Page 8 of Only Forever

It was a quick drive to the diner, and Jason had beat me there, waiting in the parking lot for me. The diner was bustling when we entered, and we were lucky to snag a booth in the corner, where it was a little quieter.

We both ended up ordering burgers, and when the waitress left after taking our order, Jason leaned back and smiled.

“It’s nice being here with you,” he said. “I think the last time we ate here together was in sixth grade.”

Jason’s words triggered a memory, and I remembered coming here with him in the middle of sixth grade. His mom had dropped us off, because Jason had insisted we were old enough to eat by ourselves. It had felt weird and new to be at the diner alone with him. We had been to Albert’s countless times together, but it had always been with either his mom or mine. I remembered feeling so mature sitting at the table by ourselves. I also remembered that Jason had badgered me to come, because by that point, we had already started drifting apart and I had been hesitant to hang out with him alone.

“Oh yeah, you’re right,” I said laughing. “I remember you pushing your mom out the door and telling her you would text her when we were done.”

“Mom never knew how to read cues,” Jason said with a smile. “I had to be direct.” He paused before continuing. “Do you remember our fight?”

“We fought?” I asked, puzzled. All of a sudden, it dawned on me that our meal here was the last time we had hung out as kids. “That’s right. We fought because your friends showed up and I didn’t want to hang out with them.”

Jason’s eyebrows furrowed. “No, we fought because you said I was a dumb jock and you were tired of having to hear about sports.”

I grimaced and let out a small laugh, feeling a little bit bad about that. I did remember saying something to that effect, but it was just because I had been so mad about his annoying friends crowding our table. “Sorry about that. I blame puberty.”

Jason seemed like he wanted to say more, but then changed the subject. “Are you doing anything during spring break?”

Spring break was only a week away, and I was looking forward to spending it holed up in my room, reading. Chloe would be going to visit her grandparents in Florida, while Monica and Tracy were attending a tennis camp, so there wouldn’t be much to do besides that.

“Just staying home. What about you?”

“My mom, Eric and I are going to California to visit my Aunt Josie since she just had a baby.” Jason paused. Eric was Jason’s younger brother, and he had been in kindergarten the last time I had seen him. “It would have been nice to stay in town so we could hang out, though.”

I nodded, but I was sure he was just saying that to be polite. I doubted we would hang out again after today.

Our food came, and as were about to dig in, Jason took his pickle spear and put it on my plate. I was impressed that he remembered how much I loved pickles, especially diner ones, and surprised by how naturally he placed it on my plate, as if he had been doing it for years.

As we ate and caught up on our current lives, I was reminded of how nice and comfortable his company was. We also spent plenty of time reminiscing about our elementary years, and the mischief we had gotten into together. Before I knew it, two hours had passed, with our plates having long been cleared and our drinks on their third refill.

“I should get home,” I said regretfully, glancing at my watch. “I still have tons of homework to do.”

We had a little tug of war over the check, until I finally relented and let Jason pay. We stepped out into the parking lot, and I turned to him.

“Thanks again for the meal,” I said. “It was fun catching up.”

Jason nodded, his hands in his pockets as he shifted from one foot to another. “Yeah, it was nice.” He looked up, squinting against the sun, and then lowered his gaze to me. “Do you want to do something Friday night? We could go to a movie or something.”

Was he…asking me out on a date? I bit my lip, unsure of what he wanted. Of whatIwanted. It had felt natural and comfortable today after we had gotten over our initial awkwardness. But I didn’t know the intent of his asking me to do something on Friday.

I didn’t know what to say, and my brain was too muddled to think of an excuse to refuse, so I just agreed. “Sure. That sounds like fun.”

Jason smiled, the tension leaving his shoulders. “Great. I’ll call you about what movie and time.”

The rest of the week went by in a whir. True to his word, Jason called the next night, and after deciding what movie to watch, we ended up talking on the phone for two hours. In some ways, Jason knew me better than anyone else, and it was nice to get to know the older version of him. I wasn’t expecting a call the next night, since we had already decided on the movie and what time he was going to pick me up, but excitement coursed through my body when I saw him calling. The night after that, I tried to not expect anything, but I was pleased when he called again. I knew I would have been disappointed if he hadn’t.

We had talked so much during the days leading up to Friday night, that I was no longer nervous about our date, and just felt anticipation. Well, if it was actually a date. Our phone conversations hadn’t hinted at any romance, but I wasn’t sure if he would have been calling me every night if he wasn’t interested. I wasn’t sure ifIwas interested in anything more than friendship, but I decided not to worry about it and just have fun.

I felt a flutter of excitement when my doorbell rang Friday night, and I couldn’t deny a thrill at seeing Jason standing there when I opened the door. He was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome.

“You look nice,” he said with a smile. I suddenly felt unsure of my outfit. I was wearing jeans and a simple blouse, and I wondered how Jason’s other dates dressed. They probably dressed up way more than I did.

I shook off the negative thoughts. There was no point in comparing. Besides, I wasn’t even sure if this was a date or just two friends hanging out. I tried to convince myself that I preferred the latter to take the pressure off.

We had decided on a spy thriller that was getting rave reviews, and I insisted on buying the popcorn and drinks sinceJason had already bought the movie tickets. We made our way to our theater and sat near the back, as was my preference.

“If you get scared during the movie, you can hold my hand,” Jason joked, grinning at me.

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