Boswell, LaVenia by THE DAWNING (The Dawning Trilogy)

at all.  All the nervousness of the afternoon had stolen her appetite, but she didn’t want Jason to do without, he’d been so helpful and she enjoyed their time together, for a change.
                “Seafood, pizza, steak, burgers, chicken or only veggies?” he inquired.
                “Hum, steak and salad sound nice,” she admitted aloud, thinking it did sound good now all of a sudden.  She used to always suggest somewhere cheap because Jason would not allow her to contribute.  But today she was in the mood for truth and she was going to try and force his hand on allowing her to pick up the tab.  She had a few dollars saved from her allowance and if she didn’t drive much and need to refill her gas tank too often, she thought she might could manage paying for their meals tonight.  That made her smile. 
                Jason headed for one of the local restaurants and whistled as he drove.
                “That’s beautiful,” Jennifer said with awe when he’d finished a second tune.  “I didn’t know you could whistle.”
                “I’m a man of great depth,” he responded teasingly.  “Got talents out the wa-zoo, girl, you’ve got to simply hang around and find out.”
                She noticed a teasing twinkle in his eyes that made her smile at his humor.  He was usually so old acting, not one to tell too many jokes or laugh over much.  While she had been known to have laughing fits till she snorted like a pig, spewed tea out her nose and sometimes even wet herself.  Girl’s bladders, ya know.
                She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he drove.  There was a peace about him that was disturbing to her own lack, an aura.  Disturbing in that it was a mystery to her.  How and where did someone acquire such peace and contentment?  If his aura had a color, she realized it would have to be sky blue for calm.  He never acted ruffled or upset.  Jennifer suddenly stifled a giggle as she remembered his lack of peace around her today, when she’d called him basically non-human.  That had really gotten him wired.  In fact, he’d been purely stunning all day with the emotion he exhibited, for once.
                She was so deep in thought about him it startled her when she heard, “Did you get that novel mailed to Barbara yet?”
                “No, not yet.  I thought the sci-fi was really good, my best perhaps, but the more I reread it the more unsure I am.  I need a fresh brain to evaluate it before I dare send it to her.”
                He noted she was looking at him with hopeful eyes.  He wasn’t about to get tangled into that one.  If he didn’t like it she would weasel it out of him, and that would hurt her feelings.  He couldn’t deal with doing that to her.  Actually though, he realized, it was probably a wonderful novel, she’d been writing short stories for years and he hadn’t read one of her’s yet that wasn’t filled with great talent.  But, this was too big for her and he wanted to stay on the sidelines to help if she needed it.
                “Has Salina read it?” he asked with obvious enthusium, “Or, your mom?”
                “You can relax, Jas.  I won’t ask you to read it.  In fact,” she decided to tease him a bit, “you were a model for one of my main protagonists in the sci-fi.  So, it’s not a good idea for you to read it – not ever.”
                His right brow cocked up and he asked, “Why’s that?  Did you make him a robot or a villain?”  He thought for a minute and asked, “Am I a space pirate?”  He liked the idea of her making him a space pirate, as long as he was a handsome, brave pirate who wins the heroine.
                “Can’t tell ya,” she said with a malicious grin and little giggle.  She was discovering it was a lot of fun to tease him.