that. You’ll laugh … or be grossed out if I told you. Actually, you might want to take yours out, too.”
“Why?” he asked.
“You really want to know?”
“Of course, especially since I’m doing it and I don’t know why.” Jensen piled his pickles up on the corner of his wrapper just like I had.
“Alright, you asked for it,” I told him, leaning over the table and our food so that I could whisper to him. It was a bit funny to think I was being secretive since we were literally the only customers there.
Jensen listened intently as I told that I’d heard of workers there having pickle fights with one another and then putting the pickles back into the jar they had come from in the first place. When I was finished, Jensen only looked at me with his deep blue eyes like he was working something out. At that point I wished I was a mind reader.
“Mia,” he began with a serious tone, “do you think that your burger is safe by simply removing the pickles? They’ve already touched the other items.”
“Oh, I guess so,” I shrugged, flipping my hair back behind my shoulder. “Now I feel stupid.”
“Don’t,” he said, taking my hand, “I’m just playing with you.”
We sat there and ate the rest of our burgers and fries, talking about and laughing at a number of things. We must have been there about twenty minutes, when out of the corner of my eye the door to the restaurant swung open letting the normal after-school crowd in. Instinctively, I turned to look and almost choked on the fry I was eating. There was Kyle strolling through the open door. Oh, why him?
“Are you alright?” Jensen asked as I coughed, sputtered, and grabbed for my Diet Coke.
It took a moment before I gained my composure once again and looked up to see Kyle place his order. I hoped he wasn’t planning on staying, but my hopes weren’t enough because Jon walked in to join him. They seemed inseparable, like one couldn’t eat without the other. I huffed at the thought, forgetting for a second that Jensen was sitting across from me. He sat back and looked at me.
“Really. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I was just thinking that the burger may have been better with the pickles on it.”
Jensen laughed and relaxed back in his seat. I, too, relaxed a little and tried not to think about Kyle who was still up at the counter with Jon. Hopefully they wouldn’t sit nearby.
A few minutes later, more people trickled in. One of those people was a blonde with two of her friends whom Kyle seemed to have a thing for a couple months back. I watched as the blonde separated from them and disappeared into the restroom after walking past us. Kyle also noticed her because I saw him nudge Jon and then point to her before he started walking in the direction of the restrooms. I realized with panic that he would pass by where Jensen and I were sitting.
I instantly sank into my seat and focused only on Jensen, hoping Kyle wouldn’t see me. But, I knew that he had when his stride slowed and he glanced briefly at me and then stared longer at Jensen.
“Mia,” Kyle finally said, giving his usual chin greeting and tapping the table with his fist before uttering something about seeing me later. I gave him my best fake smile in return, and was surprised when I saw what looked like jealousy in his eyes. Jensen’s face went dark and his jaw tightened the whole time Kyle was standing near our table, which was but a few seconds.
The bathroom door banged open and the blonde girl walked toward us, bringing Kyle’s attention back to what he was originally there for. The girl’s gaze lingered at our table for a split second before she quickened her pace and swept past our table. Kyle turned and followed close behind her. I briefly watched him leave and then turned my attention back to my food. Instead of the dark look and tense jaw, Jensen’s arms were folded and one eyebrow was raised as he looked at me.
“Maybe we should go,” he said, getting up before ending his sentence. I only nodded in agreement and grabbed our tray of food. After emptying it, I let him lead me past where Kyle was now conversing with the blonde. Kyle gave me a knowing look as I walked by him with Jensen’s arms draped around my waist. I smiled smugly and was glad Jensen had nonchalantly shown him he didn’t have a chance.
When we were back in Jensen’s Jeep and he had started it, he hesitated in driving away. He had the Jeep in first, but then took it out and put it in neutral. He sat back and looked at me.
“Mia,” he began quietly, “I can’t read minds, but I can tell something was going on back there. I don’t have to know about it, I just need to know if it’s over before we continue.”
Interlacing my fingers together, I sat up a little taller in my seat and told Jensen that there wasn’t anything between me and Kyle.
“He’s had his eye on that blonde chick for a while now,” I continued.
“On Alyna DellaTorre?” Jensen scoffed and laughed darkly. I was thoroughly confused at his reaction.
“Did I miss something?” Jensen answered me by saying something about Alyna DellaTorre, the blonde, not making the same mistake twice and how he wished he was there to witness their conversation. I took it to mean that he and Alyna had already given it a go and things didn’t work out, but I didn’t dwell on the thought.
He was quiet as he drove me back home. When we got closer, he asked me to tell him where I lived again, saying he had forgotten since last week.
“Are you for real? This town is tiny!” I laughed, pointing my finger at him accusingly. Jensen just shrugged and smiled. I wasn’t sure if he was kidding, so I went ahead and gave him directions. However, he chose to ignore them and when I pointed that out, he only laughed and gave that crooked smile of his when he drove right past my place.
“You’ll see where I’m going.”
I sat back and enjoyed the ride. Jensen obviously wasn’t going to say where we were going, but I was a little surprised when he drove his Jeep to the top of a hill that bordered a nearby field. The Jeep rounded corner after corner before reaching the top, and after leveling out we saw that the view was fantastic and the lights of the city below were mesmerizing. Pulling off the road and onto a little dirt lot among trees, Jensen cut the engine.
“Wow, this is really amazing,” I finally said after sitting there quietly for a few minutes. I unlatched my seatbelt.
“Yeah, come here,” he said, turning to me and reaching over to grab me by the waist and pull me over to his seat. He had me sitting across his lap in no time.
Before I knew it, he was tracing my jawline from my chin to my earlobe with his finger, moving my hair out of my face where it frequently found its way. From there he touched my lips with his thumb, tracing them softly. I moved to where I was facing him and touched his face lightly. This time it was my turn to move in and initiate a kiss.
Both of Jensen’s hands held my face as he pressed his lips tighter to mine. There was more urgency this time, and I suddenly felt hot prickles running up and down my body as his tongue sought out mine. Our breathing became heavy and I could feel the thud of his heart as I pressed my hand on his chest.
“We have to stop,” Jensen breathed as he pulled away. “I’m sorry.” His blue eyes burrowed into mine and his hand stroked my cheek.
Hurt and a little shocked, I wondered if he was playing one of Kyle’s games. “I … I don’t understand,” I breathed.
Jensen kissed me softly and the urgency he had was seemingly gone. “I feel like I’m pushing you too fast and it’s not right.” He once again moved my hair out of my face.
“But I liked it,” I said quietly.
“Me, too, Mia. Don’t get me wrong.”
He held my face with his hand, using it to gently ask me to look at him. I wanted to turn away as I felt a little ashamed that I was willing to go further