I swear this was the fastest I had dressed up to go anywhere. I basically grabbed a pair of jeans, a tank top and a jacket to go over it. I let my hair down and raked my fingers through to make sure it looked alright.

Just as I was about to step out, dad called me into the living room. Crap! I forgot he was home.

"Yes?" I say in a pleasant tone, looking at him.

He turns to me and observes my outfit, clearly about to send me back upstairs or ask me where in the world I was going to.

"Where are you going?" He asks, narrowing his eyes at me.

"Out. Just for ice cream. Be back soon" I reply, putting my hand on the doorknob.

"Hang on, missy. Who are you going with?" Dad asks, standing from his place on the couch.

I fiddle with my jacket, thinking of what to say. I can't tell him. I can--

"Oh, Jesse! Nice to see you again, my boy" dad says cheerfully, looking towards the kitchen.

I turn around and see Valerie and Jesse walking out of the kitchen. Valerie gives me a cunning smirk as she enters the living room. Jesse shakes dad's hand and I'm shocked when dad pulls him in for a hug. Ew.

"Rose, why didn't you just say you were going on a date with Jesse?" Dad exclaims, looking happily between Jesse and I.

"It's not a date!" I protest, my hands flying everywhere. I swear I just heard Valerie scoff from the couch.

"Fine, fine. You better get going then. Rose has a curfew. It's at 9" dad says to Jesse, earning a brisk nod from him.

"Dad, you've never given me a curfew before" I answer back, slightly confused.

"Um. .Just shut it, Rosalie. Or you won't go and I'll be the one to have ice cream with Jesse. Okay?"

"Jeez, dad" I mumble, rolling my eyes at him.

He gives Jesse a pat on the back before I open the door for us to step outside.

×××

I thought we were going to walk or take a cab but Jesse drove us in his dad's car. I didn't even know he could drive. Wow, must be nice. I don't think my dad would ever let me get my drivers license, or touch his car.

We placed our orders and slid into one of the empty booths. I was nervous but I tried my hardest not to let it show. Jesse would just make fun of me.

"So. ..why did you pick this place? There's like heaps of other ice cream places we could've gone to. Ones that are not this busy, too" I ask, looking around the place. It was crowded and mostly full of teens. Teens that just happen to go to our school.

"Well, if you must know. They make homemade ice-cream and have the best mint choc-chip. Try it and you'll see" Jesse says smartly, beaming at me.

"You like mint choc-chip? That's my favorite" I tell him, chuckling.

"Me? Nah. I'm a chocolate kinda guy. I just remembered seeing you a few times walking home with that flavour. Figured it must be your favorite" Jesse says, shrugging.

I didn't reply. I didn't know what to say. I looked around the place, trying to focus on something else other than this perfect guy that was sitting opposite me. I have to be realistic though, we're never gonna talk again after the problem with Lyla is solved. Jesse will go back to being with Lyla and I'd be stuffing my face with ice cream every Saturday while Chloe braids my hair.

On cue, the waitress comes over with our serves. I look over at Jesse who has already begun digging into his. On my side I had a mountain serve of mint choc-chip with chocolate sauce drizzled on top. I scooped some into my mouth and my eyes lit up instantly.

"Good, right?" Jesse asks, staring at me.

"Perfection" I reply, scooping more into my mouth, earning a laugh from Jesse.

We talked for a bit, mainly about the horrors of McKinley. Turns out Jesse wasn't as perfect as it seemed. He opened up to me about struggling with Math class and I laughed out loud because I could totally relate. Apart from that and his obsession with watching scary movies, I couldn't relate to anything else. Only because sports isn't my thing.

×××

"Okay, here we are" Jesse announces as he pulls up outside my house.

"Thanks for the ice cream, it was nice" I say, smiling at him.

"Thanks for coming out with me" He replies, staring at me.

I clear my throat and tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. Something I've been doing alot tonight.

"I better get inside. My dad is. ..well, yeah. You know" I tell him, before opening the door.

"Yeah, he's. .weird" Jesse replies, laughing a hearty laugh.

"See ya" I say to him, giving a small wave as I make my way to the front door.

I don't look back as I walk up to the front door. As much as I would like to turn and see Jesse, I can't risk falling flat on my face or tripping on my own feet. Just as I'm about to knock on the door, Jesse calls out to me again.

"Rose! Wait!" He calls out as he hurriedly makes his way towards me.

In seconds he was standing beside me, moving strands of hair out of my face. I stared at him, so confused.

"Did you forget something?" I mutter, still captivated by his eyes and how he was making me feel.

"Goodnight" He says breathlessly, moving in closer to me. His face was just inches away from mine now.

Oh no! What's happening? No! I think he's going to kiss me. Yes, he is. Oh my gosh!

I close my eyes and my heart is beating like a drum as Jesse places a hand on the small of my back, guiding me closer to him.
Just as I feel his soft lips graze mine for a moment, the front door suddenly bursts open.

"Aw, how sweet. That's enough now! Go home Jesse!" Dad announces, shooing Jesse away.

I open my eyes and glare at my very embarrassing father who is waving at Jesse.

"Urghh!" I groan out loud as I make my way back to my room. Dad shuts the door and doesn't say a word, which is very new to me. He would usually tease and taunt me for hours till he got bored.

I shut my door and lay back on my bed, thinking about how Jesse almost kissed me. I touched my lips and smiled, like the weirdo that I was.

I can't believe that just happened.

I rolled over with a smile etched on my face and lay there till I fell asleep. What an eventful evening.