“Alone?” he asked.
“No, not alone.” Jason reached for my hand and intertwined my fingers with his.
“Sorry, man, but your girlfriend is fuckin’ beautiful.” The man smiled and winked, Jason moved in front of me and glared at the guy.
“I know, that’s why she’s mine,” he hissed.
The man bowed his head and held up his hands. “Don’t want any trouble. Just wanted to try my luck on such a gorgeous girl.”
I blushed. I seriously blushed.
“Too bad. You’re too late,” Jason added and pulled me to him. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and began walking us down the boardwalk.
Half an hour passed and Jason still didn’t say a word to me.
“Umm…” I started, unsure how to do this, but I figured we were friends and I'm supposed to talk to him like one. “Are we going to talk or are you going to ignore me the rest of the time we’re here?” I stepped in front of him, making him stop. He looked at me, his grey eyes pulling me in.
“I'm sorry,” Jason said softly.
“For what?” I asked confused with where this was going.
“You might have been interested in that guy and I stepped in.” He looked away now.
My heart winced a little. Why couldn’t he see I was interested in him? Why couldn’t I muster up the courage to say it? The age thing scared the shit out of me. The man was maybe five years younger than me, plus I had told him about what had happened to me. No, there was no way this was going to work out the way I wanted.
“Look, Jason, I wasn’t interested. I was flattered, but I wasn’t interested. I'm here with you, and apparently, we’re supposed to be having fun, which I am having ever since I handed your ass back on a Tekken plate.” I laughed.
“That’s not funny,” he murmured.
“Well, it is to me.”
The sounds of Coney Island were great to hear; kids laughing, machinery working as rides were in full swing. I dragged Jason to the Sideshow by the Seashore and enjoyed the weird and the strange talents of the performers, who were dressed up in different old school get-ups. He laughed and I finally felt relaxed. I teased him the rest of the day as we ate pizza and some ice cream from Ruby’s Bar and Grill.
“God! This is so good!” I stuffed my face with ice cream.
“It should be, since you ate three scoops.”
I narrowed my eyes and stared.
“Never mention the amount of food I eat. I realize it’s freakish, but I don’t want to hear it,” I warned. He nodded as if he understood.
“Maybe we should go back to the sideshows and ask them if they need anyone,” he said flatly. I hit his chest and he started to laugh.
“Come on, let’s get you home.”
We slowly headed back. It almost felt like we didn’t want the night to end. Well, I didn’t. It was one of the best days I had ever spent. The sun was now setting, painting the sky with reddish hues, as the sky above it had grown dark and the first stars began to appear. Yeah, this would have been the best first date I ever had, had it been a date.
We headed towards the car. Jason held the door open for me and I slid in. We drove off, back to the reality of Manhattan and my deadline, which was due today. I didn’t tell him, only because my heart really wanted to spend the day with him. I switched on my phone and I had plenty of messages and missed texts. I only had one chapter left and it wasn’t a big deal. I texted Darios and told him I was okay, I was just out for the day. He was angry that I didn’t text back quicker, but was glad I was safe. Tiff was angry, but I told her that I would be sending the stuff by the end of the night. Midnight was my cut-off.
“Everything okay?” he asked, looking at the road ahead of him.
“Yeah, just fine. Needed to text some people, that’s all.”
I was mesmerized by the way he drove, his hand wrapped around the top of the steering wheel, while his other hand held onto the gear stick. He got silent in the car and so did I. The atmosphere around us had gotten awkward again.
After forty minutes of silence, we reached my home.
“So…” I said.
“So…” he repeated.
“Do you want to come in for a beer? I know Darios leaves a few here for himself,” I offered, hoping he would take it.
“Sure.” He smiled and my heartbeat quickened.
He parked the car and we headed inside.
“Hey, there’s a package here for you.” He grabbed it and handed it to me. I stared at the writing. It was similar to the one I had gotten before.
“What is it?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Nothing.”
I fished my keys out and unlocked the door. I turned on the lights. My home phone began to ring and I ran for it, but it was too late, the machine got it before I could. Garbage’s song “I Would Die for You” began to play. I threw the box on the counter, went over to my phone and turned down the message. I had thirty missed calls.