Probably, Maybe Not A Good Idea

Part Twenty-Two

Aston’s POV

“Want to go out tonight Ast?” JB asked me as we sat in a car together on the way across town for another radio appearance.

“Maybe.”
“Maybe? What kind of answer is that?” he asked, turning to give me a weird look. I never said anything but yes to a night out.

“I’m going to dinner with a friend, can I text when we’re done?”

“A friend?” JB asked with a raised eyebrow. I didn’t know how much Marvin had told the other boys, but when JB asked this I knew I was in for the third degree. “Not a certain girl we saw last week at that radio station?”

“Who?”

“Don’t play stupid Ast!” JB said, “Who is she?”

“Just a friend,” I shrugged.

“Named?”

“Why does this matter so much?” I asked, “It’s just dinner, nothing more.”
“Because, Aston, it’s never just dinner with you.”
“Well tonight its just dinner,” I said, thinking of what I’d agreed with Jess. If it went beyond dinner then I was in big trouble, I’d already let that happen twice!

“Yeah right!”

“I promised her it would just be dinner,” I muttered.

“What does that mean?”

“Just that we’re going for a meal and that’s it,” I shrugged, “Pretty straight forward.”

“She wouldn’t want to come out with us?”

“No, not tonight.”

“Okkk,” JB said, “How did you meet her anyways?”

“New Year’s,” I said truthfully. “You lot had all pissed off with your girlfriends and whatever and I was just chilling at the table and we got talking. I seriously had no idea she worked on the radio, that was just coincidence.”
“You didn’t talk about your jobs?”
“No, not really.”
“Ast you are so weird,” JB said.
“Listen, it’s just a meal to get to know each other. I might never see her again after tonight, she doesn’t seem that interested in me anyways.”
“But you’re going out with her,” JB pointed out.

“I know, but it was like pulling teeth to get her to agree to it.”

“Why do you think she agreed then?”

I just shrugged my shoulders. I still had my doubts about all of this with Jess. Did she think I was just a good shag? A popstar shag no less? Was that why she ultimately agreed to have dinner? For another round?

“Well you should probably figure out what you feel about all of this before you meet up with this girl tonight,” JB said, “You don’t want to give her, or yourself, the wrong idea.”

“You’re right.”

I spent the afternoon spinning through this whole Jess situation in my head. I really didn’t know where things were headed, or where I wanted them to head. All I knew was that I kind of liked her and I did want to get to know her better. I knew nothing about her time abroad or how she’d gotten into radio. I wanted to know these things. In fact, I almost craved this knowledge. It was just too bad that whenever I was with her I got distracted…

That evening I changed at the studio that we’d started and ended at for the day, and then jumped in my car to head off to get Jess.

I managed to find a parking space across the street from her office, cursing the fact that I didn’t have her number so I could text her where I was. I didn’t know if I should get out of the car to get her attention, or if she’d spot me waiting. It drove me kind of crazy.

At about the time Jess should be heading out I spotted her two friends coming out of the front door. I saw one of them point at me and nudge the other, and then the pair of them waved at me. Whatever stick I was getting from my boys, it appeared Jess was getting it from hers twice as bad. I couldn’t help but laugh and give a slight wave back.

A good ten minutes passed before Jess came out, in a thick brown coat and heeled boots. She spotted my car and quickly jogged across the street, slipping into my car and shutting the door behind her.

“Your boys saw me already if you’re trying to slip in my car unnoticed,” I told her.

“Damnit!” Jess sighed, swatting her thigh lightly.

“You ready?”
“Let’s just do this,” Jess said, shaking her long hair lightly as it fell over her shoulders. I couldn’t help but stare a little bit, she was really cute.

I pulled my car from the curb and headed off to the restaurant I’d selected, a quiet contemporary place in East London. It would be easy to turn the car around, drop her at home, and then get back to mine west of the city.

“This ok?” I asked Jess as I pulled up on the street to park.

“Looks good,” she said, turning and giving me a soft smile.

Just from seeing this smile I knew I was in trouble again. She was just so enticing, I couldn’t help but pulled in.