Getting ready for his dinner “date”.

Chapter 3 – Putting a Plan Together

When Jason walked in to the apartment, both his sister and Kate were working on homework at the computer table. “Where’s Heather?” He asked them.

“In her room, on her computer again.” Kate informed him without looking his way.

“Uh, doing her let’s play thing? Or just homework?”

“Let’s play.” Kate replied.

Alex saw the look on his face and shrugged, before turning back to her screen. Jason saw his own laptop was sitting open, and sighed deciding not to bring it up this time. Instead he went into the kitchen, and texted Chloe.

:Jason: Can I pick you up at 6?

While he waited for Chloe’s response he took a look in his closet to pick out what he wanted to wear. They were calling it a casual date, and he wasn’t going to buy flowers or anything, but he still wanted to look nice for her. She was worth every effort.

He set aside an outfit, with two shirts, as he couldn’t decide between them just yet, then went out to sit at his computer. A glance at his sister and her roommate didn’t reveal any sign that either was feeling guilty for leaving it open, so again he decided not to bring it up.

He was finished with homework for the weekend, so he pulled up his outline for the longer term project one Ms. Taylor had assigned him, and spent a little while on that before his phone notification chime interrupted.

:Chloe: Oh yeah, our date! Almost forgot. CU at 6!

He chuckled. Knowing Chloe was well as he did, he was 99% certain she was merely teasing him. There was no way she would have forgotten something like that.

Kate got up after they’d worked silently for the better part of an hour, and disappeared into her room, then came out with a change of clothes and went into the bathroom to shower. From there it was back into her room, though Jason was careful not to accidentally look her way when she emerged. Then a few minutes later she came out with her skating gear, and waved goodbye on her way out the door.

By that point Jason needed to get ready himself, but Alex caught his eye after he’d closed his laptop and was heading toward the bedroom. “You going somewhere?” She asked him.

“Uh yeah, I’m gonna hang with Chloe.” He admitted, realizing he hadn’t informed any of his roommates of his plans. “Might see a movie after, so I’ll probably be home late.”

“Okay, just remember it’s a school night.” She nodded, turning back to her computer.

“Yeah, but I don’t have classes in the morning. One of the perks of college life.”

“Yeah yeah, rub it in, Bear.” She waved him off with an affectionate grin.

After a quick shower, followed up with some deodorant and a hint of cologne, Jason dressed in navy slacks that matched the blazer he had set out. Dark socks and polished black dress shoes were added on as he mentally debated between the traditional white button up shirt, and a dark red one he’d picked up for graduation, and hadn’t worn since.

He ended up going with the red shirt, and decided to forgo a tie. And at half past five in the afternoon he was heading out the door.

“Holy shit!” Alex cried out when he returned to the living room, startling Jason as he stopped to look her way.

“Where are you going dressed like that?!” She gestured from his head to his feet.

“I told you, I’m hanging out with Chloe.”

“At an opera? You don’t dress up that nice when you hang out with me!”

Jason chuckled, “Well next time you and I go out, I’d be happy to dress up for you too.” He offered.

That response was definitely not what she expected, but he could tell she’d liked it. “Promise?”

He grinned, “Promise. Now if I don’t get going, I might be late, and I don’t want to keep her waiting.”

She nodded, “Okay, well get going then. And have fun.” She shook her head as she turned back to her laptop.

Jason had only driven to Chloe’s apartment a few times since she’d moved out of her parents home after her sophomore year of high school. But it was enough for him to have memorized the route, and he arrived with about 10 minutes to spare.

Chloe’s roommate answered his knock at the door. “Jason! Damn, you dress up nice!”

“Hey Jenny. I’m here to pick up Chloe.”

“You two finally dating?” She asked, stepping back to let him into their living room. “Does Lynn know?”

“Kind of a casual date. My relationship status is complicated right now. Chloe is helping me sort it out, but nothing more for now. I dunno if Chloe has said anything to Lynn, and I haven’t seen her since we arranged this. How is Lynn, and Bree? Are they here?”

Jenny shook her head, gesturing for Jason to have a seat. “Naw, Lynn’s at work, as usual, and Bree is staying with her mom this week. She and I are on a bit of a break.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Jason said, genuinely sympathetic that Jenny and her girlfriend were having relationship issues. They’d moved in together long before they started dating, and nearly all their friends had warned them that it could make things awkward if things didn’t work out, Jason included. But he wasn’t the type to say I told you so. “You guys were cute together. I hope you can at least still be friends?”

She grimaced as she sat down across from him, “She wanted more out of the relationship than I did, I guess. I wish I could talk about it with Johnny. He always knew the perfect things to say.”

“Fuuuck!!” Chloe’s voice drew Jason’s attention to the stairs just in time to see a glimpse of her boots and the tail end of her braid as she turned and sprinted back out of sight.

“Chloe?!” He called after her, standing and moving to the bottom of the stairs.

“Give me fifteen minutes!” She yelled.

Jason checked the time on his phone. “I said I was picking you up at six! It’s six o three!”

“I know, just… give me some time; need to change something!”

“Damn, you must have messed something up. I can count the number of times I’ve heard Chloe drop an F-bomb since we’ve been roommates on one hand.” Jenny told him as he turned back to where she was sitting in the living room.

