Hollis waited impatiently for Jake to show up. She was anxious about their first date.
Jake showed up at Foster’s office at six-thirty to pick Hollis up, making sure Foster Prentice had left the building.
“You’re late,” said Hollis, who had butterflies in her stomach and second thoughts in her head.
“No, no, I’m not,” insisted Jake. “I left work on time, and I got here early, but your boss wouldn’t leave. I didn’t want to meet him. You know, with his wife being my shrink and all. I’m sorry, Hollis.”
Jake’s dark eyes were sincere, and he looked at her imploringly, begging her to understand.
Hollis, who was lashing out because of her own nervousness, looked into his eyes and saw the depth of Jake’s passion for her. She knew he was being truthful.
“That’s okay,” she said. “I guess I don’t want Foster Prentice to know my personal business any more than you do.”
“So we can still go on our date?”
“Of course we can.”
Hollis locked the front office doors and walked with Jake to the elevator in silence.
She wasn’t sure what to say.
Jake had washed up after work and put on a modish shirt and jacket. His cologne smelled pleasantly of citrus, not at all what Hollis would have expected. He slicked back his hair, and he shaved off his facial hair for their date. She wished he hadn’t. He was still wearing his boots and jeans, but managed to look like the sartorial boyfriend. Jake’s outfit made Hollis look rather prudish.
As they walked out of the building, Jake said, “I’ll drive.”
Hollis could only imagine what kind of car someone like Jake would drive.
“It’s not a motorcycle, is it?” she asked.
“No,” he laughed. “It’s an economy car. It’s all I can afford. What kind of guy do you think I am?”
“I don’t know. A bad boy?”
“Well, you’re partially right, but you know the old me. I used to have a motorcycle, and I’ve made bad choices. But I don’t do that anymore. I have a job and car payments, and I go to school part-time like a guy who has a future. But if you ever lose your keys, I can still hotwire a car.”
“I didn’t mean that the way it came out,” said Hollis.
“Relax, I was just joking.”
Jake led Hollis through the parking lot and stopped at an older-looking Volkswagen Jetta Sport. The car was clean and freshly detailed.
“I’m sure that this isn’t the kind of car you’re used to when you go out on a date, but it’s what I can manage to pay for. Plus, a car like this keeps me out of trouble.”
“I like it,” said Hollis. “But I think you have the wrong idea about me. I haven’t dated in a while. And I don’t run in wealthy circles.”
Jake smiled. “I guess we have a lot to learn about each other.”
Hollis looked into Jake’s dark eyes and felt very much at ease.
The restaurant Jake chose for Hollis embodied the eclectic atmosphere he had mentioned on the phone when he confirmed their date. Nunzio’s, an authentic Italian establishment run by Sicilian immigrants, featured an open-air bistro and sidewalk café.
The façade was distinguished by a neon sign displaying its name, while the interior showcased a variety of Sicilian art and photographs. The tables and chairs were intentionally mismatched, as were the plates and cutlery. Even the assortment of garage-sale glassware contributed to an ambience reminiscent of traditional old-world charm.
Hollis was pleased. Tonight, Nunzio’s restaurant would be a happy part of her new dating adventure. Here she was at an offbeat restaurant with a handsome, somewhat mysterious guy her own age. Screw that old fucking pervert, Foster Prentice.
Jake ordered sodas and fried calamari for an appetizer and a Sicilian pizza for both of them.
Jake started the conversation. “What’s it like to work for Foster Prentice?”
“What’s it like to be analyzed by Dr. Aubrey Prentice?”
“Bad choice of topic.” Jake grimaced, then smiled. “Why don’t we talk about how happy I am that you said yes to this date?”
“That’s more like it,” Hollis said.
“So,” Jake asked, “what have you been up to since you graduated high school? Besides working for Foster Prentice.”
Hollis laughed. It had been a while since a boy had made her laugh.
“Well, I still live with my parents, and I’m planning to go part-time to college, too.”
Jake leaned in, his elbows resting lightly on the worn table. “What are you going to study?”
“I’m not sure yet,” Hollis admitted, twisting her straw wrapper. “Maybe interior design. Maybe business. I don’t know. But I know I want to do something more with my life.”
“More than filing papers and answering phones for a guy who harasses you?”
Hollis was startled by how accurately he’d read her.
“I mean—” Jake backpedaled gently, “I don’t know him. I’ve just seen the way he walks through the building. Like the lights only come on because he allows it.”
Hollis laughed. “Okay, that’s scarily accurate.”
Jake smiled, pleased to have made her laugh again.
“But yeah,” she said, “I want more. I want a real direction, to finally become something impressive.”
“But you already are. You’re kind,” he said without hesitation. “You’re steady. You notice things. And you see people. Even when we don’t deserve it…like me.”
Hollis felt awkward. She wasn’t used to this type of real conversation. But Jake smiled at her. She wasn’t used to this either.
“So what about you?” she asked, needing to shift the conversation to take the focus off her feelings. “You said you’re taking classes. What are you studying?”
“Automotive tech. Probably not so smart, but it’s something I’m good at.” He shrugged. “Engines make sense to me. People don’t.”
