It was nearly midnight when everyone had left. Chad came in from saying goodnight to Lane and saw JC laying on the couch, almost half-asleep, flipping through television channels with the remote. Chad plopped down next to him and playfully slapped JC's knee. "Did you have fun?" he asked.

"Yeah," JC yawned. "Lane's really cool. And it was fun to get to know other people." 

JC paused, but before he could say anything, Chad cut him off, "And to get to know James?" he raised an eyebrow at his cousin. JC tried to object, but was so tired, he gave up at once. "I figured you might hit it off with her." Chad leaned back into the sofa. "Where is she anyway?"

"Asleep. We finished cleaning up around the grill and she was exhausted so I told her to go to sleep and you and I would finish," JC yawned again and rubbed his eyes. "So before I fall asleep, let's get to it."

"No, we can finish tomorrow," Chad told him. "Now, first thing's first. Was it reciprocated?"

"With James? Hell if I know. I doubt she's even thought about anything. We only met today," JC replied. "And I already told myself I wouldn't rush anything next time. I'm tired of just going from one relationship to the next."

"Yeah, I guess. But I don't think a date with her would be so bad. Just one. The Shrimp Festival is next week. You could ask her tomorrow and then she'd have time to schedule in a shift that didn't conflict," Chad suggested. 

"What the hell is a shrimp festival?" JC mused, laughing.

"It's what we hicks get our kicks on," Chad responded, using a fake Southern drawl, which, JC thought, he didn't really have to fake as much. "It's different booths selling shrimp set up and down Main Street and there's arts and crafts and live bands, usually some wanna-be country star here in Grayson, and the whole town comes out for it. James loves it and I'm sure if you asked her to go with you, she wouldn't think of it as a date but just two friends, going out, maybe kissing at the end of the night..." Chad trailed off and JC groaned and threw a pillow at his cousin. 

"That sounds like a date to me," he said. "Well, whatever. I don't know if I will or not. There's still a lot I don't know about the ex."

"Who? Clay?" Chad sighed and then continued. "He was a scumbag. He and James dated all through college. I met him once and detested everything about him. He was a former football player and acted as though he was about to be drafted for the NFL when he couldn't even get a scholarship or walk-on anywhere. Anyway, he was a jerk, he treated James terribly, cheated on her almost the whole time they dated, and when she found out she was pregnant, well, let's just say it wasn't pretty."

JC looked at his cousin seriously. "Did he, well, hurt her?"

Chad shrugged. "I think so. But James has never told me either way. I think now she's just glad to be away from him and her main priority is Sutton," Chad stood and went to finish cleaning up the food on the kitchen counter. JC followed him.

"Does he see Sutton?" he asked, helping Chad wipe down the counter.

"Clay? No. James didn't want him to have anything to do with the baby after they broke up. He wasn't too thrilled anyway when she told him," Chad put a few bottles of beer in the refrigerator. 

"Does Sutton ever ask about him?" JC squeezed out the wet cloth he'd used to wipe off the counters and started to load the dishwasher.

"I think she might have in the past but not so much anymore. Last we all heard, Clay had gone up north and I don't think she's heard from him since she was a few months pregnant with Sutton," Chad took a glass down from the cabinet and filled it with water from the Brita filter. "So, now that you know all about him, you know that there's no involvement on either part and now you can ask her out!"

JC chuckled and shook his head, "We'll see. I'm going to bed now. See you tomorrow," and he left the kitchen and headed for the staircase.

*****
It was Tuesday before JC brought up the Shrimp Festival to James. On Sunday, James and Sutton had spent the day together getting ice cream at Morrie's and then going to visit James' parents for the rest of the day. Monday, James worked early and when she got home, Chad and Lane had invited JC out for drinks at Ruby's Round-Up and they were gone until the wee hours of the morning. Finally, on Tuesday, Chad and JC paid a visit to Brewster's after dropping off Sutton at ballet. Because Chad was more or less his own boss, he could take off whenever he felt and decided that he'd take off all week since he'd technically be working that upcoming weekend.

