About fifteen minutes later, we arrive at a small food truck. Jack glides the bike near an empty picnic table and kicks the kickstand down, turning the bike off once it's securely parked. I unclasp the fastener on the strap, and Jack helps me take the helmet off. I quickly attend to my hair, smoothing it down and running my fingers through it.
"I'd get used to it if I were you," Jack says with a laugh, placing the helmet on the back of the bike. I look at him, confused.
"Why would I get used to it?" He gives me a playful look, but I'm still confused.
"Follow me," he leads me towards the food truck, and I look at the menu on the side panel. "I usually just get chocolate." He says, pointing to the chocolate option. I nod and scan their selection.
"I think I'll get the strawberry cheesecake," I say, pointing to the one I want. Jack follows my finger and grins.
"My little brother always gets that one," he chuckles, and I feel myself smile.
"You have a little brother?" I ask, and he nods. Before he can pay again, I grab the twenty-dollar bill out of my wallet and bump him out of my way. He bursts out of a laugh as I tell the operator the order.
"I could have paid," Jack laughs.
"You wouldn't let me pay at the restaurant, so now I get to pay for fro-yo," I say over my shoulder at him. He laughs again as I put my change into my wallet. A few minutes later, I'm handed our order. Jack meets me at the picnic table with two spoons, and instead of sitting across from me, he sits beside me. I take a bite of my dessert and nod. The sun is setting from behind us, but the warm colors of the darkening sky is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. I'm rarely ever out at dusk.
"This is really good," I say. "Your brother has good taste." Jack chuckles.
"He's a good kid,"
"How old is he?" I ask. He takes his phone out and slides his thumb across the screen a few times before showing me the screen. "He's three."
"Aww," I say, taking his phone and looking at the picture. "He's adorable." He has the same color of eyes as Jack but has blond hair and dimples.
"What's his name?" I ask.
"Nicholas," Jack says, and I smile at the picture. "But we call him Nick."
"He's super cute."
"He's a charmer alright," Jack chuckles as I hand his phone back to him. "Look here." I look over at him, and he's holding his phone at me as if to take a picture. I quickly cover my face, and he laughs.
"Aww, come on," I can't help but laugh while shaking my head. "Please?" I sigh and look over at him, heart jumping at the pleading look in his eyes. I sigh and decide why not, it wouldn't hurt anyone. I smile at him, and he grins, raising his phone and snapping a photo.
"Let me see it," I say, reaching for his phone, but he holds it out of reach.
"No," I stare at him incredulously.
"What, why not?" He looks at the screen, and I reach for it again, but again, he holds it away from me. "Jack." I groan. He grins at me, and he turns his phone off and stuffs it in his pocket.
"It's a great picture, don't worry," I narrow my eyes suspiciously at him.
"What are you going to do with it?" I ask, and he shrugs. I continue to narrow my eyes at him, and he looks at me.
"What do you think I'm going to do with it?" He asks, leaning towards me, his eyes also narrowed playfully.
"I don't know, why don't you tell me?" It doesn't take me long before I realize how close we are to each other. He's a foot away, his hand resting on my knee. When did that get there? His hand is hot through my jeans, and it sends goosebumps through my entire body. His eyes soften, and he's staring at me, mouth slightly open as if he'd suddenly realized something.
"What?" I ask softly, and he shakes his head, eyes never leaving mine.
"Nothing," his voice is barely above a whisper. Suddenly, his other hand is lifting, and his thumb is brushing across my cheek, causing my eyes to widen with surprise. My breath catches as his hand then caresses my face, thumb smoothing across my skin. His hand is warm against my cool cheek, and I lean into it subconsciously. I find myself getting lost in his eyes again, the world fading away to where it's only him and me. The distance between us narrows as he moves closer.
His eyes quickly dart from my eyes to my lips, and I subconsciously lick them, Jack's eyes instantly dilating. My heart races in my chest as I try to remember how to breathe. My stomach is flipping with butterflies as the thumb on my knee begins to etch tender circles into my skin.
Suddenly, someone honks their horn, tearing Jack and me apart, his hand falling from my face as we jump. My face burns as I turn back to my fro-yo. Where his hands were are suddenly cold, and I glance over at him to see his jaw clenched. I begin to eat my dessert as I try to process what just happened. It's silent as a new kind of awkward settles between us. Was he trying to kiss me? From the look that was on his face, I would say yes, but why? Why would he want to kiss me?
My mind jumps back to the times where he called me cute and gorgeous. Did that mean he liked me? My butterflies roar back to life. Of course, he didn't like me. He was just being nice. Right? But being nice didn't warrant him touching my face or looking at me like that.
We finish our fro-yo and silently get on the bike. Jack still helps me don the helmet, and when we make eye contact, he smiles at me. We straddle the bike, and I hesitate to wrap my arms around him when he looks at me over his shoulder, eyes expectant. He takes my hands, wrapping them around his torso. Again, his hands linger over mine, and I have the sudden urge that I want to hold his hand.
He kicks the kickstand, and we're off back towards my house. Every so often, his hand will touch mine and linger there as if to make sure I was still there. I can't seem to figure out how I feel. Jack is handsome, but there's something else drawing me into him, and I can't figure out what it is. When he looks at me, I feel warm and essential, as if I meant something to him. But what? What would I mean to him? I barely know him. And he barely knows me. All we are is just classmates and working on a project together. It would be ridiculous to think that we'd be anything other than that.