“I don’t know,” Hollis said, “you’re doing pretty well tonight.”
“Only because you’re making it easy.”
Hollis felt the warmth climb into her cheeks.
The calamari arrived, crispy and sweet-smelling.
“So,” she said, “you were rough around the edges in high school.”
Jake laughed once, low. “That’s a generous way to put it.”
“I mean, you didn’t talk to anyone. You just brooded and vanished after sophomore year.”
“That wasn’t by choice,” Jake said. “But I’m not that guy anymore.”
“I can see that,” Hollis said. And she meant it.
He lifted his soda glass. “Then here’s to not being who we used to be.”
Hollis clinked her glass against his. “To better versions.”
“Do you want to know something embarrassing?” Jake asked.
“Sure.”
“I was terrified you’d say no to going out with me.”
Hollis laughed again, but it wasn’t teasing. “Why? I’m nothing special.”
His expression changed to one of seriousness.
“You’re special to me,” he said.
She broke the moment with a nervous sip of her soda. “So what happens after pizza?”
Jake grinned. And it wasn’t the brooding boy she remembered. It was the man he was trying to be.
“Well,” he said, “that depends entirely on you.”
The pizza came out steaming. Thick Sicilian crust, charred edges, fresh basil scattered like confetti. Jake slid a slice onto Hollis’s plate before serving himself, and for some reason, that small gesture made an impression.
“So,” Hollis said, trying to break the warm silence, “I’m warning you. I eat pizza like a raccoon. It’s not cute.”
Jake grinned. “Then we’ll match.”
They both took a bite, and Hollis burned the roof of her mouth. She winced and tried to hide it, but Jake caught it.
“Too hot?”
“Yes!” She was fanning her mouth.
Jake took a bite of his own slice and burned the roof of his mouth on purpose. “Now we’ve both been burned.”
“That’s sweet,” Hollis said, fanning her hand in front of her face.
“I’m not sweet,” Jake said, shaking his head, but he was smiling. “I just can’t let you injure yourself on Italian food without some company.”
Hollis laughed again, small, warm, cheerful.
For a while, they chatted about simple topics such as favorite movies, worst summer jobs, and high school crushes. Their conversation occasionally stumbled; they were two young people getting to know each other. But it was all lighthearted.
“So,” Hollis said after the plates were half empty, “was I the girl you mentioned? The one from high school, the one you used to know?”
“Yeah. You were.”
Hollis froze. “Me? Why didn’t you say anything?”
Jake suddenly became shy again. “Because back then, I was a mess. I wasn’t exactly ‘dating material.’ And you were…” He motioned vaguely at her face, her posture, her whole existence. “You were in your own world.”
“Jake, I may have been popular, but I wasn’t unapproachable.”
“You were nice,” he said. “And that was too much for me.”
“Jake, what really happened to you when you disappeared from school?”
Jake’s smile faltered, but he didn’t retreat.
“I was committed to inpatient care at St. Joseph’s psych ward.”
“Oh, you don’t have to talk about it.”
“No,” he said, sitting straighter, “I think I should.”
Hollis waited.
“My parents didn’t know what to do with me,” he said quietly. “I was thirteen when I had my first manic episode. I didn’t sleep for days. I broke things. I yelled. I thought everyone was trying to control me. I scared my mom. And when I crashed…” He looked down at the table. “I scared myself.”
Hollis’s heart twisted.
“At St. Joseph’s,” he continued, “they kept me medicated. Heavily. Too heavily. I felt like I was living underwater. I didn’t know who I was supposed to be. Angry, calm, numb, normal. I just knew the whole world felt like it was happening behind glass.”
Hollis lowered her voice. “That sounds lonely.”
“It was. I got out when I was seventeen. And I promised myself I’d never go back. So I stopped taking my meds. And then the mood swings started again. I lost my job. I stopped talking to people. I stopped caring about myself.” He paused. “Until you showed up at the reception desk at Henshaw. And I recognized you.”
Hollis looked down at her plate.
“I didn’t want you to see me like that,” he said. “Some rude burnout. Some stereotype in a hoodie.”
“You’re not a stereotype,” Hollis said.
Jake met her eyes. “I’m trying really, really hard not to be.”
Hollis did something that wasn’t like her. She took the lead on a date. Not that she had had that many dates, but still, she felt she needed to take charge here. To let him know that he was okay and she liked him for who he was.
She took his hand and looked into his deep brown eyes. There she saw hope, romance, and a future.
She stroked his hand thoughtfully as if she were petting the ear of a doe who might frighten easily.
“Would you like to go for a walk?” she asked him. Just down the street. It’s a nice sunset, and the air is cool for walking.”
“Yes, I would like that,” said Jake.
And they both stood, Jake laid down the money for the check, and they made their way out of the restaurant.
Hollis was right, it was a lovely sunset, and the walk was refreshing.
The two of them naturally matched each other’s stride and held hands while they walked. Jake bought them both gelato from an ice cream store, and they went window shopping as they talked about everything and nothing.
And when the night was over, they had the perfect romcom kiss.