Sunday was the easy day. No work, so I got to sleep in and nothing to worry about except the kids. Talia, the eldest of the two, has big blue eyes and curly blond hair. Her brother, Brayden, who is two years younger than her has green eyes and his hair spiked up into a mini Mohawk. They're the most beautiful kids I have ever seen and I didn't think it was possible to love a human that much, but now I know it is undoubtedly possible.

"Brayden, stop biting your sister, Talia, stop kicking your brother!"

As cute as kids are, they still try to kill each other and themselves all day. So, when I do get the chance to watch them every once in a while I'm usually spending it pulling them apart and trying to keep them in somewhat near the same condition as I was given them. But still, some days are easier than others.

My phone went off and I picked it up off of the cold windowsill because that's about the only place anyone can get service in my house. A picture message popped up from Jon. He was standing next to DGD, a bottle of beer in his hand, and was sweating like a pig. A small giggle escaped my mouth and I read the text.

Wish you had come

after all. Was an

amazing performance.

The guys were awesome.

Hagd. -Jon

I sat down and texted back

Looks like you had

fun! Obviously the

music would be good

I mean, it's DGD.

Gtg, tho. Ttys.

A smile came across my face without me even realizing it. I tried to push the thoughts out of my mind. I shouldn't like him, I know I shouldn't, but he's making it so hard not to. Luckily, my two little distractions were able to take my mind off things momentarily because they had just broken out into fight over cheerios: round 2.

...

"Can I ask you a random question?" I asked Sam.

It was Monday morning and we had just sat down in pre-calculus. Although I don't know Sam that well, I still trust her a lot more than some other people I hung out with. She was actually the first person I had met when I decided to come to minuteman. Well, her and Jasmine. Jasmine is Sam's best friend and the only time they're not together is during classes and trust me, if they could change it they probably would.

"Of course." she said, sitting down.

"Ok. Opinion, what age difference can two people have who are dating before it gets creepy?"

"Hm. Well, it depends, but I'd say like, eight years maybe. Well, it depends on the age of the couple. Because if it's like some twenty year old guy and a four year old girl, that's just completely and utterly wrong." she rationalized herself.

That's something Sam does a lot. She's always ranting about something or other, but it's entertaining, so I don't really have anything to complain about.

She was just sitting there, just looking at me and waiting for my reaction to her response. I sat there, looking at her, and trying to think of something, anything to say to break the awkward silence.

"Alright." I said.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"I just wanted to know."

"Is there a guy?"

I sighed in my thoughts and nodded. I hate lying to people. Even if it's a white lie, I just can't do it. My face goes red and then everything just kind of shuts down. My mind becomes fried. Much like after I get out of pre-calculus.

"Oh! Who is he?" she exclaimed.

"Shhh." I said, I didn't want the whole world to know "He's my manager."

"Well, how old is he?" she asked, now very into our conversation all of a sudden.

I debated on whether telling her would be a good idea. Both her and Jasmine are pretty open-minded people so, I don't think they'd go run off and turn him in, but I'm not too sure about the entire thing myself. I sucked it in, and decided not to worry about it.

"Thirty three." I responded.

During break after he had left for the concert I was curious and went into the office. On the payroll papers his birth date was printed clearly at the top. Like some number coded TOP SECRET stamp. Something that I thought I'd never tell anyone.

Sam made a face.

"Don't judge me!" I said, desperate for some confirmation that I wasn't completely insane.

"I'm not. Is he hot?" she asked.

Another thing about Sam, she's also very blunt. I had to think about it. He had a good head of dark brown hair that easily framed his angled face. His stubble wasn't enough to make him look like a biker and he kept it pretty much at a five o'clock shadow. His brown eyes were kind and playful at the same time. I almost drifted off into a daydream before her smiling face reminded me of what I was doing.

"Yeah, he is good-looking." I answered, a little embarrassed.

"Then I say go for it."

I smiled "Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, obviously be cautious, but go for it. He's good-looking and you like him, so who cares?"

"I guess." I didn't want to commit to anything.

I spent most of the class afterwards just thinking about how I was even going to try to respond to Jon. If I said yes, it would make things completely awkward at work. Well, more awkward than they already are. If I said no, he might be mad at me and I'd have to deal with all the bullshit at work. I mean, if I said no, he couldn't really blame me. I have perfectly good reason. If I say yes... well, then everyone could blame me. Especially the law.

I went through the rest of the day in a daze, just eager to get home. Everything was kind of confusing and a little bit irritating. Unfortunately, when I finally got home I had so much homework to do that I had no time to think. Between English and Physics I wasn't sure if I was even going to be able to sleep tonight.

My phone rang and a dove to answer it.

"Hello?" I spoke into the receiver.

"Hey Bethanny, it's Jon."

