My Savage Love for You

So Close, Yet So Far

Penn

"Hey, Penn!"

"Hey, Jason!" I replied with relief when I saw his outfit. I walked out of my house feeling overdressed with my jeans and light blue button-up underneath a dark blue jean jacket. I was glad that Jason was dressed in similar attire.

"What's with the doorbell by the way?" I asked as I was invited inside.

"Oh, it's just a sample of my biggest song right now: ♪ SAVAGE LOVE ♪" he sang.

I followed him to his kitchen and sat at the kitchen counter while I watched him prepare his doughnut burger. He started on the meat and as he was mixing the ingredients in a bowl, I couldn't get my eyes off of the strong grip Jason had on the spatula. The veins on his hands led my eyes up to his forearms, then his thick biceps.

I realized what I was thinking and tried to start a conversation by saying, "I was at the new photography museum last night and saw one of your sister's works. It was a photograph of an eye looking at ocean waves. It kind of reminded me of your eyes."

Jason took his eyes off the beef and looked at me with his eyebrows raised all the way up to his hairline, almost as if he was caught off guard. He sheepishly replied, "Oh- uh... Yeah, I haven't been to see it yet because of the past few days." He chuckled awkwardly.

"Well, let your sister know that Sierra and I loved it!"

"Sierra?" Jason said with a new, serious look on his face.

"Yeah, the girl who we ran into at the pool and I went together last night," I answered with a smile.

"Oh... Um, anyway-"

"Wait- is that the Bowers & Wilkins 702 S3 Floor-standing speaker - Mocha in your living room!?" I gasped.

"Oh, yeah. I got that in February for Christmas," Jason humbly remarked as he watched me walk toward the speaker to get a better look. "Do you want to hear it? I can put something on if you want."

"Please!"

Jason washed the seasoning off of his hands and put on "The Lady in My Life" by Michael Jackson. "This is my favorite album," Jason said while looking at the speaker as the romantic song began.

I walked toward him and looked into his eyes. He looked up into mine. I offered my hand and asked in a humorous tone, "Would you like to dance?"

He took my hand and said, "Yes," with bashfulness in his smile.

As the slow soul instrumental continued, Jason's eyes locked into mine. I felt like I was at the photography museum being sucked into that photo once again. His long eyelashes shined as they reflected the day's final rays of sunlight from the window.

Jason broke eye contact and awkwardly announced, "Um, I should go check on the meat." He hurried back to the kitchen and prepared the doughnuts.

I calmly followed him to the kitchen and sat at the same seat by the kitchen counter as before. The room suddenly felt more tense than I remembered it to be. I was worried that I made things awkward and had ruined the mood.

Ring-a-Ring-Ding-Da-Dong

Sierra was Facetiming me.

I told Jason, "Sorry, I'll be right back. I need to take this," and found a hallway to answer my call.

"Hey, Sierra!" I greeted.

"Hey, Penn! What are you doing?" she asked. She seemed to be at home. Her hair was messy and she was lying on her bed on her stomach.

"I'm at Jason's right now. He's making me his 'famous doughnut burger'."

"Oh... Just the two of you?"

"Yeah, he invited me over earlier today. His place is pretty cool. He even has his own voice for a doorbell!" I exclaimed.

"Hmm... That's pretty cool," Sierra said with disinterest. "Anyway, I was thinking that maybe you could swing by tonight to watch a movie or something, but if you're too busy..."

"No, not at all. I can come over when I leave, but for now, I have to hang up. I think the food is ready. I'll text you when I'm on my way, okay?"

"Okay, I'll send you my address. See you soon, Penn!"

When I walked back to the kitchen, there were two plates of doughnut burgers on the dining table.

I took a seat and said, "Sorry about that," lightheartedly.

"No worries. Take a bite and tell me what you think," Jason insisted.

"This is the most American burger that I've ever eaten," I said with my mouthful.

As we ate, Jason and I got to know each other better and the uneasy air in the room from before seemed to have dissipated. I learned that he's a huge foodie. He also told me all about the deep-fried pancake taco he and his sister had for breakfast that day and confided to me about the loss of his best friend. I felt touched when he explained that his loss was what made him closer to his sister, Kim.

Then, there was a gap in our conversation for a topic change. I thought about his muscular body and without thinking twice, I decided to ask, "How much do you lift? You're pretty buff."

"Oh, I actually am not sure, but sometimes I deadlift my 8-seater golf cart if that gives you an idea," Jason replied humbly.

"A golf cart!?" I reacted with my jaw dropped.

Jason laughed.

I said, "No wonder! Do you mind if I feel your biceps? I need to know how stiff the muscles of a man who can deadlift an entire golf cart are."

Jason chuckled and answered, "Sure, go ahead," and rolled up his sleeve.

I squeezed his defined, upper arm and commented, "Wow! These are solid!"

Jason laughed and said with a chuckle, "Okay, I think that's enough," and went to clear our plates.

"Hey, thanks for inviting me over and making me a doughnut burger. They were really something," I said vaguely.

"Yeah, of course," Jason replied as he showed me out. "I hope we can do this again sometime."

I looked into his eyes and said, "Me too," with a small smile. I was standing outside the door while Jason was standing inside his house holding the door open. It was dark out and the dim porch light was my only source of light allowing me to see Jason's beautiful, dark complexion and his glimmering, dreamy eyes.

I stood there for a minute, speechless as I always was when I looked into those eyes. The power of the darkness of his irises made me feel weak. I closed my eyes as my lips gravitated toward his.

Ring-Ring-Da-Ding-a-Ling-RRRING

We were both startled and Jason jumped at the sudden noise. We both quickly backed away from each other and I shook myself out of it. Jason pulled out his phone and muted his ringer.

"Good night, Jason," I said with a smile.

"Good night, Penn," Jason replied awkwardly.