“Isn’t it Obvious?” Part Five
This is the fifth and final part of a birthday story I wrote. Catch up on Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.
Don’t wait for me, I’m running late. Be there soon. Jasmine whipped out a text to her sister then promptly silenced her phone. She didn’t need Vicky interrupting her right now.
“You look gorgeous.”
“Thank you, Ashley.” Jasmine bit her lip as she waved goodbye to her roommate. “I’ll see you at the restaurant.”
She was wearing exactly what she’d planned to all along, a navy dress with strappy sandals. She let her hair down and put in some flashy gold earrings. She might’ve paid a little extra attention to her makeup and spent a bit longer brushing her teeth, but otherwise she looked about like she always did.
So would Dylan think she looked gorgeous, too?
Jasmine pushed down the anxiety bubbling inside her. She’d be lucky if he answered the door, no need to worry about appearances.
She’d finally worked up the nerve to text Dylan after confessing her feelings to Ashley, but he hadn’t responded. There was nothing to do but go to his apartment and beg for forgiveness.
The whole drive over, she brainstormed ways to get him to let her in. She could tell him the truth, but if he wasn’t answering texts, he probably wouldn’t want to see her in person either. She could pretend to be someone else, maybe someone with a package. That thought gave her another idea.
Bzzzz.
She rang the buzzer outside his apartment complex.
“Yes?”
In her deepest voice she said, “I have your taco delivery.”
Silence.
“I’m coming down there, Jaz.”
Well, that hadn’t worked. He knew it was her and he wasn’t letting her upstairs.
Footsteps pounded down the stairs, and Dylan opened the door. He didn’t actually walk outside, he just poked his head around, as if using the door for a shield.
“Dylan.” The hurt on his face broke her heart. He’d put himself out there, revealed his true feelings, and all she’d been able to do was stare back at him. “I’m so sorry.”
He ducked his head and stepped back. “You didn’t need to drive all the way over here to say that.”
“No.” She wasn’t speaking clearly. He thought she didn’t like him and had come to his apartment to tell him exactly how much she didn’t like him. “You don’t understand.”
“It’s okay. You’re trying to be nice, but I’d rather we didn’t have this talk.”
“Wait.” She pulled his hand right before he slipped back inside. “Come out here. I have a question for you.”
He sighed and stepped all the way out of the doorway.
“Dylan.” She pulled a red rose out from behind her back with the hand that wasn’t holding his. “Would you be my date to dinner tonight?”
He cocked his head as he reached for the flower. “Your date?”
“Yes.” Her lips tugged into a grin. “My date. As in, not just friends. A real date.”
Dylan’s smile matched hers as he met her eyes. “A real date with your parents and sister and Granny Mae.”
She shrugged. “You can ask me on a real date later then.”
“Okay, maybe I will.” He held up a finger. “But first I need to grab my keys. Be right back.”
Only one minute later, Dylan reappeared, smelling faintly of cologne. “My car or yours?”
“Yours.” She laughed. “You know I hate driving downtown at night.”
He turned to her with a raised brow. “Is that the only reason you asked me out?”
“You’ll never know, will you?” She gave a mischievous wink as Dylan opened the passenger door.
Later that evening, as everyone waddled out of the restaurant, patting their full bellies, Vicky pulled Jasmine aside.
“Did I see you and Dylan holding hands?”
Jasmine shrugged sheepishly. “Yes.”
“That’s great!” Vicky gripped her in a hug. “It’s about time.”
“Aren’t you surprised? Why is everyone acting like they knew all along?”
“You two are such good friends, it’s no wonder you’re compatible.”
“But I thought I was in the friend zone.” She poked her sister. “You never date guys who are friends.”
“No,” Vicky said. “But I want to. Friends make the best boyfriends, so I hear. I’ve just never had the chance.”
Jasmine huffed. “Because men always immediately ask you to marry them.”
“Because I haven’t met someone as special as Dylan yet. I just hope I do someday soon.”
He was pretty special. And, if those flowers were any indication, he thought she was something special, too.
“I’ll see you Sunday at Mom and Dad’s. Don’t think for one second you can get away with not sharing every single detail of how you got together.” Vicky waved and jogged to her car.
Jasmine hugged her parents, said goodbye to her friends, and found Dylan stuck on a bench outside the restaurant with Granny Mae.
“I think Mom and Dad are waiting for you in their car, Granny Mae.” Jasmine offered her arm, but Dylan got there first. He gently walked Granny Mae out to the parking lot and handed her over to Jasmine’s parents.
“So what were you two talking about?” Jasmine slipped her hand into Dylan’s as they headed toward his car.
“Oh, just how much she likes my taste in flowers.”
“You told her you got them for me?”
“No, she just assumed. Correctly.”
“So was she also right about the meaning behind the flowers? Were you trying to pick ones that meant love and friendship?” Jasmine leaned against the side of Dylan’s car.
He winced. “I think somewhere in my brain I knew red roses were for love and pink for friendship, but I really just thought they looked nice.”
“They look very nice.” Jasmine giggled. “So why didn’t you sign your name at the bottom?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “That was an accident. I put my name on the order, and I just assumed they’d write it at the bottom with the note.”
“Then why didn’t you just tell me? Why did you help me run all over town looking for the person who gave me the flowers?”
“I couldn’t work up the nerve at first, and then I just wanted to see how long it would take you to figure it out.” He wagged a finger at her. “You might remember, I was not exactly a willing participant.”
“True.” Jasmine bit her lip. “I’m sorry it took me so long. I had no idea you thought of me that way. I’d always assumed friends couldn’t turn into anything more. That’s just how it worked for me in the past.”
“Well, Jasmine Reeves, I hate to prove you wrong, but …” He shrugged. “I like you.”
And just to prove his point, in case she’d completely missed all of the hints along the way, he leaned over and kissed her right on the lips.
Whoa.
As it turned out, Dylan wasn’t a half-bad kisser. To think she almost missed out on that, just because they were friends first.
“Happy Birthday, Jasmine.”
“I think you just made it the happiest one yet.”
The End
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it!
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