It felt like I was about to ask a girl on a date for the first time, a feeling I really didn’t care for.
Jada waited patiently for me to speak.
Okay, time to just bite the bullet, I thought to myself.
“Well, I was wondering if you’d like to take a picnic with me later. There’s this really beautiful lagoon in Seeley Lake that I think you’ll like.”
A beautiful smile spread across her face. “I’d love that, Seki. A picnic sounds perfect.”
Around eleven, I went inside to start lunch. I split my time making lunch and putting together a cooler of food and drinks for the picnic. After tossing a few ice packs on top of the cooler, I took it up to my room, stashing it away until later.
I didn’t want any of the guys to come across it and think it was fair game. I also didn’t want them to know and invite themselves along. Most of them had already gotten some time alone with Jada and I wanted to spend some time with her too.
Besides, Ben, Ace, and Hank could fend for themselves for one night and make their own dinner.
Over lunch, Jada seemed wise enough not to mention our upcoming picnic. I appreciated that and was grateful. No doubt Ben would hassle me about having a picnic.
I worked with Ace and Ben for the rest of the day while Jada spent time with the cattle. Honestly, I was kind of glad I wasn’t in close proximity to her during the remainder of the workday. My nerves were already ramping up and being around her until our date would probably just make me nervous.
Date? Did I really just call it a date? It wasn’t a date, just two friends spending time together. Two friends sharing a meal together during a romantic sunset over the lagoon.
Shit, maybe it was a date? I wondered if Jada thought it was a date.
I guess I would just have to take her lead on that. I wouldn’t be disappointed if she viewed it as just two friends hanging out. In the short time Jada’s worked on the ranch, I’ve already grown to value her friendship.
Jada met me outside around six, a wide smile on her face as she approached. “Hey, Seki!” Then gesturing to the cooler and the bag that contained the blanket, she added, “Please, let me carry something.”
I knew it was useless to argue with her so I handed her the bag.
“Thanks,” she said.
We stood there for a moment, eyeing each other. I didn’t want things to grow awkward, so I gestured in the direction of the lagoon and asked, “Shall we?”
“Gladly,” Jada replied, and began walking in the direction of the lagoon. I grabbed the handle of the cooler and picked it up, following along behind her.
We’d only made it a few steps when Jada said, “I really appreciate you doing this for me, Seki. You’re right, this was exactly the kind of distraction I needed to get me out of my head.”
“I’m glad,” I replied, grinning at her. “I’d hoped it would help.”
We were silent for a few seconds when I cleared my throat and said, “Besides, the two of us haven’t gotten to spend much time together outside of work. I thought it would be fun.”
“Not since the day you picked me up from the airport,” Jada said. “And I don’t know if that actually counts since it was more of a necessity. Now we’re choosing to hang out with each other. I think that makes a difference, our choices.”
“I agree,” I said, already feeling a soapbox grow beneath my feet. “We can think we’re good or bad people as much as we want, but I think our choices, ultimately, define the people we are inside.”
“Yeah,” she said, giving me a small smile, “I agree.”
The bag and cooler bumped into each other as we walked along. The lagoon was still a ways in the distance so I needed to think of something to fill the silence until we got there.
Jada interrupted my attempts to find something clever to say. “So tell me about yourself, Seki. I feel like I don’t know that much about you.”
Sometimes, I didn’t like talking about my past, especially with people I hadn’t known that long. I’d met too many people in my life that saw me as more of a caricature than a person, like the real-life version of their favorite sports team logo or something equally as ridiculous.
I knew my friends here at the ranch didn’t see me that way, but it had still taken me a while to open up to them about my past just because I knew they wouldn’t be able to relate to it. To me.
But I just knew Jada was different and would actually be interested in what I had to say. She wasn’t white and could at least relate to me on that level.