Not Quite Dating by Catherine Bybee

lookguilty. Which was good, considering the position he’d put her in. Disappointing Danny happened on a daily basis, from the toys she couldn’t afford to the backyard he didn’t have to play in. Promising pony rides in Texas was just mean.
    “He seemed so excited.”
    “He’s five. He gets excited about bubbles.”
    “Texas is a three-day drive from here,” he told her.
    Jessie crossed her arms over her chest. “Stop. OK. You know I can’t go. Between taking time off work, the cost of driving…Maybe in the five-year plan that would be doable, but it isn’t right now. I’ll be lucky if I can scrape enough together to give Danny any Christmas at all. A trip to Texas isn’t something I can make happen.” Jessie hated to admit it, but things were too tight for words. She’d even considered taking on a part-time job, but that would mess up the schedule she and Monica had worked out. All the fun things in life would just have to wait.
    Jack looked as if he wanted to say something, something profound, but instead he lowered his gaze and offered an apology. “I’m sorry.”
    The words sounded as if they were new to him, so Jessie didn’t push it. “It’s OK. I know you didn’t mean any harm.”
    “No, it’s not OK. I should have kept my mouth shut.”
    Jessie eased the tension with a smile. “Your dad really has a ranch?”
    “Texas is a big state; lots of people have land there.”
    “Seems like no one in California has land, outside of the farmers midstate. Heck, I’d settle for a yard and a fence.” She couldn’t even get a dog for Danny if she wanted to.
    “I have a feeling one day you’ll get everything you want.”
    Jack. The ever-optimistic dreamer. Cute, great kisser, selfless, giving, ambitious, and, she needed to add again, dreamer. Dreamers fluttered to a different flower when the need hit.
    “Listen, Jack, about last night…” Jessie looked away from his gray eyes to study a couple of antsthat had found a crumb on the table to attack. “That shouldn’t have happened.”
    “What, the ride in the limousine? I brought it back, no one even missed it.”
    Jessie’s shoulders slumped. Darn the man, he wasn’t going to make this easy. “Not the limo. You know that’s not what I’m talking about.”
    “Oh,” he said, acting surprised. “You mean that amazing kiss.”
    She shushed him and took in the people around them to see if anyone was listening to their conversation. “It was a mistake.”
    “It didn’t feel like a mistake to me.”
    Although she knew she probably should tell him it felt wrong, Jessie knew he’d see right through her, call her out on a blatant lie. His kiss had been amazing. She-couldn’t-fall-asleep-for-hours-after-going-to-bed amazing. “It can’t happen again.”
    Jessie met his eyes long enough to see the smirk on his face. “This isn’t funny, Jack. I told you before I can’t date you.”
    “Right, and why is that again?”
    “You know perfectly well why. You’re a dreamer, Jack. You have great plans for a bright future, and something tells me you’ll make all those lofty goals a reality…someday. But right now, you’re still dreaming. Maybe if it was just me, if Danny…” She shot a glance over her shoulder to make certain Danny didn’t hear her. He played on the other end of the playground, oblivious to her and Jack. “If I didn’t have to consider my son, then maybe you and I could have dated, seen if we were good for each other. When you’re a parent, and all your decisions affect another human being, you have to be smart about who you date.”
    The smirk faded from Jack’s face. His brows pitched together briefly. “What is it you’re afraid of, Jessie?” he asked softly.
    “My mom said once, don’t date anyone you don’t see yourself falling inlove with. I didn’t listen to her advice when I was a teenager, and Danny is the result. I love him more than anything on this earth, wouldn’t change him in my life for the world.