Falling for The Wrong Brother

Chapter 4: First Date

I lay back on my bed, dazed. What should I wear. Definitely one of my Paris outfit. Actually I couldn’t imagine wearing any of my old clothes ever again. They were so like the old Dana.

Finally I decided on one of my favorite Paris outfit- the dress is black and completely backless with long sleeves and ends a little above my knee. I chose a black five-inch round toe heels. The outfit goes with a black blazer that sits just above my ass, covering the back of my dress so you couldn’t tell it was totally backless.

I used some of the light face powder my Aunt Elise had bought for me and bright red lipstick. Elise told me to concentrate on one or two features, my lips or cheekbones or eyes. It was more natural and more dramatic than wearing a lot of make-up.

“Hi!” I greeted Jake.

Jake stood there stunned. He was wearing a pair of olive-colored pants and beige polo shirt, and he looks salivating. His smells good and look perfectly handsome.

“Bonjour!”he said. His eyes twinkled. “Oh,wow! You look great.”

“Thanks.” I said, my head spinning. I wanted to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. Finally, I was really, truly going on a date with Jake Janssen!

I grabbed my purse and followed him to his mother’s red convertible. It was such a sporty, flirty kind of car, for a cool guy like Jake. I smiled as he come around to open the door for me.

To my disappointment, he didn’t open the door though. “The car was riding a little low today.” He said, bending down to test the rear tire. “I just want to make sure we don’t get a flat tire.” I watched as he pushed his fingers against the rubber of the tire.”Nah,” he said, getting up and walking back around. “Looks fine.” And he get in the car.

“Good.” I said as I opened the door on my own. What was the big deal about opening doors, anyway? I console myself. I am a sophisticated girl now, I can open my own door.

I smiled to myself. Date number 1 with Jake Janssen, here we go. I settled into my seat and fastened my seatbelt and we headed for the cinema.

On the way there, Jake entertained me with the stories of the past year. As I listened to Jake’s stories I realized that not only was Jake Janssen the best-looking guy in campus, he was also the most fun to be around. There were none of those awkward moments where you have nothing to say, then you both blurt out something at the same time, and argue who should go first.

By the time we pulled on the parking lot of the mall where the cinema was located, I was convinced that I had been right all along for harboring this feelings on Jake. We would be the premier couple on campus this year. I would be the envy of all the girls as Jake pulled into the parking lot every morning with me in the passenger seat. I couldn’t wait to see the faces of his ex-girlfriends.

I let Jake pick the movie. To my dismay he chose Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I was hoping he would pick something romantic, Catching Fire was way more romantic than Captain America, The Gale-Katniss-Peeta thingy was not romantic enough for first date but Captain America was way , way not suitable for the romantic ambiance I am trying so hard to create.

We sat in the back row. As the previews began, Jack whispered in my ear, “I can’t believe you were so close for all these years and it took us this long to find each other.” I suppressed my giggle.

It took this long for you to find me, I corrected him in my mind.

As the lights dimmed, Jack slipped his arm over the back of my seat. During the coming attractions, I felt his hand lightly brush my shoulder. At first I stiffened at his touch. I was so nervous, I  had waited practically all my life for this moment, to be on a real date with Jake. Now he was making his move, and I was nervous. Hell, no! This was the old Dana reacting. The new Dana has to take charge.

I leaned back against his shoulder. Jake seemed encourage by my response, and started to stroke my hair. I was glad I left it natural after I shampooed and conditioned it so it felt soft and silky instead of sticky with hairstyling gel. His fingers caressed my neck and slipped down to rub my shoulders in a gentle massage.

As much as I had daydreamed about what it would be like to be with Jake, I could never have imagined the way it actually felt now that it was really happening to me. At first his touch was like a high-voltage wire on my bare skin. It jolted me and sent my heart racing. But then, when I relaxed, it was like lying on a beach with the gentle heat of the sun washing over my entire body.

The movie started and we sat back to watch. At one point during the movie, he turned his head just as I was leaning to asked him something about the characters and his lips brushed against mine.

It wasn’t exactly a kiss. It was more like our lips were just accidentally in the same place at the same time.

It caught me off guard, I didn’t feel a thing. I had imagined that my first kiss with Jake would be a momentous event. But this wasn’t anything like that.

Maybe my expectation had been too high. Or maybe because this was not a real kiss. I tried not to be disappointed. But I was.

“So what did you think of the movie?” Jack asked me after the final credits rolled.

“Uhm, it’s good.” I lied.

Jake smiled, he was looking at my lips, his eyes twinkling.

I thought about how our lips had brushed. How could I have not felt something? Jake was gorgeous and charming, and I had been in love with him practically forever. It must have been my fault. I was not ready. But I’d be ready the next time.

“How about some ice cream at Sofia’s?” Jake suggested.

“Sure.” For some reason I didn’t want to tell him I’d just been there with his brother this afternoon. I didn’t know why since there is nothing wrong with bestfriends going for ice cream. I guess I just didn’t want to mention Zach while I was with Jake. I didn’t want Jake to think of me as the little girl who played with his little brother when they were growing up. That was the old Dana, and I am a new person now.

Sofia’s was packed. I recognized a few people, and of course, everyone from school had to say hi to Jake. One boy stared at me as I passed until his date poked him in the ribs to get his attention back. I noticed that a couple of senior girls eyed me jealously.

Four guys from the football team were polishing off double sundaes. “Hey, Jake, dude, “ one of them called. “Wanna join us?”

I flinched. This was my first date with Jake. I wanted it to be our night. Jake and me alone.

To my horror, Jake agreed. And so we were stuck with his football buddies all night and their jealous girlfriends.

Some first date this turned out to be. So what, I argued with myself. I was right here where I wanted to be, with Jake. Whatever the consequences, I am with the most handsome and popular guy in the campus, on our first date.