“I love both and I love this place.” She walks inside the restaurant as I hold the door open for her.
“Maverick Cruz,” the hostess says, blushing and smiling. “Hi. Welcome.”
“Thank you.” I smile back at her.
“Norma. I’m in your algebra class. I sit behind you sometimes.”
“Oh. Cool.” I keep smiling. I’ve never seen this girl in my life, but I’ll take her word for it.
“Wow, she was totally checking you out,” Rebecca says once we’re seated.
“Who?” I pick up my menu from the table and start scrolling through it.
“The hostess. Norma.”
“Oh. I didn’t notice.” I go back to the menu, trying to look for the roll Rocky normally gets, but I can’t remember the name, and I definitely can’t text her while I’m out with Rebecca and she’s with Brian. I inwardly groan. Fucking Brian, of all people. Of course, she’d choose a pretty boy to go out with, even after I told her he’s not her type. What do I know though, right? Maybe he is her type after all. She hasn’t had a boyfriend in a while.
“You seem distracted.”
“Just trying to figure out what I feel like eating.” I glance up at Rebecca. “What do you like?”
“I like the Spider Roll.”
“Oh, that’s the one Rocky likes!” I smile and nod as I look back at the menu.
“Rocky’s that girl you’re always with?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought you two were dating. I mean, before you finally asked me out, I figured you were dating.”
“Rocky and me?” I chuckle. “No way. I’ve known her since we were kids.”
“Maybe that’s why you even walk the same.”
“What?” I laugh as I lower the menu. “What are you talking about?”
“You walk the same. I swear.” Rebecca laughs. Damn, she has a great laugh.
“That’s so strange. No one’s ever said that before.”
“So, you guys are like really tight then.”
“Yup.”
“How does that fare in your relationships?”
“Wow. You get deep quick.” I blink. “I don’t think it makes a difference in our relationships.”
“No? Your past girlfriends haven’t been jealous of your friendship?”
“I mean, I haven’t had a girlfriend in a while.” I shrug a shoulder.
“How long?”
“Since high school.”
“Oh. And why’d you break up?”
“College.” I let out a laugh. “I don’t think anyone has grilled me this hard on a first date.”
“Well, they should.” She smiles.
We pause the conversation to order our food and then she goes right back to grilling me. I don’t know how I feel about it. I don’t hate it. I’ve been waiting to go out with this girl far too long to care what she wants to talk about and I’m thinking if she’s this into my personal life, it’s definitely a good sign. My mind keeps drifting to Rocky though. Maybe because Rebecca has brought her up so much. Maybe because she just informed me that we walk the same, which is wild. My parents walk the same. They even share the same mannerisms, but they’ve been together since they were teenagers and married for thirty years, so it makes sense.
“What about you? I bet you’ve had a lot of boyfriends,” I say.
“Not a lot. I am a serial dater though. At least that’s what my friends say.” She laughs.
“A serial dater.” I raise an eyebrow. “So, you’ve dated a lot of guys while you’ve been here?”
“Not a lot. I mean, I go on a lot of dates, but none have turned into anything serious.”
Interesting. I don’t really have anything to say to that, so I sip on my lemon water instead. I don’t know why I figured Rebecca was this put-together girl who had everything figured out. Like Rocky. Fuck. Why the hell am I thinking about Rocky again?
“You seem distracted again.”
“I’m not. I’m good. I’m just . . . ” I exhale heavily. “Yeah, I’m distracted. I’m sorry.”
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing of importance.” It’s a lie, but what am I supposed to say? There’s no right answer to that question.
“Hm.” She glances away and I know I’ve upset her and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why.
I’ve spent an entire year pining after this girl and finally have her sitting in front of me only to not even be interested in having a conversation with her. I’m annoyed with myself. The food comes quickly and we start eating. Soon, we’re making small talk, a far cry from all the relationship questions she was trying to get me to answer earlier. Maybe I’m acting this way because I haven’t been on a date in such a long time. Maybe I’m acting this way because I know Rocky is with Brian and for some crazy reason I don’t like that thought. Either way, I need to snap out of it.
I tossed and turned all night and finally gave up on sleep an hour ago. I went for a run, worked out, and now, I’m freshly showered and dressed. I look at the time and pick up my phone to call my mom before she heads into church.
She answers on the first ring. “Mav? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah.” I frown. “Why?”
“It’s before noon on a Sunday. You normally don’t call this early.”
“I know.” I take a gulp of water and sigh heavily as I set it down. “Rocky’s staying with her friend this weekend.”
“Okay?” My mother’s voice is understandably confused.
“This entire weekend. She just packed up and left.”
“Is that unusual?”
“Yeah. I mean, she’s never done it before.” I pick up the water again.
“You miss her so much that you decided to wake up early on a Sunday and call me to tell me about it when you know I’m on my way to church?”
I set the cup down. “No. I mean, I guess.”
“Are you telling me you have feelings for her?”
“No.” My voice is louder now. “I’m just telling you what’s going on in the house.”
“And you don’t have feelings for her?”
“I . . . ” I feel myself frown. “I was on a date last night.”
“And how did that go?” My mother sounds like she’s one second away from telling me to fuck off, but I know she won’t, so I continue on.
“It was fine. It was with Rebecca. The girl from—”
“Yes, yes, I know who it is. You’ve been talking about her all year.”
“Well, yeah. So, it was good.”
“Good enough that you obviously didn’t take her home with you and woke up thinking about your best friend instead?”
“Mom.”
“Maverick, I’m your mother, not an idiot.” She sighs. “Look, I’m about to be late for church, so I’ll make this quick. You have feelings for Rocky. If you don’t see that, you need to take a good look at yourself and re-evaluate what you think you feel. If you like her, tell her.”