close to Jacob—I wanted to get to know him. I wanted to be the one who made him smile and have hope in humanity (and maybe even God) again.
I had dated guys in my life, and I'd felt attraction before, but it was nothing like this. I had the urge to be near Jacob all the time, and I couldn’t quit thinking about him. Maybe that's what a crush was and I had just never had one before. Anyway, admitting to myself that I had more-than-friends feelings toward Jacob was actually freeing on some levels. I could stop telling myself that I was just going over there for a good cause, and start paying attention to more important things, like that I really needed to shave my legs and tweeze my eyebrows.
I was so excited about seeing him the following day, that it was difficult to sleep that night. The next day was Sunday, so Shonda wasn't working at Ty's when I got there. I was relieved because I knew she would notice that I had put some effort into my appearance, and I didn't want her to figure out what was going on. I shaved my legs and tweezed every single unwanted hair from my body. I never wore a ton of makeup, but I applied my maximum level, which was still pretty natural looking. Instead of going for my regular bun or ponytail, I wore my hair down and even ran a flatiron over it. I put on some sandals and one of my favorite summer dresses, a little blue sleeveless number that hit me about mid-thigh. Shonda would have totally figured me out.
I knew Ty's closed at 5 on Sundays, so I got there at 4:30 and placed an order for take out. I sat at the bar while I waited for it. The café section of Ty's was hooked to a tiny grocery store, and I could clearly hear the conversations of the people who came in to go to that side. I wasn't really paying attention to any of them until Caleb Reeves came in with a few of his friends.
I wouldn't have normally tuned into their conversation, but the first thing out of Caleb's mouth when the door opened was, "My dad said you should never trust a Fox." Caleb and the two boys he was with, all started busting out laughing as if Caleb's statement was the funniest punch line they'd ever heard.
I swiveled on my stool, and watched the boys as they entered the store, and headed straight for the drink coolers on the back wall.
"I'm not scared of him," I heard one of the other boys announce.
"Me neither," Caleb said. ''You better believe I'll go over there and tighten him up if he tries anything stupid."
"Eww-wee, son, we're gonna go over there and tighten that guy up!" one of the other boys said.
All three of them cracked up laughing like they were really big and bad—like they were the sheriffs of this town or something.
I knew in my heart they were talking about Jacob, and I could feel my face turning red. There was nothing I could do to stop myself from confronting them. Sitting there while they ran their mouths was simply not an option.
I might have already said that I hate confrontation. If I haven’t, then there it is. I hate confrontation. Which was why I was shaking and blushing as I got off of my barstool and headed in their direction. I was standing near them by the time they made their drink selections and closed the cooler. Caleb made eye contact with me, but quickly looked down to walk around since he thought I was just trying to get to the cooler.
"What are y'all talking about?" I asked.
"What?" he asked, glancing at me like I couldn’t possibly be talking to him.
"You boys," I said gesturing to them. "What were you saying just now?"
"Nothin'," Caleb said.
I leveled all three of them with a wild-eyed expression—one that said I didn't want to cause a scene but that I was capable of just about anything. "I heard you talking about Jacob Fox, and I'm going to tell you one thing right now. He's a good friend of our family's. Do you know who my family is?" I knew Caleb and his friends probably all wanted to work or had worked at my dad's store at one point. I usually didn't use
I had dated guys in my life, and I'd felt attraction before, but it was nothing like this. I had the urge to be near Jacob all the time, and I couldn’t quit thinking about him. Maybe that's what a crush was and I had just never had one before. Anyway, admitting to myself that I had more-than-friends feelings toward Jacob was actually freeing on some levels. I could stop telling myself that I was just going over there for a good cause, and start paying attention to more important things, like that I really needed to shave my legs and tweeze my eyebrows.
I was so excited about seeing him the following day, that it was difficult to sleep that night. The next day was Sunday, so Shonda wasn't working at Ty's when I got there. I was relieved because I knew she would notice that I had put some effort into my appearance, and I didn't want her to figure out what was going on. I shaved my legs and tweezed every single unwanted hair from my body. I never wore a ton of makeup, but I applied my maximum level, which was still pretty natural looking. Instead of going for my regular bun or ponytail, I wore my hair down and even ran a flatiron over it. I put on some sandals and one of my favorite summer dresses, a little blue sleeveless number that hit me about mid-thigh. Shonda would have totally figured me out.
I knew Ty's closed at 5 on Sundays, so I got there at 4:30 and placed an order for take out. I sat at the bar while I waited for it. The café section of Ty's was hooked to a tiny grocery store, and I could clearly hear the conversations of the people who came in to go to that side. I wasn't really paying attention to any of them until Caleb Reeves came in with a few of his friends.
I wouldn't have normally tuned into their conversation, but the first thing out of Caleb's mouth when the door opened was, "My dad said you should never trust a Fox." Caleb and the two boys he was with, all started busting out laughing as if Caleb's statement was the funniest punch line they'd ever heard.
I swiveled on my stool, and watched the boys as they entered the store, and headed straight for the drink coolers on the back wall.
"I'm not scared of him," I heard one of the other boys announce.
"Me neither," Caleb said. ''You better believe I'll go over there and tighten him up if he tries anything stupid."
"Eww-wee, son, we're gonna go over there and tighten that guy up!" one of the other boys said.
All three of them cracked up laughing like they were really big and bad—like they were the sheriffs of this town or something.
I knew in my heart they were talking about Jacob, and I could feel my face turning red. There was nothing I could do to stop myself from confronting them. Sitting there while they ran their mouths was simply not an option.
I might have already said that I hate confrontation. If I haven’t, then there it is. I hate confrontation. Which was why I was shaking and blushing as I got off of my barstool and headed in their direction. I was standing near them by the time they made their drink selections and closed the cooler. Caleb made eye contact with me, but quickly looked down to walk around since he thought I was just trying to get to the cooler.
"What are y'all talking about?" I asked.
"What?" he asked, glancing at me like I couldn’t possibly be talking to him.
"You boys," I said gesturing to them. "What were you saying just now?"
"Nothin'," Caleb said.
I leveled all three of them with a wild-eyed expression—one that said I didn't want to cause a scene but that I was capable of just about anything. "I heard you talking about Jacob Fox, and I'm going to tell you one thing right now. He's a good friend of our family's. Do you know who my family is?" I knew Caleb and his friends probably all wanted to work or had worked at my dad's store at one point. I usually didn't use
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