Manage Me

I stared dumbly at Jack. There was a goofy grin on his face, and I blinked, attempting to clear the image away. There was no way that question had just come out of his mouth. He waved his hand back and forth in front of my face and I snapped out of my stupor.

“Helloooooo? You in there, Katie?” I giggled nervously.

“Yeah, sorry, I kinda spaced. For a second there I thought you had asked me out.”

“I did.” He sounded so calm, as if this wasn’t a big deal at all.

And I was back to staring at him, jaw hanging open slightly. I don’t know what part of today shocked me the most: the incident with Matt at the store, the almost kiss with Jack just a little bit ago, or being asked on a date by Jack.

“Uhm, what?” I sounded like a complete moron.

“Do you, Kathrine Rae Feist, want to go on a date with me, Jack Bassam Barakat?”

I searched his chocolate eyes for anything suspicious, but I could only find anticipation. I screwed up my face in thought. Yes, I really did want to go on a date with Jack. These past few weeks had felt like they were a dream to be honest. If I ignored the fact that Jack left a paycheck on the counter for me every Sunday, it wouldn’t even feel like I was working for him. He helped me with most of the chores, usually getting absurdly excited about learning how to clean something. We went grocery shopping together, ate together, sat around the house and watched movies together. To anyone on the outside it might already look like we were a couple, and Lord knows I wanted to be.

But, at the same time, I wasn’t ready to lose my job. I was making a really good amount of money, 80% of which had been placed in a savings account towards a perfect little apartment I had found not far from Jack’s house. The rest of it was still going to my mom, proof that I had a steady job and was able to provide for my son. And saying yes to Jack would definitely put my job in danger.

“Jack…I…”

“Don’t say no.” He pleaded softly. “Please.” I felt myself melting at the warmth in his eyes, the puppy dog look absolutely killing me.

“This is a really bad idea.” I whispered.

“Why?”

We were slowly leaning towards each other again, our noses almost brushing. His warm breath hit my face, but I couldn’t bring myself to pull away this time. His eyes darted to my lips every once in a while and I licked them subconsciously.

“Because.” I blinked slowly.

“Because why?” His eyes were on my lips again.

“Because we can’t do this.”

“Just answer the question, Katie.” We were mere centimeters apart.

“I can’t.”

“Katie.” Our lips were officially brushing, but neither one of us made a move to actually turn it into a kiss. “Go on a date with me.” It wasn’t a question this time. And that meant I couldn’t say no. And I didn’t want to.

“Okay.”

And then our lips connected. The same feelings from that drunken night together flooded my system and my lips parted. Jack nipped lightly at my bottom lip, which caused me to moan, but also to snap back into reality. I instantly pulled away, panting slightly. Jack looked a little disappointed, but he didn’t force himself back on me. I took a deep breath to steady myself.

“Okay, I’ll go on a date with you. But no more of this.”

I hoped out of the car before he could respond, grabbing a majority of the grocery bags and bolted to the front door. Jack hadn’t left it locked, he never did. It was a while before Jack showed up in the kitchen, the rest of the bags in his hands. I had managed to put away almost everything and Jack joined me. He jumped up on the counter, swinging his legs childishly, when he finished sorting through his bags.

“So, tonight? 8:00?” I sighed.

“Fine.” He frowned.

“You don’t have to.” He mumbled. I don’t think he meant for me to hear, so I acted as if I didn’t.

“What should I wear?” I tried to sound more enthused about the idea. I actually was excited, I was also just very afraid of what could/would happen afterwards.

“Whatever you want.” He shrugged.

“You’re such a boy.” I giggled, unable to stop myself. He grinned back at me.

“My penis agrees with you.”

“Oh Jesus.” I blushed. I still wasn’t used to Jack’s endless sexual references.

“Call me Jack, baby.” He said, making his voice deeper as he launched himself off of the counter and gripped my hips. I squealed and started laughing as his long fingers poked at my sides.

“Jack!” I cried, trying to squirm away.

“Oh yeah, just like that.” His lips were right by my ear, his voice husky.

And suddenly it felt like a lot more than just playful banter. Scenes like this weren’t entirely uncommon for us, hence why people would sometimes confuse us for a couple. But after what had been said and done in the car, there was a lot more seriousness to the situation. I stopped laughing and pulled away slightly. Jack’s eyes bore into mine, his lips still pulled into a smile.

“So, uhm.” I cleared my throat nervously. “What should I wear?”

“Literally anything. You could wear a burlap sack and still look perfect.”

I just nodded at him, feeling awkward all over again. He released me when I moved away from him a little more. I took a few more steps, placing a good amount of distance between us. I nervously rubbed my hands together before shoving them in the back pockets of my shorts.

“Well, I’m gonna go get ready then.”

“I’ll pick you up in a few hours.” His eyebrows waggled teasingly.

“I’m sorry it’s such a long trip for you.” I said drily. He shrugged.

“You’re worth it.” I blushed.

“See you at 8:00.” I mumbled and then raced out the back door.

I threw myself onto the bed as soon as I made it through the glass doors of the pool house. I jumped up as soon as I hit the mattress and yanked all of the curtains shut, effectively cutting off my view of Jack’s house, and his view of me. Then I was back on the bed, attempting to calm my racing heart.

I glanced at the clock. Jack and I generally saved grocery shopping for later in the evening so it was already 6:30 p.m. I forced myself out of bed, trying not to be freaked out by the fact that I only had an hour and a half to get ready. So, I took a deep breath, and made my way to the bathroom.

By 8:00 tonight you will be on a date with Jack Barakat. A voice in the back of my head swooned.

I felt a little bubble of giddiness pop up inside of my chest. Hiding behind all of my nervousness at the situation, I was actually ecstatic for tonight. All I had to do was get past the fact that I was going on a date with my boss, and I would be fine. Oh, and somehow manage to keep my raging hormones under control.

Good luck.