The Date

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Surprisingly, things don’t get weird between me and Jax. If fact, I find it easier than ever to talk to him. We’ve exchanged numbers, and he sends me the funniest texts that always get me laughing out loud.

I see him at the music store Thursday, but I have Friday night off. Still, he asks me to come to the store and hang out, so I do.

He asks me my favorite color: plum purple, favorite breakfast: fried egg on toast, favorite animal: flamingo, and favorite scent: vanilla.

I already know most of his favorites from internet research, so instead I ask him more personal questions, like his favorite childhood memory: making food with his mom, or if he could pick a different period of time to live in, which would it be: he liked the present, but living in the twenties sounded kind of fun, too.

On Saturday morning there’s a lot more customers at the shop. Jax still hangs out for most of the day, poking his head into the store when he can and always making me laugh.

Instead of going straight home after work, I head to the mall and pick out a new shirt in my favorite color. Nothing in my closet is good enough for a date with Jax. When I get home, I spend time actually curling my hair and even put on a bit more makeup than just my mascara.

Before I know it, there’s a knock at the door. I hurry and swipe a bit of lip gloss on, take one last look in the mirror and fix a stray hair, then head down the stairs.

I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before, but my entire family is at the door welcoming Jax. And I mean everyone. My parents. My two older brothers. My little sister. Even our dog.

I rush down. worried about what they think, and especially anything Simon might say. But then I hear them all laugh, and I’m confident Jax has defused any worries they might have about him. He’s really good at that.

My dad invites Jax inside and I’m still standing in the middle of the staircase. Jax’s gaze goes right to me like he’s been waiting to see me this whole time. He gives me a smile and a little wave. I wave back, my face warm even though there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.

He’s wearing a t-shirt the same color as mine. He really paid attention.

I just want to leave, but Jax takes the time to sit down at our family table and have a conversation with everyone. Mom sits next to me, and I feel a nudge from her like she approves. Not that she wouldn’t. She’s known for a long time how I feel about Jax, too.

She could totally blow my cover right now since she’s been a Kpop fan along with me, but she must sense I don’t want her talking about it because she stays quiet. My mom is the coolest.

I was more worried about my dad being overprotective, anyway. But he and Jax seem to hit it off.

“Hey, Jax,” I say after a while. “Maybe we should go.”

Since he’s the master of conversation I’m sure he could sit here and chat all night, but we’re about to miss the movie.

“You’re right,” he says. “I’m late for everything because I talk too much.”

We excuse ourselves and wave goodbye. The family follows us to the porch, waiting while Jax walks me to his very nice car and opens my door.

I know he said this was just a date, but it’s already feeling like a fairytale.

“Your family’s awesome,” he says as he starts up the engine.

“Yeah,” I agree, “they’re pretty great.” And they are, except when my brothers are picking on me.

He puts the car in gear and starts down the street. “I promised your brothers I’d take care of you.”

“What do you mean?” There’s no reason he would need to make a promise like that to my brothers. They don’t really care about me.

“I was totally getting the protective big brother vibes in there, so I eased their fears.”

I laugh aloud. “Are you sure you were looking at my brothers? Because I think you’re mistaken.”

He had no idea the amount of crap my brothers gave me. There was no way they cared one way or another about who I was dating. My parents, yes, but not my brothers. They were probably only there because they were curious about Jax. I’m surprised Simon didn’t say anything about Jax being Chinese, or the fact that I once had pictures on Jax on my bedroom wall.

“Hey,” Jax says, drawing my attention to him. “Brothers are like that. My brother, who lives in Australia, was the same. His daughter, my niece, is like a little sister to me. I tease her all the time. But if anyone tried to disrespect her, I’d be on them in an instant.”

“That’s sweet,” I say, moving my focus to the scenery outside, “but my brothers aren’t like that.” I know it’s them joking, but sometimes they really hurt my feelings when they dislike the things I like.

“They might surprise you.”

I don’t want to talk about this anymore, so I change the subject. “Tell me about your niece. What’s she like?”

“She’s only the cutest thing on the planet. I keep trying to get my brother to move here so I can spend more time with them.”

Jax ends up telling me memories of his family until we reach the movie theater. He finds a spot and turns off the engine but doesn’t get out right away. He grips the steering wheel, watching the other patrons walk inside like he’s nervous one of them will recognize him.

“Hey,” I say. “Let’s skip the popcorn and go straight into the theater. I think we’ve already missed the previews.”

“Okay,” he says, letting out a breath like he’s pulling his nerves together. “I can do that.”

Both of us are silent as we head inside, and Jax keeps his head down until we’re in the screening room and safely in one of the back row of seats.

Surprisingly, the previews haven’t started yet and they’re playing the most annoying commercials. Jax and I poke fun at the awkward plumbing service ad and end up getting really giggly as we make up our own lines to what the people on screen are saying.

The lights dim as the previews begin and I go stiff. My hand is draped on the armrest between us, and it would be easy for him to just take it and interlace our fingers.

I wouldn’t be opposed to that, so I leave my hand there, just to see what he might do. Our knees keep drifting near each other, but they never quite touch and it has all my nerves on full alert.

