𝚂𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

Chapter IV

I'm awoken from my peaceful slumber with the feeling of someone shaking my shoulder. Groggily, I sit up to glare at whoever it is and see it's Jasper. My gaze softens at the realization.

"Morning, sleeping beauty" He chuckles softly.

"How long was I asleep for?" I ask, looking around for a clock. He points to one on the wall, "It's 6:30am"

"Oh..." I quickly get up and grab my stuff. I start heading to the door when Jasper suddenly stops me.

"Hey... uh... I know this is kind of sudden, but would you maybe want to go and grab something to eat later? My lunch break is at 11" He gives me that charming smile that I've fallen for way too many times.

"Oh, yeah sure" I smile, he seems like a great guy, and going out to eat somewhere with him is a great opportunity to get to know him better.

His grin grows wider. "Alrighty, I'll see you soon" I smile and leave the pizzaplex, getting in my car and driving to my apartment.

When I got home I was instantly greeted by Rover who was happily wagging his tail. I slowly make my way to the kitchen, taking out his bag of food from a cabinet and pouring it into his bowl. I did not think about the aftermath of these night shifts and how exhausted I'm going to always be. Setting an alarm for 10:00, I flop down onto my bed and fall asleep.

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I'm now getting ready for this "lunch date". I don't want to dress too nice but not too casual, so I go with a nice shirt and jeans. I wipe my sweaty palms down my jeans while I fix my hair and apply some simple makeup. (If you don't wear makeup, then pretend this part isn't here.) Why am I so nervous? I'm just going out to eat lunch with Jasper, it's not like some actual date... right? Giving myself a pep talk to not cancel the plans last minute and stay home, I leave my apartment to meet up with Jasper at the pizzaplex. He said that we'll take his car to the place. I don't know where we are going to go, but I'm hoping it's somewhere good.

I pull into a parking spot and I see him standing by his car. He looks up at me when I walk up to him.

He looks me up and down for a few seconds, before smiling brightly. "Hey, you look great" I don't know if I'm being delusional or not, but I swear he looked at my lips for a second.

"S-so... let's go now, shall we?" He asks, holding his hand out. I smile and take his hand as he leads me to his car.

The drive was short, only being about 5 minutes. He brought us to an olive garden. An interesting place for a lunch date, but I'm not going to complain because the breadsticks and salad are totally worth it.

He leads me inside and we are quickly seated. The waiter takes our drink orders and leaves, quickly returning with them.

We have some small talk for a little bit before his questions start to get more... specific.

"So, are you dating anybody currently?" He asks. I don't know why, but my first instinct was to instantly lie and say that I do have one. I brush the feeling off before answering.

"No, I don't," I say with a small smile, trying to reassure myself that he's just curious about my personal life, which is totally normal.

"Good" He mutters under his breath before clearing his throat to distract me from what he said. "Anyways. What's your type? Tall, dark, handsome? Black cat energy? Or maybe you like friendly golden retriever energy?" He smiles innocently.

"Umm... both?" I don't know how to answer his questions.

"Perfect! That means I have a chance with a pretty girl like you~" He claps his hands together and gives me a playful wink.

I nervously smile. I really like this guy, but he's much more... energetic... than I am. I'll manage. His teasing smile drops for a second and he goes serious.

"Real talk, Y/N," He reaches his hand across the table and places it over mine. "I really like you, you're cool, sweet, and gorgeous." He winks again. "But I want to know, do you like me the same way? You seem to bottle up your emotions and don't let them show, so it's pretty challenging for me to figure out how you feel about me." He looks at me through his eyelashes, smirking slightly, waiting for my response.

I was shocked at what he just admitted to me. This guy likes me? He has interest in my existence? "I- yes... I do like you... like a lot" I smile nervously. Is this really happening?

He smiles and sits up straight, holding both my hands in his. "That's great to hear then! Would you be... interested in dating me?" He smiles.

I never really thought of that... the thought of dating Jasper sounds great... but I'm not sure that I'm ready for a committed relationship right now... I have to tell him this.

"Well... that sounds great and all... but I'm not sure that I'm ready for a relationship right now." I say hesitantly.

His smile seemingly falters for a second, but it appears again. "That's perfectly fine, darling. I'll wait" He says in a low voice.

The waiter then arrives with our food, thankfully. This situation was getting a little awkward.

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We finished our food and Jasper didn't ask me any more personal questions after that. He drove us back to the pizzaplex, right on time for his shift to begin again.

"I had a really great time with you, Y/N" He smiles adoringly at me.

"I did too. Thanks for bringing us out" I smile at him. He looks at me for a few seconds, seeming conflicted on what he should say next. He leans in a little, as if he's going to kiss me, then turns and kisses my cheek softly. His lips stay there for a few seconds before slowly pulling away, a small smile playing on his lips.

"I'll see you around~" He smiles before disappearing through the sliding doors of the pizzaplex.

My hand goes up to my cheek, feeling the heat in the spot he kissed it.

"Something wrong?" A cheery voice says from behind me. I instantly recognized it was Samuel's. I turn around quickly and smile nervously. I see he's holding a box of what seems to be art supplies. "Sorry dear, I didn't mean to startle you" He smiles. "Oh it's okay... and I'm fine." I reassure him.

"That's good to hear." He seems to think for a moment before speaking. "You know... I wouldn't-" He starts, but cuts himself off. "Nevermind! I've gotta go, but I'm sure I'll see you later. Have a great rest of your day" He smiles happily and walks off into the pizzaplex, humming the daycare music to himself.

I wonder what he was going to tell me... I can't seem to brush that thought off for the rest of the day for some reason. I'm sure it was nothing important...

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Here's another chapter for you lovelies. Sorry it's kinda crappy(?) It's for character development though I promise ! Trust me, it will get much better later on, I have great things planned for this. Thanks for reading :)

-Chesty

1253 words