When Sherry didn’t respond to his question after a moment, Jin turned his head to glance her way. She was simply staring at him. “What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Did you—did you just ask me out?”
Jin suddenly grinned, showing off a perfect set of white teeth that would make any dentist envious. “I guess I did. So, what do you say?”
“Where would you take me?”
“I was thinking about a restaurant on the moon.”
“What?”
“Except there’s only one problem…”
“What’s that?”
“The food is great. But there’s no atmosphere.”
She snickered. She cut it short quickly, but he definitely heard her snicker. He grinned. Apparently, she appreciated his dad joke.
“We could go out for ice cream. You know where people learn to make it, right?”
Puzzled, she drew her brows together. “Where?”
“Sundae school.”
She exhaled a puff of air so quickly through her nose that it sounded like she was cutting off a sneeze. He’d have to do better. He tried again.
“Why can’t you hear a pterodactyl go to the bathroom?”
She looked sideways at him. Rather like he was out of his mind.
“Because the pee is silent.”
She tried valiantly to hold it back, but her laughter spilled out of her mouth in a burst of air. She finally gave in and laughed along with him. She was shaking her head back and forth. “Jin.”
He glanced at her before putting his eyes firmly back on the road where they belonged.
She decided she’d give it a try. “What do you call cheese that isn’t yours?”
That was easy. “Nacho cheese.”
She grinned. “You know that one.”
“I’m very gifted at dad jokes. I defy you to challenge me.”
“Oh-ho. I recognize a gauntlet being thrown when I see one. Let’s see…”. She tapped her fingers against her chin as her brain worked feverishly. “Ah! I’ve got one. What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?”
He grinned. “Frostbite. That one was too easy. You can do better.”
Miffed, she gave him a dirty look. She would have punched him in the shoulder, but she didn’t want to cause a third accident tonight. So instead she put all her energy into thinking. Then the lightbulb dawned. “Did you hear about the cheese factory that exploded in France?”
Jin thought. But he couldn’t quite get it. Finally, after wracking his brain, he shook his head.
“There was nothing left but de Brie.”
Jin chuckled. “Good one.”
Sherry was grinning from ear to ear. He happened to glance at her as they drove beneath a streetlight, and he saw her beaming. She was so proud of herself. She was so cute.
“Ok. You win. I’ll treat you to dessert. What do you want?”
“Butterscotch ice cream.”
“Butterscotch?”
“Yep. Do they serve it here in Chicago?”
“I don’t know. We can but try, my princess.”
Sherry pulled out her phone and googled “butterscotch ice cream Chicago.”
“Monteverde Restaurant, Chicago. Butterscotch ice cream puff.” Sherry was getting excited. Jin laughed as she bounced up and down in her seat like a little girl. “Ooh! Jin! Can we go there?”
“Your wish is my command, princess. Just give me the directions.”
So Sherry led Jin across Chicago to the elegant Monteverde Restaurant. It was closing in half an hour. They’d made it in just in time to order her a butterscotch ice cream puff.
“Jin, what are you going to get?”
“The chocolate baked Alaska.”
Sherry grinned. “I’m glad you found something you like too!”
A few minutes later, Jin’s impressive treat was placed in the middle of the table. The server ladled two tablespoons of hot rum over the top of the domed dessert. As the rum pooled in the bottom of the dish, the server struck a long match and lit the pool of rum. The fire flew around the dish and up the sides of the meringue dome, creating a flaming mountain of baked Alaska. Jin and Sherry both raised their eyebrows as they watched the flambé in awe. Eventually, all the alcohol burned off, and Jin was ready with his spoon to try the intriguing dessert.
Sherry looked at her own magnificent sweet. It looked a little boring in comparison to Jin’s mountain of fire.
He glanced up at her and spoke around a mouthful of chocolate ice cream. “How’s your butterscotch?”
“I think it’s not as exciting as your flaming dome.”
“Ahhh…but the question is…does it taste delicious?”
Sherry lifted the cream puff to her mouth and bit into it. Her teeth sank through the flaky layers of the pastry as her tongue savored the light caramel tones of the butterscotch ice cream. Her eyes grew wide with delight.
“Mmmmmm…it’s amazing!” She spoke around a mouthful of euphoria. Her taste buds were singing Jungkook’s solo. She grinned at Jin. “Thanks for bringing me here. This is fun.” She glanced at his beautiful dessert, recalling how amazing it had been to see it set on fire. “And this is quite simply…delicious!”
They both concentrated on enjoying the remainder of their sweets before the restaurant closed for the night. Afterward, Jin was reluctant to see the evening come to an end. But Sherry knew he had to be up early the next two mornings and that both days would be trying enough without him staying out all night.
“Jin…this has been delightful, but I think you should take me back to my hotel now. I don’t want you to be exhausted tomorrow. You’ve got a very big day to get ready for.”
He knew she was right, but he didn’t want to say goodnight. Still, they climbed into his car and headed for her hotel. This time they rode in a companionable silence. He parked near the hotel and offered to walk her inside.
“Jin, you don’t need to walk me inside. I can get out here.”
“No!” He really didn’t want to bid her farewell yet. Tomorrow would be so busy. Tonight might be all the time they’d get alone. His eyes alighted on her lips. He still wanted to kiss her. He was curious what those lovely lips would feel like beneath his own. Would they taste of butterscotch tonight?
She turned to look at him in surprise. “What is it, Jin?”
He leaned towards her.
Sherry stared at Jin. She didn’t draw back from him. But she didn’t lean towards him either. She simply didn’t move. Was Jin contemplating kissing her? Her pulse began to race. How many times had she imagined just such a scenario?
They were in virtual darkness right now. She could barely see the outline of his head. But she could hear his breathing and see the darker shade of his face as he leaned towards her.
“What’s the capital of Alaska?”
Puzzled, she answered, “Juneau?”
“No, I don’t. That’s why I’m asking you. Guess Alaska ‘nother person then.”
Sherry giggled. And she had thought that Jin was about to kiss her! She shook her head. She should have expected another dad joke! But his next question caught her off guard too.
“Can I walk you to your room?”
She nodded. Why was her heart racing again?
