Lunch does sound good.

Your worries about increasing the date-ness of this time together fall short when your stomach audibly grumbles in front of Jared. Blushing in embarrassment, you mumble, “I’d really appreciate lunch, actually.” If he’s put off by the sound of your stomach growling, he doesn’t show it, instead just opening the passenger door of the car for you before getting into the driver’s seat.

Of course, you are expecting something like fast food or maybe a diner. Instead, you find Jared is driving you to Chateau Rouxou, one of the fanciest restaurants in town. The last time you’d been here was with your ex-wife, on a wedding anniversary. It had cost you two months of pay, and the divorce papers weren’t far off. Jared’s looking at you as he pulls up to the building and mistakes your discomfort for something else. “Don’t worry, I’ll pay, this time with no strings attached.” Hearing that does make you smile, but you’re still facing all the feelings attached with this damn place.

You and Jared walk into Chateau Rouxou side by side, and you’re grateful he hasn’t tried to hold your hand or touch you at all so far. The waiter seems to know Jared, and leads you both to a booth that’s close to private. Like most fancy places, the menu is small, but the prices aren’t. You don’t want to waste too much more of Jared’s money, so you make a decision to order the cheapest thing on the menu, an italian salad. It still costs an outrageous amount of cash, but it’s the best you can do. When you set your menu down, Jared is looking at you. The way he does so...it makes you happy. He’s seeing something in you that brings him joy, and you realize that’s something that had been absent from your life long before you ended up in the transplant. “Why me?” you find yourself asking him. “What makes me worth your time?”

The question knocks Jared out of his good mood, and he’s looking at you now quite seriously. “Did you ever wonder why I was in the hospital, Sam?” You realize, feeling like a bit of an idiot, that you never considered that question. He doesn’t seem upset to see that’s the case. “For the last year, I’ve been struggling with cancer.” That shocks you. He looks so young, and fit! “It took a while, but I decided to finally start chemo, and hope that took care of it. But when I came in, I learned the cancer had already gone into remission. I’ve still got pills to take, and it could strike back at any time, but for now...I’m okay.” You don’t know why, but you’re very relieved to hear that Jared’s life is not actually in any immediate danger. “Even then, I was feeling pretty down. I mean, we’re both young. It’s hard to really accept we’ll have to die someday. But then I saw you in the cafeteria, how beautiful you were, and how...okay with things you were. I know you’ve been through a lot too, but you’re trying to stay positive. That’s why you’re special to me.” Then, after a pause, he adds, “Also, you’re kind of a fox.”

You can’t stop yourself from laughing at that, but under your laughter, you’re genuinely touched. Jared seems to not be the creep you thought he might be, and this date has been, really good. Then you realize that you’re thinking of this as a date, and you don’t mind that. Maybe you’re getting more used to this body than you’d realized. Your food comes, breaking up the emotional moment, and it doesn’t take long for either of you to finish it, the serving sizes are rather small. Together you head back out to his car, but before getting in it, you quickly kiss Jared’s cheek on impulse. He deserves a reward, you decide. “Well,” you say once back in the vehicle, “it’s time to go home.”