Sex Ed: After Class

Dinner and a Show

As I was getting dressed to go hang out with Jacob my mom walked in.

"I just wanted to see what you were wearing to go see him."
"I haven't even put on my clothes yet..." I muttered, fastening my bra.
"This is the underwear set you're wearing? It's a little sexy isn't it?"
"Well I don't want panty lines showing through my skirt. And he's not gonna see it anyway so why does it matter?"
"Which skirt?"
"The black one with the slit up the thigh."
"And what top are you wearing?"
"It's a white low cut silk, kind of drapey top."
"Cara you have a boyfriend."
"I know. But this isn't for Jacob."
"What? Are you standing him up?"
"Of course not. I haven't seen him in ages. I wouldn't dare."
"So you are wearing it for Jacob."
"Mom if I explained it you'd be here all night. And I have to go in 10 minutes."
"Whatever you say." She rolled her eyes as she left my room.
"Go see dad!" I yelled after her. "You need some dick..." I muttered.

I fixed the strap on my halter and made sure my skirt wasn't twisted before I stepped into my shoes, grabbed my purse and keys, and headed out the door.

—

I pulled up at the restaurant Chris took my parents and I to for Valentine's Day. When I walked in, the hostess looked at me and an almost smug looking smile crept into her face.

"Anderson party of 2."
"Oh...um...right this way."

She seemed caught off guard. I would take a guess as to why but I'm not quite ready to jump to a conclusion. We rounded a corner to see Jacob sitting alone on his phone. He stood to greet me when he heard us coming.

"Wow. Look at you." He said
"Thanks." I smiled.

We sat across from each other in a booth. I made sure to have him book a reservation that wasn't in the section I was in with Chris, but near it.

"So today's your last day? How'd you like the city?"
"It's no LA but it's quite unique.
"Find anything fun to get into?"
"Yeah actually I did. I found some really cool comic stores. I didn't buy anything though."
"You should've. You love comics."
"I barely had any time to look around. I was thinking we could check it out together."
"Sounds cool. I haven't managed to find the Funko Pop figure I've been wanting for a while."
"Good afternoon. I'm Manuel and I'll be your server this evening. Can we start with drinks?" The waiter asked.
"I'll have...actually I'll have an iced tea." I looked up at him.
"Whatever cola you have."

I watched him walk away then turned back to Jacob.

"So, Mr. Anderson. You told me you were planning to tell some lucky girl how you felt? How did that turn out?"
"Oh, yeah. That didn't work out..." he looked down at the table.
"What happened?"
"Ah, well as soon as I was ready to confess my feelings for her I found out she was already in love with someone. You can imagine how that tears down a man's confidence right?"
"Oh no, are you okay?"
"Yeah, she was glowing just talking about him. I'm happy for her. I wish them the best."
"I hope you're alright."
"Like, it's my own fault. I kind of expected her to wait around for me. I should've known better. She's a wonderful girl and I was too slow to tell her she is."
"Don't worry. You'll find someone. You're a great guy.

The waiter brought out our drinks and sat them on the table. We went ahead and ordered. He jotted them down and ran off again.

"How are the album sales?"
"They're actually pretty good. It's weird cause...like people know me as an actor here but occasionally I'll get people like aren't you Raleigh Ritchie? and it catches me off guard." He grinned shyly.
"Cause here you're Grey Worm most of the time."
"Yeah and I get that more than my actual name."
"But it's gotta be cool, right? Just that so many people know your face."
"It's not as many as you think. I'm still pretty small-time." He chuckled.
"...You're adorable. I missed talking with you. We used to be such close friends."
"Yeah. Life got busy. I didn't have time for anything for a while. Most of my friends like, grew away from me. I'm really glad you didn't change too much."

The way his eyes connected with mine felt...like there was more behind his statement. I needed to defuse this situation quickly. I spotted our waiter on his way with our food.

"Here comes our food."

He turned his attention to our approaching waiter. I turned mine to the woman who had left Chris so shaken up. I had caught her watching us a couple times. I smirked inwardly.

"Are we checking that shop out today?"
"Yeah, if you want. It's totally up to you if you wanna go."
"Sounds like a plan to me. I'm all for showing you a good time before you leave."
"Thanks. I really appreciate it, Cara." His eyes shined briefly.
"Oh, no problem, Hun. We're friends. We're supposed to do things like that."

The woman kept an eye on us most of the time we were at the restaurant so I put on a show for her. Every time she looked at us I'd be sure to touch him in one way or another. Though I feel bad using him like this, it needed to be done. When we finished eating I tried to split the bill but he insisted on paying for it. I left a tip and we left the restaurant. We decided to go to the shop in my car but he drove since I didn't know where the shop was. When we got there I followed him inside. The only reaction I could gather was a small gasp. The shop was bigger inside than it initially looked. Stacked floor to ceiling with comic books and manga and figurines. We looked like kids in a candy store. I gravitated towards the figurines section where there were all different brands of statuettes to choose from. I started searching for the one I had been looking for. It didn't take long to find but it was just out of my reach. I looked for Jacob and when I found him I started whining. He, being just a little taller than me, grabbed the figurine box with no trouble.

"A Grey Worm figure?"
"Yes a Grey Worm figure. I've wanted this forever."
"That's nice of you."

He bought a stack of comics, I bought a couple mangas and my figure, then we left. It was actually a little late when we got out.

"Oh shit! You've gotta run don't you? Your flight is in a couple hours..."
"Yeah. I guess so." He seemed to not be excited going back home.

I dropped him back off to the restaurant to pick up his car. As if on queue, she was coming out of the doors, I'm guessing off shift for the night.

"I had a really great time today, Cara."
"I had a great time too, J."
"Guess this is goodbye for a while?"
"Well, it's see you later, in my opinion."
"You take care. And I hope you and your boyfriend are happy, okay?"
"Thank you." I smiled.

I hugged him tightly. It had been a really long time since we spent time together and I had a feeling it'd be even longer this time. I missed my best friend for so long. I just got him back and he's already going away again. He hugged me back but it wasn't anything like how he hugged me a few days prior. He pulled away from me, holding my head steady between his hands. He placed a gentle kiss on my forehead before looking into my eyes. There was an emotion dancing in his eyes that I couldn't identify in the dim moonlight. But I could tell his smile was fake.

"I'll miss you, Kiddo."
"I'll miss you too, Spiderman."
"You take care..."

With that statement he got into his car and drove off. As I turned to get in my car, I caught the woman still staring at me. She had watched the whole display.