Dara stared at my car’s control panel. “Am I dreaming, or didn’t I just turn the air conditioner off?” she asked, giving the switch a hard flick to the left.

Click. Jaejoong snapped the switch back to the right. “Am I dreaming, or did I turn the air conditioner on five minutes ago?” He glanced over at Dara. Had he actually thought she’d be pleasant to travel with?

“Look, I understand you’re cold. But if I don’t have this thing on for at least ten more minutes, I will be sweating pig by the time we stop for dinner.” He wiped his forehead. “That is, if I’m not already.”

“Too late. You are.” Dara said innocently.

Jaejoong grimaced. The girl was not funny.

He pretended not to notice Dara rubber her hands back and forth, breathing on them. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as she daintily shook out a napkin (with a slight gasoline odor) and covered her feet with it.

“To retain heat,” she whispered confidentially.

With a sigh Jaejoong moved his hand to the control panel. Always Mr. Nice Guy. Click. The air conditioner was officially out of commission.

**

It was tough, but Jaejoong managed to convince Dara that the diner they saw was close to fine dining as they were going to manage that night.

“If it had been up to me, we would have stopped at that Mcdonald’s twenty miles ago.” Jaejoong said, holding the diner’s door open for Dara and several hungry-looking customers.

Dara groaned. “Wasn’t eating lunch there enough for you? Besides, I want something healthy, maybe even Korean dishes, not fast food.”

Jaejoong laughed. He hated to break it to her, but this diner didn’t exactly seem the bastion of healthy eating.

“I’ve got to use the ladies’ room,” Dara whispered. “I’ll meet you at the table.”

Jaejoong nodded. The place was pretty full, which he hoped was a good sign. Because he was extremely hungry. Starving, actually. He noticed the guys who entered behind them looking his way. Jaejoong raised his eyebrows, as if to say, What?

The tallest one, a skinny guy in his late forties with a saggy mustache and pants to match grinned widely. “We were just saying how pretty your girlfriend is,” he said, nodding in the direction of the rest rooms. “You’re one lucky guy.”

Jaejoong suddenly becomes alert. He didn’t want to get into trouble but if these guys try to disrespect Dara, he will sure to raised hell.

He looked at the guy without smiling. The man suddenly noticed the tension and went back to his group.

Then an old lady beside their table suddenly said, “It’s true you know, your girlfriend is very pretty.”

Jaejoong shook his head. “Thanks but she’s not my girlfriend. She’s just a friend. Actually she’s my brother’s girlfriend.”

The old lady and her companions laughed heartily. “Brother’s girl, huh? These young men get sneakier and sneakier,” said the old lady.

Jaejoong could feel his cheeks reddening. “No, you don’t get it. She’s…” He stopped himself just as the waitress came to his table. What did he care what these people thought? He didn’t have to defend his relationship with Dara to them.

Jaejoong asked the  waitress to come back again. He was poring over the menu when Dara rejoined him.

“Hi!” she announced brightly, sliding into the booth. She had pulled her hair up into a ponytail and her lips had a slight sheen to them that Jaejoong hadn’t noticed before.

“You smell nice,” Jaejoong commented. “I trust it’s not the rest room soap?”

“Blue Grass by Elizabeth Arden. It’s my favorite perfume,” Dara said. “Just a few sprays leave me feeling completely rejuvenated.”

“Blue Grass,” Jaejoong repeated. He wasn’t much of a perfume guy, but this was nice, natural, a bit vintage – not overwhelming on the nose.

“Would you like some? It might help, um, you petroleum situation,” Dara said. Jaejoong glared at her. She held up her hands. “Sorry, sorry. I couldn’t resist. But really, you don’t smell anymore.”

“Maybe you’ve just gotten used to it. Put this on,” Jaejoong said, tossing his jacket to her.

“Why?” Dara asked but decided to wear it since she was still feeling cold.

“Just do what I say,” Jaejoong insisted. Eyeing the guys on the other side of the diner.

**

“So I guess your parents were kind of nervous about letting you go on this trip, huh?” Jaejoong asked, taking a sip of his Coke as they waited for their food to arrive. Good thing the guys at the diner left already. He was on alert for quite some time because of them.

Dara shook her head. “Well, my mom was a little anxious, but my dad doesn’t even know. He’s in Japan.”

Jaejoong was puzzled. “On a business trip or something?”

“No.” Dara fumbed with the discarded straw wrappers, folding them accordion style. “My parents are divorced. My dad moved to Japan a couple of years ago. I don’t see him very much anymore.”

Jaejoong found himself reaching over and patting her hand. “That must be hard,” he said sympathetically.

Dara gave him a small laugh. “Yeah. Especially now that my mom has Jong Hyuk around.”

“Jong Hyuk?”

“Her boyfriend,” she said glumly.

“Oh. I take it you don’t like him?”

“He’s okay, I guess.” Her voice quivered slightly. “It’s just that I was kind of hoping my parents would get back together, you know? But it’s pretty dumb, thinking like that. I mean, they got divorced when I was 11, and I’ve only seen my dad, like, eight times since then.” Dara unclasped her watch, then clasped it again. “Jong Hyuk’s not all that bad, I guess. But I get sick of him hanging around my house, following my mom around like a lovesick puppy. He’s younger than my mom, for goodness’ sake!”

Jaejoong tried to picture how he’d feel if his own mother was seeing someone else. He and Kris took it hard when their father started dating someone. Their mom helped convinced them that it was okay. But if their mother started dating too, well…that’s a different story. Their mom, in one of her sweatshirts and a pair of khakis, her brown hair frizzing out behind her ear and her glasses looming large on her soft, beautiful face. He couldn’t imagine it if his mom started dating. And he didn’t want to.

He had a silent prayer of thanks that his parents even if they were divorced a long time ago, maintained a decent relationship with each other. Their situation was very weird for other people but it was way better than those who have been in the same situation.

“One cheeseburger deluxe, fries, salad with dressing on the side and 2 milkshakes,” the waitress announced, balancing everything on a tray. “Lemme guess,” she said to Dara. “Salad, right?

“Right,” Dara said, sliding her hand away from Jaejoong’s.

“Didn’t mean to break up the party,” the waitress said, giving Jaejoong a conspiratorial wink.

Jaejoong suddenly realized he had forgotten to take his hand off Dara’s – he’d had it there for minutes. Nice, Jae. He