Chapter 12: Peppermint Goes Great with Chocolate

The next day Johnny ruminated on what he and Roy had discussed. He had seen JJ the night before at the pond and they did talk for a bit. Johnny noticed she seemed distracted and distant. Of course it was over 6 months since her dad's death and often those kinds of events come back around to bother you more about then. Still he wondered if she was okay or not. He had told her that night more about his own loss of his family when he was just a boy hoping she might open up, but stopped short of telling her about his American Indian background. She'd been very sweet about it and even cried a bit about his loss, which was a surprise. Felt kinda nice too he had to admit for her to empathize with him. She hugged him tightly and told him it helped, him sharing, made her feel less alone. John noticed his heart raced when she hugged him and the light floral perfume she wore.

Finally after an entire day off of thinking and pondering it all, he found he had no more clarity than when he began. He finally owned up to the attraction he felt to JJ the past weeks. It all came down to a risk, he reasoned-the risk of bringing up the subject of a date to JJ. He DID care about her a lot, a whole lot. He wasn't ready to admit the 'L' word yet. She was great to be with and liked a lot of the things he liked. She was fine with him having pass times he liked and she didn't; even encouraged him to pursue them. She had interests she did without him as well. They had more interests in common than not, however. She seemed to enjoy him and didn't try to 'change' him all the time—well maybe about slowing down when he ate, taking smaller bites and that was probably…, no that WAS reasonable. But even then, it wasn't in a shrewish manner. She was okay with him being a fireman-well as okay as women get about that sort of thing he guessed. She was pretty….. stunning eyes, …come to think of it she was very pretty and shapely, she was clever and witty and…sheesh Gage, he thought, you are an absolute idiot, and he blushed. Six plus months of time, talk and asking dating advice (oh brother) and you just now figured it out. JJ didn't use pretense. She tended to show up in clothes to muck stalls and do outside work because, well when he saw her that is what she was doing. On those times with the DeSoto children she had worn jeans or a simple dress and at the beach she sported that purple one piece swimsuit; yeah that was pretty hot. So, John was back pretty much where he started except for the fact that he had figured out he liked JJ a lot—a lot more than just a buddy AND he definitely thought of her as a woman, not at all like a "Roy".

That night he decided on a whim to drive to her house in LA. She was usually there by dark and he had an urge to see her so he spontaneously grabbed his wallet and keys and drove to her house. He could see the windows of her den glowing and wondered if she were reading or writing tonight. He remembered she had said she'd finished all her revisions for her second novel, so he guessed she was reading something. JJ had said as soon as she finished a novel, she dug into stack of books by other authors she wanted to read. He saw Dudley on the window sill looking out into the dark and wondered what Dudley was watching. John pulled up into her drive, took a deep breath and got out of the car. He hadn't felt this nervous in months. His heart was pounding and he felt his hands become sweaty. "Gage, Gage, calm down buddy", he said to himself as he walked up wiping his palms on the side of his jeans. He was startled when the door opened before he knocked. There stood JJ, in her pink chenille robe and bare feet smiling at the door.

"John! What a surprise! I was just reading and heard you drive up," she exclaimed. She tugged at the collar of her robe self-consciously. "Sorry I am not in the best state to receive gentlemen callers," she drawled in a horrible attempt at a southern accent.

His heart jumped into his throat, but when he saw her grin mischievously he stopped himself from blurting out "how did you know why I came?"

With a flourish she gestured him in and he walked carefully behind her so as to not step on the slinking Dudley as he wound himself around John's legs in greeting. "What brings you here John?" she called backwards as they walked into her living room. They both stood awkwardly.

John thought, here goes. "Well I was thinking about you and wondered if you wanted to get some ice cream or something? But well maybe you are ready to turn in? I shoulda called…" He shifted from one foot to the other and tugged at his shirt.

She tilted her head to the side and wondered why John seemed nervous. "Naw, I had been weeding outside and after taking a quick rinse in the shower I was just too lazy to get redressed." She leaned in, placed a hand on arm and whispered into his ear, "Don't tell anyone. It will ruin my image." She smiled at him.

John relaxed a bit and smiled at the jest. He leaned close to her face and looked into her eyes. Then whispered back, "I'll never tell," and winked.

JJ's heart did a flip. "Uh have a seat, John. You want anything?" They both sat on the couch with space between them. JJ checked her robe covered her legs and nervously smoothed it over her knees.

"Just to go get ice cream or something," he paused, "with you…," he flashed his famous crooked smile at her.

JJ just laughed. "Do you EVER get full?"

John acted as if he were thinking seriously about her question and then quipped, "Nope, I don't think so." Then she noticed it. His tell—the rubbing of his hands together. Now her heart had stopped. This visit WAS different. She felt a strange mixture of excitement and, and, panic. "So what do you think?" He looked so hopeful.

