9
Jessa woke up the next morning to Megan standing at the small coffee machine in the room brewing a cup. The smell immediately had Jessa sitting up.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Megan said. She handed Jessa the paper coffee cup from the small stash next to the machine.
“Mmm. Thank you.” Jessa took a sip and closed her eyes as the warm liquid traveled through her body.
Megan took her cup off the coffee machine and put the lid on before sliding onto her bed and turning toward Jessa with her legs crossed.
“Sooooooo, how did the date go?”
Jessa had gotten back late. After dinner, they walked through the town a bit until it got too cold. Then they stayed in Noah’s truck in the resort parking lot, chatting until nearly midnight. By the time she got back to the room, Megan was asleep.
“It was really great,” Jessa said. A small smile crossed her face at all the laughs she shared with Noah. At no point during the date did she want it to end. She was enjoying herself far too much. Much more than she had expected.
Megan stared at Jessa over her cup with a knowing smile on her face. “Look at you all smitten with a boy.”
“Am not.” Jessa hid her smile by taking a sip of her drink.
“Oh please. You were out late with him and nonstop smiling now. I didn’t receive any 911 texts.”
“Just because I didn’t send you a text to bail me out doesn’t mean anything. I’m capable of staying on a date for the entire duration.”
Jessa had a knack for asking Megan to bail her out of dates. It became a running joke between them, but Megan always followed through with a fake emergency that allowed Jessa to escape.
“Uh huh. I don’t remember the last time you made it through an entire date without a 911 text.”
Jessa rolled her eyes and changed the subject. “Hey, let’s go to that coffee shop. I’d like to get a pastry and a better cup of coffee.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”
The two friends took turns getting ready in the bathroom before they slipped on their boots and coats. When they got down to the lobby, Jessa heard her name called. She looked around and spotted the lady she saw last night standing behind the front desk.
Jessa looked at Megan and whispered, “I think that’s Noah’s mom.”
Jessa and Megan walked over to the woman, who smiled brightly at them.
“Hi. I don’t know if you remember me from last night, but I’m Karen, Noah’s mom,” she said, holding out her hand to shake Jessa’s.
Jessa took her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Then she shook Megan’s, who introduced herself.
Karen leaned across the counter. “Now, did he treat you well?”
Megan giggled.
Jessa shot her a look before turning back to Karen. “Yes. Like a perfect gentleman.”
“Good.” Karen raised her eyebrows. “Did you treat him well?”
Jessa looked at Karen dumbfounded and her mouth opened and closed a few times before she replied. Megan snickered beside her. “Um… yes?”
She opened her mouth to say something else when a door opened behind her and an older man stepped out. He was an older version of Noah, and clearly his father. He looked at Jessa before looking over at Karen.
“Karen, you aren’t giving her a hard time, are you?”
Karen’s eyes widened in innocence. “Me? I would never.”
