“Here are some ideas for something for Kendra." Matthew hands me a piece of paper.
I take it and look at the handwriting, too nice to be his. “Your ideas or Michael’s?”
“A little of both,” he says sheepishly.
“Hello.” Jasmine notices Michael. She's eyeing him as if he’s her next conquest.
I turn and introduce them. “Jasmine, this is Matt’s friend Michael. Michael, this is Jasmine.”
“Nice to meet you, Jasmine,” Michael extends his hand.
“Nice to meet you too,” Jasmine’s voice has a familiar flirtatious ring to it. She doesn't let go of his hand immediately. “How long are you staying?”
“Actually,” Michael shoulders his bag. "I’m leaving right now.”
“Too bad,” Jasmine replies.
“I’d stay longer, but my mom is ready to kill me for not being home already.” He turns to me. “It was nice to see you again, Jess. Call me when you get back to school and we can make plans.”
“Sure.” I ignore the curious look Jasmine is giving me. “I guess I’ll see you in a little over a week.”
“I’ll be waiting.” Michael replies.
I’m afraid of that.
ten
Out of Reach
Jasmine accosts me in the car. “Who’s Michael?
“Matt’s friend from Fort Bliss.” I adjust the heater vent in Jasmine's car without looking at her.
“What did he mean byplans?” Jasmine won't let this go without details.
I take a deep breath. “Michael's family is in Pullman. He invited me to a New Year’s Eve party there.”
“He’s cute. So you’re going?”
I nod.
She gives me a long look. “Are you going to tell Jacob?”
I hesitate for a minute. “I haven’t decided yet. It’s a party, not really a date, but I still feel guilty about it.”
Jasmine flips through the stations on the radio. “My advice, go and have fun. Don’t tell Jacob anything. It’ll be better that way.”
I've learned to be selective about which of Jasmine's relationship advice I follow, but this time I think she might be right.
“I’ll treat you to dinner,” Jasmine says when we’re driving home from shopping.
“Sounds good.” It's taken all day to get through Jasmine's list and find something for Kendra. I'm exhausted and starving.
"What are you in the mood for? Italian? Chinese?"
"Actually, I'm kind of in the mood for a good burger. We could—" A report on the radio stops me.
“...Fort Lewis soldiers killed when a suicide bomber walked into a crowded mess hall in Mosul yesterday.”
