"See you later, love you!" Jill called from the kitchen, as she grabbed her phone, wallet, and keys from the counter.
"Love you too, have fun!" her husband, Craig, replied from the living room.
Jill Thompson, a forty-something kindergarten teacher, was heading out to dinner and drinks with her three best girlfriends. Craig was staying in with their two teenagers, currently sequestered in their respective bedrooms, doing homework.
She hopped into her car, and drove the couple of blocks to a local Mexican restaurant.
Finding her girls at the table in the corner, Jill said hello, and ordered her first margarita of the night from the waitress. She and her friends got caught up on all of the gossip from their work and home lives, dined on burritos, taco salads, enchiladas, and chips and salsa, washed down with ice code margaritas.
It was a fun time, but after three hours, the first of Jill's friends said she had to head out, and the rest of the table stood up to follow suit. While she was waiting to pay her bill at the bar, Jill spotted a familiar face at the end of the bar.
Jason Atkins was the father of twins, a boy and a girl, whom Jill had taught the previous school year. He was extremely fit and handsome, every teacher and aide at the school, Jill included, had a crush on him.
"One second, you guys," she said, and left her spot in line to walk down to where Jason was seated, nursing a beer.
"Hey Jill, I thought that was you!" Jason greeted her warmly. "How have you been?"
"Good! How about you?" Jill replied.
"Not bad...You probably heard that Melissa and I split up."
"I did. I was sorry to hear about that. How are the kids handling it?"
"As well as can be expected, I guess."
"Yeah," she said, giving him a look of concern that she hoped he didn't read as pity. She stared a beat too long; he had the kind of eyes it would be easy to get lost in.
"Well, it's nice to see you!" she managed.
"You too!" he replied, rising partway off of his barstool to give her a half hug.
She smiled, turned, and walked back down to the other end of the bar, where her friends were grinning at her.
She endured some quiet teasing about the hug from the hot guy at the bar, then paid her bill and walk out into the crisp autumn air with her girls.
They said their goodbyes, and Jill climbed into her car. She glanced in the rearview, thinking about Jason's eyes. Her face was flushed, whether from the alcohol or where her mind was wandering, she couldn't be sure.
After a minute, making sure she had seen each of her friends pull out of the parking lot, she made a decision. This isn't crossing a line, she said. It's just a few minutes of conversation, and a few minutes to make sure you're 100% good to drive home.
Jason was in the same spot at the bar, working on a new beer, when Jill hopped up onto the stool next to him.
"This seat taken?" she asked.
"Hey...you're back!"
"Yeah, I had an extra margarita tonight so I thought I'd better give it a little more time before I drove home."
"Well, that's smart," he said.
She ordered a Sprite when the bartender stopped by, and sipped it while chatting and laughing with Jason. He was as easy to talk to as he was to look at, and had funny stories about the twins, and some darkly funny stories about Melissa.
"I saw on Facebook that she has a new...friend," Jill said. "Or I guess you probably don't want to talk about that..."
"No, it's fine. There really aren't any hard feelings. She just realized we weren't right for each other a little bit before I did."
They contemplated this for a minute.
"What about you, are you seeing any ladies?" Jill asked.
"Oh, I've gone on a few dates. Using the websites and apps is an adventure."
"I can't imagine you have too much trouble though," Jill said, realizing as the words came out that she was crossing the line from "conversation" to "flirting."
Jason chuckled. "Sometimes I go out to bars, usually quieter places like this, to see if I can catch anyone's eye."
"Oh shit," Jill said. "I'm in the way here! You won't be able to pick up any hot chicks with me sitting next to you!"
Jason had a delightful laugh. "Don't worry. You and your friends were the only hot chicks in here tonight, and you're all married."
This brought Jill back to reality a bit.
"You know...all of the teachers at school have a huge crush on you. You definitely win the 'hottest dad' award."
Jason chuckled again. "Do I get a trophy or anything?"
Now it was Jill's turn to laugh. "I don't know. We'll have to get one made."
They both smiled, and were silent for a moment.
"I'm going to use the restroom quick," Jill said.
"OK, I'll save your seat." Jason responded.
In the brightly-lit restroom, Jill's heart was racing. In her 20 years of marriage to Craig, she had been flirted with plenty, but had never found herself flirting back. Or initiated the flirting, in this case. She didn't know what she was thinking, other than she should probably tell Jason goodbye and get home.
Jill reclaimed her seat next to Jason at the bar and finished her Sprite with a gulp. She opened her mouth to say she was heading home, and then closed it. She was still in control here, she thought. Maybe she could go a little further, without reaching the point of no return?
"Hey, so..." Jill began, hoping he couldn't hear the tremble in her voice (or the pounding of her heart, for that matter).
He turned to look at her. Those eyes, she thought.
"Maybe you *could* pick someone up here tonight," she said, looking at him intently.
He smiled, opened and then closed his mouth.
"That sounds like fun," he finally said.
Jason settled up his tab, paying for Jill's Sprite. "I'm a cheap date," she said with a laugh.
In the parking lot, he asked if she wanted to follow him back to his condo.
"Do you mind if I just ride with you?" she asked. "If you don't mind bringing me back to my car later."
"Not at all," he said. "My truck's right over here."
"Just a sec," she said. "I want to leave my stuff in my car."
They found her car, and she sat down in the passenger seat long enough to deposit her wallet and phone in the compartment behind the center console, snapping the cover shut.
She and Craig and the kids all had an app installed on their phones that allowed them to see each other's locations. It was great for when the kids were out with their friends. Craig wasn't really one to check up on her, but the kids liked to spy on each other, and this way if anyone looked, it would show her still at the restaurant.
"All set?" he asked, as she shut and locked her car.
"Yes sir," she replied, following him to his truck.
He opened the door for her and she climbed up into the passenger seat. His condo was relatively close by, just a five minute drive or so.
After he parked he opened her door for her again, and helped her down from the cab of his pickup. He unlocked the front door of his condo and led her inside.
Jason shut the door behind them, and they slipped their shoes off in the entryway. The condo was sparsely but tastefully decorated, obviously still a work in progress.
