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Jackie stood in front of her mirror, looking over her appearance. She chose a simple outfit, a deep purple A-line dress, one whose sleeves came off her shoulders and whose hem extended just past her knees. Her heels were gold with straps that wrapped around her ankles. She decided to keep her hair and make-up understated, preferring a natural yet upscaled look to a dramatic and bold one. She couldn’t help but fidget, fingers moving nonstop to make small adjustments. She flattened her dress, I should have spent more time ironing. She pulled up one of her straps, should I have gone with a different dress? She straightened the earring dangling from her ear, maybe I should have went with studs. She moved the jewel of her mother’s necklace to the center of her chest and her hand stilled, resting over the jewel, over her heart. She had no doubts about this choice.
It was a modest necklace with a solid gold chain and a small, purple amethyst stone at the center. It was her mother’s birthstone, and with it, Jackie could feel her presence. She could feel her mother’s warm embrace behind her, her arms stretching out around Jackie. Her mother always had this almost supernatural ability to make her feel at ease and she would need that on a night like tonight.
Jackie was nervous, that much was clear to her. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach, the near compulsive need to do something with her hands. She knew she needed to relax, but she just couldn’t. It was her first official date with Cole and she had no idea what to expect. When he told her that he was gonna take her out, the excitement radiated out of him and made its way into her, only somewhere along its path it had transformed into acute anxiety.
-
“Hey, New York,” he had said, punctuating his sentence with a loud SLAM against her locker as he leaned against it. By this point, she had grown used to him sneaking up behind her and had barely had a reaction to it. She continued to place her textbooks into the locker and prepare for her next class, only sparing him a small glance as he continued.
“Don’t make any plans this Saturday, okay? We,” he said, gesturing between them, “are going on a date.” And with his typical Cole Swagger, he sauntered off before she could begin to process anything he had said.
She stood there frozen, textbook in hand, stuck halfway between her and her locker. She turned to see him disappearing into the flock of students, just barely catching the top of his blonde head bobbing amongst the crowd.
A date? This was the last thing she had been expecting today. She was already stressed about her test in 7th period and her essay in AP English, and now this? What would I wear? Where would we go? What if I say or do the wrong thing and he breaks up with me? God, this was going to distract her for the rest of the day, she just knew it.
And she was right. She was so worried about the date that she couldn’t even focus on her test. She knew that she had barely managed to score an 80% at most and the essay? Her argument was all over the place and her thesis was unfocused. She absolutely dreaded getting the results, but she couldn’t worry about that right now. After the last bell rang, she set out on a mission to find the blonde headed boy that threw her in this tailspin so haphazardly. She rounded the corner out of the classroom and bulldozed her way through the crowd of grazing students towards the exit door closest to the parking lot. Looking out the door’s small window, she found him leaning against the Walter family’s blue station wagon waiting for the other Walter boys to arrive.
“Cole! Cole!” She yelled the second she made it past the door. Several students turned their heads at the sound, Cole included, his face going from confusion to relief at the sight of her.
Slightly embarrassed by her outburst, but not deterred, Jackie stormed over to Cole, ready to yell at him for the untimely distraction. As she approached him, she could see a familiar mischievous glint in his eye. The jerk knew exactly what he was doing! He knew that dropping this on her would send her spiraling. He knew that she would eventually come running to him expecting answers and he was eating it up. Unbelievable.
“Cole! Why would you just drop something like that on me with no warning and then walk away as if it were completely normal. Oh, you know, just any other day. Nothing special, just ‘ask out Jackie on a date’ day’” Jackie ranted, arms flailing around as animated as ever.
“It’s not like I had other things to think about today. It’s not like I had a huge test that I could barely focus on. It’s not like-” Cole reached out and held her face between his hands, squishing her cheeks and making her lips pucker. A strand of hair fell into her eyes, evidence of just how worked up she had gotten. He was beaming, clearly amused by her frustration.
“Relax, New York! It’s not that big of a deal! And you know, typically, asking someone out on a date is the warning of said date.” Jackie couldn’t argue with that logic. She deflated a bit then, feeling silly at how quickly she spiraled.
“Well, can you at least tell me what we’re doing on this date?” With her face still trapped between Cole’s hands, she could feel herself pouting. Cole smiled as he scanned her face, his eyes stopping at her pursed lips. He quickly met her eyes, before glancing back down to her lips and leaning in to kiss her. Jackie’s lips moved without much regard for her better judgment and her general apprehension toward PDA. It was a rather chaste kiss, but it was filled with desire and the promise of more in the future. She felt hot, like a hundred volts of electricity just ran through her. She knew her face was turning red and her eyes felt unfocused, the classical signs of a person who had just been thoroughly kissed. And she could tell by the look on Cole’s face that he was satisfied with his work and the effect it had on her.
