Chapter Thirty-Eight: Downtown Baton Rouge with You:

This was the first time I was truly happy. I didn’t feel like anyone was following me. It was just Jason and me. I stretched my arms above my head. It felt good to see sunlight again.

“So where are we headed?” I asked.

“I figured that we could go to a small café that my sister used to work at,” Jason said. “You might have heard of it. It’s called Honey’s.”

“Not really,” I said.

“You’ll like it there,” he said. He led me along down the street. I only had to look behind us one time. Miranda was nowhere in sight. I tried to push her out of my mind. Instead, I turned my focus back on Jason.

“So why do you want to go to Japan?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I just love to travel, I guess,” he said. “My family grew up military.”

“Which branch?”

“Dad is Marines and Mom is Air Force.”

“Oh. I have never been out of the country before.”

“Me neither. Have you been out of the state?”

“No.”

“Wow. That would drive me crazy.”

“Where all have you been?” I asked. We stopped in front of a crosswalk. Jason took a minute to think about it.

“Virginia, South Carolina, Florida, and Colorado,” he said. I whistled.

“That far, huh?” I asked. “I have only been to the beach once.” We walked across the street when the light turned green. I noticed how tanned he looked under the sun. Plus he was muscled for a sixteen-year-old boy too? My heart did little flips in my chest.

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Honey’s was a nice little place hidden among the nicer-looking shops in the fancy part of downtown. The street started to come to life with the afternoon crowd. I have gotten used to big crowds in recent years. I can’t be tormented so easily. Jason held the door open for her.

“Oh thank you,” I said. I walked in ahead of him. Jason followed after me. Honey’s was starting to wake up with the crowd on the streets outside. The girl behind the counter looked like she was trying to keep up with the patrons. Jason and I sat near the window.

“The food is really good here,” he said. “They pride themselves on Southern cooking with a New Orleans flavor.”

“I see,” I said. A waitress walked up to our table with two menus in hand.

“Welcome to Honey’s. My name is Nicole Lee and I will be your server today,” she said. “What can I get you to drink?”

“Pepsi,” Jason said.

“I have some pink lemonade,” I said. Ms. Lee took down our drink orders.

“Okay, I will be right with you,” she said. She turned and walked to the back. My focused returned to Jason. How could someone so beautiful ever exist?

“So why did you sign up for the exchange program?” he asked.

“Huh? Oh,” I said. “This was family’s idea, really. I don’t really know what I want to do after high school.” Jason looked at me at first.

“That’s not good,” he said. “You have to have a plan for your future.” This beautiful boy leaned forward on the table.

“I want to be a fireman just like my brother-in-law,” Jason said. “That’s after I go to college.”

“Where do you want to go?” I asked. He thought about that for a moment.

“I want to go up to Appalachian State or Colorado State,” he said. “I am still thinking about that. I am currently looking for a job for if I don’t make the program. My dad and uncle have been helping me get references.”

“Wow,” was all that I could say. He had his future mapped out after high school. I had been too busy living in fear to think about what I wanted for my future.

“I wish you luck,” I added.

“Thank you,” Jason said. The waitress came back with our drinks.

“Are you ready to order?” she asked.

“Can you give us a couple more minutes? Jason asked.

“Sure, baby,” Ms. Lee said. She turned and walked to the back. I picked up my menu.

“They have a killer BLT here,” Jason said. “Personally, I like the Cajun stew myself.”

“They both sound good,” I said as I buried my face into the menu. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. “Our Lips are Sealed” by the Go-Go’s playing over the speakers in the high corners of the cafe made my mood that much better. I wished that I could live in this moment forever. When Ms. Lee returned, Jason ordered the stew and I had the BLT. And let me tell you, that was the best sandwich I had ever had.