The Marshall Boy

Six

Six.
Jessica
Three Years Earlier...

Blake is taking me on a date tonight, and I'm more nervous than I was for my first gig. I straightened my curly hair, put on a little more makeup than normal, and changed my outfit three times. I press my hands to my stomach to calm the butterflies, but smile despite the nerves.

"You look happy." Marlee sings as she walks into my room, and plops down on the bed. She's dressed in her painting clothes, which stresses me out because I don't want her to get paint on my pink comforter.

"I'm excited." I admit, smiling into the dresser mirror as I smooth out my pink dress; the heat in LA has taken some time to adjust to but I'm starting to like it better than the rainy weather in Washington.

"I can tell." She replies, as she grins. "You should model for me so I can paint you a picture of your first date of many."

"You think we'll work?" I ask hesitently, as I brush my long blonde bangs out of my face.

She nods, "Yeah, Blake's a really great guy. He'll take care of you." She says softly, and I smile at her. She's my older cousin, and she grew up a lot harder than I did. She's scraped, and worked hard for the life she has now; she's also very protective of me because she says I've been sheltered too much. After being in LA for a month, I'm starting to see what she meant.

"I'll get it!" She sings as she hops off the bed, and races to the door after the first knock. I suck in a deep breath before grabbing my purse and heading out after her. Blake is standing at the door, clad in a blue collared shirt, jeans and some comfortable looking dress shoes. He smiles at me when he sees me, and I smile back.

"Hey," I greet, and he nods in response.

"You have her back before twelve now," Marlee does her best impression of a Dad, and Blake grins at her. They've been friends for over a year now, and I can already tell how close they are; I'm hoping he and I can be even closer.

"You ready?" He asks me, still laughing at my cousin. I nod as I head over to him, hug Marlee, then step outside.

"Have a good time!" She calls loudly down the hall, causing our elderly neighbor to bang on the wall, telling her to shut up. This only makes her laugh, as she waves us off as we step onto the elevator. The doors close, and I'm left alone with Blake and his ocean cologne. He smells as good as he looks.

"How's your day been?" He inquires, making small talk as we descend to the first floor.

"Good," I answer, "Yours?"

"Boring," He responds honestly, as he adjusts the watch on his wrist.

"Oh really?" I reply curiously, and he nods.

"Business meetings, making calls a secretary should be doing; it's pretty tiring." He admits, and I nod.

"I worked as a secretary back home." I tell him, and he raises a brow.

"You did?"

I laugh, as we step off the elevator and head to the front door of the building. "Yeah, I worked at a vet's office."

"So you like animals?" He asks, as he holds the door for me and we walk out onto the street.

"No, I'm allergic to a lot of them." I tell him, as he steers me to a black Range Rover SUV. I climb in with ease, as he shuts the door for me then gets in on his side.

"But you still worked there?" He inquires, and I shrug.

"I didn't get around animals, only answered calls." I sound as if I'm suggesting he hire me: which I honestly wouldn't be opposed to, then I could see him all day.

"Well, I'm sure you were great at it." He smiles as he turns on the car and pulls out onto the main road. So, either he's turning me down gently, or he doesn't take hints well.

"I never got fired." I admit, and he sends me a smile before his eyes meet the road again. "Where are we headed?"

"I thought we'd grab a bite to eat, then head to a movie?" He runs it by me, and I suddenly wonder where he's from because the twang in his voice when he said 'grab a bite to eat' was very prominent.

"That sounds good," I agree, smiling. "Are you from the south?"

He laughs at this, "What gave me away?"

"The southern accent." I grin, which makes him smile.

"You caught me. Small town in North Carolina. What about you?" He asks as he turns on his blinker and pulls into a parking lot of a small diner. If his accent hadn't given it away, the choice of restaurant definitely does.

"Washington state." I admit, and he whistles which I find incredibly attractive.

"You like rain?" He grins as he puts the car in park, and looks over at me.

"More like, I'm used to it." I answer and he nods.

"I'm glad you don't like it too much, because it doesn't rain here. All the sunshine gets a little old, if I'm honest." He tells me, as we meet in front of the car.

"Rain's overrated." I comment, smiling up at him.

He sends me a small smile back, "I guess for someone from Washington." Is he flirting? I can't tell. He's too smooth. I like him.