His hands finally dropped from her face and made their way down to her shoulders, gently shaking them as he said,
“We’re just going to dinner, okay? You don’t have to worry. It’ll be just like every other time we’ve hung out together.” His warm, green eyes soothed her, filled her with a sense of security she wished she could find within herself. You don’t have to worry. Jackie believed him and let his words wash over her.
“O-kayyy…” Jackie reached up to grab his wrists, seeking comfort from his touch.
“O-kayyy…” Cole lightly mocked her with a fond smile still on lips. He lowered his hands to grab her own and turned to walk towards the car.
“And to be fair, you didn’t really ask me out on the date. It was more like you told me we were going out. Therefore, no warning was made!” Jackie couldn’t help but make note of this very important distinction.
“That is a valid point, New York.” Cole conceded, happily humoring her and her endearing need to be right.
-
Jackie took one last glance at herself in the mirror. She knew their reservation time had to be getting close and she could stress about it all she wanted, but there was not much else she could do at this point. So instead, she turned, grabbed her purse hanging from her desk chair, and walked out the door, closing it behind her. Jackie walked down the stairs, nerves abound. As she descended the staircase, she could see Cole sitting on the bench in the foyer, elbows pressed against his knees. He was staring intently at his phone, clearly too focused on whatever task he was doing to hear her heels clicking down the hardwood stairs.
“I’m all set.” Jackie announced, hoping to stir Cole’s apparently hard won attention.
“Great,” he replied automatically. His fingers typed something quickly on the phone before he locked it and moved to stand up. “We’ll have to get going soon-” Cole stood frozen in place, gazing at Jackie as she walked towards him.
“You look-” He stopped mid-sentence as his voice cracked like a teenager in the throes of cruel puberty. He cleared his throat and tried again, “You look amazing.”
Jackie couldn’t help but beam, flattery coursing through her veins. She had clearly made the correct fashion choices tonight. Jackie took this time to look at him fully. He wore a deep navy button down that made his green eyes pop, eyes that were further highlighted by the blonde hair framing his face. He wore khaki pants and he had traded usual combat boots for a pair of black and white converse. A slightly upscaled look that still allowed his personality to shine through. Yes, he looked good, she couldn’t lie.
“Thanks, uh, you too.”
Jackie walked forward as Cole went to grab both of their coats. He placed hers over her shoulders and let his hands linger there as she adjusted the coat. Jackie was glad that her back was turned towards him so he couldn’t see the effect that small bit of contact had on her, the large smile that erupted on her face from the warmth of his touch. Cole removed his hands to don his own coat and then moved to open the front door.
-
They walked side by side in the direction towards the restaurant. The crisp Colorado air sent a flurry of goosebumps down her arms. Although she could also chalk that up to the near constant contact they seem to make with every step. Their shoulders, the backs of their hands, the tips of their fingers. It seemed to Jackie that Cole was trying to get closer to her with each step, whether purposefully or subconsciously, Jackie didn’t know, but the gravitational pull between them was palpable, undeniable. Jackie turned her head, risking a peek at Cole, only to find him already staring at her, a small, shy smile on his face.
They approached the restaurant and Jackie couldn’t help the slight gasp of surprise that escaped her. With its chic name, Aurora, and its sleek, minimalist exterior, Jackie could guess just how nice the restaurant must be, a suspicion that was only confirmed once they walked in. As they stood in the entrance way waiting for the hostess, Jackie glanced inside.
The dim lighting within did nothing to hide the restaurant’s class. To the left, Jackie could see a glass top bar with bottles and bottles of liquor decorating the shelves behind the bartenders. The barstools were occupied by mostly middle-aged men and women, all wearing suits and nice dresses, chatting amongst themselves. Jackie’s eyes lingered on the women, wondering if she would appear underdressed compared to the rest of them. The mahogany tables were covered with clean, white linen and the few empty ones scattered throughout the insanely crowded dining room had meticulously folded cloth napkins placed on each pristinely white dining plate. Each table was only made more beautiful by a well crafted bouquet of pink and white flowers and several small, lit candles. How in the world was Cole going to afford this? She was glad that Cole cared enough about their first date to want to splurge on it, but Jackie knew that there were limits to his meager mechanic salary, no matter how much he had saved.
