Katie is waiting for me outside her dorm building. She's wearing a light pink sweater dress and black boots. She looks slightly more tired than usual, but smiles a little when she sees me. "Hey Katie," I say, reaching to give her a hug.

She slightly hesitates, but hugs me back. "Hi Jason."

"I'm glad you agreed to go out today. You seemed like you had a rough birthday," I say sympathetically.

"Yeah, thanks for inviting me. This is just us going out as two friends though, so we're clear," she says sternly.

I nod. I think she might change her mind though.

"So where are we going anyways?" she asks.

"I thought we could have some classic fun, a movie and dinner?" I ask, as we reach the car.

"Sure, sounds good."

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"Oh my god, what is this place?" Katie asks, wide eyed.

"A theater," I say teasingly.

She frowns. "Come on, no one expects a place like this when someone says they're watching a movie."

She's not wrong. I've brought her to an exclusive VIP theater that requires a membership to visit. My parents have been members here since I was a kid. The lobby has a giant chandelier, the floors are a rich brown and shiny wood, the walls are painted matte black with gold trimming, there are plenty of floor to ceiling windows, there's a full kitchen and bar, and all the staff are dressed formally.

"I don't belong here," she whispers, looking around at everything around her.

"Don't worry about it, it's a special birthday treat. Let's go pick a movie," I reassure her, gently patting her shoulder. We head towards one of the kiosks.

She still looks unsure but follows me. We scroll through the options, and settle on a rom com. We take the elevators to the theater. Katie's eyes widen again as we walk inside.

Each seat is a soft leather recliner with plenty of legroom, there are speakers to the sides of every seat, small tables pull out of the arms of the seats for food, there's a small button on the other arm to call for a server, and the screen is huge.

We sit in our seats and I hand her a menu. She ends up just ordering a small popcorn. I do the same.

The movie ended up being pretty cliché. I don't mind though, Katie seemed to have enjoyed herself.

"Dinner now?" I ask, buckling up my seat belt.

"Yup, what kind of food are you down for?" Jason asks.

I think for a bit. "Sushi?" It's been a while and I heard seafood is good here.

He smiles. "Anything you want," he says, and sends a text before we start driving.

"You're Japanese right?" he asks.

I raise my eyebrows. "Because I look Asian and want sushi?"

He laughs. "No, your last name."

"Oh, yes, Sato is Japanese," I chuckle, "I don't look like it, but I'm only half. My mom is French."

"Oh, I never would've guessed," he says, surprised.

"I was born here though, it took a lot of convincing for my parents to let me move across the country for school," I add. "They're pretty overprotective but I really needed some freedom." I do miss them though.

"I know what you mean," he laughs, "moving out was one of the greatest days of my life."

__________________

"Jason where are we going?" I ask, as he leads me down a deck along the ocean.

"It's a surprise," he says with a playful smile. I don't like surprises. I like being prepared.

We finally reach the end of the deck, where a giant yacht is docked. Is this what I think it is? "Here we are," he says cheerfully.

I stand there dumbfounded. "You have a yacht?"

"Yup," and he takes my hand, helping me onto the ship.

A man is waiting on the deck, and nods to us when he sees us. "Good evening Mr. Larsen, Ms. Sato," he greets us in a kind voice. "Weather is surprisingly good today, it should be a smooth ride."

"Thank you Michael," Jason replies politely, and he leads me to the front of the boat.

Under a partially covered deck, there's a single table. It's covered with a white tablecloth, and has two place settings, crystal white plates, multiple utensils, and wine glasses. Around the deck, there are candles, flowers, and string lights. I look at Jason, who's already looking at me to gauge my reaction.

"Oh my god, is this all for today?" I ask, still dumbfounded.

He smiles smugly. "Yes, now come sit down."

He pulls my chair out for me and I sit. I can't help but feel incredibly overwhelmed by this insane setting and his kindness. I decide to be blunt. "So you're...rich?"

Jason laughs. "Well, my parents are I guess. They're real estate moguls, and own a lot of the buildings here." I'm shocked, the cost of living in this city is enormous, I can't even imagine how much his parents are worth. Their nice apartment makes sense now.

It makes me feel a bit uncomfortable though, both my parents are doctors and I'm an only child, so we've always been well-off. People would try and get close to me just because of my money, so I try to live modestly to hide it. I don't want Jason to think I want to be friends just for his money.

"Right now I'm just working as one of the directors at their company, but they expect me to take over eventually. I have a younger sister, but she'll still be too young by the time my parents retire," he says. Before I can reply, a man comes out holding a tray. He sets down two plates of sushi in front of us.

"I called in a favor from a sushi chef I know, one of the best in the country," he says smugly, "flew him here after you told me you wanted sushi."

"Jason, you really didn't need to do that," I whisper, feeling slightly uncomfortable, "I'm a very low key person."

"I know, but please just enjoy yourself Katie, you had a rough day yesterday," he smiles sympathetically. I suppose he's right, but still, this is a lot.

The food is delicious, and the ambiance is sweet. In the flickering candlelight, Jason gives me a gentle smile, and his brown eyes seem warm and inviting. My anxiety and intimidation by him fades away.

After we finish eating, we walk out onto the deck, and sit on the wrap around sofa by the stone fire pit. The sun has set and above us is a canopy of twinkling stars. I shiver a little. Jason notices and sends a text. Within seconds, someone comes upstairs and hands Jason a large blanket.

"Here," he says, handing me the soft blanket.

"Thanks," I say gratefully wrapping it around myself.

We sit in silence, listening to the gentle splashes of water against the boat.

Jason turns and gives me a serious look. "So, I think it's time I told you the truth about Lincoln."

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Being rich must be great 😭 (I'm sure they don't really live like this irl, but it's fun to imagine lol)

Thanks for reading! :)