffs out a breath. “But I’m also okay if that doesn’t happen.”
He eyes me briefly before turning his attention back to the road. “We can do any of these things another time, or we can do them tonight. Completely up to you.”
Another time.
This whole date, I’ve been fighting internally with myself. His actions have been screaming that this isn’t a one-time deal. But his reputation is also fairly loud, and I haven’t been able to help the second-guessing, knowing that this was likely going to be a one and done. And I was okay with that. Earlier. I really was.
But I’m not anymore. This man has been sliding stealthily beneath my skin. The flirtation is heart-racing, but the sincerity and genuine interest is enough to prickle the backs of my eyes.
So now, I have to decide what I want.
Am I ready for whatever happens tonight if I go home with him?
I take him in where he sits behind the wheel, the lights from the highway passing us by in waves, his face going in and out of shadow. He’s so handsome. But what really makes me want to be around him is that good heart of his. The one that makes him look unsure sometimes. The one that loves and protects his sister.
And I know without a doubt that no matter what happens between us in the future, I want to go all in with him tonight.
I lean across the center console and place a soft kiss to his neck, just below his jaw.