The hostess finally appeared, walking over to take her spot behind the podium. She opened the reservation book to today’s date and looked at Jackie and Cole expectantly. Jackie could tell that the hostess, with her stern brown eyes, thin furrowed brows, and sharply downturned mouth, judged them for their age, already prepared to run them off if they tried anything childish.
“Reservation for Walter.” Cole spoke confidently, attempting to compensate for any preconceived notions of immaturity. The hostess looked in her book, her boney index finger sliding down the page.
“Nothing for Walter tonight.” She replied.
“A-are you sure?” Cole faltered. “It’s under Cole Walter, for eight o’clock.”
“There is nothing for a Walter.” The hostess responded sharply, already exasperated with Jackie and Cole’s presence. Jackie reached out for Cole’s arm, and pulled him off to the side.
“Cole, it’s fine, we can just go somewhere else.” She gently whispered.
“No, I know I made the reservation. I called here last week.”
“Did you say last week?” The hostess interrupted, as Jackie and Cole turned their heads in her direction. She flipped back a couple of pages and found what she was looking for.
“Just as I thought. We did have a reservation for a Cole Walter…for last week Saturday.” He must have forgotten to give them today’s date when he made the reservation, Jackie deduced.
Cole turned away from Jackie, clearly frustrated. He hung his head low, back and shoulders tense. As his hand went up to rub his temples, Jackie ached to reach out to him, to convince him that it wasn’t that big of a deal. Honestly, Jackie would have been just as happy eating at one of their usual hangouts as she would this nice restaurant. As long as they were together, it didn’t matter.
“Sorry, kids. We’re all booked for the night. There’s nothing I can do.” For as stern as she appeared, the hostess did at least seem to be sympathetic. Apparently desperate, Cole turned on the charm and smiled his most dazzling smile as he approached her.
“Do you think maybe you could look again? I’m sure there’s at least one table that cancelled tonight.” He rested his arms against her podium, fingertips tapping at the reservation book. It was weird to see the Cole Effect in, well, effect, but Jackie could see how women would fall for it. Hell, she knew she had fallen for it once or twice. With charm and charisma oozing out of every pore, Jackie knew Cole was convinced it would work, but she could tell that this middle-aged, austere woman could not be less interested.
“As I said, We. Are. Booked. Goodnight.” All previous sympathy the hostess had for the couple had dissipated with Cole’s misguided attempt at the Cole Effect and she promptly dismissed them.
“But-” Jackie grabbed Cole by the arm before he could say anything else, pulling him toward the exit.
As she opened the door, a gust of fresh, mountain air hit them in the face. The night sky was polka dotted with shining stars, just as bright as ever even this far into the city. Left hand still wrapped around his right arm, Jackie took this moment as an opportunity to slide her hand down to his and interlock their fingers.
“Jackie, listen. I’m so sorry about the mix up. This isn’t how I wanted this night to start at all. I-”
“Cole, stop! It’s fine. Let’s just go to Monty’s. I’m in the mood for pizza anyway.” They stopped in the middle of the parking lot surrounded by the cars of the patrons inside. As they turned to face each other Cole looked down at their outfits, unconvinced that they could go to such a casual restaurant dressed as they were. Jackie looked down too. She couldn’t help but giggle at the thought of them at Monty’s, with her in her fancy dress and Cole in his nice button down, eating five dollar greasy pizza, drinking Cokes with plastic disposable straws, and using thin paper napkins, all the while being surrounded by their drunk classmates looking for a hangout spot to sober up at before returning home.
“So what if we’re a little overdressed,” Jackie shrugged. “No one is even gonna be paying attention to us, it’ll be fine.” He looked past her, staring out into the distance, still not convinced. For a second, it felt to Jackie as though there were miles separating the two of them instead of the mere inches that actually divided them. She took his other hand, hoping to ground his thoughts and clear the fog that began to cloud and darken his eyes.
“Hey,” She whispered, not continuing until Cole finally looked her in the eyes. “It’s okay.” She smiled a small smile and hoped that it would reassure him.
“Alright. Okay.” He seemed to warm slightly under her gaze and he slowly led her back to the car to drive to Monty’s.
