Opposites Distract

“Hair up or down?” I asked May. I was spending the day with her, as her maid of honor and all. I was dying to tell her about Warren’s cold feet, but I wanted to talk to Warren first – give him a chance to tell May himself, like Jack said to do. We had just finished eating lunch, but Jack said he was going to come pick me up soon…

“Down,” May said without even looking at me. I nodded, but wore some hair bands on my wrist, just in case. We decided to just chill at my apartment, looking at color schemes and cakes and flowers in bridal catalogues. I didn't want to say anything, since this was May's wedding and all, but I was keeping my fingers crossed that she would pick purple. “Taylor…where are you going wearing that?” May asked suspiciously, eyeing my clothing.

“Huh?” I tried to say nonchalantly. I was just wearing some jeans shorts and a lavender shirt with a gray cardigan. I was barefoot, going to get my Converse in a second. Jack refused to tell me where we were going or what we were doing, but he wanted me to wear something comfortable that I wouldn’t mind getting dirty in, so, yeah.

“Where are you going?”

“...On a date with Jack,” I said flatly, trying not to sound too…excited.

May’s eyes went wide and she squealed, happily clapping. “Jack asked you on a date? Oh my god, my baby brother’s finally growing up!”

“May,” I groaned, trying to cover up my blushing face.

“Did he ask you out?” I nodded, and May beamed. “Oh my god, don’t freak out, but you’re the first girl he’s ever asked out. Well, the only girl I know he’s asked out, and I know everything about that kid, he’s my baby brother! Well, anyways… Usually, Alex hooks him up with random chicks or the girls come onto him,” May sighed, shaking her head. “But, oh my god, I’m so happy for you guys! What are you doing? Where is he taking you?”

“I…have no idea,” I mumbled, tying up my shoelaces.

May nodded before a panicked expression crossed her face. “Oh no, is he driving?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but then my doorbell rang. I beat May to it, checking the peep hole. Jack was standing there in shorts, a Blink-182 shirt, and sneakers. I was glad I dressed so casually. I figured he would dress the same. I exhaled sharply and grabbed my purse and cardigan, opening the door. “Oh…hey, Jack.”

Jack took one look at me and smiled so wide I thought his face was gonna break. Not the face! His smile made me…uncomfortable, in a good way.

“She’s been waiting for you!” May squealed, popping up behind me out of nowhere.

Controlling my expression, I discreetly elbowed May out of Jack’s view. “Hold on, Jack, we’re just going to clean up a bit before –“

“I don’t think you should wear those,” Jack cut me off, looking down at my shoes. “Here.”

“Wh-What the…hey!” I protested as Jack pushed past me into my apartment.

He took my hand in his, seeming to ignore his sister’s presence. “Where do you keep your shoes, Taylor?” he asked, waiting for me to lead the way.

May grinned and mouthed, “You guys are so cute!” at me from the kitchen.

“Um, my closet,” I said as I pulled him to my room quickly, flipping May the bird as we passed by. “Jack, can’t you just tell me where we’re going so I can pick what to wear?”

Jack slipped his hand out of mine and darted for my pair of Pumas. “Here! Now we’re good to go. Come on, come on!” Jack said, bouncing up and down and not even giving me a chance to get the shoes on. I trusted May with my apartment, so I let Jack drag me out to his car. I was sorely tempted to smoke earlier because I was stressing out about this date, but I knew Jack hated when I smoked, so… “Did May warn you about my driving?” Jack asked with a laugh, eyeing the way I clung to my seatbelt for some reason.

“Sort of. But I’m mostly just nervous.”

Jack started the car and started to drive away, raising his eyebrows at my last statement. “You’re nervous? Then I’m a fucking wreck,” he admitted, forcing a laugh. “Not that I’ll wreck this car, I-I just… you make me nervous,” he mumbled before turning on the radio so we didn’t have to talk anymore.

I made him nervous, huh? I tried so hard not to smile when he said that. I kept my eyes peeled as he drove, trying to guess where he was taking me. My heart sunk when I realized where we were going, and I slumped in my seat when he parked. “Paintball, Jack?”

He blinked at me and turned down the radio a little bit. “You don’t like paintball? We can do something else,” he suggested.

“Please,” I muttered, straightening in my seat when he pulled out of the parking lot. I sighed in relief when we were on the road again. “I’m sorry…paintball…I don’t like paintball…”

“Don’t be sorry. It’s fine, but…Why not?” Jack laughed, keeping the radio down low.

