To Kiss Kate

16. the city (1)

Katiya Carpenter's Point of View:

So far, the day with Jack had been better than I could have imagined. To start off, I was nervous. I felt like Jack and I were moving too fast, and I didn't know if I should trust him yet, but I did. Everything with Jack felt easy, even though it was so fast and complicated. It took a lot of encouragement from Genny to convince me to even come with him, but she agreed; Jack felt different, and we had so little time together, it was logical to move so quickly, it had to be even if I wasn't ready for it.

I was nervous that his friends wouldn't like me. I was nervous that like his parents, they wouldn't approve of me or judge me for reasons I couldn't control. However, he was right. Brad and Ashton were cool, and Jack didn't deal with judgmental bullshit, ever. I hoped that the rest of his friends would be just as welcoming.

However, I was excited to not have to hide anymore. In Hamilton, I felt like we were always holding back for someone, or something. Hiding from Jason, keeping things polite with his parents, hiding my dad's issues from Jack, and just generally trying to keep each other on the DL for mutual benefits. It was tiring, and I was excited to be able to do whatever we wanted.

We had arrived in the city around 9 am on Friday. We had kind of relaxed together for awhile, and it really was the most calm I felt in a long time. I had a feeling that this trip was exactly what I needed, and I think Jack somehow knew that before I even did. After just laying together talking for awhile, we decided on food. Jack had told me beforehand that this weekend was going to be one long date, to make up for very small number of dates we had been on in Hamilton. But, I was pretty sure this was just Jack's way of making it clear I didn't have to worry about paying for anything, which as much as I hated, appreciated. I had been working hard this summer, and I knew that I had a decent amount of money to splurge with if I wanted this weekend.

He brought me to his "favorite hungover breakfast spot" even though we were not hungover, but we agreed that waking up early had the same effect. We walked to the restaurant and ate good, warm, breakfast food. One hundred times better than Duke's would ever be. I was impressed, and told Jack that I would never force him to Duke's again. It was exciting finally being led by Jack. He fit in easily with my friends at home, but I still was the knowledge bearer of Hamilton to him. It was nice for the roles to be reversed.

I paid for breakfast while he was in the bathroom, much to his dismay when he came back. I reasoned with him that I knew better, and that he should let me pay for at least one day of events, to which he finally obliged. After breakfast he brought me to a locals-only ice cream shop. It was a little early for dessert, but ice cream was my favorite so I didn't mind. As we ate ice cream we walked down the streets slowly and calmly. He asked if I had ever been on the subway, and after I said no, he dragged me hastily down the stairs and we rode the subway to odd places of the city for a few hours.

The day was perfect, and I had no idea how to thank him, but also had no idea how he was planning to fill two more days of exciting events. I had a lot of faith in him to make it happen though.

Now, we were getting ready to meet his friends. Dinner and a party, which apparently was a thing here. Dinner didn't start until 8, which was different for me, but I was surprisingly really enjoying hanging out with Jack. Well, it wasn't too surprising.

I was thankful that Genny had helped me pack, Jack was wearing a dress shirt and dark jeans. I had asked him beforehand for general ideas of what I should be wearing, which he was actually helpful in answering. Genny had loaned me a few 'just in case' dresses and I was wearing the best one tonight. It was a dark blue, short, silky, slip dress, it was hot, but not skanky. I wore it with nude summer heels and a smile.