Chapter 17

“I’ll have the bacon burger with fries and what would you like, Jane?” Jensen asks.“I’ll have the same.” you say to the waitress.

She smiles and tells you that she’ll have it out soon. While Jensen and I were waiting, I see an old jukebox. I pull out my wallet, take out a couple of quarters and walk over to it. Jensen is confused at first, but then understands and walks up to me.

“What should I play?” I ask.“Whatever you want. Surprise me.” he answered and waited for you to choose.

I scrolled through the Oldies but Goodies section and finally picked one of my favorite songs, Earth Angel, by The Penguins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJcGi4-n_Yw

The song starts playing and I look up to Jensen.“Surprised?” I teased.“Completely. I never thought a girl like you would choose this type of music.” he answered.“Well, I’m not like most girls and I’m pretty old fashioned too.” I say and walk back to the booth, humming along with the song.

Jensen follows me back, but takes my hand before I sit down.“What are you doing?” I ask.“Dance with me?” he asks and I smile.

There was a little dance floor full of couples, mainly elderly, who were swaying with the song. Jensen holds my right hand while my left is placed on his broad shoulders. He timidly puts his other hand around my waist and we start dancing.

“I have to warn you that I can’t dance for the life of me.” I say.Jensen chuckles and says, “Just follow my lead and you’ll be a natural.”

He quickly teaches the steps to me and soon enough, we are dancing perfectly together. I did step on his feet a couple of times though.

“You’re a fast learner.” he says.“Thank you and sorry about your feet.” I say.“No worries. It happens to the best of us.” he chuckles and you smack his chest.

The song ends and we head back to our booth. As we sit down, the waitress comes over with our food.“Here you are! Enjoy!” she says and walks back to the kitchen.

We make small talk as we enjoy our meal. After a few minutes, I become more relaxed and our awkwardness faded. We were laughing like fools at the stories we share.

“So, what made you want to become an artist?” Jensen asked after our fit of laughter.I tried to figure out a way to compress a long story and finally said, “I’ve always been around art because my dad was an artist. He always encouraged and inspired me to become who I am today. I just want to be able to bring that same feeling to others when they see my work just like my dad did to me.” I answer.

All he does is smile and I blush.

We finish our meal and the waitress asks if we would want any dessert.“Not tonight. Thank you!” Jensen answers.

He holds the door for me as we leave the diner.“That was wonderful.” I say.“I thought you would like it. Now, where do you want to go?”“What?” I asked, confused.“I chose the diner now it’s your turn.” he answered.

“You mean, we’re not done?” I asked.“Yeah. It’s only 9:30. Unless you want it to be over.” he said.“No, I honestly don’t want this to end.” I say, blushing.“Great! Where to, my lady?” he asked.

I laughed and thought about where we should go.

“I haven’t gotten the chance to go to Central Park yet. How about a little stroll?” I say.“Sounds perfect! I’ll get a cab.” he says.“No, no, no. I’ll get it.” I say.

I stepped by the curb and whistled with my fingers, getting the attention of a driver right away. Jensen opens the door for me again and we head off to Central Park.

About 30 minutes later, Jensen and I were entering Central park.“Wait!” I yell before we start walking.

I pull off my heels and Jensen chuckles.“I don’t think I would make it if I still had these on.” I say with a chuckle.He smiles and holds out his hand. I gladly take it, holding my heels in the other hand, and we start walking down a path.

“So, tell me about yourself, Jane.” he says, starting the conversation.“I don’t know what to say.” I said.“What do you like to do, other than paint?”“Umm… I absolutely love to read! I packed two books for this trip and I already finished my first one. I can also carry a tune, but I’m not as good as you.” I answer.

“Oh really? Might have to make you sing with me sometime. You and Jared would get along. He is an avid reader.” he says.“How about you? I’m sure you’re more than just a pretty face.” I say, making Jensen laugh.“Well, I like sports. I played baseball and lacrosse in high school. I also like photography.” he answered.“You can also sing.” I added.

He chuckles and we continue to walk through the park, but Jensen stops me.

“What?” I ask.“Look!” he says, pointing.

I look to see what he was pointing at and see a large garden area. I gasp at the sight.

“Wow.” I say.“Yeah.” Jensen agrees.

Without hesitating, I go down to the garden, Jensen’s hand still holding mine. I stop in the middle of it and take in all of the beautiful colors. Jensen lets go of my hand and goes over to a rose bush. He effortlessly picks one without getting pricked by a thorn. He comes back and gives it to me.

I smile and say, “Isn’t this illegal Mr. Ackles?”“Probably, but no one is here to witness it.”“I witnessed it. Imagine the headlines, “Famous Actor, Jensen Ackles, arrested for picking a flower for a mysterious girl.” I teased.

He chuckled and said, “Mysterious, beautiful, talented girl.”

I blushed and we continued to walk around the garden. Eventually, we found a bench and sat down.

“This has been an amazing night.” I say.“I agree.” he says and looks at you.

We both stare and it feels like it’s just us in the world. I can see Jensen moving closer and I look at his lips. We were centimeters apart until the fountain burst to life and made us both jump.

Of course! A frickin fountain had to ruin the moment! I thought.

We both nervously chuckle and I walk towards the fountain. I find a coin in my wallet and make a wish. Jensen sees what I’m doing. He smiles and watches me flick the coin into the fountain.

“What did you wish for?” he asks.“If I told you, then it wouldn’t come true.” I teased.“At least give me a hint.” he said.“It almost came true.” I said quietly.

It took Jensen a couple of seconds before it finally clicked. He grabbed one of my hands to get my attention. I turned around and smiled. Without waiting, Jensen closed the distance between us in a swift movement.

I was shocked, but quickly responded to the kiss. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. His hand rested below my ear, his thumb caressing my cheek. I moved my hands up and wrapped them around his neck and he wrapped his around my waist, barely lifting me off the ground.

Once we broke away, he spent a moment studying my face. I felt a blush deepen under his scrutiny. His smirk told me everything and I smiled back. This was the beginning of something amazing.

We were walking back to the bench when I realized the temperature change. I started to shiver.

“You cold?” he asks but doesn’t give me time to answer.

He pulls his jacket off and drapes it over my shoulders. We sit together in that moment and don’t say a word for it is too precious to ruin.