I grimaced. “Warren took me there once. We went with a bunch of people, but I swear, it was like they all ganged up on me! It hurt, and I couldn’t wash the paint out of my hair for a while!”

Jack smiled, but it wasn’t as bright – probably because I mentioned Warren. I would have to talk to Warren tonight for sure. “I wouldn’t have let you get hurt, Taylor.”

I smiled to myself, instinctively taking his free hand in mine and resting our hands on the console. We didn’t say anything for a while. This was nice. Jack wasn’t that guy who was always moving his hand around. I don’t understand why guys feel the need to do that. It’s like they think if they’re not moving their hand, you’ll get bored holding it, or something. Holding hands with Jack was just…nice.

Just like he promised, he made me be immature with him for this date. He took us to the Potawatomi Zoo first. I’d never been here, so it was nice to finally see it. It was a small zoo, but seeing the animals was nice. I liked the lions and tigers. For some reason, the lions hated Jack, so when he sat down by the glass so I could take a picture of him, they were furiously clawing and snarling at the back of his head. Jack did his infamous “Home Alone” face, so it was perfect.

We got some cotton candy and walked around, talking and looking at the rest of the animals. Jack tried to take a picture of us with the flamingos, but they tried pecking at Jack’s head, too. It was pretty funny. We took a bit of a break at the butterfly exhibit. It was my favorite place by far.

“You know what, Jack, I must admit…I’m, well, kind of having fun.”

Jack said nothing, just smiled and swung our hands up so he could kiss the back of mine. “I’m glad,” he murmured after we left the Zoo. “Because this date just got fucking started!”

I bit my lip, nervous all over again. Where could he be taking me this time, I wondered… “Jack, are you serious?” I gasped when I saw the place he’d driven us to – East Race Waterway.

“As serious as cancer,” Jack said solemnly, but I took that as a knock on my smoking habits and punched him in the shoulder for it. “Ow! But, seriously, we are so doing this…ready to get wet?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

I rolled my eyes, but followed him to our boat. If he was immature at the Zoo, I had no idea what to call him now. We got a boat that could fit two people, so I made him in the front. He splashed water all over me with his oars, and splashed water on whoever happened to pass us by, too. Sometimes whoever passed us just sped up, sometimes they would yell and get all angry, sometimes they splashed back. A few of them recognized Jack from his band, though, and when they did, Jack and I paddled the hell away from them I wasn’t pissed off that I was soaked, though…I was actually having too much fun. Letting go and acting stupid…I can’t remember the last time I did this. Probably because I’ve never done this.

“Did you have fun today?” Jack asked, wrapping a towel around me. We were just standing in the parking lot, now. I couldn’t believe he brought towels. “I’m sorry, I should’ve told you to pack extra clothes or something,” Jack sighed, pulling me into a hug so he could rub my back. I didn’t notice my teeth were chattering until I pressed my cheek to his chest.

“I had fun today,” I told him, pulling back my wet hair. “Really, I did, Jack. Just…sorry about the paintball, again. It’s not my thing…”

He finally smiled. “It’s ok. Come on, I’ll take you back to your place now...” So, Jack drove me back to my apartment. May was gone. “Does this mean I can maybe take you on another date?” he asked hopefully after walking me up to my apartment door. He swallowed hard when I turned around, probably terrified by the look on my face. “Well, I mean, if you don’t want to –“

I impulsively reached up to wrap my arms around his neck, pull him down, and kiss him. I could tell Jack was startled at first, but I felt his hands on my hips and his mouth move with mine once his shock wore off. “Is that a yes?” Jack laughed a little breathlessly after we broke the kiss, staying close enough for me to feel his lips turn up into a smile and the heat radiate off his face.

“No…it was a ‘fuck yeah’,” I giggled, and Jack wrapped his long, lean arms around me for a hug as he kissed the top of my head. I buried my face in his chest, inhaling his scent deeply. Jack really made me…happy. It was weird how we were on polar opposites of the maturity scale, though.

I felt like when we were together, just us, we could meet somewhere in the middle...

I was reluctant to let Jack go, but I had to. We would keep in touch, anyways. I had important things to do now. I pressed the call button on my phone after I changed into a simple white dress and strappy black sandals, slipping on the same gray cardigan. “Hey, Warren. You’re comin to pick me up for dinner, right?”

“Yeah! See you in ten, Tay,” he said cheerfully before hanging up.

I bet he won’t be so fucking cheerful when we talk about him and Reese.