CHAPTER 15

LUNCH AT THE TACO STAND

"But why don't you drink coffee?" Jason finally asked, he just didn't get it.

Dianna raised her shoulders, while she finished chewing her quesadilla. "I don't really like the taste of it. Love the smell, though."

"But… what do you drink during the day?"

"Anything. Except coffee." she was used to people's indignant towards her dislike for coffee. And she wanted to shock Jason even more, but not that day.

"Hum". Jason grumbled, taking a bite of his burrito. He chewed a bit. "Probably you only like sweet stuff" he teased.

She chuckled. "Actually, when I taste coffee, I dislike it less if it's black without sugar. And I love really dark chocolates and bitter things. Sweet is not much my taste".

He raised his shoulders, she was weird, but this he understood. "I usually like bitter foods and drinks, too".

Dianna glanced at him, "You know, studies prove that psychopaths prefer bitter foods and drinks". She took another bite of her quesadilla.

He stared at her; if he was a psycho, definitely so was she. "How's your door?" he teased.

"With a couple of shiny new locks in it" she smiled, and took a sip of soda.

"Special locks?" he asked, suspicious.

"One simple, one special. They're expensive".

"You know I'll have to confirm that right?"

"I'll show you the keys later on, to prove it to you", she lied. "How was Mikey's game?"

Jason smiled, proud. "They won. Of course".

"Did you play hockey too? At his age".

"Yep. And in college", he said, cockily smiling.

Dianna smiled back, staring, while he looked down. "Did you break any teeth? I know it's common during hockey games".

He cutely chuckled, amused. "Only a couple on one side, on the cheek. One was restored, the other one is cracked to this day."

"Hum. So you wore braces as a kid? Because your teeth are incredibly straight". She took another bite of the quesadilla.

"I did. Didn't you?" he asked, because pretty much all millennials wore braces during their youth.

She finished chewing, then smiled. "True. Although my teeth are a bit crooked, still".

He glanced. "Not really. They're cute. They match you".

She didn't like that. "Yes, probably they match my cute baby face, too".

"Yes" he teased, "they match, but you don't have a baby face, don't worry".

"Thank God".

Jason stared. "You know, your smile is very similar to that actress".

She was confused. Definitely no Hollywood actress would have a smile similar to hers. Their teeth were all straighter than Jason Momoa. "Definitely not an American actress, right?", she noted.

"Exactly. She's British, I think. I'll try to remember. Emma's always watching her movies. She does, you know, movies from the times of yore"

Dianna's face shut down. It was not only a British actress, but someone who played characters of times when braces didn't exist. "How nice."

Jason thought for a while. "You said your house in Uruguay was similar to mine. Does your dad still lives there?"

She smiled. "No. We sold it. It was way too big for us".

"After your mom passed away?" he asked, curious, because it could be similar to what he's been going through.

"Actually, it was already too big. My mom and my dad lived there, and my brother and I, but both of us had already lived elsewhere and were about to leave again. And it was really expensive to maintain as it was. So we put it for sale, and sold a few months before my mom passed away, when she was sick". She said, a bit emotional, and Jason regretted bringing that up.

"My dad felt bad about selling the house, at first, because of all the memories since we were kids, and of my mom. But later, all of us realized that our family would never be the same, anyways. The house would never be full again. And it was hard to stay there without her".

Jason nodded, understanding what she meant. Keeping the house would never be the same as when Alana was in it.

"I'm not telling you to sell your house, Jason" she alerted him, putting her quesadilla down. "Everyone feels different about it. In our case, my brother and I would hardly be living there as adults anyways, and if my mom didn't die, and they kept it, she and my dad wouldn't be able to maintain it as they got older. They'd sell it eventually, probably in a few years. The houses are made for one generation nowadays, it doesn't matter how beautiful or well built they are. And it feels nice when I pass by our old house and watch another family with small kids enjoying the backyard, or taking pictures of the flowers in the garden. The house is full again, and with new good memories".

