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.Myeyes traced the scar from his hairlinearound the curve of his eye socket anddown to his jaw.The straight line of hismouth was softened by a slight tilt at the corners, which gave him a perpetuallyamused look.I felt an impulse to touch myfingertip to the deep bow of his upper lip.Instead, I stuck my fork into the casseroleI d lost interest in.When Jason s gaze flicked up andmet mine, I focused all my attention on myplate.I was suddenly off-balance andcouldn t think of anything to say.Our worklives were light years apart, and therewasn t a lot to discuss about the janitorialprofession.What could the two of uspossibly have in common? Good song, Jason said. It s got a& good beat. You hated it, I guessed from histone. That s okay.You can say it. His wrinkled his nose. The band sokay.Maybe a different song& I took the player from him andskipped forward a few tracks. Try thisone. This time, as I watched his frown ofconcentration, I swear I saw the momentwhen his expression changed from doubtto belief.He nodded. Better.I like it. For some reason, that reallymattered to me.I wanted him to enjoy thatsong, but for real, not just to be polite.I guess I needed to know we had somesimilar tastes. Try this. He offered me his iPod,and I listened to a rockabilly tune that hadmy toe tapping. Do you like to dance? I asked. I m more of a listener.My feetdon t move so well. I d completely forgotten about theway his right leg seemed to drag a little.Of course, he wouldn t be into dancing. You can slow dance.It s justshuffling around with a partner. His mouth quirked up on one side. You offering? Was I? Did I really want him tomeet my dog or to go out dancing? Whatwould be the harm in setting a real date? There s a club I like.No electronicdance music.More of a retro kind ofplace.You might like it, and I won t forceyou to dance if you don t want to. Jason looked at me, and a littleshiver of anticipation tickled my spine.Immediately I understood the harm thatmight come from one date.With this guy,casual could turn into something more, andI didn t know if I was ready for that.Butcart before horse.It was a little soon to be worrying about the future. I d like that, he said. But I workmost nights. We could go after your shift, ifyou re not too tired.Up to you. I actednonchalant, part of me hoping he d turn medown and put an end to my wondering ifthis was a bad idea.Instead, he stared even more deeplyinto my eyes and asked, Why? I blinked. What? Why would you want to go outwith me? Why d you ask me to meet youhere? He sounded honestly curious. Why not? I like talking to you.Look, if you re not interested, just say so. He was silent long enough for me tostart feeling like a fool. I m interested, he said at last. I just don t understandwhy you are. Whoa, self-esteem issues much? Iknew how I responded was prettyimportant right then, so I took a breath andthought it through. I like your sense of humor.Youhave a unique way of looking at things.Itwould be interesting to get to know you.Anyway, I could ask the same thing. Why I m interested in you? You rekidding. I glowed as if he d given me themost elaborate compliment.His eyesspoke volumes, which was good, becausehe didn t add anything more. All right, then.Let s go out. He paused, and I began to realize heusually paused before he spoke.Maybe ittook him some time to find the rightwords. I m off on Saturday. Saturday evening, then. We talked a little more, first-datechitchat that felt pretty comfortable with Jason.We exchanged phone numbers, andas we walked out of the diner, I offeredhim a ride home so he wouldn t have towait for a bus.Jason looked at the traffic flashingpast. It s probably out of your way. I don t mind. Let me give you the address first,before you decide. He took his walletfrom his back pocket and handed me alaminated card with his name, address,and phone number on it and a line at thebottom explaining he was brain damaged.There was also a contact number for hisparents.The little card was sobering, reminding me that, despite appearances,Jason had been through severe trauma. I don t have my addressmemorized.Just know what bus stop to getoff at.You need to understand I haveproblems, mostly with my memory butother things too.If you change your mindabout the date, I understand. His jawclenched.I could see what that admissioncost him.I looked at the card, then into darkeyes, which gazed unblinking into mine. This isn t that far out of my way.And Idon t plan to break our date. He smiled, and lines crinkled thecorners of his eyes and grooved deep intoeach cheek.It was impossible not to returnthat smile, even while a logical voice inmy mind demanded to know what I wasdoing getting involved with someone ascomplicated as Jason. Chapter SixOver the next week, it was as if Ihad a girlfriend.Anna sent me texts.Ihadn t received texts from anybody but myfamily in the entire time I d had the phone.She asked how my day was going or toldme about something cute her puppy haddone, and each random line was likefinding gold to me.I couldn t wrap mymind around somebody as successful andpretty as Anna being interested in me, but Iwas going to ride this crazy train as longas the trip lasted
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