Jacob's POV
Monday
I arrived at the church at my usual time to start working and I was taking my first break when Greg sat down beside me on the ground and handed me a bottle of water.
"My fiancée has good intentions." Greg said as I took the water bottle.
"Lauren has been her friend since pre-k." He said when I didn't say anything and I nodded my head.
"How long have you known them?" I asked.
"I moved here in 5th grade so since then and Lauren was always part of the welcoming committee. She was usually the first person you met." He said smiling and I nodded my head.
"Yeah she strikes me as that type of person." I said.
I drank some of the water after that.
"Lauren is well liked around here so just tread carefully okay. I am not saying you can't date her I am just saying if you do there is going to be a lot of people watching you two." He said before standing up and walking away.
The rest of the work day went by fast and when it was over with I went back to the motel. Since Tony left early this morning to go back to Portland, I just took a shower before changing into a new pair of shorts then looking at some take-out menus. I was sitting on the bed still looking at take-out menus when my cell phone made a noise. I picked it up and looked to see I had a new message but I didn't know the number. I unlocked the phone and opened the message to see the message said hey its Lauren, are you hungry. I laughed before shaking my head then texted back I was looking at take-out menus; why were you thinking of taking me up on the redo on the date I messed up? After a little bit she texted back, I was thinking about heading to Jade Palace if you want to join me. I texted back okay before getting off of my bed and walking towards the dresser to find some clothes to wear.
Lauren's POV
I had just got finished ordering some food at Jade Palace when I saw Jacob walk in. He was wearing a dark pair of shorts along with a white t-shirt. He looked around and when he couldn't find me he asked the hostess at the door something to which she smiled at him before pointing towards the table I was at. He looked towards the table then smiled when he saw me before saying thank you to the hostess.
"You really do like Chinese food don't you." Jacob said as he sat down across from me at the table.
"This is one of the best places to eat here so anyone from around here would be crazy to not like Chinese food." I said and he laughed a little bit before grabbing a menu.
"I kind of already ordered so I hope you don't mind." I said and he looked at me before nodding his head.
"Ok; so I'm in for a surprise again huh." He said putting the menu down and interlacing his fingers together in front of him.
"But next time I get to order for both of us." He said.
"Next time." I said in a surprised voice.
"Yeah if there is a next time I will order for both of us." He said as the waitress returned with our drinks.
"Thanks." I said smiling at the waitress and she nodded her head at me before walking away.
He picked up his drink and drunk some of it.
"Dr. Pepper; someone asked Greg about me." He said after he sat his drink down.
"No; more like I visit the site and you just don't notice." I said and he nodded his head at me.
"Uh, I guess I need to start paying more attention to my surroundings then." He said smiling.
"Hey Lauren, how are you?" Josie (I went to high school with her and she moved away like 3 years ago but she comes back every now and then) asked stopping at the table.
"Good; I didn't know you were back in town." I said quickly standing up and hugging her then she smiled at me.
"Just a quick visit with the husband." She said smiling really big at me then pointing towards where Henry (her high school sweetheart) was sitting and I nodded my head.
"I'm glad to see that is still going great." I said smiling at her and she smiled even bigger.
"Yeah he really is my soul mate." She said smiling back at Henry then at me.
She looked to see Jacob after that and as soon as she saw his tattoo she stopped smiling before looking at me.
"Who's your friend?" She asked looking at me.
"This is Jacob; he's new here. He's originally from Portland." I said and she nodded her head before looking back at Jacob.
"Jacob, this is Josie we went to high school together." I said looking at Jacob.
"Nice to meet you Josie." Jacob said smiling at her and holding his right hand out towards her.
"You too." She said without shaking his hand and taking a step away from him.
"Look we should catch up soon; you still have my number right." She said turning to face me and smiling at me.
"Yeah I still have it." I said nodding my head.
"Good; call me whenever you have some free time and we'll set something up it's been too long Lauren." She said before hugging me one last time then she walked away.
After she walked away, I sat back down at the table and Jacob was drinking some of his drink.
"I'm sorry about that." I said looking at him.
"No need to apologize. I'm use to people like that." He said in a mad voice as he put down his drink.
"Doesn't make it right Jacob." I said.
He smiled at me before nodding his head.
"You truly are different than most people." He said shaking his head at me.
"I was raised not to judge someone based on their appearances etc." I said before drinking some of my drink and he nodded his head.
The waitress brought our food not long after that and the rest of the time we ate in silence. When it came time to pay for the food, Jacob insisted on paying for all of it and not halving it like I wanted to do. When we got outside the restaurant, he asked if he could walk me home. I told him he could and he smiled at me. For the first part of the walk, we just walked close to each other and didn't talk.
"Did you have fun tonight?" He asked when we were half way to my house.
"Yeah; did you?" I asked.
"Yeah I did." He said smiling at me.
"And I would very much like to do it again if you let me." He said.
As he said that, I felt him put his left hand on the small of my back as we walked close together.
"Sure." I said and he smiled really big.
"Alright and this time I get to pick the place." He said and I laughed a little bit.
"Ok you can be in control of the date." I said and he smiled at me.
When we got to my house, we stopped on the porch and I started to get out my keys.
"Lauren." He said.
I looked up at him after I got the keys out of my purse and he smiled at me.
"Is a good night kiss on the cheek out of the question?" He asked.
I bit the bottom of my lip and his eyes went to my lips.
"I guess that would be okay." I said and he smiled at me.
He took a step closer to me then leaned down and kissed my left cheek.
"Good night Lauren." He said stepping away from me and finally taking his hand away from the small of my back.
"Good night Jacob." I said before turning towards my door and unlocking it.
He stayed on the porch until I walked inside and shut the door behind me.
Tuesday
Jacob's POV
I wasn't at the job site for long before Reverend Thomas stopped beside me.
"What are your intentions with my daughter?" He asked in a low voice since people were walking past us.
I shook my head before nodding my head.
"This place can be small sometimes." He said still in a low voice when I didn't say anything.
"So I'm starting to see." I said in a low voice and looking at him.
"Your daughter is a very nice girl." I said still in a low voice.
"That she is and she likes to see the best in people." He said and I nodded my head.
"So don't play with her or string her along." He said before walking away.
I shook my head before running my right hand through my hair.