Jason looked away and put his fingers on his eyes, so he wouldn't cry. "Sorry. I'm just really attached to our house, our kids are too. And to our garden, the tree in the front. My kids used to climb that tree. Alana decorated the house. And we had great barbecues by the pool, with my team and friends". He was feeling awkward for being so attached to material things.

She saw his eyes filled with tears, and felt the urge to kiss his cheeks and forehead, so she looked away. "You'd never need to apologize for feeling emotional about these things. Not to me, anyways. I don't mind it, at all. It just means you're... normal. Human". She smiled, and he smiled back. She added, chuckling, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound so deep during lunch. Didn't mean to bring you down".

He chuckled. "Well, I asked, right. Tell you what, you show me your house keys and it's all forgotten".

"Or" she tried to make him change his mind, "We could get some ice cream or something. You know, to finish the meal properly. Or are you doing something now?"

"Ok, you've been trying to avoid this question this whole time, I don't think it's fair", Dianna was getting annoyed at Jason.

"Well, I'm not going to say anything about Jessica, she didn't even work yet. I don't know if she's good or not". Jason explained.

"I'm not asking if you think that she's good at her job, I asked you what you thought about her. As a person", she gesticulated. Jason raised his shoulders, confirming he wouldn't answer it.

Dianna was feeling very unprofessional all of a sudden. She crossed her arms. "I'm not unprofessional, ok. Or just gossiping. Well, maybe gossiping a little, yes. I just… have a weird feeling. But you're right, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt".

Jason kept quiet, smirking, while driving. "You're not jealous of her, are you?"

"You mean, envious? Because she's pretty much the exact opposite of me?" Dianna said, annoyed. Then she thought for a while. "Actually, you know what? I kind of like me. Except for some things. And so far, I don't like her. I'm glad I'm the opposite of her. But we'll see how she goes".

He glanced at her, after her very rational explanation for her probable jealousy. "She's the same as many, to me, to be honest. Meh. Kind of a kiss ass, of me and Davis. Besides that, not much to say".

Dianna felt glad with that answer, and teased, "Yes, because you're definitely used to having your ass kissed by many different types of lips" she joked.

Jason laughed, "Jesus. It's not like that. But yes, most people kiss my ass. I don't mind them. But usually, the ones that I get along the best are the ones who don't do that".

"Well, I definitely didn't kiss your ass" she chuckled, looking out the window and remembering their fight.

"No, you didn't. Actually, you ignored me completely" Jason said, smirking.

She turned to face him, with her arms still crossed. "What? When?"

He parked his car in front of her building, and turned to face her. "I don't know. Like, everyday".

She felt bad for it. "What, now? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. When did I do that?"

"No, not now" he pouted. "Well, during the first days, you barely looked at me when you knew I was the team leader, and kept talking to the other guys. Then, when we were briefed in Bogota, you ignored the seat next to me, the team leader, in the front of the room, to sit next to Sonny, at the back. You know, you kept avoiding me", he confessed, because his ego was repeatedly wounded those times.

She turned to him, uncrossing her arms. "Was you ego hurt? Because, honestly, I don't even remember doing those things. They weren't intentional, sorry", she said, teasing but affectionate.

He smirked at her. "Yeah, I know you weren't intentional. Like I said, that's why I get along with you".

"Actually, one of those things were intentional, now that I recall. I intentionally didn't start any conversation with you during the first days so you wouldn't think I was a kiss-ass" she chuckled.

He laughed, cutely, making her melt. "It worked", he stated.

She stopped laughing, and knew she had to leave, now or never. Because she honestly could just climb on him inside that car, in the middle of the day, and not regret a thing.

"Well, thanks for the ride. And the ice cream. Oh, and lunch. Ok, maybe you should stop paying for everything and save money for Emma's college. I know why you're broke, now" she joked.

"I like taking care of… these things" Jason stated. He swallowed, hard.

She chuckled. "I had a great time. Thanks. I'll see you". Then she went to open the door and get down, and again he got around his car to help her, but she got out a bit faster and made her way to the floor, clumsily but unharmed. She quickly walked to her building, waving goodbye to him, and he did the same.

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