Daylight, you got me cursing the daylight

 Well, of course, he never texted her. Jade had hoped she would have gotten a sign from Tristan but it never happened.

She went to dinner with Ari. It was like watching a hyena pounce. All so hyper as he danced around in circles waiting impatiently.

 Jade knew he liked meat and a lot of it. All beef at the Mongolian grill. She was afraid he might make himself sick. She opted for a little bit of chicken and a whole lot of veg. The spicery the better. Of course, she was probably going to give herself a stomach ache too. And there was soju. Had she ever had it? Even better in beer, he told her and he had to mix it up for her as if he was a pro of some kind.

She thought it funny. She did her best to keep from laughing at him. What a goofball, she thought. Of course, he wasn't much better back at his place. And of course, they stumbled into something. She had to admit to that.

It was a sad feeling now, but not so much then. He made her laugh. And she imagined him licking her neck, but he'd left a few marks. Hopefully, Mona wouldn't notice or care. If only they hadn't been so drunk, but they'd done things when they weren't drunk too. Like eating the bucket of Rocky Road ice cream at two in the morning, together in their undies. She'd even showered with him this morning. 

It felt so raw now. And she was mad at herself. But she couldn't say anything. She just wouldn't. Not to Mona. Not yet. No one needed to know. She would just wait and see. It wasn't like it was totally crazy. Although, he did have a name for his penis and sometimes he talked to it.

Honestly, Ari was not exactly who she pictured herself with and yet he was hilarious and he found it so easy to talk to her about everything. But still. She wanted to say it was wrong. This was not supposed to be happening. And yet, when she looked into his eyes..she knew..she knew he wanted to be with her.

Of course, she couldn't wait for her shift to be over. She was going straight home to bed. Although, she knew it would ruin her classes. She just couldn't go on. 

 Maybe she was totally wrong about him. Maybe Ari was just a good actor. Maybe he was just going to shut her off like somebody she knew. But no, there he was waiting for her when she got off work with a milk tea.

Mona looked away as if she didn't see a thing.