Chapter Six

The next day, I got dressed wearing the best outfit I had. I wore a red flare dress that stopped till my thighs and left my hair loose. I tried to keep my make up as simple as possible as I didn't want him to think I was trying too much. After I was convinced with how I looked, I went to my classes. I was excited to see him but nervous at the same time. I kept checking my phone every minute expecting a call or text from him saying 'This is all a joke'. I was so unsure, what if he finds me boring? What if he loses interest in me after today? My mind was filled with negative thoughts. Finally, when the class was over, I jumped from my seat to see him.

"Woah, slow down gorgeous!" Chad stopped me on the way and I gave him a nervous smile.

"What's the occasion?" He trailed his eyes all over me and I started to think that I dressed too much.

"I'm meeting Jake. Do I look good? Is it too much?" I panicked.

"You look amazing and he is gonna have a hard time controlling himself," he teased me and I rolled my eyes.

"Have fun Ash, I'm late for my class," he waved me goodbye and I walked slowly to the library and found him already sitting under the tree on the stone bench outside the library.

Okay, you have got this.

He was busy on his phone and my phone started to ring. Awww, he was calling me. On hearing my ringtone he turned around and stood up immediately.

"Ashley, I was just calling you." He smiled shyly, scratching his head. Oh wow, he looked so cute. He was wearing a fitting black shirt with his sleeves rolled up and a blue dark wash jeans. His hair looked all messed up like he just got out of the bed which made him look even hotter. Why was he so hot? His eyes roamed all over my body and I started to feel shy.

"You look so beautiful," he gazed into my eyes and It felt like he was looking right through me.

"Do you have any more classes?" he asked as he came closer and stood right in front of me.

"No," I replied immediately and a small smile was playing around the corner of his lips.

"C'mon, let's go then." He stretched out for my hand and I entwined my hands between the gap of his fingers. I swear my body was on fire. Deep breaths. We reached his car and he opened the door for me as I got in. He went around to sit on the driver seat and started to drive.

"Where are we going?" I was curious and asked him as I fastened the seat belt.

"It's a surprise." He smiled widely.

"I hope you are not gonna kill me and bury me in the woods." I joked.

"Trust me no one would wanna kill someone like you," he winked and I blushed hard. The car ride went smoothly even though we didn't talk much and it didn't feel odd at all. The silence was comforting too. We finally reached a small park in a hilly region that overlooked a vast sky. It looked amazing. The sky was bright and clear as it was past noon.

"This is my favorite place. I come here all the time. The sunset would be perfect from here and during the night, the view would be so mesmerizing." He paused "Just like you." I found him looking at me.

"It is beautiful, Jake." I smiled as I looked around. It was so calm and serene.

"Let's go sit," he took my hand again and we started to walk. Okay, it's a thing now. I am not complaining.

We sat on a bench under the shade of a huge tree and observed the kids around there in silence.

"I'm glad that you trusted me and agreed to come with me." He broke the silence.

"Well, I enjoy spending time with you too," I said looking at the kids playing around avoiding his gaze as it made me feel butterflies in my stomach. He told me about his childhood, how he used to come here with his dad all the time. It was nice to know that he was also comfortable with me.

"I can't believe you would bully the kids like that." I laughed as he told me one of his childhood memories.

"Hey, they took my spot and I had to show them that I was the boss man and it was my spot." He defended himself and looked so adorable. He was such a kid sometimes.

"Tell me about you, how was life in LA?" He turned and focused his gaze on me. I told him everything about my home and high school and Emma.

"I see that you are being very careful in talking with me, I don't know what happened in the past but I'm not like other guys, Ash." How he hell did he figure out? Am I that readable?

"I know, Jake, I just don't want you to find me boring or plain. I mean look at you. You could have any girl. I am way out of your league and it still feels like a dream that you are interested in me." I didn't meet his gaze and he placed his hand below my chin and lifted my face so that I was looking at him.