We're back at my house in what seems like a blink of an eye. I climb off the bike, and he kicks the stand down. He's quick to assist me doffing the helmet, even though we both know I'm capable of taking it off myself.
"Thanks," I say softly as he places it back on the bike. He smiles at me.
"Of course," I give him a tight smile before leading him towards the house. I unlock the door and turn on the lights, kicking off my shoes and heading for the kitchen.
"I can finish the project tonight," I say, flipping the light on and gathering my things on the table together.
"You know," Jack says, and I look at him. "You don't have to do it by yourself anymore." I sigh and shrug.
"I'm just used to doing everything by myself, so," Jack smiles at me.
"Well get used to not doing everything alone," I look at him, confused, but all he does is put his things away in his backpack.
"Jack, really, I can finish it," he shakes his head, and I'm starting to get annoyed.
"I'll finish it and show it to you at lunch, alright?" He fixes me with a look, eyes persistent, and I sigh, nodding.
"Okay," he grins, and my annoyance flutters away. He slings his backpack over his shoulder, and I walk him to the door.
"Thanks for a fun night out," he says, and my face burns as I shrug.
"If that's what you call fun, you must be pretty boring," I can't help but smile at the laugh that he bursts out. He smiles at me, eyes filling with adoration. I catch his hand lifting towards me before he drops it, and stuffs it in his pocket.
"See you tomorrow," he says, and I open the door for him.
"Goodnight," he suddenly turns to me, taking my hand, and my eyes widen as he kisses my knuckles, his eyes mischievous and playful.
"Goodnight, Riley." My name is soft on his tongue, and it sends a wave of warmth through my body as my stomach fills with butterflies. I watch him walk to his bike, where he dons the helmet and waves goodbye to me. His motorcycle roars to life, and he waves to me one more time before he rides down the street. I take a deep breath and head back inside, cleaning up my things before heading up to my room.
I sit down at my desk and open my drawer, seeing the paper with his number on it. I wonder what is stopping me from merely putting his number in my phone. Suddenly, I hear the back door open and Jessica's loud laugh. I sigh and watch her, and a few of her friends come up the stairs to her room. They slam her door closed, and a few seconds later, her room is thudding with loud music.
I roll my eyes, close my door, and grab my earbuds. I turn on my own music and return back to my desk, where Jack's phone number is still on the table. I enter his number and send him a message.
You better send me that photo, or I'm going to assume you're going to use it for evil.
Before I can change my mind, I hit send and put it away as I try to focus on my other homework. I'm halfway through reading my English homework when my phone buzzes. I don't hesitate about grabbing my phone and feel my heart jump at the message from Jack.
Now what kind of evil do you think I'd use it for?
My face burns as I type my reply.
Well, I don't know, why don't you just send it to me and I won't assume the worst.
He replies back instantly.
Nah, I think I'll keep it to myself. But don't worry. I won't share it with anyone else.
But why would he want it? What could he possibly hope to gain by keeping my picture?
If it's bad, you better not blackmail me with it.
Riley, what kind of person do you think I am?
I felt bad. I am assuming the worst about Jack.
I'm sorry. Just forget I said anything.
It's a few minutes pass, and my phone is suddenly buzzing like crazy, and I see that he's calling me.
"Hello?"
"I'll send you the picture on one condition," Jack says from the other line.
"See! You are gonna blackmail me for it!" He bursts out a laugh, and I can't help but smile.
"That isn't how blackmailing works, Riley," he chuckles, and my face burns.
"Okay, then what is your condition, and depending on what you say, I'll decide whether it's blackmail or not."
"Alright," he laughs, and my smile fades as I hear him take a deep breath. Is he nervous? About what? "Go on a date with me."
Almost instantly, I hear my heartbeat in my ears as I feel myself stop breathing. Did... Did he just say what I think he just said? A date? What?!
"You can say no if you want," he says quickly. "It's completely optional. I just thought... I just thought that we had a really good time tonight, together, and I want to do it again." I don't know how to answer. I don't know what to say. My entire body is screaming at me to say yes, but another part of me wants to say no. I'm afraid of what Jessica will do.
"I... I..." I sigh, shaking my head. "I know that Jessica really likes you. Maybe you should ask her." It's silent, and I immediately regret saying anything.
"Jessica? What? Riley, I'm asking you, I don't care about her," Jack says, confused.
"But... Why me? I mean, I had fun tonight, but it wouldn't be like that all the time," I say softly. "I'm boring, and you'd honestly have a much better time with someone else."
"You aren't boring, and I really doubt I'd have a better time with anyone else," he says knowingly, his voice gentle. "I know it's a lot to ask, but I like you, Riley, and I want to go on a date with you, a real date." My face burns. He likes me? But why? What about me does he like so much that he'd rather go on a date with me than with someone else, someone like Jessica?
"Can I think about it?" I ask. What if he says no, what if he says that this is a one-time offer? Then I'd never be able to go on a date with him again.
"Of course," he says, and I'm surprised that I can hear the smile in his voice. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay," I nod. "Goodnight, Jack."
"Goodnight, Riley." I can still hear the smile in his voice. We hang up, and I cover my face with my hands as I take a deep breath. I can't seem to figure out how I feel, and it's driving me crazy.