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"Yu playfully under the table, and I kicked hi this, and at one point, he locked my feet in with his so that I couldn’t kick hihted in it

My attention then turned to a family who had just been seated at the table across fro back and forth and seeitated I noticed Jake wave at theot up froirl’s seat, getting in her face to garner her attention "Hey, Marina"

The girl, who looked about eight or nine, didn’t say anything and started to cry

"She’s having a bad night," Marina’s father said

Jake snapped his fingers and said, "Wait I have soot" He then ran out of the restaurant to head upstairs to our apartment

I turned to Ryan "What’s up with Jake and the little girl?"

"That’s Telly’s sister Georgette’s daughter, Marina They’re in here a lot She has autis not to stare tooher face She was starting to hum loudly, as her mother tried to console her

Jake walked back into the restaurant holding the collection of pinwheels I had first noticed the night I snuck into his bedrooirl again and handed the whole bunch to her "Marina…look I remembered you had one of these the last time you were in here, and you really liked it Every tiet one for you," he said

Marina took the four pinwheels and lined them up on the table One by one, she lifted each and blew on it, laughing hysterically each tiet about ured that would put you in a better irl’s mother beamed at Jake "Honey, you are so sweet Thank you We’ll actually be able to have a peaceful dinner now"

"Don’t worry about it It wasto our table

Jake didn’t seem to notice the look on my face of complete awe, as it dawned on me that he was really just as beautiful on the inside as he was gorgeous on the outside "That was so sweet that you actually collected those for her I had noticed theht I was just a fking weirdo?"

"Well, you are still a weirdo, but…" I scrunched ly

Tarah echoed my earlier sentiment "Yeah, man…seriously Look at her She is totally content now"

Jake looked over at the little girl as he spoke "Cedric, my brother-in-law, has a sister who’s autistic When I first spotted Marina, her mannerisms reminded me so much of Callie It was crazy, and I just knew It’s like they’re locked inside their bodies, but there is soto come out You just have to knohich keys to use to unlock it"

The four of us continued to look over at Marina playing with the pinwheels until Desiree approached with a tray full of food As she placed the hot plates onto the table, her eyes were placed fir hi relentlessly, and I immediately hated her for it It didn’t help that she was absolutely gorgeous Jake, on the other hand, dug right into his food and didn’t seem affected by her one way or the other I suppose he was probably used to girls throwing theroup of people in the corner started dancing in a circle to the Greek band’s lared at me I wondered if it was because she was jealous Jake and I had been joking around flirtatiously all night and she constantly looked in our direction, even when she was serving other custo it on

I didn’t like the looks of her Even if my relationship with Jake stayed platonic, I felt protective of him and certainly didn’t want that cheap hussie to have hi time and shared an entire platter of baklava It was late by the time ent back upstairs to the apartment, so all of us retreated to our rooms

Exhausted from the day’s events, I went to the bathroom to wash my face but skipped a shower I couldn’t wait to buryback at aain on ine the possibilities when you finally get laid

PS Kidding, Nina! Just retesting your ability to take a joke

PPS Your blood tastes like bananas

He was certifiably nuts, but he never ceased to , I aith the jitters, anxious about ht He was supposed to be pickingme to a popular Italian restaurant down the street fro forward to it asabout Jake Thankfully, as usual, ht froht It wasn’t healthy to be focusing on hi out with Alistair was a necessary step in the right direction

I would have to get through a day of classes, though, before I could concentrate on things like what to wear and how to do ht

Alistair sat in his nored our plans when he turned to me and whispered with a twinkle in his eye, "I can’t wait to take you out tonight"

I just nodded, not wanting Professor Hernandez to overhear anything It’s a good thing I was paying attention to the lecture, because Hernandez called on me to come up to the dry erase board and work on a probleraram which correspond to the named set"

When I colored in the correct parts of the circles in red, he nodded in agreeood, Ms Kennedy" Then, he whispered to ht smile "Most improved student, so far this year, it see a sense of achieveh-fived me when I returned to my seat

After class, alked down the hallway to the exit, and Alistair’s blue eyes gleamed as he said, "I’ll pick you up at seven" He truly was a handsoer for hiood See you later," I said

That afternoon, Tarah was ot hoarlic and onions

"Hey, girl," I said as I placedsoluten-free diet is a bitch Want some?"

"No, I can’t Thanks Actually, believe it or not, I have a date tonight"

Tarah dropped her spatula and picked it up, waving it atdeal I’uy innah…and nice…and smart"

"As opposed to really hot…not so nice…and super s was developing there, but I guess I rong?"

"Why would you think that?"