"You look really cute in that. I was going to wear it today, but I can see that it looks better on you.", said Janet.
"Oh, you can have it back if you need it.",said Jasmine and tried to take it off.
"No, I insist that you wear it besides you need it more than I do."
"But, how I can give this back to you?", Jasmine asked.
"Don't worry about it." Besides I have a feeling that I will be seeing you again., Janet wanted to say. Instead she smiled and said,"Well, I have to got to go now or I'll be late for rehearsal."
She hugged Jasmine and went downstairs. After Janet had left, Jasmine walked over to the mirror and admired her new outfit. Wow, she was right! This outfit is cute on me.,thought Jasmine. She fluffed out her long dark brown natural curly hair. She wished that she could see Janet , so she could thank her for the outfit, but after that day she had a feeling that she would not see Janet again unless it was on TV. This thought saddened her, but she knew that it was useless to wish that she could spend more time with Janet. She sighed and walked downstairs, admiring the paintings on the walls.
Neverland was really a beautiful and magical place. She could see why Michael loved it so much. The living room was decorated with elegant oil paintings of Elizabeth and Michael on the walls. Jasmine especially loved the painting of Michael dressed in kingly attire with a crown on the top of his head. She also noticed that there were paintings of children laughing and playing happily. The sofas were very comfortable because they were overstuffed. She could hardly believe that anybody could live in a place as elegant and beautiful as Neverland.
As for Michael, he was talking and laughing with his best friend, Elizabeth Taylor. Then Jasmine walked into the living room and he forgot all about Elizabeth. He stared at Jasmine and she stared back at him just as intently.
"Michael? Michael, are you still there?", asked Elizabeth.
"Yeah, I'm still here.... umm... Liz, I'm going to call you back later.", he said not taking his eyes off of Jasmine and hung up the phone.
Omg, she is so beautiful and she has the prettiest brown eyes that I have ever seen. Are those flecks of gold in her eyes too? I bet that they change color with her mood., he thought. He didn't understand this. After today, he would probably never see this girl again, but he did not care. He wanted to get to know this girl better starting with her name. He swallowed and cleared his throat.
"What's your name?", he asked.
"Jasmine.", she said shyly.
I thought that she would have a pretty name., he thought.
"Your name is very pretty. I like it.", he said.
"Thank you, Mr.Jackson."
"Please call me Michael. You don't have to be scared of me. You can sit down if you want to.", he said patting the cushion on the sofa.
I'm not scared of you. I'm just scared that I'm going to make a big fool out of myself if I kiss you., she thought. She sat down beside him and studied him closely. He was still dressed in the black outfit from his Moonwalker movie and his long black curly hair was loose and caressing his face. Her heart was beating fast and she had butterflies in her stomach. She had never this reaction with Greg when they first started dating, but Greg was not Michael Jackson.
"So, Jasmine do you want to tell me what happened to you?", asked Michael.
"You saw me?", she asked.
He gave her a incredulous look and she could just imagine what he was thinking. She wanted to kick herself for asking such a dumb question. Of course he saw you,idiot! Why would he ask you that question?, she told herself. Her face felt hot again and she knew that she would start crying again. She blinked hard trying to hold back the tears.
"Yes, I did. I had just got back from shooting Moonwalker when I saw you. You were standing in the rain without a umbrella or a jacket and you were crying."
She lost the battle with the tears and they began to run down her face. She got up and walked to the window.
Like you are now.,he thought and walked over to her.
"Umm...Jasmine, are you alright?"
"No.", she said.
"What happened? Please tell me. Maybe I can help. Did somebody hurt you?"
She did not answer and began to cry harder.
Michael was just like most guys. He could not stand to see a woman cry. He put his arms around Jasmine and held her. She buried her face in his shirt and sobbed.
It took a while, but she finally managed to pull herself together. It was really weird to him, but he could not help thinking that she looked more beautiful when she was crying.
"Jasmine, are you alright now? I'm sorry. I did not mean to upset you."
She smiled at him and said,"You don't have to appologize because you did not do anything wrong."
"Do you want to tell me when you were so upset now? You don't have to if you don't want to. I just think that it will make you feel better if you talk about it."
She sighed.
"I will tell you. The reason that I was in the rain today was because of my boyfriend-,she stopped herself and then said, "I mean my ex-boyfriend, Greg Simmons. He slept with my ex-best friend, Chloe.", she said bitterly and turned away from him to face the window again.
When Michael heard the pain in her voice,he wanted to find Greg and punch him in the face. This thought shocked him because he was not normally a violent person. It was obvious to him that she was not over the jerk. He didn't really know her, but he wanted to do anything to see her smile again.
"Hey, don't waste your tears on him because he's not worth it and you are a very beautiful girl. You can do so much much better than him.", he told her.
"Do you really mean that, Michael?"
"I mean everything that I say and I would not have said it if it was not true."
It was quiet in the room. Michael and Jasmine stared at each other thinking their own thoughts. He wanted to kiss her, but he knew that it would be a mistake because she was not over Greg. He cleared his throat again interrupting the moment between them.
"I'm going to go upstairs and get changed because I have to go to a party tonight with Tatiana. When I come back, I'm going to take you home."
"Ok."
"Will you be alright until I come back?"
"Yes."
He left the room and walked upstairs to get ready for the party that night. It did not take him long to get dressed. When he came back downstairs, he was dressed in a white suit complete with a white hat and white shoes. He did not call for Bobby and led Jasmine to his car.
On the way to her place, Jasmine and Michael talked. When they finally pulled up to her apartment, Jasmine was disappointed because she did not want to leave and she knew that she would never forget this day because she would probably not see him again. She opened the door, but he stopped her.
"Jasmine, wait."
"Yes,Michael?"
"Here, I want you to have this.", he said and gave her a red rose.
"Oh, Michael that is really sweet of you. You did not have to do that."
"I wanted to because you deserve it and you are beautiful just like the rose.", he said and kissed her on the cheek.
"Thank you."
"See you later and remember what I told you."
"I won't."
"Good girl", he said and drove away.
To Be Continued
