Page 54 of One More Weekend

We’d gone together a lot in college before we had rent and bills to pay – when we had disposable income. Once a month, we’d come to this corner of our campus and feast on delicious vegan cuisine.

Neither of us had been vegetarian when we tried it but I was too curious and too much of a foodie to not suggest it.

And Jenna, always a good sport, was willing to try it.

Jenna held open the door for me and approached the hostess. “Hi, we have a reservation for two, under Chambers.”

“Perfect, you’ll be right here.” The hostess gestured to the table right by the front door, giving us some of the setting sun and the foot traffic to watch.

A chronic people-watcher, I was thrilled to be able to see outside while we ate.

Jenna let me take the booth, pulling out the chair for herself as we settled in.

Looking over the menu, I got to thinking. It had been a long time since someone had taken me out like this. Everyone I went on a date with assumed that as the masc it was my job to be the gentleman.

But Jenna knew how much it bothered me, that I wanted to be treated like a princess every once and a while too.

As if she could read my mind, Jenna looked up from her menu and smiled. “How do you like the princess treatment so far?”

“Loving it.” I beamed across the table. Unlike the exploration dates I'd planned throughout the summer, this felt the most like a realdate. I wasn’t sure that Jenna had meant it to – in all fairness we’d come out to nice restaurants together dozens of times.

But we also hadn’t discussed where this whole situation was headed. We’d sworn not to do it again, broken that promise, and then not wanted to peek under the bandage since.

A waiter approached the table and took our drink orders: two glasses of prosecco since we were celebrating Jenna’s killer interview. We weren’t shy about appetizers either, making sure to try out whatever was new on the menu.

“So, did you like the office?” I asked as I popped a piece of vegan popcorn chicken into my mouth. Despite the fancy vibe and price of Red Bamboo, the food itself was far more casual than you’d expect.

Jenna hemmed for a moment. “Enough, yeah. It was a little bit of a sausage fest but overall it will do the trick. I’m trying to think of it as a stepping stone.”

Nodding, I reached for another piece of food. “Well, that’s a good mindset. Did they tell you the pay?”

“Nope.” Jenna shook her head, they rarely did these days. More often than not, she wouldn’t know for sure until they sent her an offer but the range had a minimum of $50k a year so that was good.

We kept talking, Jenna daydreaming about how she could leverage the entry-level position in just over a year to something bigger.

I rested my chin in my palm and watched her talk. Her eyes lit up with an excitement I hadn’t seen since before she’d lost her internship.

It wasn’t until our entrees came that a moment of silence passed as both of us dug into our food.

Halfway through, Jenna set down her utensils and bit her lip nervously.

“What’s up?” My forehead wrinkled as concern washed over her face.

Jenna let out a sigh. “We should talk about… this.” She pointed between the two of us.

Waiting for her to take the lead, I rested my hands on the table and prepared myself for her to end it. We’d had a good run; it had been an amazing summer. But we were still roommates and testing out a full-scale relationship probably wasn’t the smartest thing.

“I think I’m worried.”

“Me too, but about what?” I pressed.

Jenna broke our eye contact, her eyes bolting down to her hands as her nerves grew. “I’m worried because I thought this would just be casual. But the more we explore this, the more I’m wondering if this is more than just hooking up.”

Nodding, I knew exactly what she meant – fear included.

“Sy, you’re kind of everything I’ve ever wanted. And that’s scary because you’re also my best friend and my roommate. And if this job doesn’t work out, we’d have to figure out how to turn our friendship into a real relationship with thousands of miles between us.”

My heart stopped.Does she really feel that way?

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