When Chad and JC walked into Brewster's, Kaylie was manning the cash register, Hunter was stocking coffee items out front, and Madison was reshelving pastries. Kaylie let out a small gasp when she looked up to see JC. Chad didn't wait for her to freak out, he simply said, "Hi, Kaylie. Where's James?"

"She-she's in the back. Want me to go and get her?" Kaylie stumbled over her words, still trying to remain as professional as possible. Hunter rolled his eyes at her as he watched Kaylie's interaction. 

"That would be lovely, thanks," Chad winked at her and he and JC took a seat at a table near the counter. It was pretty quiet due to it being Tuesday at 2:00pm. Most customers would come in after work or during their lunch break. 2:00 in the afternoon was prime for coming and visiting and Chad knew it.

James walked out a few seconds later and smiled when she saw Chad and JC.

"Hey, guys!" she took out three scones from the shelf and came from around the counter, joining them at the table. "Did you get Sutton to ballet on time?"

"Of course," Chad answered. "You're right about that ballet gear. That whole room looks like pink threw up everywhere. Does her instructor know they make ballet costumes in other colors besides pink?"

James laughed, "Her ballet instructor is about 75-years-old. I'm surprised she still wants to volunteer her time to work with kids at all!" She turned to JC. "How've you been? I feel like I haven't seen either of you much since the party."

"Chad's kept us busy, that's for sure," JC said. "We went to Ruby's last night. I think every hick this side of Georgia was there."

James nodded, "Yep. Typical. Chad, I'm surprised you and Lane stooped so low as to even step foot in Ruby's!"

"Well, just trying to give Josh here some local color," Chad stood to his feet. "I'm going to the restroom. Be right back."

James smiled at JC. "So, other than Ruby's, what else have you done in the last two days?" She took a bite of a scone. "I'm sure it was a little different than all those fancy shmancy clubs in L.A., huh?"

JC chuckled, "Well, a little. Ruby was there serving drinks."

"Oh my gosh, she's still alive?!" James gasped. "When I was in high school that woman was in and out of the hospital with oxygen problems. I thought she'd passed away awhile ago."

"Very much alive," JC nodded and cleared his throat, "Hey, um, the Shrimp Festival I hear is a big deal." He figured he could go ahead and segue into asking her out. It was now or never. Or it was now or tomorrow, but he preferred now. 

"Yeah, it's this weekend! I love the Shrimp Festival. It's so much fun. We're having a booth there this year all weekend," James said. 

"Huh, really? Cool," JC thought before he spoke. "So, um, do you have to work the whole weekend at it?"

James shook her head, "No. I think I scheduled myself for a few hours on each day. Why?"

JC let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair. "Well, I didn't know if maybe you'd want to meet up after one of your shifts? You know, just to walk around together or something." He could feel himself blushing and felt stupid. Walk around together or something? That sounded as if he were in high school. Maybe he should've consulted with Chad first about how to prose this. No, that was dumb. It was asking someone out. That was it.  He looked up to see James grinning.

"I would love that," she answered. "I work on Saturday until four. I'm pretty sure the booth is going to be just in front of the shop. But we can work out details later. And I'll see if Sutton can spend the day with my parents."

Chad came back from the restroom and sat joined them. "James, maybe you should go tell Morrie how to clean a bathroom. It's almost pristine it's so clean." 

James, who had been nearly gazing at JC, shook herself from her daydream and stood up. "Yes. Thanks. Ok, I need to go back to work. I'll get Sutton on my way home." It had been so long since she'd been asked out on a date (that's what this was, right?) that she was having trouble completing a thought. 

"Ok, doll," Chad smirked and looked at JC as James headed for the back of the shop. "You asked her, didn't you?"

JC winked at his cousin. "Yeah, I did."

"And she said yes?"

"She did. Saturday at four,"

"Way to go," Chad stood and the two men walked outside.