Twenty-two years earlier

 

“I don’t want to go out with him,”  Jessica insisted.

 

“He’s a nice boy, honey.”  Her mother clasped both her shoulders, making Jessica look at her.

 

“I just don’t understand you, Jessica.  You’re a beautiful girl, so popular in school, yet you spend all of your time with Yuri.  This is when you should be dating, having fun, going to parties.”

“I do have fun, Mom.”  She’d always been able to tell her mother anything, but this… her affair with Yuri…no, she was too afraid.  “I thought you liked Yuri.”

 

“I do, honey.”

 

“Mom, Yuri and I… well, she’s not like the others.  She’s interested in college.  We talked about our future, about what we want.  The others – Hara – it’s all boys and parties and gossip.”

 

“That’s how it’s supposed to be when you’re a teenager,” her mother said with a laugh.  “I always told your father you grew up too quickly.  That’s one reason I pushed you into cheerleading.”

 

Jessica rolled her eyes.  “I hate cheerleading.”

 

Her mother studied her for a moment.  “Jessica, do this for me?  Just go out with him.  Give it a chance.”

 

“But – “

 

“You’re going to be a senior.  It’ll be prom time.  Wouldn’t it nice to have a boyfriend?”

 

Jessica bit her lip to keep from laughing.  A boyfriend.

 

But she finally agreed, just to get her mother to shut up about it already.  She called Hara, saying she’d changed her mind.  She’d go with them to the rodeo after all.

 

“Wear those tight black jeans,” Hara said.  “Do you have cowboy boots?”

 

“You know I don’t.”

 

“Okay, but wear some kind of boot, would you?”  Then she squealed.  “ I can’t believe you’re going out with Siwon.  Finally!”

 

“It’s not really a date Hara.”

 

“Of course it is.  We’ll pick you up by seven.”

 

Jessica hung up, knowing she was making a mistake.  She didn’t want to go.  She knew she’d have no fun.  It was Friday night.  More often than not, Yuri would bring pizza over and they’d watch a movie.  And she’d ask Yuri to stay over.

 

She glanced at her bed.  Yuri would call her mother, letting her know she was spending the night.  She didn’t know why they bothered with formalities.  They both knew – as did their parents – that Yuri wouldn’t be going home.  And during the night, after everyone else had gone to bed and the house was quiet, they’d stop pretending they were sleeping.  They’d touch, they’d kiss…they’d make love.

 

Yet tonight, she’d let her mother talk to her into going out on a stupid date.  Truth was, she was afraid her mother was getting suspicious of all the time she and Yuri spent together.  It was actually a miracle they hadn’t been caught yet.  She picked up the phone, dreading her call to Yuri.  Yuri would be hurt.  No, Yuri would be confused.  And hurt.

 

“Hi, Mrs. Kwon, it’s Jessica.  Is Yuri around?”

 

“Hi, Jessica.  Yes, she’s out playing basketball with Jeff.  Hang on, I’ll go get her.”

 

“Thanks.”  She waited only a minute or two before Yuri’s breathless voice sounded in her ear.

 

“Hi.  What’s up?”  Then softer, quieter, “I can’t wait to see you.”

 

Jessica bit her lip, not knowing how to tell her.  “I’m going out tonight,” she blurted.  “With Siwon.”  There was only silence on the other end and she waited.

 

“I see.”  A long pause, then, “Why?”

 

“My mother, she’s been after me to date, she’s starting to question why we spend so much time together.  I Thought – “

 

“Okay.  I understand.”

 

“Do you?”

 

“Yes.  As long as we continue to hide what we have, what we feel, then yeah, your mother is going to  wonder why you’re not dating.”

 

Jessica listened to her words but she was more interested in her tone.  “You’re mad,” she finally stated.

 

“Yeah.  Wouldn’t you be?”

 

Jessica pulled the phone away from her ear as Yuri slammed it down, effectively hanging up on her.  She took a deep breath.  Yeah, she’d be pissed if Yuri called and said she had a date.  In fact, she’d be mad as hell.

 

So what were you thinking?

 

Jessica plopped down on her bed, confused as to what to do.  Well, she knew what she should do.  She should call Hara and cancel.  But then she’d have some explaining to do both Hara and her mother.  And then she’d most likely spend the night alone anyway as she doubted Yuri – explanation or not – would want to come over.

 

“Crap.  .  .”

 

~~~~~***~~~~

 

“Oh, man, you look great.”

 

Yeah, she did.  But Siwon wasn’t really the one she wanted to look great for.  And after the argument with her mother – after she’d told her she wasn’t going out with Siwon – she was in no mood for compliments.  She obviously didn’t win the argument with her mother.

 

Hara pulled her aside, squeezing tightly on her arm.  “What is wrong with you?  You’ve got a pissed off look on your face.”

 

Jessica ignored her question.  “What are we doing here?  I thought we were going to the rodeo?”

 

Hara winked.  “Well, Siwon was so excited that you’d finally agreed to go out with him, he wanted to come by The Spot and show off.”

 

Jessica glanced around.  The Burger Spot was the place in town to go if you wanted to mingle with cool kids.  It was a teenager’s dream, filled with video games and arcades, air hockey and foosball and lots of fun and laughter.  It was where they gathered after Friday night football games, where they hung out on lazy Saturday afternoons or where they met up after school for a or gossip session before heading home.  And it was a place Jessica and Yuri had avoided of late, choosing instead to spend their time alone.

 

“Hara, I wouldn’t really call this a date.”

 

“Oh, my God, of course it is.”  Hara pulled her back toward their booth.  “And I think we’re going to skip the rodeo and catch a movie instead.”

 

“A movie?”

 

“Yeah.”  Hara grinned and wiggled her eyebrows.  “We can sit in the balcony and make out.”

 

Jessica slid into the booth beside Siwon, cringing as he spread his legs, his thigh pressing tightly against hers.  She moved away from him.

 

“Burger and fries?” he asked.  “My t