My Beating Heart (Jack Harries)

Chapter Seven

~Jack~

I walked Grace out to her car, and we stood in between my car and hers for a bit. "Thank you for buying me breakfast, Jack. It was really nice." she leaned against her car. "I'm happy that you enjoyed it, Grace. I had a good time too." I got closer to her, and put my left hand up next to her head. "That's good! Um, I guess I'll see you later." she cleared her throat. "Does that mean you want to go out with me again?" I asked. "Of course." she nodded. "Okay. I think we should seal the deal now." I said. I put my hands on her waist and leaned in slowly. Our faces were about an inch apart before she stopped me. "Wait a minute, Jack. I-I don't want to do this right now... I can't." Grace sighed. "Why not?" I looked into her eyes. "Because things are still weird for me after what happened." she brushed a black curl behind her ear. "Just try to forget about that, okay?" I touched her cheek. "I'm trying to, but it's hard. Let's just wait til next time." she put her hands on my shoulders. "Okay, sorry. Am I being pushy?" I asked. "A little bit." she nodded. "I'm sorry. I want you to be comfortable with me, and... things are still weird for me too." I admitted. "I am comfortable with you, and things will get better." Grace smiled. "Yeah, they will. Uh, could I at least get a hug?" I held out my arms. "Absolutely." she chuckled and gave me a hug. "Thank you." I smiled and hugged her back. We separated after a minute and got in our cars, then I drove down the street after starting it up. "Hm, maybe I could go to the pet store and look into getting a dog or something." I said. I turned on the radio, and Judas by Lady Gaga started playing. I would never admit this to anyone, but I really like her music... I guess it's a guilty pleasure of mine. "I am just a holy fool and baby you're so cruel, but I'm still in love with Judas baby!" I sang along. I drove into town to Julie's pet store and parked in front, then walked inside. "Can I help you with something?" the guy behind the register asked. "No, that's okay. I'm just going to look around for a bit." I told him. "Okay, that's fine." he smiled. I went over to the cats first, and there are so many to choose from. There was one that really stood out to me, though... a gray and black striped kitten named Luna. She had blue eyes and a little pink nose. "Hi Luna. You're such a cutie." I chuckled. She got closer to me and rubbed up against the front of the kennel. "Aw, what a sweetheart." I smiled. "You like Luna?" the guy behind the register came up to me. "Yeah, she's cute." I nodded. "Would you like to hold her?" he asked. "Can I?" I looked at him. "Yeah, sure. Just let me go get the key." he said. He went behind the counter and grabbed a key. He came back and unlocked the cage, then I took her out. I held her in my arms, and she just stayed there and purred softly. "Aww..." I chuckled softly. "I think she likes you." he said. "Yeah, but I don't think I can get her right now." I sighed. "That's okay. Just come back when you can. I'm sure she'll still be here." he smiled. "Okay, thank you. I'll be back tomorrow." I said. "Alright. I'll be looking forward to it." he winked and bit his lip. Oh my god, is this guy seriously flirting with me right now? "Uh, okay then. I promise I'll be back tomorrow, Luna." I said. I set her back in the cage, and the guy locked it up. I was just about to walk out until I heard my phone go off. I took it out and Finn was calling me, so I answered it. "Ello brother." I said. "Hey Jack, are you doing anything on Wednesday?" he asked. "No, I don't think so. Why?" I pushed the front door open and walked out. "You remember Max, right?" he asked. "If you're talking about Maxwell Wilson, then yes." I said. "Yep, that's him. He's coming back for a week, and he wants to meet us at Blue for drinks." he said. "Alright, I'll be there. What time?" I asked. "He said nine p.m." Finn said, after a moment of hesitation. "Yep, tell Max I'll be there." I smiled. "Okay, will do. Bye Jack." he said. I didn't even have a chance to say bye back before he hung up on me. "Ugh, he always does that." I sighed. I got in my car and started it up, then drove up the street to get back home. I parked in the driveway and walked up to the door, then unlocked it. After taking my shoes off, I went into my room and looked in the closet. "Ah, it's still here." I said. I took my jar of money from the top shelf, and took the top off. I've saved up money ever since I was little, and I have at least three thousand dollars in the jar.