The Shades of Blue

7. Dinner, ice cream, and...

Jo's dad opened the door. Blue was standing on their porch, like he had done countless times for the past 16 years.

-" Hi Jerry, is Jo ready?"
-" Yeah almost, she's in the kitchen. What are you two having planned for tonight?"
-" Dinner, ice cream and then we're gonna catch a movie. Don't worry, I know the drill. I'll take her back before 10 all in one piece." Blue smiled. Jo's dad wasn't messing around with boys who took his daughter out. Blue knew what he expected.

Jerry laughed. Blue was a nice kid. Respectful, funny, well mannered, great outdoor, and was always able to be a dear friend to Jo whenever his daughter needed.
-" Good for you son. Come on in, she'll be right out."

Blue stepped in, waited by the front door and was glancing in the mirror to check how he looked, when suddenly he smelled the comforting scent of rose and green tea. He looked up and in that instant, his mind stopped working.

Approaching from the kitchen hall was Jo, only different. The girl he grew up with was always in an oversized hoodie, leggings with a messy bun and almost never had makeup on. This girl in front of his eyes was a gorgeous princess. Blue breathed in the rosy scent, looked at the last rays of setting sun from the kitchen window surrounded Jo, perfectly radiant and heavenly. And for the first time since he knew her, he was at a lost for words.

Jo smiled, reached put and touched Blue's shoulder, successfully broke the spell. He shook the amazement off, smile and walked her out after saying bye to her parents. Blue opened the car door for Jo, looked at the way her wavy hair was bouncing as she walked towards his car and sat in, then walked over to his side and got in.

-" I know I should've said this before but wow you look stunning."
-" The only time you've seen me in a dress. And you don't look too bad yourself kind sir." Jo giggled. Blue smiled as he reached over and fastened her seatbelt for her. Jo got butterflies for a second, she breathed in and the air was surrounded by Blue's cologne. She remembered telling him that she liked this scent, and ever since Blue had been using it, even though he had to order it from France.

-" So I was thinking we grab dinner at the Grills, then pop off to Main street for the ice cream, then the rooftop movie yeah? What do you feel like having for dinner?"
-" Maybe just the regular, I'm not really hungry." Jo took a peek at Blue. He's wearing a dark blue, almost navy colored shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, black jeans with some rips on the knees and a pair of sneakers. His hair was now black because last weekend in a spur they all dyed his hair, so now Blue looked less like the boy she grew up with, and somehow a mysterious and attractive man.

-" What?" Blue noticed her stare, laughed and turned to her as they stopped at a traffic light.
-" Nothing! I just think you look really nice." Jo shrugged, tilted her head a bit in the process and then turned to the window, trying to hide a smile. God he loved it when she shrugged.

They arrived at the Grills, Blue ordered for Jo as she went to the restroom. His phone buzzed and Blue looked at it. It was a text from Garrett.

'How's it going Blue?"
'So far so good. Haven't done anything dumb yet LOL'
'Ehh you'll do it soon enough. How's Jo?'
'She's nervous, and tbh me too.'
'Well duh, after her last date, I'm surprised she even agreed to go out with you.'

Blue frowned, knowing Garrett was doing the same thing over the phone. The last time Jo went on a date was about 6 months ago, and both Garrett and Blue hated what happened on that day. They all loathed it.

Blue looked up, saw Jo walking back from the restroom, put his phone away and smiled at her. Because her last date was like that, Blue was determined to turn her first date after it the best date anyone could ever wanted.

They had dinner and chatted all the while. Out of the three, Jo had always been closer to Blue, because they are more compatible. Being a Sagittarius, she had always have more in common with the Aries in Blue rather than the Pisces in Garrett, but all things considered, the three were very close. They talked about school and small things they both enjoyed, Blue told her how people at school actually thought she was a cool person and a lot have been wanting to be friends with her, while Jo laughed at the idea but still couldn't believe it. Jo talked about the one time she climbed the tree in front of Blue's house while waiting for him and couldn't get off, so Garrett had to catch her and Blue almost choked on the story.

Afterwards, Blue drove Jo to get ice cream. It was a small shop on Main street called Jody's Sweets and Treats. The three have been going to this place ever since Jo discovered it when they were 8, and it became one of her things. The owners recognized Jo and Blue, got excited as they realized this was probably a date, and gave the two a special discount.

Jo's pick for that night was Very Berry and Blue got Chocolaty Chocolate, they shared and giggled as the night went on. Blue was relieved seeing Jo smiling and laughing on a date, and every time he motioned towards her, she no longer flinched. Had it been 6 months ago, she would've cowered in so much she looked tiny as if she was going to disappear. And Blue hated the way her eyes were always red and puffy every morning because she had cried the night before.

-" Why are you looking at me like that?"
-" Like what?"
-" That. Like I'm a Golden Retriever that just retrieved a piece of gold for you."

Jo giggled, looked straight into Blue's eyes. Maybe it's the Sagittarius in her or just her nature, but one thing that made Jo different from most girls was the way she looked at people. She was never afraid of eye contact. She would look straight into someone's eyes as she spoke with them. Most people found that intimidating, but Blue found it unique and had been loving it. Now she was looking at him dead in the eyes, her brown doe eyes sparkled under the light with a beautiful smile. Only then did Blue realized that he had been looking at her and smiled gently for the past minute.

-" Nothing. I'm just glad you're having fun."
-" I am, and I'm glad you are too."

Jo smiled to herself as they paid for the ice cream and walked out. She spent the entire afternoon worrying sick about tonight, feared it might be awkward, that she might ruin their friendship by saying or doing something dumb. But then she stopped, because it's Blue. The most understanding, loving and caring person in the world.

-" Now to the movies. What do you want to watch?"
-" I don't know if I want to watch a movie anymore.."

Being a Sagittarius, it is common to be inconsistent and impulsive. Blue was used to this because he's just like that. They were always the responsible for the "spur of the moment" moments in the trio, and Garrett always nagged them about it, but eventually did them anyway.

-" So what do you have in mind then?" Blue turned off the engine, turned to Jo and unconsciously smiled. Jo had an adorable thinking face. She would tilt her head a bit to the right, frown a little, her nose all scrunched up and she would pout a bit. It's Blue's favorite thing to look at whenever they were doing homework together.
-" Hmm.. ok I got it. Let's go-"