-
As expected, Monty’s was packed when Jackie and Cole arrived. Jackie could make out the familiar faces of students, some whom she had shared classes with or had seen roaming the hallways. To the right of them, there was an obnoxiously loud group of baseball jocks lounging around. Each jock was paired off with a girl, all of them looking rather miserable clearly annoyed that the boys were more interested in throwing food and trash at each other than they actually were in them. As Jackie and Cole stood in the entryway looking for an empty seat, one of the jocks, whose name Jackie couldn’t remember, maybe Steve or Paul, snickered.
“What’s up, Walter.” Steve-Paul said, hitting his friends on the arm to get their attention at his antics.
“Paul.” Cole nodded at him politely, but was clearly not interested in engaging in conversation with the teen.
“Interesting look there, Walter. What happened? You couldn’t afford to take your girl to a nicer place?” All of Paul's teammates burst out in laughter, apparently finding the situation hilarious. Even the girls joined in, glad to have some form of entertainment other than the drunk boys. Cole, who was already a tightly wound coil, made a move for the jock, looking for a way to get out his frustrations from the night.
Jackie quickly grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the table of irritating teens as Cole muttered, “assholes,” under his breath. She was able to find a secluded half circle booth, one far away from anyone that could bother them. Cole, whose face was stony with frustration at how the night was progressing, was quiet as he sat down. He stared a hole into the table, fingering the black plastic tablecloth.
Jackie wasn’t used to him being like this. She had seen him upset and brooding tons of times, but that’s usually when his sharp tongue would come out. His biting sarcasm and harsh words that occasionally went too far, that were used to hurt the other person before they realized how hurt he himself was. But this- quiet, subdued Cole, was a version of him that she was unfamiliar with.
Kiley soon approached the table, menus in hand, “Hey, guys. Nice fits…”
Her speech faltered as she saw Cole’s abnormally quiet demeanor and tense jaw. She looked to Jackie, but all Jackie could muster was a weak smile.
“I’ll just leave these here. Let me know when you guys are ready to order.” Kiley gave a small, sad smile to Jackie as she left. In a weird way, Jackie could tell that it wasn’t from a place of pity or out of charity. There was an air of sympathy within the smile, a quiet understanding that to Jackie showed that while Kiley may not have known the cause for the tension, she was still rooting for them, wishing them the best.
As Kiley left them to attend to other patrons, Jackie turned her attention back to the gloomy Cole. It both pained her heart and frustrated her that Cole was this upset. It frustrated her even more knowing that he wouldn’t open up to her, that he wouldn’t share his pain with her.
“So…” Jackie started, attempting to break the ice. His eyes finally lifted from the table to look at her. “Aren’t you gonna ask me any ‘first date’ questions?” The corner of Cole’s mouth ticked up, his mood beginning to lighten slightly.
“What do you mean, ‘first date questions?’ I already know pretty much everything about you.”
“Like what?” Jackie prompted, glad that her attempt at distracting him seemed to be working. Cole opened his mouth to answer as Kiley rounded the corner.
“So, you guys decided?”
Without even looking at the menu, Cole responded, “I’ll have two slices of the pepperoni and ham pizza with a Sprite.” Before Jackie could even open her mouth to order, Cole continued, “And she’ll have a slice of the veggie pizza with extra green bell peppers and a Cherry Coke.” He punctuated the end of her order with a shit-eating grin in Jackie’s direction.
“Great," Kiley said as she wrote down the order. "I’ll be right back with your food and drinks.”
Jackie lightheartedly rolled her eyes, “Lucky guess.”
“Jackie, we eat here at least once a week! I think I would know your order by now.” He exclaimed.
“Ok, since you know so much, what’s my favorite color?” He looked down at the purple dress she was wearing and smirked. Jackie glanced down too and laughed.
“Yeah, ok, whatever. What about my favorite flower?”
“Lilies.”
“Mmm. Favorite song?”
“I Put A Spell On You by Nina Simone. I hear you singing it all the time.”
“Mm. Ok...favorite candy?” Jackie continued, thinking for sure this question would stump him.
“Trick question, you like chocolate more than you like candy.” Jackie sat up, ready to interrogate him further, but Cole shot up, one hand in the air, index finger pointed, and interrupted her before she could ask, “And your favorite chocolate bar is a Baby Ruth!”
Jackie made a gesture as if to say “Dang!”” and Cole laughed out loud.
“You know, for a girl with great taste, New York, your taste in chocolate bars is terrible.” Jackie threw her napkin at him, feigning offence. She could see the joy returning to his face. The previous darkness fading away as the light returned to his eyes, like a sunrise peeking out over the horizon to cast out the shadows.
