Chapter 6

I'll see you at seven.

Those words played on repeat in Jason's head all day. It had been an abrupt ending to a phone call that already had him nervous and stammering. Jenna took the reins on the call, almost forcing him to go on a date with her. It's not that he didn't want to date the most attractive girl in all of his classes; it was quite the opposite, really. Going on this date would be similar to going into a job interview without having researched the employer. The job might be ideal, but preparations need to be made in order to land the job.

Jason had wanted a date with Jenna for a long time now, but it seemed so far out of reach that he never truly made an attempt to woo her. Right out of college, no matter how well a job interview for CEO goes, the chances of getting the job would be slim to none. At this point, Jason felt his chances with an interview for CEO would go more smoothly than this date.

What did he know about Jenna, other than the fact that she was an engineering major? Jason was never, delicately put, a ladies man. Being an engineering major didn't exactly put him in a position where he could interact with women regularly, or at all �" making the prospect of this date all the more stressful. If this didn't work out, there weren't very many options. This date had to be perfect.

Jason sat in the entry way to Paesano's, waiting for Jenna to show up. His legs bounced up and down, his nerves building as each second passed. He looked down at his hands, his knuckles white from gripping the bench underneath him. "I should just take that CEO job," he mumbled, his nerves at their breaking point.

"CEO? I underestimated you, Jason." He heard a chuckle, and before he even looked up, he knew who would be standing there staring back at him. He turned his head toward the source of the chuckle and locked eyes with Jenna. She wore a vibrant blue dress that stopped right above her knees, her smile lighting up her whole face. It took all of Jason's willpower to keep his jaw from hitting the ground, or at least to keep from drooling. He was already nervous to begin with, but after seeing how beautiful Jenna looked in her dress, he knew his polo and blue jeans wouldn't cut it.

"No, it's uh...never mind." What a great start. I'm underdressed, and two seconds in I'm making no sense.

"Come on," she smiled, motioning toward the hostess stand. Jason stood up and made his way over to the hostess, making sure not to trip over anything. The hostess looked up as they got closer and smiled at Jason. "Will it be just the two of you?" she asked as she pulled out two menus from the stand. As Jason opened his mouth to say yes, Jenna quickly intervened, "Reservation for Hammond." The hostess looked down at the stand and ran a finger down the sheet of paper.

"Ah, yes. Here you are." She looked up once more and smiled again, "Right this way."

The hostess led them to a table near the back, close to the doors leading to the kitchen. The scent of alfredo and parmesan cheese nauseated Jason as a server walked by with a tray of steaming plates. This is not going to end well. I'm so nervous, even the smell makes me sick. He could feel sweat beads forming on his forehead.

Keep. It. Together. Calm down.

"Your server will be right with you," said the hostess as she placed the menus on the table. Jason waited for Jenna to sit down, but she made no motion toward the table, her eyes fixated on the chair. "You're not going to pull the chair out for me?" Jenna slowly turned her face, looking right at Jason, lips quivering.

"I uh...I'm...here," Jason flinched toward the chair, but before he got there, Jenna put her hand on his chest to stop him. "You really are too nervous, Jason." She giggled as she took her hand off of his chest.

"Am I that easy to read?"

"Only when you blush." Jenna winked at him before she sat down. Oddly enough, although he was more embarrassed now, his nerves were slowly fading. Her joke had broken the ice a little bit.

"I only blush in front of pretty girls." That's the best you can do?

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jenna grabbed the top of her chair as she looked behind her, "I must have missed them when we walked inside."

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The rest of the date went significantly better. Jenna had become a lot less intimidating as their conversations rolled on, especially after she had spilled some pesto on her dress while doing an impression of one of their teachers. Jason's fellow engineers had the tendency to idolize her, and few ever built up the courage to actually talk to her. After getting to know her, Jason didn't feel like she was this unobtainable object of perfection, but rather she had become more human, more approachable, more...

Attractive.

Jason didn't even have time to think about his nerves anymore. He had never talked this easily to a girl before, let alone one this attractive. He thought he had definitely blown the date in the first five minutes, but Jenna had been incredibly understanding. She must be used to being around engineers.

He offered to pay for dinner when the server brought the check, but Jenna refused to let him, seeing as she "dragged him out to dinner."

"Yeah, you're right," he replied, "this was terrible." He smiled at her, making sure she caught wind of his sarcasm. Although he had been nauseous at the beginning of the date, he managed to eat half of his bowl of pasta and a few pieces of bread, joking that he was trying to watch his figure. She had laughed at nearly all of his jokes, and Jason didn't detect a single pity laugh; he had become accustomed to what those sounded like, and Jenna's seemed sincere.

After Jenna signed the check, they both got up and made their way to the front door, joking and laughing the whole way. Jenna was laughing so hard, she bumped into someone's chair, nearly knocking them out of it. Once outside, they both had to stop to catch their breath.

"I haven't laughed that hard in a long time," said Jason. She eventually straightened up, wiped the tears from her eyes, and looked right at Jason. "I like you."

Deer in headlights. S**t...say something.

"I...like you too." She smiled at him, and Jason could have sworn she started blushing. Before he could say anything, she glanced toward the street and started saying, "I have to go, Jason. I had a great time." She looked back at him, her smile not as prominent.

"I did too, Jenna. I'm glad I could help with your psych project," he joked. She laughed, but something was off. It wasn't the same laugh as earlier in the night. "Thanks. I'll see you in class tomorrow." She put her head down and started to walk away. Before Jason could muster the courage to ask if she wanted him to walk her home, she had turned the corner and disappeared behind some trees. Jason, too stunned to really move, looked back at the street where Jenna had looked earlier. A black car was rolling up the driver seat window, tinted as dark as the car itself. Jason caught a glimpse of a man before the window reached the top, dark sunglasses blocking his eyes, hair as white as snow. He was looking right in Jason's direction, and Jason couldn't help but think the man was still watching him once the window reached the top. As the car began to drive away, he couldn't help but think, Is that why Jenna left so quickly?

More confused than ever, Jason began his long, solitary walk home.