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"How does Dad know her?"
"She works at the restaurant."
"I knew you were going to say that. Me and Dad have a bet about which one of you is going to fall in love with the waitress first."
"Which one of who?"
"You or Isaac."
"I don't know about love, but I feel something. I like her, and right now she thinks I dislike her. I'm trying to remedy that."
"Have you tried explaining that to her in exactly those words?"
"No."
"That'd probably be a good place to start."
"I thought you were going to tell me I should send her flowers or something."
"I mean, not from what you're telling me. JD, as far as I'm concerned, you don't need to send flowers. I don't know this girl, but you're a catch. You're a good guy. You're a young, single hunk. You're a genuinely good person, and you have a lot of zeros in your bank account. What more could she want, and what's there to prove?"
"Yeah, you're right," JD said, sounding convinced even though he didn't mean it.
Gwen didn't understand the situation, and there was no use wasting any more time trying to explain it to her. JD changed the subject, asking his sister about the kids. They spoke for a few more minutes, and he got off the phone with her without saying any more about Jordan.
JD was already questioning his ability to communicate with women, and now he couldn't seem to get his point across to his sister. He was a black and white type of guy. He had never been one to express a whole lot of emotion. He wasn't even the type tohavea lot of emotions. He had never found himself in a scenario where he had hurt someone's feelings when he meant to do the exact opposite of that. This was all new to JD, but he was strong and determined. If there was a problem in his life, he was going to face it head-on and fix it.
Chapter 12
Jordan Matthews
I was mad and embarrassed when JD reacted coldly to me kissing him. I thought we had shared a moment during that second kiss, and it broke my heart when he just stood there afterward and told me I shouldn't have done it.
I thought about JD all night. I already knew a lot about him—definitely more than he thought I knew. I talked to his dad all the time at work, and he told me countless stories about JD. Jim told me enough about their life that I knew JD's mom had passed away and he raised the kids as a single dad. He had told me that family had chipped in with raising Gwen and JD, but he left out certain details—like the fact that he had two short marriages and a battle with alcoholism before he got his life back on track and took over the kitchen in the restaurant. Gwen and JD were teenagers by then. All of this, I learned through other people. I could tell Jim had regrets in life, but he was doing his best, and he truly loved his children.
Gwen lived out of state with her family, but they usually came to visit once or twice a year. This information was only the tip of the iceberg of things I had learned about JD and Gwen by talking to his dad.
In my heart, I knew him well. I thought I knew him well enough that I could kiss him. Even his dad seemed to be encouraging me about it.Who was I kidding? I just wanted to kiss him.I had liked JD ever since we met. He was everything I could ever want in a man. He was stable and smart. His face was flawless, and his physique was that of an athlete, which he was. JD was determined and focused on his own goals, but he cared about his family.
I had good conversations with JD. Sometimes we got along fine, but he was not shy about telling me what I should do differently in life, and apparently, kissing him was on the list of things I should not be doing. I thought about the kiss. I remembered how good it felt and how elated I had been, and then I would get waves of embarrassment when I remembered how he reacted to it.
I had no idea why JD was always disapproving of me. I knew I shouldn't let it get to me, but it was difficult. That kiss had not been a joke on my end. I wouldn't have done it had it not been for the mysterious salesman, but I secretly had new feelings for JD and I hoped he would like it and take me seriously.
Needless to say, it wasn't my best night.
Normally, I didn't care that I was single on Valentine's Day. There was no one in Taylorsville who I was pining over. But this Valentine's Day, I actually felt rejected, and it was no fun at all.
I knew there was no use in beating myself up about it, but I still went to the grocery store that evening to get some extra ice cream for my pity party.
I had to work the following day.
I was scheduled to go in at 11am, but I went early so I could go upstairs and say hello to Mrs. Blankenship. She was in good shape for her age and able to get out, but she didn't drive, so she depended on other people for rides. It was Sunday, and she already went to early church, but I went by her apartment twenty minutes before my shift started so we could visit. She expected me to come and always said how she looked forward to my visits. I was thankful that she had taken me in when that first room had fallen through.
We talked for about fifteen minutes, and then I told her I needed to be going downstairs to work my shift.
I had just made it downstairs and was walking toward the back entrance of the restaurant when I saw a young woman walking toward the alleyway.
I saw her round the corner, so I followed her. I made it just in time to see her disappear into a passageway that I didn't even know was there. The woman opened a door and disappeared into the wall. I watched for a minute to make sure she didn’t come back out, and then I walked a few steps closer to where she had been.