“Well, I know you, too, you know.” Jackie smiled at him. She looked down at his folded forearms resting on the tabletop, hands tucked between the table and his chest. She reached across and his hands moved towards her, almost of their own accord, as his eyes stayed fixed on her. She continued as they interlocked fingers,
“I know you have a sweet tooth, but for some reason you only take your coffee black. I know that you hate Pepsi and Coke and would much rather drink a Sprite. And I know that you’re more of a night owl than an early bird, but when you do wake up early, you like to ride first thing.” She finished, pleased with the smile that sat on his face and the slight blush that rose in his cheeks.
“And…” She continued as she let go of his hands and moved to sit beside him on the round booth, his eyes following the movement. “I know that you’re not much of a planner, so when you do plan something it must be really important to you...” She finished quietly.
Jackie hoped that he would take comfort in her close proximity, that he would be willing to talk about what happened earlier. The smile on his face faded as he looked down at her hand lying between them on the booth. He reached down to hold it, his thumb gently stroking the knuckles of her fingers like she was something precious.
“Are you okay?” Jackie gently prodded. Cole looked up, attempting a slight smile that Jackie knew was only for her benefit. Before he could answer, Kiley arrived with their food and the conversation was dropped.
The rest of the dinner went well. Cole had eventually loosened up. He told stories about the Walter family growing up, his face and body language becoming more animated as he talked about George teaching the kids football or about the plays Danny forced the siblings to act out with him. Jackie loved when Cole spoke about his family, the way his face brightened, fond and caring. The way his eyes lightened and glistened. It made Jackie’s heart both soar with warmth, glad that Cole had such love in his life, and ache with longing for her own family, wishing that she could see them one last time.
Jackie took permanent residence beside him, never moving back to her seat across the table. Weirdly, she liked it better this way. She didn’t know what it looked like to everyone else, but to her it felt as though they were in their own little world. A bubble that contained just the two of them, that had this thin, one way gossamer that allowed them to look at the outside world but prevented the outside world from looking at them. And when they turned to speak to each other, when they locked eyes, it was as if everyone else just ceased to exist. There was something about the close proximity that she appreciated on a base level, something about feeling the heat physically radiating off of him that comforted her. And with that close proximity, it was as if they couldn’t stop touching each other, arms brushing against each other, thigh pressed against thigh, ankle wrapped around ankle. At a certain point after they had finished eating, they stayed seated, just talking, seemingly never running out of things to say. In the middle of some story about Parker riding Custard, Cole rested his arm across Jackie’s shoulders. It was so casual, like he didn’t even notice that he had done it, like they had been doing it for years. An act that had made Jackie’s heart do somersaults in her chest was something that seemed so natural to Cole, so second-nature, so right. He left his arm there for the rest of dinner.
-
“Cole, you missed the turn to go home.” Jackie craned her neck to look behind her.
“Nope, we have one more stop to make before the night’s over.” Cole stared straight ahead, but Jackie could see that he was excited, making her excited in turn.
As Cole slowed to a stop on a grassy hill, Jackie felt that the place had looked familiar, but the darkness made it hard to be sure. She looked out of the front windshield and saw a deep blue river babbling below them, surrounded by a forest of pine trees. It was the watering hole Cole had taken her to when she first moved in with the Walters, back when the boys pranked her by putting bleach in her shampoo bottle. Cole had taken her there to wait out the boys while they blew off some steam after she snitched. That was one of her favorite days. It was the first day since she moved to Colorado that she felt some semblance of peace, some semblance of normalcy after her world had turned upside down. She had always felt grateful to Cole for showing her a piece of what Colorado had to offer. It was the first step to her feeling like this place was home.
“Cole! How did you know that I loved it here? I never mentioned anything about it since that first time that we came.”
“I remember your face that day. You were looking up with your eyes closed and you just looked so relaxed, so peaceful. The most I had seen you since you moved in with us. I don’t know, I just always wanted to take you back here.” He shrugged.
“Cole, you are so…” Jackie was at a loss for words. He was really so sweet, she couldn’t believe how lucky she was. Cole turned, embarrassed by the praise, and opened the door to the backseat of the station wagon to pull out a picnic basket.
“How did I miss that?” Jackie wondered.
“A magician never reveals his secrets.” Cole joked.
“I kinda wish you told me about this before, though. I would have brought another pair of shoes.” Jackie said, rolling her ankle to expose her gold heels.
“Relax, New York. I gotcha covered.” He turned around, back facing her. “Hop on.”
“What, no. I’ll just take my heels off.”
