Eileen sighed as she carried the full paper sack towards the park bench, another bag with drinks in her left hand. Jimin hadn’t spotted her yet, so she took full advantage of this opportunity to study him openly. For some reason she started at his feet. He was wearing white sneakers, and his feet were tilted outward, the right side of his right foot resting mostly against the ground, his left foot following suit on its left side. Her eyes traveled up his slender, blue jean-clad legs, over the holes ripped in the knees and upper thigh, revealing enticing views of his bare skin, and along his torso clothed still in the white muscle shirt, his shoulders cloaked in the new black button-down. Its black sleeves hid his arms from her view.
Her eyes ascended to his face. He’d removed the sunglasses. She noticed the way his dark blond hair was flopping over his brow. It was cute. It made her happy for some indefinable reason. She smiled. He was staring off into the distance to his right, only the left side of his face visible to her. She studied that eye. She’d noticed earlier that it didn’t open as wide as his right one. She wondered why. Had he suffered some injury or illness as a child? She wanted to ask him. But she didn’t want to make him feel self-conscious.
It must be awful to have millions of people studying your every flaw and each beauty mark too. Compliments were often as hard to receive as criticisms. Being scrutinized was an uneasy pastime. Her heart went out to Jimin. Did he find the perks of being a superstar outweighed the heavy price he paid?
As she studied that beautiful cheek facing her, her eyes were drawn to his extremely full lips. Lips that had kissed her. She blushed thinking about the way those lips had made her feel. And her heart dipped to her toes as she remembered that she and Jimin would be parting ways soon. She then noticed a melancholy air cloaking his features. Was he too thinking of their inevitable goodbye?
Just then he glanced her way, and those delicious lips split into a wide, welcoming grin, and she felt that same heart fly heavenward with the joy of being embraced by this sweet boy. She lifted her mouth in an answering smile, and Jimin felt drawn to her by those sparkling emerald eyes. He stood up to greet her as he reached for the bag.
“What did you get me?” He asked as he peeked into the bag, his eyes glancing playfully up at her as they twinkled at her.
“I think it’s one of your favorites. Take a look. It’s the top one.”
He pulled out the carton and lifted the lid to reveal preserved duck.
“That’s called confit de canard,” she informed him sunnily.
He looked up at her, a beautiful grin revealing his bright teeth. “How did you know?”
“Remember? You ate the duck at my apartment.”
He nodded as he recalled their hasty escape. “What did you get for you?”
“Pasta with salmon. I grew up near the sea. I love fish. I got us each a salad too.”
She retrieved the salads and set them on the bench between them before seating herself as he too sat down. She set the bag on the ground as she continued, “And some berry crepes for dessert. You like fruit, yes?” She glanced into his chocolate eyes and felt her heart sighing again. She would never get tired of those captivating eyes. “And a chocolate mousse. I love chocolate mousse!”
Jimin grinned. “That’s such a funny word in Engrish. A chocolate moose?”
She laughed as she pictured the huge, brown animal. “Yep. They just whipped him up into a fluffy pile of chocolate air for us to eat!”
Jimin laughed as he asked her, “Any idea what time it is?”
“About two-thirty?”
“So… What meal is this? Lunch?”
“It’s too early for dinner, too late for lunch. Linner?”
“Rinner? What is rinner?”
She giggled at his cute pronunciation before explaining, “It’s a mixture between lunch and dinner. Lllll-inner. Linner.”
Jimin smiled, and she watched with delight as his eyes disappeared. Then he stuck a forkful of duck into his mouth and began to chew.
She ate her salad first before enjoying the pasta. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was!”
“I did,” Jimin spoke with emphasis before shoving another bite into his mouth with great relish. He closed his eyes and grinned as he gleefully chewed his “linner.” He was so thankful to be eating real food again.
Eileen stopped chewing and just watched him enjoy his duck. He was so sweet. She could stare at him forever. With great joy. Which reminded her that, no, she couldn’t! They’d be parting soon. Suddenly, her salmon turned to ashes in her mouth. She sighed. Here we go again.
I must decide to just enjoy today! Whatever is left of it. Forget tomorrow. Don’t consider next month. Just live today. Savor this moment right here. It’s perfect. I’m with this sweet guy. And he seems to like me.
Jimin glanced over at her, his dark brown eyes smiling. “Are you all right?”
She nodded, smiled, and swallowed.
“I’m thinking about it too.”
“About what?” She studied her fork as she speared some pasta.
“That we have to say goodbye soon. I don’t want to either.” Her eyes lifted to meet his own, and she saw an answering sorrow hidden in their chocolate depths. “But I will text you. As soon as I get a phone. Can I have your number?”
She nodded as she dug through her purse for a pen. She ripped a piece of the paper bag off and wrote her first name and phone number on it before handing it to him. His fingers brushed hers, and electricity cascaded through her hand down into her bones. Their eyes connected again. Jimin leaned towards her without thinking.
But she hadn’t forgotten. She drew away from him. “We’re still in public, Jimin.” She glanced around. Many people were walking by a few hundred feet away from them. He put his sunglasses back on, hiding those glorious eyes from her sight. She sighed in disappointment.
He nodded. “Then we must find some place private. With no security cameras. Can we go back to the countryside?”
She laughed. “I wish!”
They finished eating their linner in a companionable silence, each smiling often at the other.