"Hey, where is this coming from? I liked the cute and shy girl that I bumped into the other day. I like you for who you are, Ash. And you are so damn beautiful. Don't you ever have such thoughts? You are perfect and I know this is too soon and we agreed to be friends before we go any further. But all I want to do is kiss you, Ashley, from the moment I laid my eyes on you." He paused and took my face in his hands "I have never felt this way before. I know you are being careful. But I would never hurt you, Ash." He looked straight into my eyes and I was blown away literally. Those eyes could never hurt me. I smiled and nodded my head not knowing what to say as I was still processing everything he said. He wanted to kiss me. I looked at his lips feeling the same way.

"At what time do you have to be at work?" he looked at his watch.

"At 4," I immediately brushed my thoughts aside and let out a breath.

"Let's grab something to eat and I'll drop you, okay?" he got up and I copied his actions.

"Okay," We walked towards his car and drove in silence. We reached a small Burger shop and went inside, finding a seat near the window. The waiter came to take our orders as soon as we sat down.

"I'll have a cheeseburger with a vanilla milkshake and crispy fries." I gave my order while he looked at me amusingly.

"I'll have the same with chocolate milkshake instead,"

"A girl with appetite, that's refreshing," he smiled, his gaze not leaving mine.

"Hey, I like to eat, I mean who doesn't?" I shrugged. It was so easy to talk with him and I was loving every bit of it.

"Well, most of the girls don't, even if they want to," He was right about that and I nodded in agreement.

"So you must have traveled a lot with the restaurant business and all, right?" I asked, wanting to know more about him

"Yeah, I had to accompany my dad most of the time and I used to roam around the places while he was busy in his meetings," I noticed he spoke a lot about his dad and never mentioned his mom and I didn't bother to ask as I felt it was something personal.

"I like traveling too but never had the chance to do so." I pouted, sadly.

"I'll take you someday." He winked. And I blushed yet again for the millionth time that day. Our food arrived and we gorged into it. It was delicious.

"Do you like art?" he asked out of the blue.

"That's a strange question. But, yeah I do," I replied, sipping on my milkshake and licking my lips. His eyes went dark following my actions and I noticed his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. I felt a strange sensation building between my legs and I squeezed my thighs. He cleared his throat immediately.

"Then you are accompanying me to this art show that my dad wants me to attend," he stated and continued to munch on his fries.

"What if I had said I didn't like art?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I would have taken you with me anyway." He smiled showing his dimples and I shook my head, smiling at his response.

"It's this Saturday. Will you come?" I didn't have anything fancy to wear. I was thinking about what to do and he thought I was hesitating. I noticed when his face fell in disappointment. Shit!

"I'll come. I was just wondering what to wear," I blurted and my cheeks went red in embarrassment.

"You scared me for a minute. I can take you shopping, Ash." He offered to help and I didn't want to seem pathetic.

"No no, no way. I'll figure it out, you just tell me the time and place. I'll be there," I assured him.

"Are you kidding? I'm picking you up. It's at 7 pm." He replied with his mouth full of food. Damn, I didn't know someone could look so adorable even while eating.

The rest of the meal went well. We spoke about a lot of things. He didn't have any siblings. He loved football. Also, he was a huge Marvel and star wars fan. He had two best friends Dan and Austin who were with him since childhood. He seemed pretty simple for a guy whose dad was super-rich. And I liked that about him.

Once we were done with the meal. I offered to pay, reasoning with him that he already paid for coffee the other day. He looked at me in an amusing way and raced me to the bill counter before I could move. I looked at how silly and adorable he was being. God! He made me feel so happy. I don't remember laughing so much.

"Shall we leave?" He smiled goofily.

"Yeah let's go." I rolled my eyes and followed him out of the door.

We soon reached my home and he stopped the car. He turned towards me, unbuckling his seat belt. I started to feel nervous. Was he going to kiss me? What should I do? I was feeling all kinds of fireworks inside my body.