“Oh, yeah.” Jason nodded. “Chloe definitely likes to save her most colorful language for maximum shock value.”

Jenny nodded. “Yeah. We sometimes make fun of her for it. You must have really startled her, or surprised her, or something. Want me to go see what set her off?”

“Yeah sure.” He agreed, sitting back down on the couch as she got up and went upstairs.

Once she was gone, Jason pulled out his phone and checked his MRE app.

Jennifer Langley

Relationship: Best Friend’s Cousin, Roommate’s Best Friend

Prominent Attitudes (out of 100): Friendship 18, Affection 15, Trust 10, Playfulness 4

Temporary Traits: Companion in Heartache

Oh… wow. He didn’t realize Jenny was that close with his cousin John. And the temporary trait definitely pulled at his heartstrings. He wondered if the breakup was affecting her more than she was letting on.

Chloe Yazzie

Relationship: Best Friend, Gaming Buddy

Prominent Attitudes (out of 100): Loyalty 86, Friendship 68, Affection 64, Trust 46, Playfulness 41, Protectiveness 41, Love 28, Lust 13 (+2)

Special Traits: Confidante, Partner in Crime

Temporary Traits: Panic

And somehow he’d made Chloe panic, about… something…?

Alexandra Kelly

Relationship: Brother

Prominent Attitudes (out of 100): Affection 90, Friendship 71, Love 70, Playfulness 68, Loyalty 59, Protectiveness 48, Admiration 38 (+1), Trust 35, Worry 29 (-1), Submissiveness 10, Lust 6 (+1)

Special Traits: Fantasy Crush, Taboo Kink

And something in his recent interactions with Alex had changed a few of her attitudes a little as well.

A quick glance at Kate’s profile showed no changes, and the next one below that was Allison, so nothing he hadn’t seen already.

He backed out of the app then checked the time again. Chloe had been gone for an additional 17 minutes now, and Jenny hadn’t come back yet either. Jason tried to wait patiently, but his curiosity was getting to him. Still, he didn’t want to go upstairs uninvited, so instead he pulled his phone back out and texted Chloe.

:Jason: Is everything okay?

Then he waited some more. It was another minute before he got a reply.

:Chloe: It’s fine, you just surprised her, she’s almost ready now.

Jason blinked, but quickly had an inkling what was going on.

:Jason: Jenny?

:Chloe: Yeah, I’m helping her with the finishing touches, she’s a bit occupied.

So Jenny was typing out replies for Chloe. He sighed again and leaned back, closing his eyes briefly, but then he heard a door open upstairs, and a murmur of soft voices near the stairs. He got to his feet and approached the bottom step right as Chloe came into view at the landing. She was wearing a very nice off-the-shoulder sweater in a red almost as dark as his shirt, with no sign of any bra straps. She had on black slightly sheer leggings under a knee length denim skirt which disappeared into a pair of Chloe’s trademark cowboy boots. Most surprisingly, she was wearing makeup, giving a rosy hue to her dusky cheeks and a dark purple shade to her eyelids, as well as black lipstick that added a goth edge to her overall look. Her jacket was draped over one arm.

Jason closed his gaping mouth as she came down the stairs, and reached out a hand for her, “Wow, I was beginning to worry, but you’re definitely worth the wait.” He said in an awestruck voice, causing his best friend to cover her mouth with her hand.

“You jerk!” She said, swatting his shoulder, but with no real **** or anger behind it.

“What did I do?” He asked, confused.

At the top of the stairs, Jenny answered, “You didn’t tell her you were dressing up nice. That’s why she had to change, so she could match you. Next time give her a heads-up.”

“Oh, I’m really sorry. I guess it didn’t occur to me. But it’s fine, it’s not like we have a reservation. And I’m glad I got to see you like this.”

Chloe sighed, “It’s okay. I’m not really mad. But please don’t scare me like that again.” She started to lead the way toward the front door, but Jenny called to them to wait as she rushed down the stairs.

“Hold on, you can’t leave without a picture.” She insisted, rushing into their computer room and coming back with a digital camera. “Get close, and pretend to actually like each other.” She instructed, raising the camera up level with her face.

Chloe looked up at him, and he realized she was a little taller than usual. A glance at her feet confirmed that these boots had taller heels than the ones she’d worn the previous night. When his eyes returned to hers she was smiling with a mischievous glint in her eye. “Jenny doesn’t think we actually like each other.” She whispered.

“Let’s prove her wrong?” He suggested.

She nodded, and turned back to face the camera while wrapping her arm around his torso. He did the same, not quite copping a feel of her right breast, but getting rather close.

“Say cheese!” Jenny advised, and Chloe turned her left cheek up towards Jason’s face, and he followed her lead by planting a kiss just in front of her ear right as Jenny took the picture.

“You two look adorable!” Jenny assured them as she came forward to show them the set of three photos she’d taken on the screen of the camera. They took a moment to admire the pictures. “I’ll send you the pics over Skype at some point.” She promised, then ushered them out the door for real while they thanked her and said their goodbyes for the night.

“So uh… where we going?” Chloe asked once she was secure in the passenger seat, picking at her nylons to try and smooth out some imagined wrinkle.