Love's Not A Competition

Jack stood up and outstretched his arms for a hug.

"An-gieee." He said it in two syllables like Fonzie or something.

"Jack!" I squeezed my arms around his stomach.

He cleared his throat. "Nice to meet you."

"You too." I replied with a wide smile.

Rachel cleared her throat like Jack had. I forgot they were standing there.

"OH! Jack, this is Kaycee and Aiden, the drummer and bassist of the band. And this is Rachel, she's our manager. She checks our Myspace a lot. You're lucky I checked it before she got the chance." I winked at her, hiding our secret. She looked uncomfortable. I figured it was because of Jack, All Time Low was her favorite band.

"Haha, maybe I was."

"I think you were." I laughed. "Well, do you wanna get something to eat? I'm kind of hungry."

"Yeah! Sure. And you have to tell me about what just happened at Fueled By Ramen. I have to make sure you're not getting hustled."

I laughed again. "Okay Jack."

We went up to the counter.

"May I help you?" The kid at the counter asked me. He was about seventeen. He wouldn't stop looking up and down at me. He looked like he hated his life.

"Yeah, I'll have a tuna sub please. Everything on it." I replied.

"Six or twelve inches?" I got scared for a moment then realized what we were talking about.

"Six please."

"For here or to go?"

"For here."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

"No." Someone interrupted. It was Jack. "I'm paying for mine too."

Aww...

"I didn't even know you were paying for mine."

"Yes...Angie, this is a date. I wanna buy for you."

My entire life stopped. I told myself it was a date, but I didn't think he took it seriously. Having him agree with me made my new life a whole lot cooler.

"Okay." I smiled. "Thank you."

He ordered his cheese and steak sub and we sat down to wait for the counter guy to bring our food to the table.

"So..." He said.

"So..." I mocked.

"What happened today?!" He was basically at the edge of his seat.

"Well, we pretty much just walked in and talked about the contract. Rachel read the entire document. They weren't shady about it or anything. We just signed. We have a three record contract."

"Aww three's pretty good, but I don't know, be careful, I don't want you to get hurt." He put his hand on top of mine. I looked up at him and smiled.

"HEY ANGIE! HOW LONG DO WE HAVE TO STAY HERE?!" Kaycee screamed from the other side of the room. I had just realized Jack and I were alone. They probably decided to give us privacy.

"Uh, I don't know, as long as Jack can be here, I guess." I turned to him. "Do you have a time to be back at your hotel?"

"Nah, I'm free all day." He smiled. "I can take you home if they wanna go." He gripped tighter on my hand. How could I forget that he was holding it?

And what is he, the devil? He's so damn tempting.

"Oh, okay." My voice was soft. "Hey...Hey guys! Jack's gonna take me home. You guys can go ahead if you want."

Kaycee and Rachel exchanged glances. "Alright, ya'll have fun now." Kaycee winked at me then grabbed a sandwich which I figured was for Justin. I rolled my eyes as they left the restaurant. Jack smiled at me.

"Shit mannn; I'm cold." I was trying to keep this date interesting.

"Want some warmth?" He said, motioning me to come on his side of the table.

Well...that's interesting enough...

"Sure." I laughed. I walked over and slid on the bench. He put his arm around my shoulder and held me to him. I laid my head on his chest then pulled it back up. He gave me a weird look.

"Sorry." I started blushing.

"Why? It's okay, go ahead."

I smiled and put my head back down.

We both finished our sandwiches that way. After a few minutes of him stroking my arm, he sat up.

"You wanna get out of here? Maybe go for a walk or something?"

"Yeah, sure." I was smiling again.

"Awesome." He wrapped his arm around my stomach and we both scooted forward in order to get off the bench.

Jack turned around and grabbed our food trays and stacked the garbage on one. We walked to the garbage can, threw away our trash, and began walking out of the restaurant as the counter kid STILL kept his eyes on me. What a little creeper.

Jack held the door open for me and as soon as we were both outside, he grabbed my hand. I looked up at him and smiled.

"How long are you here for?" I asked curiously.

"Ahh...I don't know. A couple weeks. Probably three at the most." He stopped "Whyy? You gonna miss me?"

I chuckled. "Yes, of course." I was sarcastically lying.

"Well...I'll miss you." He hesitated. "I mean, you and I have been like...internet dating." He laughed. "But being here with you right now is amazing...you make me want to make this relationship work, badly." He stopped me in the middle of the sidewalk. "I want to be with you, but not yet, you know what I mean?" I shook my head.

"I've been thinking and I want to see you more often, but I won't take this too far, and I won't make this too fast."

I figured he was looking for a response now. "Jack, I really like you, I'd love to make this work. I know we can. I mean, it seems weird but when I saw you as I walked in, I knew this was going to be right. You make me feel...awkward."

"Awkward?" He asked. Obviously not the word either of us was looking for.

"Yeah." I lied. "Like really awkward. So awkward that it feels right. I mean you're you and I'm...me." I kind of chuckled at the last sentence. It wasn't much of a lie anymore.

"What do you mean 'just you'...you're awesome. You're...perfect."

I started blushing. "I'm no better than anyone else."

"Yes you are...I mean Angie, I've only REALLY known you for what, a few hours now? And this is seriously the best day ever." He looked drained.

"No lie?"

"No lie. I mean every word."

Once again, it was awkward. "Aww Jackieee." I giggled and wrapped my arms around his neck to hug him. I pulled out of the hug, but kept my arms around his neck. He held me close and pulled my arms off of him, intertwining our fingers together and kissing my hand.

"There's something wrong here." He stopped walking again.

"What's that?" I asked.

He smiled. "I'm already falling for you."