“Jackie,” He deadpanned, “I’m not gonna have you hike down there barefoot.”
“Well, how are you gonna carry me and hold the picnic basket?”
“Ahh, see, that's where you come in.” He said, maneuvering the picnic basket so it was behind his back, directly in front of her.
Jackie eyed his expansive back warily. “Alright…” She said, still not convinced, “But let me know if I get too heavy for you.”
“Sure, New York..” He responded, but both Jackie and Cole knew he would do no such thing.
A short time later, they arrived at the exact same spot they sat at all those months ago. Cole gracefully put Jackie down and took the picnic basket from her hands. He reached in and pulled out a picnic blanket to lay everything on. Jackie moved to sit as Cole unpacked the basket and to Jackie’s surprise out came an empty jar, a few candles, two glass containers filled with dessert, and an extra blanket. Cole had really thought of everything.
He lit the few candles and opened the containers to reveal two large chocolate cupcakes in one and a couple of chocolate covered strawberries in the other.
“For the chocolate queen herself.” Cole smiled.
“Did you bake these?” Jackie asked incredulously.
“No.” He turned sheepish all of a sudden, “I got them from The Lark, but I did make the chocolate covered strawberries. Well, with Parker and Benny’s help.”
“That’s so sweet of them, remind me to thank them.” Jackie eyed the rest of the supplies. “What’s the jar for?”
“That, you will find out in about…” Cole glanced at his watchless wrist, “five minutes. Now, cupcake or strawberry?”
While she was enjoying the deliciously fudge-y cupcake, out of the corner of her eye she saw an odd light that seemed to be floating in the air. She turned her head and saw another trailing behind it. Looking up, she saw five more.
“Oh my god, Cole! Fireflies!” She looked over at Cole to see him already looking at her, a huge smile on his face.
“I thought maybe you could try to catch some while we were here.” He said, passing her the empty jar. Jackie put her cupcake down, grabbed the jar, and jumped straight up.
“I’ve always wanted to see fireflies, but I never could in New York because of all the light pollution.” She opened the jar and began leaping in the air to catch the elusive insects. “Wait- Ahh- Nooo- Dang it, I almost had that one!” After about five minutes, Cole could no longer hold in his laughter.
“Cole,” She whined, exasperated. She was slightly out of breath with her hair falling into her face. “Don’t laugh! This is a lot harder than it looks.”
Cole had stopped laughing, but he couldn’t seem to drop the smile from his face. “Here, let me help.”
He stood, moving towards her, “No, I got it. I’m starting to get the hang of it.”
Cole stood to the side, smiling as Jackie continued her mission with a sense of slightly misplaced intensity. After another five minutes, Jackie had managed to catch ten fireflies in her jar. She closed the jar lid, beaming, unbelievably proud of the work she had done.
“Well, look at that.” Cole remarked as they both sat back down on the picnic blanket, side by side. He went to place the other blanket over their legs as Jackie stared absolutely enraptured by the glowing critters flying about frantically in their temporary home.
She opened the jar a little while later and watched as the fireflies flew away to freedom. Her eyes eventually settled on the landscape around her— the rushing river, the dense, dark forest, the thousands of shining stars in the sky. Her ears open to the sounds of nature, the chattering insects, the echoing rumbles of animals hidden deep in the forest. Taking in a deep breath, Jackie once again felt that calming blanket of peace sweep over her. All of her fears and anxieties seemed to seep out of her, swirling and mixing with the mountain air.
“I wish I could bottle this night in this jar and keep it forever. Thank you, Cole.”
“Yeah, well, this night probably would have been better if I had gotten the reservation right.” Jackie turned her head at that only to find Cole staring straight ahead, the lit candle between them casting shadows on his tightly clenched jaw.
“Cole…” She crooked a finger under his chin, turning his head to look at her when he didn’t respond.
“Cole, I couldn’t have asked for a better first date. Was it perfect? No. But that’s what made it great. It was perfectly imperfect and you made me so happy tonight. What more could I ask for?” Jackie leaned over and kissed him. A sweet, innocent kiss that she hoped conveyed every ounce of appreciation she had felt.
-
Later in the car as they were driving home, Jackie looked back on the night. She wasn’t lying when she told Cole that she couldn’t have asked for a better first date. Like she told him, it was perfectly imperfect. Perfectly them. As Cole pulled onto the Walter land, Jackie watched him, her heart immensely full. This is it. He’s it. There isn’t anyone else in the world for me but Cole.