that she stopped him and pulled away his hand and pressed her lips against his. It was sudden, like nothing she’d ever felt or done before but she’d just felt her body move forward and do it. They kissed a while longer and suddenly she pulled back breathing heavily.
‘I loved that,’ he said moving back to his side of the seat.
‘Me too,’ she said looking straight ahead too afraid to look into his eyes.
‘Where would you like to go?’ he asked.
Jasmine turned to him and said, ‘There is a restaurant a friend and I frequent. They even know me now...’ she giggled. ‘They know my silly quirks.’
‘They’re not silly, different doesn’t mean silly.’
‘Why are you being so nice to me, why are you doing this?’ She felt nervous. All her life people had been judging and dismissing her behaviour and calling her crazy. And here was this man who didn’t seem to see it.
‘I like you and that’s all there is to it,’ he said genuinely.
Jasmine sat back feeling a little uncomfortable, it was hard to imagine that he liked her just the way she was. There were only a handful of people who liked her or tolerated her, to name one Clive; he tolerated her for his own benefit.
‘So direct me to this restaurant and let’s go and eat.’
She nodded accepting that perhaps he just liked different and she hoped that she wasn’t a project, someone he was studying or trying to make different.
‘It’s in Leeds city centre I think you know it, everyone does.’
‘Well then let’s be off.’
It took them a good thirty minutes to finally settle into the seats, after Jasmine had done her part of wiping down the seat. Majority of waitress’s on duty knew who she was and had become familiar with her. A couple of them nodded and she nodded back.
‘You were right they do know you,’ he said with a grin.
‘Yep, I’ve been here a few times. I mean how can they forget a woman who cleans the seat before she sits down.’
‘True.’ He laughed and gazed at her.
Jasmine shifted and took in a deep breath, it felt right and yet her mind wouldn’t rest with the chatter.
‘So what are you going to order, since you know this place so well?’
She giggled.
‘Do share,’ he raised his eyebrows loving the sound of her giggle.
‘I’ve only just tried their salad a few days ago after years of just having a diet coke.’
‘Well then that’s big right?’
‘I think so, I mean I know they have an A star rating for cleanliness, one of the reasons I chose them.’
‘Well that’s a bonus, at least you have somewhere to go and who knows in future you’ll find another place just as good.’
She nodded, it was nice being with him and in a way he seemed too good to be true. But each statement he made sounded genuine and true and there wasn’t anything that stated otherwise.
‘I think I’ll go for the steak and jacket potato,’ he said and shut the menu. ‘Half a pint of lager would do too.’
‘Sounds nice.’ Her eyes wandered down the menu. Would she be able to take another step of faith and order something different? ‘I think I’ll go for the salad and a bowl of their thick cut chips.’
‘That sounds great.’
The waiter soon arrived and they placed their order. They went on to talk about things that weren’t of much importance. Zack didn’t want to put too much pressure on Jasmine all at once nor did he want to overwhelm her with too much information of his life.
‘So do you love your job?’ she asked.
‘I do, I mean I run my own architectural firm. I love having the freedom of being the guy in charge although it is a lot of work.’
‘What made you choose to become an architect?’
‘I’ve always wanted to build my dream home abroad. I have the drawings all set up and ready and I know one day I will.’
‘Wow, when do you think you’ll start and where do you think it will be?’
‘Well, I’ve always had this vision that it will be somewhere romantic, a place where I can take