November

August

One month later, he'd changed his mind.
"I have to."
"Em, more or less." the counselor fidgeted awkwardly and Jesse stared in disbelief.
"You all are forcing me to go on a date."
"We're not forcing, per se, Jesse, just - "
"Strongly suggesting?" the counselor nodded tensely. Jesse laughed. "Well, in their language, that means forcing."
"It's just that our supervisors like to see progress. You understand." Jess frowned and picked at the sleeve of his sweater.
"So I have to go on Friday?"
"Unless you've got a written medical excuse."
"Really? So if I - "
"Don't try it, Jesse."
"Fine." the counselor watched the young man across the table from him sulk heartily.
"Listen, it's not that bad. I mean, it's something you'd be doing anyway, right?" Jesse just scowled quietly at the wall. "You let this guy pick you up, you go out somewhere nice, you relax and if you don't like him, then you never have to see him again. What's the problem?"
"I don't need anybody to pick me up and take me out. I'm not a girl." the counselor sighed.
"Jesse, this isn't about gender. You know that. It stopped being about that a long time ago. It's about relationship schemes." the scowl remained.
"You'll have a chaperone. You won't be alone."
"That's even worse. So if I do happen to like the guy, then we can't have three minutes alone?"
"It's not safe, Jesse." the scowl intensified. "Jess, please try to understand." the scowl faded.
"I do understand. You don't."
"I do, Jesse."
"No, you don't! You don't have to give up your life for this! You're not losing your job, and your freedom, and - I can't even go out with my friends anymore, because they're all pure males. Like I'm a whore - like I'll fuck the first dick I find. It's like no one trusts me anymore. I'm not a criminal - I didn't do anything, but somehow I'm on probation. Everyone's suddenly decided that they need to make my decisions for me."
"Jesse."
"What?" he spat, flustered and angry.
"I put myself on the list today." Jesse was quiet for a minute. "Been stalling, but they said no more."
"Are they going to let you stay here?" Beckman turned his screen back.
"I don't know." he fiddled with some things on his desk while Jesse stared off into the distance.
"They should. It could be ... advantageous if you could better understand the people you're counseling, right?" the counselor shrugged.
"They might say that since I'm older, I need to concentrate on getting a family, you know? They'll say that work might take up too much of my time. I hope not. I like what I do." he tried haltingly to smile at Jesse. "It'll all work out, though." Jesse nodded.
"Most definitely. For both of us."