Although they talk about plenty else on the evening of their first date, the idea of Beck having not one, but two children stays present in Jade's mind for the remainder of their time together.

Beck is a gentlemen, of course, like Tori had told Jade he would be. He insists on paying the whole check, walks her to her door when he drops her off, and kisses her goodnight. Jade will admit, he's a very good kisser...she hasn't encountered that in her dating experiences lately. He promises to text her and she promises to answer...but again, the fact that he's a father to two young girls stays fresh in her memory as she says goodnight to him.

Jade is torn. On one hand, she had a great time and really likes this guy...but on the other...she's not sure if she feels ready to take him and his two kids on right now. By the time she gets back to her apartment, it's too late to make a phone call, she has to work in the morning. But the minute she arrives home from school the next day, she dials her best friend's number immediately.

"Took you long enough!" Cat Valentine exclaims when she answers the phone

"Nice to hear your voice too, Cat." Jade chuckles as she sets her bag down "How's the New York fashion industry treating you?"

"Quite well, but that's not important right now." Cat insists "How was your date?"

"It was...it was really good." Jade tells her "I had a good time."

"Your words are saying 'good time' but your tone is saying 'god awful'." Cat sighs "What happened?"

"No, it was really good, I swear." Jade assures her "He picked me up, we went to dinner, we talked. It was...it was actually really great."

"But...?"

"He has two kids."

"You didn't know that?"

"Not until he told me." Jade admits "Did you know he had kids?"

"I...yeah I did. I've met them, actually." Cat tells her "His older daughter was the flower girl in Tori and Andre's wedding."

"Oh."

Jade hadn't been at the wedding, but Cat had been one of Tori's bridesmaids so she had seen the pictures. She hadn't paid that close of attention to the flower girl, but makes a mental note to go back and look at the posts on social media later.

"Is him having kids a problem?" Cat asks "I've only met him a few times, but he seems like a really nice guy."

"He is a really nice guy." Jade agrees "And like I said, I had a really great time with him. I just...I dunno. The idea of being someone's step-mom..."

"Just because you had an evil step-mom, doesn't mean you'll turn into one."

"That wasn't where my head was, but thanks for the reminder." Jade sighs "It just freaks me out a little. I still feel too young to have a kid, let alone two of them. And their mom isn't around so that would make me the female role model and...it's a lot of pressure, Cat."

"Slow down." Cat chuckles "You're spiraling. You've been on one date with him, no one said you had to get married and move in tomorrow or anything."

"If I keep dating him though, we would get there eventually."

"Eventually." Cat repeats "Not immediately. Look, you said you had a great time with him, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Okay, that's good!" Cat insists "If you like him and he's a nice guy...I think it's at least worth exploring. Because it's been so long since you've had a nice guy and I really want you to be happy."

"I want me to be happy too."

"At least consider it." Cat tells her "See where it goes, maybe it could fizzle out in a week or two and you'll know it wasn't meant to be...or maybe it'll be something really beautiful. There's no way of knowing unless you give it a shot."

"I'm going to have to think on it."

"Do that." Cat urges her "Then let me know. I'm emotionally invested in your love life."

"I know you are..." Jade smirks "How's Robbie?"

Cat met her boyfriend, Robbie, when they were both attending college in New York City. She was studying fashion merchandising, and he was studying business accounting, and they instantly hit it off. They've been together for three years now, and are living together in the city. Jade wouldn't be surprised if an engagement is in their future.

"He's good." Cat tells him "Work is keeping us both pretty busy right now, but we're both good."

The two friends talk for a little while longer before Cat needs to return to work, and when they hang up Jade retreats to her couch to start grading papers. Being an english teacher, she has plenty of them.

She thinks about what Cat says and weighs the options. Her friend has a point, this thing with Beck does have the potential to be something really great if she gives it a chance...but then again every relationship she's been in so far has had that potential and none of them have worked out so far. Beck is nice guy, they had a great time, he's attractive, and he's a good kisser. He obviously cares a lot about his kids if he's stepped up to take care of them on his own, and she supposes that's a good sign too. She doesn't really have a definite opinion about whether or not she wants to have kids one day; her own childhood experiences would have been enough to turn her off from the idea, but she hasn't completely ruled it out either. The idea of breaking the cycle and doing better for the next generation appeals to her slightly, but again she isn't sure how she feels about the 'step-mom' thing.