Great. Just what I need.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing. I was just making sure you're alright and everything. You were kind of a little jumpy the other day."

Well, of course I was jumpy.

"I'm fine."

"Are you really fine or are you just saying your fine?" he asked.

I thought for a second. What an odd question to ask. For once, I didn't really have an answer.

"Hello?" Jon asked.

"Oh, hi. Yeah, I'm okay."

"Alright. Well, have you thought about it at all?"

"About what?"

Maybe if I play dumb he'll just give up...

"About tomorrow." he chuckled. It was making it hard to say no.

"Uh, yeah. I've thought about it." More like it's been all I've been thinking about.

"And?"

"And... how does five thirty sound?" I held my breath. Did I really just do that?

"Five thirty sounds perfect."

"Alright."

"Alright. It's a date."

My heart pounded in my chest like a drum.

"See you then." I managed to say

"Bye."

I hung up and flopped onto the couch. What did I just do?

"Ugh! This is so exciting!"

At least someone's happy about it, I thought as I watched Sam clap and a few other kids look on with confusing eyes.

"What are you going to wear?" she asked, not dwindling in any enthusiasm.

"I don't know? Clothes?" I hadn't really thought that far out yet.

"No, Bethanny, I thought you were going to go in your underwear."

"Well, I don't know! He told me to dress warmly. So, warm clothes."

"God. If I were you I would have already had everything picked out." she said, looking at me like I was insane.

Luckily, the conversation was interrupted by the math teacher, who for some odd reason decided that he actually wanted to teach math today. The rest of the day flew by. Physics was fun and English almost put me to sleep so by the time I went home I was exhausted. I made my mother something to eat and did some of my homework. Not having to work until Thursday was unfortunately going to kill my paycheck and not my boredom. I went to bed early and tried to will any anxiety away.

The next day was filled with difficult work and awkward questions asking if I was nervous. I tried to keep myself quiet and focus, but it got harder and harder to do so. My mind kept on wandering. My eyes checked my phone every three minutes, expecting a text from Jon saying that he had other plans, that his tire had flattened, or that he just plain came to his senses and decided not to like me anymore. That everything was a mistake and, hey, he's sorry, but he doesn't know what he was thinking asking out a girl like me.

But it never came and I went home as I did every other day. Same old bus ride, same old homework routine. An hour before he was scheduled to come, I looked in the mess that was my closet. Clothes were thrown all over the place and it made a rainbow of soft pinks, magentas, greens, blues, grays, blacks, and whites. It looked like a rainbow had puked in my closet. I started freaking out and grabbed my phone.

I have no idea what

to wear.

I waited impatiently for the text to come back. I was happy to see it didn't take too long.

But you have the

best clothes!

-Sam

I sighed.

I do not. Help me,

please? D:

I smiled. This time she was a little more helpful.

Fine. Wear something

warm like he said.

Jeans, a shirt, coat,

hat, and gloves.

-Sam

I searched through my closet and found what she had suggested. After getting dressed and putting on a little make-up I was out the door. I couldn't have him pick me up at my house because if my father had ever seen me getting into a car with a thirty year old man that he didn't know, he'd be likely to take a bat to it before he would let me get away.

Jon was in his truck at the end of the street waiting for me. My nerves kicked in once I saw him in his little truck and my heart started pounding. I could feel the jitters working their way through my spine and I shivered a little. Once in the car and smelling the familiar smell of soap, sugar, and a small amount of smoke I was eased a little.

"Hey!" he said with a large grin "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," I mumbled, and put my seat belt on, "You look nice."

I had never seen him out of work so I wasn't really sure what to expect. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt, a worn-looking black leather coat, a pair of jeans, boots, and dog tags. His hair was as messy as always and it framed his face the same it had so many times before. I don't remember ever seeing him this close before and I just realized how handsome he really was. Sure, he had imperfections, but even those seemed to enhance his face some how. I realized I was staring, blushed, and looked away.

We drove for some time. We talked about the DGD concert and about his family. I found out that he had served in the military for a while and that the reason he quit was because he was shot four times in the shoulder under enemy fire. I learned that he still wears his dog tags so that they know immediately not to resuscitate him. After a while, a small smirk fell on his face.

"Close your eyes." he said.

"What?" I asked, dumbly.

"Close you eyes."

"No way!" I said, laughing "I'm not good with not seeing where I'm going."

He sighed playfully and took on hand off the wheel and put it in front of my face "Close your eyes or we're going to crash."

I laughed, swatted his hand away, and reluctantly closed my eyes. It was a bumpy road to wherever we were going and it was very dark.

"Hold on. I'll come and lead you." Jon said after he stopped the car.

