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well?”
    She nodded as the waitress arrived with our water . We hadn’t even looked at the menu yet, but Jayden alre ady knew what she wanted. I did too, so our orders were taken and we were left alone again.
    I knew I was staring at her, but I couldn’t help it. A million things were running through my mind, the main thought being that I had found the girl of my dreams. Finally she asked, “What’s the matter?” and tilted her head to wait for a reply.
    I didn’t want to say anything, fearing I would sound like a complete idiot. What would I say? Tell her I thought we belonged together? She probably got that from hundreds of guys. What made me different from any of them?
    I was saved when Howard approached the table, first looking at Jayden, and th en at me, and h is face displayed his surprise .
    “My little Jay?” he exclaimed. “S itting here with my favorite ball player? Am I in heaven? I couldn’t have made a more perfect match !”
    Jayden looked at me with a surprised smile and then looked at Howard. “You know this guy?” she asked him with a teasing scowl .
    “Know him? He’s here every week!” He turned to me and said, “I must say, though, that this girl here is far better company than some of those fellas you bring in here. Some of them guys… I don’t know, Ty. ”
    I looked at Jayden and smiled. “Yeah, I’ll have to agree with you on that one.”
    Howard turned to her and said, “Your dad was on the phone, said you were here. I had to come say hi. Anyways, you two have fun. And as always,” he said to Jayden on his departure, “dessert’s on me.”
    When he was gone I said, “Hang on, y ou get free dessert ? That’s not fair.”
    She partially smiled when she replied , “You’re probably in here with a load of people; I just come here with my dad. It’s much easier to slip free dessert to a party of two.”
    I nodded my agreement, but my thoughts were on when her cheerful expression changed to be a little bit somber: it was at the mention of her dad on the phone. It must have really bothered her that he had called Howard to check on her. I guess I could understand how she felt.
    I tried to keep family out of our conversation, just in case it was a touchy subject. I knew the reservation; there was no way I wanted to talk about my own dysfunctional family life. Instead I asked her more about her job at City Hall , and then she talked a bit about music. I t didn’t take me long to realize how important it was to her .
    “How long have you played?” I asked.
    She smiled and answered, “A w hile. Since I was eight on the piano, and twelve for the guitar.”
              “Oh, so you’re pretty good, then. What kind of music do you like to play?”
    We talked about music through most of our meal. I could tell it was something she really loved. Music was probably to her like baseball was to me. After a while she began asking more about me, so we did talk sports for some time . We also discussed our schedules somewhat, and I was slightly disappointed that she was even busier than I was .
    As Howard promised, dessert was broug ht when our plates were cleared, and Jayden was apparently a huge fan of chocolate. She claimed that it was only recently that she became infatuated with it, and she told a story about how her friend made her try the triple chocolate cake at another restaurant once. She was hooked after that, and when Howard learned that she liked another restaurant’s dessert better than his, he made sure he added a divine cake to the menu, just for her.
    I heard her phone vibrate two other times b ut she just le t it to go to voicemail. I wondered if it was her father again, or possibly her guardian back at the Davis house.
    We sat and talked until almost four o’clock . We were there for nearly three hours. But a s much as I liked talking to her, I was getting a little fidgety. I knew she had her family dinner at five, and even though she claimed she