Jolene

It had turned out to be a great day for golf. The weather was perfect and there’d been a slight breeze that prevented Jolene from getting too sweaty. She’d dressed lighter though as well and braided back her bangs because she had agreed to grab lunch with Zacky after the game and couldn’t stand the prospect of sweaty bangs hanging in her face for hours. The two had gotten along great, but she was still testing the field with him. They’d been texting briefly over the past week coordinating everything, but she wanted to see how much they got along before committing to be his golf partner for anything more than a game or two.

The duo had gone the whole 16-hole course and she’d found that it went well. He wasn’t as good as Olivia but was still better than she was which exactly what she needed to help her game improve. They’d mostly talked about Jolene during the game and Olivia’s golf career so Jolene was excited to turn the conversation to Zacky during lunch.

“Alright, so you know all about me. What about you?” Jolene started as they got out of his car and walked into the small taco joint they’d agreed on.

“What do you want to know?” He asked pulling the door open for her and gesturing for her to enter before him.

“Age, career, family. Anything.” She shrugged nonchalantly. He knew she was 26-years-old and worked as a radio DJ for a local station. She’d told him all about her roommate and her family that lived in Northern California. She had laid the perfect stage for him to tell her everything about him without distraction.

“Well I’m 34. I’m a guitarist. My whole family lives in Huntington. Not much more to me.” He said nonchalantly as they made their way to the counter to order.

“Alright, well elaborate. What kind of guitar?” She asked trying thinking of questions she could ask to force him to talk more. She’d never met a man who willing gave up his life story and she wasn’t surprised to find that this one was no different.

“Rock guitar. I’m in a well-known rock/metal band.” He explained gesturing vaguely with his hands as though he was trying to feel out if she knew anything about that scene. She nodded along making a mental note to search him later and see what she could find online. She listened to some alt rock but her dad was a huge metal head so she was sure if they were actually well-known she probably knew them.

The conversation took a short pause on both of their parts to place their order and move over towards the side where they waited to pick up their food. “Damn. So I bet you tour around a lot?” Jolene questioned after they had finished as the trays of food came out.

“Not so much anymore. We’re in the studio right now writing and bullshitting. It’s harder now that we’re all settling down, getting married, having kids.” He shrugged and Jolene could tell that he missed the touring. He continued though, “Our drummer died a few years back so we’ve been struggling with getting our groove back from that.”

“I’m sorry to hear.” Jolene murmured and Zacky gave her a weak smile. He had given her a slight pause when he mentioned getting married and having kids because he’d given no signs about having a wife or family of his own. She made a mental note to try and find out more about that later.

“Hey, life goes on. You know?” He said and Jolene nodded slowly as he led her towards a booth in the back corner of the restaurant.

“True, but that never makes it easier.” She countered lightly as they sat down.

“You’re right. But let’s not get too heavy for lunch. How’d you get into radio work?” He asked.

“I actually started college, joined the school radio club, and fell in love with it. Dropped out of college, started working for a radio station, and here I am.” She said with a small smile. She loved her job and had no qualms talking about it for hours, but she knew how much it could drive others crazy so she didn’t go into much depth.

“Where you in college for like music or production or anything?” He asked and she couldn’t help but smile as she watched how much he used his hands to talk. When they were on the golf course, he hadn’t been able to be so emotive with his body to explain himself.

“Oh no. I went for fashion design actually.” She blushed lightly and laughed. It was embarrassing for her to admit now, so far after the fact, because she’d missed that mark.

“Fashion design? No way! What kind?” Zacky responded as his face lit up.

“Woah, never seen someone so interested. I was hoping to go into like street style – double focus with business management. But my program was super strict and was all about couture and high end fashion. I couldn’t even take business classes.” She said rolling her eyes.

“A girl after my own heart. I run my own fashion label. It’s more like grungy punk style.” He explained and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh yea? I wouldn’t have pegged you as the type.” She explained truthfully with a shrug. She couldn’t believe how many of their interests had overlapped so far.

“Well duh, you’ve only ever seen me in golf gear. You’ll have to see my designs sometime. Why don’t you come to my place tomorrow? I’m having a big barbeque with friends and family. You can bring Olivia too if you want.” He offered and Jolene felt her stomach twist lightly in joy.

“That’d be awesome!” She exclaimed not able to contain the wide smile that broke out across her face. “I’ll definitely ask her.” She’d mentioned casually to her roommate the week before about the super handsome man she’d met, but Olivia would never believe this turn of events.