I smiled back at him, thinking of Peyton. “I get it.”
Our eyes locked, and for a moment, a spark flew. I averted my gaze quickly, and silence fell over the table once again. Our food was delivered and we ate mostly in silence. We probably looked so strange compared to the other tables who all required to-go boxes. We were continuously eating our food, not taking any time at all to talk to each other. Andrew’s plate eventually emptied and mine a little later. It was so uncomfortable I wanted to die; thank god the food was good at least.
The waiter walked over with a bottle to refill my wine, but I stopped him. Andrew’s beers were gone, and he hadn’t asked for any more. It was time to just say goodbye.
“Can I get you anything for dessert?” the waiter asked.
“No,” Andrew and I replied in unison.
The waiter nodded. “Very well, then you are free to leave whenever you are ready. There is no rush.”
He walked away from the table and Andrew looked across at me. “Dinner was good.”
I nodded. “Yeah, very.”
Our eyes shifted around awkwardly until I finally grabbed my bag and took the initiative. “Well. I would say this has been fun, but it’s been mostly odd. Either way, thank you.”
“Oh, yeah.” Andrew stood up. “Thank you. I’ll, uh, I’ll walk you out.”
Why? “Okay. Thanks.”
I led the way away from the table and down the stairs to the main part of the club. Music was thumping and people were even more consumed with one another on the bottom floor than they were up top. I supposed a date could go in that direction if it went well enough, but I was turning away from the dance floor and walking through the front doors out into the cool evening air. I hadn’t noticed it walking in, but the doors and archway leading in were very poorly constructed. Not only did it look bad, but it made the club look more like a rundown storefront.
“Everything okay?” Andrew asked, noticing me staring up at it.
“Oh, yeah, just…” I flicked my hand toward the archway. “I think this looks bad.”
“The door?”
“The whole thing. It could have used a better project manager, I assume. It doesn’t pop out, the archways are totally uneven, the doors are bland. It doesn’t do the inside any justice.” I didn’t get any response, so I looked over and Andrew had a brilliant, bright smile on his face. My face immediately heated up. “What?”
“It’s just interesting to me. It seems like you’re more interested in the world you’re employed in than you made it seem.” He flagged down a cab and then opened the door. “Well, goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
Andrew didn’t wait for me to get in, but turned around immediately and started off.
What the hell was that? Why did he seem so intrigued all of a sudden, and why was my heart pounding so fast?
8
Andrew
I couldn’t quite figure out why I was dreading Thursday dinner so much. Was it just because I didn’t want to see Mason and Alaina in their happy, pre-marital bliss anymore? I’d been out on a couple of dates, and they hadn’t gone well, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t be happy for my sister and best friend. I wasn’t the type to get jealous, especially not when it came to two people I loved and was happy for. Was it just because things had gone so terribly with Parker? Was it because at the tail end of our second date, she actually did say something that sparked my interest? Why would I rather just sit at home in sweatpants eating junk food like I was recovering from a breakup rather than enjoy a nice meal with my family?
“Andy.”
I was just about to open the front door to my parents’ house when I heard a sweet voice that always lit up my day. I turned around and Alaina was bounding up the steps with a bright smile on her face.
“Careful, B.C.,” Mason called from further down the path.
“Be careful?” I questioned. “She’s walking up the sidewalk, not pole vaulting.”
Alaina didn’t seem as confused by the direction. She stopped bouncing so much and moved a little more slowly and conventionally. “You’re right, I keep forgetting.”
“Forgetting what?” I asked.
“Hi!” Alaina yelped when she got to me, opening her arms wide.
I went into them immediately, wrapping my arms around her waist. “Hey, squirt.”
She pulled away, but just enough to poke at my cheeks. “You’re thinning out.”
“Okay, Mom,” I growled back, earning myself a swat.
“Don’t.” Alaina glared at me and I kissed her cheek in apology.
Her and my mom’s relationship was strained. They loved each other, but my mom had a terrible habit of picking at Alaina, and lately, Alaina didn’t have much for her to pick at, so she resorted to making baseless claims about anything under the sun. I could pretend it was for that reason that I didn’t want to be at dinner, but I usually found their bouts more amusing than anything else.
“Anyway,” Alaina continued, “you are thinning out. Are you eating well?”
“I’m eating,” I replied accusingly. “I went out to lunch with Mason on Saturday.”
“Saturday was almost a week ago,” Mason said as he got to Alaina’s side. “Now that you mention it, you do look a little worn out. You sleeping alright?”
I pulled away from Alaina’s grip. “What are you two, my parents? Good lord.” Alina side-glanced Mason and they both smiled. I looked at them both and then scoffed. “What?”
“Let’s go in. I’m starving,” Alaina said, ignoring me. She walked around me and Mason followed, tapping me on my back as I went.
“You two are acting weird.” I followed after them and let Alaina lead us inside.
“Hello?” Alaina called out.
“Hey!” My dad came rushing out from somewhere out of sight, and ran right into a tight hug with Alaina. “My baby!”
Mason winced as if he thought my dad was gonna break her, but they always went for tight hugs. “You good?” I asked.
Mason looked at me and then wiped the look of fear off his face in place of a warm smile. “Better than ever.”
My dad tapped my back briefly, greeted Mason with a handshake, and then ushered us into the dining room. The table had already been set and topped with different platters of food. All of it looked as if it had been ordered in and then transferred to dishes to appear homemade. That wasn’t unusual for my parents, and Alaina and I never mentioned it. They always still got food we enjoyed, even if they didn’t make it themselves.
We sat ourselves down around the table, my dad at the head of the table, my mom to his left, Alaina to her left, and then across from Alaina sat Mason, and I sat to Mason’s left, my dad’s right. We dug into the food after some warm greetings and check-ins, and then different conversations picked up around the table. My dad started talking to Alaina about how her new business was going while my mom threw in snarky comments about it, and Mason turned his attention to me.
“So. How was the second date?”
When Parker’s smile snuck into my mind, it was difficult to force it out again. “Interesting.”