My door opened and his hand met mine. The cold air rushed into the car and bit at my skin. He helped me out of the car and put a hand on my back. I stiffened a little under his touch, but became more relaxed after a few steps. I could hear water off in the distance.

"Do you trust me?" his deep voice asked, calmly.

I took a deep breath in "Yes."

We stepped on something wooden and the air around us became lighter. I could see light through my eyelids and the hand that was securely on my back vanished.

"Open your eyes." he said.

The first thing I saw was lights. White lights were strung from ropes above my head, they were draped across wooden benches, and wrapped around poles. A table placed in the middle of the area had a white cloth on it. A small glass on the middle of the table held a single lily. And all of this on a small boat in the middle of Boston harbor. It was beautiful.

"I don't even know what to say." I said, stunned.

Jon smiled "I was hoping for that reaction."

I smiled back at him "You really didn't have to go through all this trouble."

"It wasn't trouble."

He took the hand that he was still holding and lead me to the table. I was embarrassed. Never in my life had anyone ever done something so grand for me. He pulled out my chair like a dork, but I ate it up anyway.

"And now," he said, pausing for what I assumed was effect, "you get to see me cook."

"Cook?" I asked.

"Yes, cook."

After much deliberation on what to use he started cooking on the small kitchen within the boat. It smelt good, but burnt. After fifteen minutes he placed a plate of vegetables in front of me and sat down.

"Wah-lah! A vegetable medley for m vegetable-loving girl."

He watched anxiously as I took the first bite. It tasted horrible. The vegetables turned to burnt mush in my mouth and the soy sauce over-powered my entire mouth with salt.

"How is it?" he asked, after I had time to chew.

I just nodded and pretended to have more still in my mouth. He stuck a carrot with the fork and brought it to his mouth. The gagging into the napkin was almost instinct and I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Oh my God." he said, spitting into a napkin, "That was so bad. No wonder I never cook."

By that time we were both in stitches with laughing. He was coughing and I still had leftover taste in my mouth.

"Luckily, I had a feeling this was going to happen." he got up, walked over to a metal chest attached to the boat "So, I had bought food just in case."

The store-bought food was much better than what he had made, but I give him a lot of credit for trying. We talked about family. He had lost a brother when he was young in a fire and I had told him how I had lost my sister. Losing someone that close to you really has an impact on your life and when you find someone else who has lost something as important as you have you have a sort of unspoken connection.

We finished dinner and he held up a his pointer finger.

"Give me one moment. Okay?"

I nodded. It was freezing cold on the harbor. The wind had picked up a little since we had gotten here and my hair was blowing a little. Jon came out with a boom box. I giggled as he plugged it in and slipped in a CD. The Goo Goo Dolls filled the air and he held out his hand.

"Want to dance?" his smile was warm.

I took his hand and got up without a word. His hands found their way to my back and mine wrapped around his strong neck. I was no longer afraid of him. I did not become nervous or jittery. My back did not stiffen. But my heart did pound. We swayed back and forth to the music. He placed his forehead on mine and smiled. I looked up into his eyes.

"How the heck did that happen?" I asked.

"What happened?"

"Your eyes. I know for a fact they were brown."

"Ohhh." he said, I could feel his breath on my face "I changed my contact prescription. I'm waiting for them to come in the mail."

"I always thought you had brown eyes. I can't believe it was a facade."

He smiled and tightened his arms around me. I did the same. The song changed, but we just kept swaying. For a moment I was just happy to be there, in his arms. I was happy to be alive. The cold air swam around us, but I didn't notice. I was warm for the first time since I had gotten out of the car. My mind raced. It was all too confusing, but I didn't care.

"Can I asked you something?" I was surprised at how little my voice was.

"Mhm."

"Why me?" I asked "There are a million other people out there."

He smiled and I felt forehead move on mine "I've dated girls my own age. I've dated older and younger, but I never really clicked with anyone. I met you and you just had this, I don't know." he paused "You had this look in your eyes. When people talked you really listened. You cared. Every word hit you and then you analyzed it. It caught my attention. Within those first few hours I already liked you."

My heart fluttered. Why did he have to be so honest? I sighed and laid my head on his shoulder.

"I'm a complete mess. Trust me, you don't want me." I whispered against his neck.

He chuckled slightly and rested his head on my own "Messes are my specialty."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm a manager. Messes are my specialty."

His arms wrapped around me and we were hugging. The movement stopped and I inhaled him. His grip loosened and I followed suit. Our faces were centimeters away, neither of our eyes opened.

"I'm going to kiss you now." he whispered.

I smiled for a moment before his lips met mine. He tasted sweeter than he smelt. His lips were softer than they looked. Everything about him was magnified and I felt him all at once. We broke apart, but still stayed near. My smiling face found the way to the crook of his neck. For once my mind was finally at ease.