Lemon Cake

Ten Years and Nine Months Ago

An unbelievable whirlwind. It was the only way Tulip could describe it. One night she was being walked to her apartment by Jasper after the concert and then three days later he knocked on her door to tell her Mia was no longer his 'special friend.' That was three weeks ago and two official dates that didn't count the times they met up after class and hung out in his apartment. His apartment was one of their go-to places since he didn't have a roommate and it was always fully stocked with food. He took grocery shopping on Sundays seriously, a lesson she learned while accompanying him on one of those fateful days. He had a list. He had coupons. He had a strategic plan to get everything he needed for a week and be out of the store in under forty minutes. She was a browser, strolling through aisles to see what ignited her with hunger and created a yearning in her.

At this very moment, it was him she yearned for. His intellect made her heady. His subtle bergamot, vanilla, and sandalwood cologne reminded her of her favorite season of endless days at the beach and roller skating under the evening sun. Good morning and good night texts had her confused how he'd gone so long without an actual girlfriend. Apparently, he and Mia went to the same high school and hooked up once they enrolled, something familiar while in a new place. A relationship of convenience that she never wanted to cement with titles and grand gestures. Tulip, however, wanted all those things. She wanted titles, gestures, and happily ever after. All of which she envisioned having with him.

After dinner at a taqueria in Houston and a movie wasn't enough, neither one of them wanted to end their fourth date so he deviated from the plan.

"Is this illegal?" She asked, watching him unlace his crisp all-white Air Force Ones.

"Not for other thirty-something minutes." He pointed to her feet still tucked in her high-top Converse then snapped his fingers. "Come on. Let's not waste time."

Even though his truck was the only vehicle in the parking lot and the moon hung luminescent in the big dark sky she threw caution aside and pulled off her shoes. This place told her was Sylvan Beach but it was more like a sandy patch of land along a shoreline constructed by man and not nature. Though it was created, it was still a nice retreat from the bustle of campus life and reminded her of the weekends during the summer she and Willam would sneak off to Biloxi beach.

Her foot sunk in the warm sand and all the cares, worries, and stressors melted from her mind. A whisper of a sigh emitted from her parted mouth as she settled on the ground letting the white sand cling to her smooth cocoa-buttered calves. Jasper claimed the spot next to her and she felt his eyes upon her face as she peered ahead at the small waves lapping the beach. The tranquility of it all quelled her mind away from the present to a distant time where every experience could be examined and anything dream could be obtained.

Once his eyes were placed ahead, she erased the quiet that lulled between them. "Where do you see yourself in ten years?"

"Uh..." He sat up straight as if his mind needed perfect posture to contemplate clearly. "Ten years. That's a big chunk of time." He slid his hand down his cleanly shaven jaw. "Putting my degree to use. Farming my own land, growing a crop that can be made into a product that would provide me a good living like salsa or something."

"Salsa?" Her voice ticked up with interest and surprise.

"Don't look at me like that." He chuckled. "Salsa's good. It's Texas' favorite snack and it's also low on calories so it won't be avoided by the health-conscious."

"I'm sensing you've put in some research."

He shook his head. "I'm just smart like that."

"Oh please." She playfully pushed him but he barely swayed. "How many flavors will Young Salsa come in?"

"It won't be named that." He pointed out quickly. "It needs to be catchy and memorable. I haven't thought that far but it'll be spicy and not fake hot."

Tulip nodded.

"So, what about you?" He asked. "Where you do see yourself in the next ten years."

"I don't know." She shrugged, running her hand over the sand. She hadn't put too much thought into life after college. She just needed to make sure she had a stable career, be able to pay her bills, and help her granny out whenever she needed it. "Nothing fancy like you. Probably, a math teacher, married with a kid. The same ole."

"Nah, I don't see it." He angled his body towards her taking her in as if he could see her future. "You're not generic. I don't see you having a cookie-cutter future."

"Is that so." She faced him. "Then what do you see."

"I see..." He claimed her hands in his then tilted his head to the side. "...you doing something with people because you're a magnet. People are drawn to you and you're persuasive I mean look." He gestured. "You got me to drive out here."

"Pfft." She sounded. "All I said was 'do we really have to go back'."

"And that was all it took. Hella manipulative." He winked.

"If I'm that persuasive then let me hold a couple of twenties."

"I'll let you hold a couple of twenties. I'll let you hold whatever you want as long as you stay here with me."

"Jasper..." Her voice was faint as he inched closer to her and paused. Maybe she was a magnet because the energy between them was stronger than any gale-force wind that blew through the Gulf Coast. She couldn't fight the urge to erase the space between them. An inch was too vast. She closed the distance between their mouths and finally tasted the sweetness of his supple lips. His tongue was magical as it slid into her mouth making her mind go empty and her body tingle with exciting exhilaration.

He pulled back, gasping in a breath. The moonlight made the gold in his brown eyes gleam or maybe it was the smile shining on his face. "Ten years from now, I want you to still be in my life."

"I'm no fortune teller but..." A smirk played on plump lips as she slid onto his lap and circled her arms around his neck. "...if you keep kissing me like that I can arrange it."

"Deal." He clearly uttered, stroking her cheek before kissing her passionately again. 

Do you think they left in 'thirty-something minutes'?