Sure enough, the movie he picked is a superhero film packed with everything I asked for, but I hardly pay attention to it. Every time Jax shifts, I feel it. His upper arm presses against mine— twice—and I even catch him looking at me in the middle of an action-packed scene.

He never takes my hand, though. I’d be lying if I said I’m not disappointed, but at the same time, I was the one who told him I just wanted to hang out, nothing more.

When the lights turn up, I breathe a sigh of relief. It feels safer somehow, less pressure. I almost get out of my chair, but Jax slumps with his head down, that same energy emanating out of him that he had in the car.

“Usually they have an extra scene at the end of the credits,” I say, settling in. If we’re the last ones out, chances are, no one will recognize him. Luckily they have the extra scene, but even then I wait until the theater empties, except for the employees.

“Hey,” I say, nudging him. “They have an exit at the front of the theater that goes straight to the parking lot.”

“Okay,” he says, his voice strained.

I take the lead and leave first. Jax walks really close to me, and I suspect he might be hiding behind my back. Even if he’s still avoiding being seen, I’m glad we’ve taken this first baby step. Maybe in time he won’t be afraid to be seen.

We make it to the parking lot without incident, and then to his car. He’s still hyper aware of his surroundings, but makes a point to open my door anyway.

When we’re both safely inside, he relaxes and bangs his head against the steering wheel. I say nothing, wondering if I’ve pushed him too far too fast by bringing him here.

“I did it!” he shouts, pumping his fists in the air and hitting the padding on the roof of his car.

I can’t help but smile at his smile. He playfully pushes at my shoulder. “We did it. I did it. Nothing happened.”

“Yes,” I say. “You had nothing to worry about.”

“You’re right,” he says. “Are you hungry? We should go through a drive-thru somewhere. We need celebratory ice cream.”

I laugh. “Sure.”

We end up grabbing shakes from a local burger joint and driving around aimlessly, even though it’s late. My curfew is midnight, and I want to soak up every second. The moon is huge tonight and it follows us like it’s attracted to Jax’s light.

“What superpower would you have if you could do anything?” Jax asks.

My face hurts from smiling with him so much, but I can’t seem to stop.

“I’ll have to ponder that one.”

“I know what I’d do,” Jax says. “Snap your fingers and potatoes turn into fries. Snap them again with beef, and viola steak.”

My stomach rolls with laughter. “So you’re saying if you could have any ability in the whole world, you’d want your food to be cooked with a snap of your fingers?”

“Yes,” he says. “Think how much time you’d save. And money. No more eating out, just snap your fingers a few times, and you have a delicious home-cooked meal in front of you.”

“Seriously?”

“Of course. I swear it takes three times as long to make something as it does to eat it.”

I shake my head. “What about cleaning up afterwards?”

“You’re right,” he says. “I’d want to add that. Wiggle my nose and the kitchen is clean.”

He wiggles his nose to emphasize his point and I’m seized with the giggles. Why is he so dang cute?

Before I know it, he’s turning into my neighborhood and down my street. I don’t want our conversation to end, but I also respect that he’s taking me home on time.

When we pull up to my house, he asks me to stay in my seat so he can open the door once more. He even offers me his hand to get out. I expect him to let go once I’m standing, but he adjusts his grip so his fingers are laced through mine.

I turn his direction to find him staring at me.

“I was really nervous in the theater,” he says, “which is why I didn’t hold your hand.”

“Oh?” All the time I spent watching Jax as a celebrity made me think he was invincible to nerves. He always loved the attention. Something changed after he left, and my greatest wish is to see him whole again.

“Truthfully,” he continues, “I haven’t really dated before now. I spent most of my teen years chasing a dream instead of thinking about girls, and I’ve been a shut-in for the past year. So...yeah, this is new to me.”

Crap, now is the moment my face would choose to flame up? I stare at our weaved hands as I speak. “Me, too. Not the chasing-a-dream part, but the dating.”

He cranes his neck so he’s in my line of vision and I meet his eyes. “I didn’t think I’d fall for a younger girl, but here we are.”

I suck in air as my eyes widen. Did Jax Yang just say he’s fallen for me? This must be a dream.

He steps forward and hugs me with his free arm. “I should go,” he says into my ear. “I think your family is watching.”

He lets me go, and I stand in my driveway, stunned. There’s no way that really happened. I mean, I held his hand! His skin was warm and smooth, nothing at all like my previous dreams. The feel of his breath on my neck as he whispered to me sent goose flesh all over my neck. Nothing in my imagination could compare to that happening, but I can’t accept it as reality. It was too amazing. With my mind blank, my feet begin to shuffle to the front door. Once inside I lean against the wall, still trying to pull myself together.

“Jackie,” Simon, my older brother says, standing in the entryway.

I startle, then clear my throat. The last thing I want right now is to be teased, so I try to get to my room without acknowledging him, but he stops me.

“What do you want?” I ask, jaw clenched.

He shifts his weight, looking uncomfortable. “I just...” His raises his head, planting his feet. “If that guy gives you any trouble, let me know.”

I recoil. “Excuse me?”

Simon narrows his eyes. “He better treat you well, is all,” he says, leaving the room.

Great, now I’ve been stunned twice in ten minutes. There’s no way Simon would really say that to me. Maybe after I get some sleep I can make sense of this day, because right now it all seems like a hallucination.