She shrugged. “I guess you’ll find out tonight, right?”
Instant regret appeared on her face at the innuendo, and her face reddened.
Jared decided to move on. He grabbed her hands. “Are you a lesbian?”
“No.”
“Asexual?”
“No!”
He decided to get more serious. “Have you been lying to me?”
She took a deep breath. “No, not really.”
He racked his brain for more ideas of what could be a problem. “You secretly work for my father and have been spying on me and keeping me safe for him?”
She laughed. “No! Nothing like that.”
He shrugged. “Then I don’t want to hear it until after it’s too late. But I swear, if you have me all worked up over a mole or something, I’ll-”
She leaned across the table to kiss him. After a moment of shock, he returned the kiss. A second later she pulled away, blushing.
He cleared his throat, but before he could speak, she held up her hand. “Look, we kind of have to get used to it, right? Before tonight, we’re going to go much further.”
He nodded and shut his mouth. “Yeah.”
She giggled. “Not how you figured your first kiss was going to go?”
Jared scratched the back of his head. “Well, technically that wasn’t my first kiss.”
She frowned. “What? You’re just telling me just now? When did this happen?”
He hesitated. “Yesterday…”
Her eyes widened. “Tell me everything.”
So he did. He wished he could omit the thoughts he had while he was meditating with Ria, but he couldn’t bring himself to gloss over it. She deserved to know, considering the fact that she was giving up everything to help him.
She listened, asking questions occasionally. When he finished, she sat there thinking, her eyes flickering from side to side. It indicated that her mind was running, churning for a solution.
“Or we could theoretically go off on our own,” Jared added. “I don’t think we have to make any deals.”
Quinn shook her head. “We’re brand new to their world. You don’t even really know how to use your powers. We need an ally.”
Jared sighed. “Alright. Who should we go with?”
Quinn bit her lip. “Can I meet them first?”
Jared stared at her in surprise. “What?”
“You have to take me there after, you know. It sounds like a good opportunity to study them. I think I know who we should go with, but I want to confirm.”
Jared sighed. “Okay, yeah. But we have to pick by tonight, or we cross Annika’s deadline.” He glanced at the clock. It was nearly nine. “Hey, Quinn?”
“Hm?”
“Are you okay with having a wedding? It doesn’t have to be anything big,” he quickly added, “But I’d at least like the priest to marry us.”
She thought about it for a moment. “I don’t see why not. But we’ll have to pick up the marriage license first.”
“No.” Jared grinned. “First, we get you a dress.”
Quinn blinked. “Wait, what?”
Jared backed up. “I mean, unless you don’t want one. We probably don’t have time for a real wedding dress, but I figured you’d like something.”
She nodded slowly, smiling. “I’d like that very much.”
They returned to the car, with him opening her door again. First, she insisted they go to the bank and withdraw cash, since it would be cheaper. He didn’t see exactly how much she pulled out, but it looked like a lot.
Then it was back to the mall. She insisted that he didn’t have to get a suit if he didn’t want one (which he didn’t really), but he compromised and grabbed a vest.
Afterwards, they went dress shopping. She made an effort to limit her browsing, but it still took a good half hour for her to find one that she liked. She picked out a low blue that highlighted her eyes. It was fairly plain, and Jared would have insisted that she get something nice, until he saw the price tag. Apparently he just didn’t understand what “fancy” meant.
Quinn took his hand as they left the mall. It felt entirely natural for him when he squeezed her hand. When they came back to the car, he lifted it to his lips and kissed it. Her face flushed red as she climbed into the car.
Their next stop was the courthouse. Quinn led them right up to the front desk and requested a marriage license.
The man seated there raised an eyebrow and asked for ID. They offered their driver’s licenses.
The man sighed. “I’m sorry, miss, but your Driver’s License says that you have not yet turned *nineteen. Is that correct?”
Quinn hesitated. “Yes.”
He looked around. “You need your parent’s permission for this. Bring them back here.”
Quinn’s smile became stiff. “Can’t I just take the paperwork back to them?”
He eyed them suspiciously. “No.”
Quinn glanced to Jared, who held up his hands. She pursed her lips and reached into her pack, withdrawing some of their atm money.
“Look, kid, I’m not about to-”
She dropped a few thousand dollars onto the desk. “We’re eloping, as you’ve probably guessed. These are most of my savings for college.” She looked over at Jared. “I won’t be needing them anymore, and we’re desperate.”
The man’s eyes widened. “Well, that’s quite the case you got there, missy. Let it never be said I wasn’t compassionate.” He glanced around nervously. “Here’s your paperwork, kid. Have fun in the real world.”
Jared took the offered papers and sat down with Quinn to fill them out. “Was that really necessary?” he whispered.
Quinn shrugged. “It was only a few thousand. We’ll be fine. Better to not make a scene.”
He looked over to where the money had completely vanished. “He’s going to tell people.”
“That he accepted a bribe? I doubt it. He doesn’t seem terribly bright. Look, just fill out the paperwork, okay?”
Jared nodded and scribbled in his information. He had memorized his SSN when he was fourteen, back when he had thought Mom was going to kick him out. It had taken weeks.
He wished he was smarter. He glanced over to his fiancée. Neither of them were exactly turning heads in the halls of high school, but she at least got brains. Not that she was unattractive (she was very pretty) but it was in her own way. Her nose was a bit crooked, her mouth small and tight. But her smile… He was pretty sure he fell in love with her the first time that she smiled at him.
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