“We’re going to see a movie tonight,” Angela reiterated. “You in?”
“Oh. Sure,” he answered around a mouthful of food, going back to his previous musings. When his eyes drifted back to Jenna, an idea occurred to him. “Hey, could I invite someone?”
“Yeah, totally,” Angela agreed quickly. “With Brandon working all the time, we could use a little more testosterone in our group.”
Jacob chuckled. “Well, I’m not sure she’ll help much with that.”
“Oh,” Angela said, peeking at Callie, who was suddenly intently focused on her phone. “Well, that’s… cool, too.”
“Great, thanks,” Jacob said, popping the last bite of taco in his mouth as he rose. “Text me the details.”
With that, he marched toward Jenna, forcing his feet to move before his brain could catch up and try to stop him.
“Hey,” he said when he reached her table, and he was proud of the confidence in his voice.
She didn’t respond.
He shifted uncomfortably on his feet. “Um… hey?” he tried again, ducking his head further into her view as she furiously scribbled words in a notepad.
That caught her attention, and she looked up. She pulled out a pair of earbuds so small he hadn’t seen them before, and from where he was standing, he could hear the loud music blaring from them.
“Oh. Sorry, I, uh, didn’t mean to interrupt,” he stammered.
“You’re…,” she squinted as she searched her memory, “Jacob. Right?”
“Yeah,” he smiled.
She nodded. “What’s up?”
“Oh, right,” he started, his brain finally catching up enough to start re-thinking every word in his mind before it came out of his mouth. “I, uh, well, I was just wondering if, maybe, you would wanna see a movie tonight?” he finally stumbled out.
Her eyes widened slightly. “Uh…,” she trailed off, frozen, and he could see the wheels turning in her brain as she tried to think of a polite way to decline.
After a moment of intensely uncomfortable silence, it occurred to him that his phrasing was a bit misleading.
“Oh!” he exclaimed, making her flinch at the sudden noise. “Oh, no, not like that!” he tried to mask his blush with a laugh. “Sorry, no, I just meant that I’m going to a movie with some friends – female friends, if that helps – and I was wondering if you wanted to join us… as a friend.”
“Oh.” Her shoulders relaxed and she smirked at his awkward clarification. She pursed her lips at her textbooks, considering the offer. “Sure,” she decided. “Why not?”
“Great!” Jacob replied a little too enthusiastically. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Great,” he shrugged, nonchalant, and she bit back a smirk. “Well, it starts at…,” he pulled out his phone and checked the message from Callie, “eight, so…. I would offer you a ride, but I don’t have a car,” he said, realizing he hadn’t asked the girls if they were all planning to ride together and where to meet if they were.
“I can drive, if you want a ride,” Jenna suggested, gathering up her belongings.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
She chuckled. “Well, considering we’re going to the same place, from the same place, I can’t imagine it would be much of an inconvenience.”
“Right,” he said, internally rolling his eyes at himself.
“You wanna meet in the Morgan lobby at 7:30?”
“Sure,” he nodded.
“Cool,” she slung the strap of her bag across her chest. “See you then.”
He gave a little wave as she turned and headed out the back door to the dorms. Once she was gone, he let out a breath and returned his dinner tray to the kitchen. He relaxed for a moment, assignment accomplished. That is, until he thought about being alone in a car with her, and a new round of anticipation kicked in.
JACOB GLANCED AT THE clock on the wall again, leaning against the edge of the couch in the first-floor lobby. Before he could get comfortable, the door to the stairwell burst open and Jenna flitted out, still wrapping a black and white checkered scarf around her neck.
“Sorry, I lost track of time,” she said, shaking her straightened bangs out of her eyes. A few strands stayed behind, stuck in the thickness of her mascara, and she frustratingly pushed them aside.
“No problem,” Jacob said. “We should still be there a little early.”
She juggled her purse and keys between her hands as she tried to slip her arms into her leather jacket.
“Here, let me,” he grabbed her bag and keys to free up her hands, and she donned her jacket easily.
She paused to take a deep breath, and it sounded like it might have been the first one she had taken that day. “Thanks,” she said, taking back her items as they headed for the door. “I’ve just been kind of a mess lately.”
“Not a problem,” Jacob smiled.
Jenna lead him to her car – a tiny, old thing, painted matte black, the bumper plastered with band stickers. Jacob didn’t recognize many of the names, a product of being sequestered from the world for the last eight years. And even before that, he mostly stuck to the classics his mom had introduced him to.
Jenna slid into the car first, clearing the miscellaneous items from the passenger side by tossing them onto the back seat. Once they were settled and the engine sputtered to life, they headed toward the theater.
She navigated the streets without hesitance, and Jacob wondered how long she had been living there.
“What year are you?” he asked.
“Junior,” she said. “You?”
“This is my first year,” he answered. It felt better, somehow, than saying he was a “freshman.”
“Really?” she asked, glancing back at him in appraisal for a moment. “Huh.”
She didn’t comment on his age, and he didn’t offer the information. Instead, he looked around the car, searching for something to say, some connection to make. The small CD compartment under the stereo was packed full, and there were more discs sliding around loosely on the back seat.
“So, you like music?” he asked.
She laughed. “Who doesn’t like music?”
He thought about that and chuckled at himself. “Fair point. But you, like, really like music.” He leaned forward to read through the titles in front of him. “Mostly rock, huh?” he guessed from the font choices and the few classic bands he recognized.
“Yeah, mostly,” she replied. After a moment, she added, “That’s what I do. I mean, well… sort of. I don’t, like, make money from it or anything, but yeah,” she shrugged.
“What, so you’re in a band or something?” he asked.
“Used to be. I’m on my own now, but I still sing and play. Mostly guitar, but some piano sneaks in there every once in a while.”
Jacob smiled. “That’s really cool. Are you studying music?”
“As a minor, yeah,” she said, flicking on the noisy car blinker as she pulled into the movie theater parking lot. “My parents said I had to major in something ‘real’ or they wouldn’t pay for anything,” she rolled her eyes at the word.