She was sporting a controlled expression of polite interest, and Jacob smiled to himself at the effort she was putting forth to make Jenna feel welcome.
“Business finance, with a minor in music composition,” Jenna replied, taking a sip of her wine.
“Music?” Angela interjected. “What do you play?”
“Guitar, piano… sometimes a little ukulele, when I feel like it,” Jenna smiled.
“That’s awesome! My boyfriend’s really musical, but I can’t carry a tune to save my life,” Angela snorted.
The server came by again then, carrying with him a tray of food, and another younger man followed behind with another tray. Everyone took a moment to admire their plates and express jealousy over each other’s orders.
“Hey, where is Brandon tonight?” Jacob asked, twirling pasta with his fork.
Angela had just shoveled in a large piece of ravioli, so she covered her mouth and chewed for a minute, speaking around the food. “He had to work.” She swallowed. “He’s got like three part time jobs. Which is cool, I guess, but it means he’s never around for stuff like this.”
“Hm,” Jacob replied, chewing his own food now. “That’s too bad.”
“Do you have a boyfriend, Jenna?” Callie blurted out, showing more genuine interest in this subject than her previous inquires.
Jenna’s hand paused mid-way through slicing her parmesan chicken, and her eyes darted toward Jacob briefly. “No,” she said.
Callie’s shoulders dropped a bit, but she put on a smooth expression and just said, “Oh.”
Jacob peeked at Jenna, but he couldn’t read her blank expression.
“So, Callie, I was thinking we could meet early tomorrow morning, for the presentation?” Jacob interjected.
“Yeah, that sounds great,” she enthusiastically agreed. “Should we skip Bio?”
“What? And leave me alone with Amber? I don’t think so!” Angela whined.
“Oh, please, you can take her for one day,” Callie quipped. “I mean, if it was a dissection day, I might feel bad for you.”
“I wouldn’t,” Jacob scoffed. “I deal with her three days a week. It’s your turn,” he gave her a playful kick under the table.
“Whatever,” Angela sulked, popping another ravioli into her mouth.
“Besides, we could use the extra practice. This one gets in her head too much,” he nodded toward Callie, and she blushed.
“I do not!” she giggled, tucking her sleek hair behind her ear.
“You do,” Jacob retorted with a smirk. “But it’s okay, it just means you care too much. And if you have to have a flaw, that’s not the worst you could ask for.”
Callie smiled, and Jacob turned his attention back to his food. Angela was still sulking about having to endure biology class the next morning without the buffer of Jacob and Callie to make class with Amber easier to endure, and Jenna was glancing between Jacob and Callie with a dubious look.
At the end of the meal, Angela reached for the check, and she and Callie insisted that Jacob’s dinner was their treat, as congratulations for his new job. Jenna hopped on board, offering to pay the tip and shutting down Jacob’s attempts to protest.
Once the check was paid and they received their post-meal, complementary chocolates, Angela and Callie retreated to the bathroom and Jacob and Jenna stepped outside to wait for them before heading to the theater.
Jacob shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans to combat the chill of the breeze. Jenna stared at him for a long moment, crossing her arms against the cold and pursing her lips as she appraised him.
“Okay, I’m gonna ask you something,” she declared.
“Alright,” Jacob hesitantly agreed, skeptical of her sudden severity.
Huffing out a sigh, Jenna blurted out the question on her mind. “Are you into Callie?”
Jacob’s eyebrows furrowed as he tried to understand why this thought was on her mind. “Uh... no,” he answered. Given the complications of his life, he wasn’t really “into” anyone at the moment. “Why do you ask?”
She gave him a sympathetic look as she replied, “Because she’s into you.”
He chuckled once in disbelief, but Jenna’s intensity remained. “Seriously?” he asked, surprised by the revelation. “Did she tell you that?”
She shook her head with a smirk and rolled her eyes. “She didn’t have to. It’s pretty obvious, if you’re not a clueless boy.”
Jacob took a deep breath, befuddled by the idea that Callie would be interested in him romantically. “Isn’t she, like... nineteen?” he asked.
“Yeah, I think so,” Jenna replied. “But what are you, like, mid-twenties or something?”
He let out a hard laugh, flattered by her underestimation. “Try mid-thirties.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “Wow, really?”
He nodded.
“Hm... well that is a bit of a gap,” she chuckled.
“Yeah,” he smirked. The humor of the idea faded as he considered Callie’s feelings, trying to decide how to diffuse the situation without hurting her. “But honestly, it wouldn’t really matter if she was older. I just don’t see her that way. She’s… like a little sister.”
Jenna winced. “Yikes,” she muttered. “I wouldn’t phrase it that way when you talk to her.”
“I have to talk to her?” His eyebrows shot up.
Jenna gave him another sympathetic grin and nodded. He took a breath, anxiety rising as he pondered how that conversation would go.
“Couldn’t I just... stop hanging out with her or something until she gets the hint?”
Jenna rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you could do that,” she teased, “if you don’t mind being a dick.”
Jacob sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. “Well,” he moaned, “then what should I say?”
“You just have to tell her the truth,” she shrugged. “Tell her that you just think of her as a friend. Friend,” she emphasized with wide eyes to highlight the importance of the distinction. “Not sister!”
He nodded.
“And, also...,” she hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip, “maybe make sure she knows it doesn’t have anything to do with… me.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I mean,” she sighed, trying to explain the intrinsic complexity of the female mind, “you don’t want her to think that the only reason you don’t like her is because you like someone else.”
Jacob stared at her for a moment, his anxiety rising again as he realized that two uncomfortable conversations may be in store for the evening.
“I…,” he trailed off, trying to think of a good way to explain that his life is far too complicated for romance at the moment.
“Oh, no, I know,” Jenna shook her head, holding up a dismissive palm. “I mean, I know you don’t like me like that,” she quickly elaborated, calming his nerves. “But I think maybe she thinks that you do.”
“Why would she think that?” His head was starting to ache from the mental gymnastics.
Jenna chuckled and gave a shrug, like it should be obvious. “Well, we hang out all the time. And you haven’t been hanging out with her hardly at all since you and I started hanging out,” she explained. “And you flirt with me all the time.”