JJ stood up abruptly and started for her bedroom. "Just a minute and I'll be right back," she said over her shoulder. She closed her door and leaned against it. OH MY WORD! He was here to 'take her out'. That hand rub he only did it when he talked about dates, women, or planned a way to seek revenge on Chet. It was his "now we're cooking" move. How many times had she noted it over the past months? She frantically pulled open her closet and slid hanger after hanger from one side of the closet to the other. What would she wear? This? No. This? No. Her hair! Make-up? She was completely in a panic. Stop it JJ, now quit. She took three deep breaths and closed her eyes. Okay, ice cream equals jeans. She did have that one pair that fit really nicely. She pulled them off the hanger. He had remarked he liked the yellow peasant blouse and it was clean. Uhmm, she thought white sandals and her belt. She slipped on the clothes and then took a look in the mirror. Her hair looked fine. It only needed a comb run through it. JJ remembered John preferred hair down and left that way. She brushed her teeth, and then applied a little eye shadow, blush and mascara. She added a light mist of perfume. The final touch was a light lipstick. Done in 10 minutes, not too long of a wait. One quick check in the mirror and then she forced herself to walk out calmly. "Ready."

John looked up from petting Duds and stopped mid stroke. The smile dissolved from his face and he swallowed once. "You look incredible, Janey," he said as his brown eyes wandered over her form.

"Thanks." She picked up her jean purse from the table by the door.

John walked to open the door, but stopped, slowly leaned towards her and placed one arm out against the wall blocking her exit. She froze and wondered what he had in mind. "Uh, Janey, I do want to make one thing clear, okay? I came here tonight because I wanted to see you. Ice cream was really just a ploy…" His face was serious and she looked up to meet his gaze.

"Okay. It's clear. So you came to see me…because…" she said evenly.

"Because I love spending time with you and want to spend more time together." He smiled and JJ blushed.

"Well, that is fortunate because I kinda hoped that was the reason," she answered laying her hand on his arm. Johnny reluctantly pulled away and opened the door. They strolled to the jeep and he opened the door for her.

"Just a little fuss, okay?" John asked teasingly wondering if she remembered the conversation.

"Yep, fussing can be a good thing," she quipped back and he knew she did. The smile and look she gave made John suddenly feel warm. He whistled as he closed her door and walked to the driver's side. They both clicked on their seat belts, John started the Rover and backed out of the drive.

John asked her where she wanted to get ice cream, and they decided on hard packed ice cream. John ordered rocky road and after a short deliberation JJ got peppermint. They sat in the jeep outside of the store with the windows down and ate. Between bites John started talking. "I feel pretty dense just now figuring out I had been seeing the woman I was searching for while I pumped her for dating advice, dang embarrassing actually." He wouldn't meet her gaze.

"Well, it's not like I was sending any clear signals and anyway I just figured it out a little bit ago myself. I'd say we are quite a pair." She dipped her head down to make eye contact and hoped she'd relieved the tension.

John snorted. "Yeah, quite a Don Juan I turned out to be…..clueless more like. And blind. I'll bet Roy has known all along." He suddenly frowned.

JJ looked up from her cone surprised and added, "Actually he had noticed and probably Joanne too," she added reluctantly. "He brought it up to me yesterday at the pond. " Her face twisted in chagrin. She then reached over and swiped a bit of chocolate ice cream off John's chin with her thumb and absently put her thumb in her mouth. "Had some on your face…"

"Too bad you don't," he said flirting. Her chest grew tight and she was also sorry she didn't.

They had long since finished their ice cream, had taken a bit of a meandering drive around LA, and ended up driving back to her house. The couple sat in the jeep talking. The rest of the conversation was about what they might want to do the next day. They decided to hike on a fairly easy trail and look for some good spots to take photographs. JJ had brought up the idea of doing a children's book with Johnny using his photographs a few weeks ago, but a plot was not yet decided upon. The tossed a few ideas around, but nothing seemed like a good theme. Johnny checked his watch and was surprised to see it was already 1:30 a.m. The shock showed on his face.

"What? Is it late?" JJ pulled his arm over and using the street lamp light saw the time, "Already?" She smiled and added, "Times flies when you're having fun, huh?" She released his arm.

"Guess I need to get home, Janey," Johnny said. JJ nodded in agreement and slid over to open the passenger door. By the time she had opened the door Johnny had gotten out and was offering his hand to help her out. "My lady," he said formally.

She just smiled at his silliness and played along. She held out her hand and tried to rise up out of her seat with a royal air. They both snickered since she almost tripped. "Just call me Grace," JJ added. They held hands up to the door gently swinging their arms and she fished out her key to open the door with one hand. "This was a terrific idea John. I had a great time," she said looking down at first and up to meet his gaze. They looked at each other for what seemed like a long time. John reached out and gently cradled her chin in one hand.

He had a crooked grin and his eyes were gentle. "Best time I've had...," his voice trailed off and his crooked grin faded. "Gonna break your rule..," he murmured. He bent down and pressed his lips to hers tentatively, gently. She slid her arms up to the back of his head and touched his hair. They kissed sweetly and JJ gave a quiet sigh. As he pulled back, John smiled his lady killer smile, his eyes sparkling with mischief and remarked, "Mmm peppermint…. goes awfully well with chocolate."