About an hour after she starts grading papers, her phone rings. Beck's name is lighting up the screen.

"Hello?" She answers

"Hey." He sounds like he's smiling on the other end of the phone "How was your day?"

"I wrote my first detention slip of the year." Jade chuckles "Some kid was looking at porn on his computer when he was supposed to be working on his essay."

"Wow, that was bold of him."

"Teenagers these days are pretty bold." Jade laughs "How are you?"

"I can't complain." Beck admits "I was actually calling to tell you that I had a really great time with you last night."

"I had a really great time too."

"Glad to hear it." He says "The...the whole 'kids' thing didn't freak you out too much?"

This is her chance. If she's going to break things off with him, she has to do it now. He's giving her the perfect opportunity to be honest.

"If I'm being completely honest...it did freak me out a little." Jade admits "But...not enough that it keeps me from wanting to see you again."

Cat is right, she owes it to herself to see where things go.

"Good." Beck sighs, and Jade can tell it's out of relief "I really want to see you again too. I know that the 'kids' thing can be a lot to take in...especially from someone you just started seeing, and especially at our age. But I want you to know that I'm not going to rush you into anything. I haven't dated anyone since their mom and I want to take my time introducing them to someone new...there's no pressure. Let's just take things one step at a time., you know? Take things slow...get to know each other, and have fun."

"I think that sounds like a really good idea."

There's a beep in the background of the call, and Jade takes her phone away from her ear to see that she's getting another call. It's her father, again...and she hits the decline button before bringing the phone back to her ear again.

"Are you doing anything tomorrow night?" Beck asks her "There's a concert in the park downtown, and I thought it might be fun."

"I think that sounds like a great idea." Jade tells him "I love live music."

"Me too!" Beck agrees "One more thing we have in common."

"Look at that." Jade chuckles

"Let's do dinner beforehand." Beck suggests "I'll pick you up at six-thirty again?"

"Sure, sounds good."

"Alright great, I'll see you then."

"See you." Jade smiles

"Jade, wait. Before you hang up." Beck stops her "I can text you right?"

"I think it would be weird if you didn't." She laughs

"Okay, good. Me too." Beck laughs as well "I'll...text you then."

"I'll text you back." She promises

They end the call, and Jade goes back to grading papers. Beck goes back to work at his workshop, which in reality is only a few miles away from Jade's apartment. He's working on a set of kitchen cabinets a client had asked for, custom-made. He'll install them once they're finished, which will hopefully be sometime the following week.

As he works, he has to be careful not to let his mind wander too far. If he becomes too distracted, things could become dangerous. He could end up cutting off one of his fingers or even worse, his whole hand. He can't seem to take his mind off of Jade though. She's beautiful, and so easy to talk to, and their date had gone so well. He's thrilled that she had agreed to see him again, and he's hoping that their next date goes just as well, if not better, than their first.

Beck does keep in mind that Jade admitted to being a bit freaked out by him having kids, but he can't exactly blame her for that. Not many twenty-five year-old guys are single dads with sole custody of their child, let alone single dads with sole custody of two children under the age of eight. It can be a lot to take in, especially for someone who hadn't had that on their radar. He isn't sure how Jade feels about children, but if she had agreed to continue seeing him he thinks it's probably safe to assume she doesn't completely hate them.

This could be a really great thing for him, and for his girls. Although he isn't dating with the purpose of finding Chelsea and Aspen a step-mom, he knows that any woman who enters his life has the potential to take on that role. If things with Jade continue to go well, he'll end up introducing them eventually...and he knows he'll have to be careful about how he does it.

Snap out of it! He tells himself.

This time the week before, he hadn't even known that Jade existed. He can't be thinking about introducing her to his daughters, not yet. He can't rush that, and he can't plan too far ahead. If he does, there's a chance things might not work out and he could end up brokenhearted...again.

Like he told Jade...there can't be any pressure. He just...they just...need to take things one step at a time.