Work. She had work to do. Her eyes popped open as he climbed off the bed and moved to the pool in the corner of the room. Shit. Jo sat down in front of him and held the papers up for him to read and work. She had to call into the lab and see what tomorrow would hold. She was supposed to be at the aquarium rehabilitating manatees, but her schedule changed constantly. Jo watched the water in the pool ripple and morph into a clear image.
"Who are we granting first?" She leaned forward eagerly. Wish granting was far more fun than Karma granting. The smiles and joy that the people showed made Jo feel all warm and fuzzy inside, even if she wasn't the one that was doing it. Leon rested his chin on her shoulder and snapped his fingers. The image changed again and showed a small boy sitting in the floor of his room crying over a baseball glove. A brief image of his father flashed across his mind. His wish was clear as day. He just wanted to play catch with his dad.
Jo looked over her shoulder at Leon with a puppy dog look on her face. "Do you like doing it from here most of the time? Or do you like doing it in person? Curt took me on a field trip when I tagged along with him, But then I had to help Alexander and he preferred the pool downstairs." She watched as Leon waved his hand across the pool and the boys father walked in and offered to take the boy to the park. It was so sweet. Jo couldn't help but smile.
"I think this whole wish granting thing is pretty interesting." Her phone started vibrating. She looked down and Carla's name flashed across the screen. OH NO! She hadn't texted Carla back. She looked at Leon apologetically and stood up. "Give me two seconds. It's Carla," She explained and pressed accept.
Carla's high pitched voice cracked across the phone. "JO! WHAT IN THE WORLD? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO CALL ME 2 DAYS AGO!" She yelled. "Anyway, I forgive you because you have obviously been busy! Listen, Steve told me that you haven't gotten back to him about the fundraiser thing yet. I'm taking Paul, the guy I had coffee with the other day when I ditched you. You need to come! It'll be fun!"
Jo slapped her palm to her face and groaned. "I totally forgot about it! I don't know if I can even go. You know I don't do the whole fancy thing. I'm more of a behind the scenes kind of girl." She looked back at Leon, who was patiently waiting and staring at her. "Look. I will think about it and get back to you soon. Or Steve. Or someone. I promise," She added and shook her head. "I have to go, C. I will call you later, Promise!" She ended the call and sat back down in front of Leon.
"That was Carla. The aquarium is having its annual fundraiser next Friday and she was making a friendly and somewhat threatening reminder for me to RSVP." Jo frowned and stared at the water as Leon granted another wish and marked it off of his list. "I don't know if I even want to go. Carla is bringing some random guy she probably met on the internet and it's a fancy ball like event with fancy dresses and tuxedos and money and rich people and high end champagne and tiny finger sandwiches and white table clothes," she stopped when she realized that she was rambling and her cheeks turned a bright red. "Do you want to go?" she asked quietly, bravely.
She was asking him out on a date. Her first real date beside a crappy movie or dinner. A fancy date. Her eyes stayed glued to the floor as she waited quietly for his reply. She usually didn't do dates. She didn't usually do the whole fall for a guy thing, until she met Leon that is. Tentatively, she raised her eyes to his, her cheeks still burning from a dark blush.