behind me. Jason was still standing up and screaming with his friends. I slumped back in my seat. Great. Now I’m hallucinating. I pressed my knuckles to my head and pushed, hoping the pressure would shove him back to the recesses of my mind.
When the second half of the game started, I stopped trying to feign enthusiasm. This was the second date that had turned me into a popsicle. My body slowly froze to the bench, and my teeth chattered. After the game, Jason walked me back to my car and awkwardly put an arm around my shoulder, massaging it to try to warm me up, but he rubbed too hard and left my shoulder sore. I didn’t even bother to ask who had won.
“Hey, Kelsey, I had a great time getting to know you better tonight.”
Did he get to know me at all? “Yeah, me too.”
“So, can I call you later?”
I considered that for a minute. Jason wasn’t a bad guy; he was just a guy. First dates were usually awkward anyway, so I decided to give him another shot.
“Yeah, sure. You know where you can find me.” I gave him a halfhearted smile.
“Right. Catch ya in anthro on Monday. See ya.”
“Yep, see ya.”
He headed back to his wild group of friends, and I wondered if we had anything in common at all.
DATE 3
Before I knew it, it was Halloween—and my date with Li.
There was something about Li that made me feel very comfortable. He was more fun to be around than Jason, and I grudgingly admitted that it was very possible I felt more relaxed around Li because he reminded me a little of the man I was trying to forget.
Reluctantly, I pulled back the door to the closet that I vowed never to open and found a long-sleeved, burnt-orange top designed to look like a short trench coat. It was accented with wooden buttons and a tie belt. To go with it was a pair of dark blue stretch denim jeans. They fit perfectly, like they’d been tailored just for me. A dark pair of boots sat in the bottom of the bag and, slipping those on, I twirled in front of the mirror. The outfit made me look tall and chic and well . . . stylish, which was not my norm.
I left my hair cascading down my back in curly waves for a change. Dabbing on some apricot lip gloss, I drove to the studio, being careful to go slower than usual to avoid any wandering trick-or-treaters.
Li was sitting in his car listening to music and bobbing his head up and down. As soon as he spotted me, he immediately turned off the radio and got out of his car.
He grinned. “Wow, Kelsey! You look great!”
I laughed easily with him. “Thanks, Li. It’s very nice of you to say that. If you’re ready to go, I can follow you to your grandmother’s.”
I walked back to my car, but Li raced past me and opened the door.
“Whew, I almost didn’t make it!” He grinned at me again. “My grandfather always taught me to open doors for ladies.”
“Oh. Well, you are the perfect gentleman.”
He bowed his head slightly, laughed, and then walked back to his car. He drove slowly too, and checked his rearview mirror often to make sure I made it through the intersections. We stopped in a nice, older neighborhood.
“This is my grandparents’ house,” Li explained as we stepped into the foyer. “We always meet here for game night because they have the biggest table. Plus, my grandma is a great cook.”
Li took my hand and pulled me into a cute kitchen that smelled better than any Chinese restaurant I’d ever been to. A tiny white-haired woman was peering into a rice cooker. When she looked up, her glasses were steamy.
“Kelsey, this is Grandma Zhi. Grandma Zhi, huó Kelsey.”
She smiled, nodded, and grasped my fingers in hers. “Hello. Nice to meet you.”
I smiled back. “Nice to meet you too.”
Li dipped his finger into a simmering pot, and she picked up a wooden spoon and smacked him lightly across the knuckles. Then she chastised him in Mandarin.
He laughed while she clucked her tongue fondly. “See you later, Grandma.” I caught her smiling proudly at him as we turned the corner.
I followed him to the dining room. All the furniture had been moved to the side to make space for the large dining table, which had been extended with four leaves. Huddled around the table was a