Engaged

Chapter 17

After working in the animal shelter all day everyone was exhausted.

"Thanks again for your help today kids." Mackenzie's grandpa said as he locked the doors to the shelter for the day.

"Anytime Mr. Martin." Lainey and Eli said.

"Don't be strangers kids. It was nice seeing you two again, and it was nice meeting you Peyton."

"You too Mr. Martin." Peyton replied.

"You guys wanna catch an early dinner since we missed lunch?" Lainey asked her friends.

"I'm down." Mackenzie and Eli both said.

"Alyssa Jane?" Lainey asked.

"Nah, I..."

"Oh, come on you're never in town. Now that you are you aren't going to hang?"

"Yeah I.... I.... I need to-"

"Shut up and get in the fucking car Alyssa. Grandpa already left so you have to ride with me anyway so you're coming whether you like it or not." Mackenzie interrupted.

"Meet at Za's?" Eli shouted as he headed towards his car.

"Big bet! Last one there buys!" Mackenzie yelled as her and Alyssa ran to her car.

Lainey was already planning to buy everyone's meal so she didn't bother running like the others did.

"Isn't, Za's, that old pizza place?" Peyton asked once they were in the car.

"Yep, don't tell me you're too good for Za's. Sure it's a little greasy, but it's all about the experience and atmosphere."

"I've never been. Dad always said that place was the poor man's Dave and Busters."

"No, Chuck E. Cheese, is the poor man's Dave and Busters. Za's is like a blast from the past."

"And you like it?" Peyton asked with a sour look on her face.

"Just give it a chance please." Lainey begged.

"Fine, but if I don't like it I'm not eating it, and we're stopping on the way home."

"Deal!" Lainey exclaimed, surprised that Peyton was even willing to give the place a shot. "You know, if somebody would have told me in high school that you'd ever be caught dead in Za's I'd have laughed in their face." Lainey joked.

"Me too." Peyton sighed. "Hey before we go in can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what's up?" Lainey said turning towards her as much as she could in her seat.

"Why are you doing this?"

"What do you mean? Getting dinner? Because I'm hungry. If you're not hungry yet you don't have to eat."

"No, not the dinner part. Why are you inviting me places? Not that I don't appreciate it, because I do. I guess I just don't understand what you're getting out of dragging me out with you, when it's not like you don't already have friends. You very easily could have just left this morning and not told me where you were going. You also didn't have to bring me to dinner with you guys, but you did. So why, if it's just for the engagement you should really start telling more people or posting about it so that people actually know. Because from a media standpoint-"

"It's not for the stupid engagement, I couldn't care less about that, but we're together now. Did you not go do stuff with Scott when you two were together?"

"I mean I went to his games even if I wasn't cheering for some reason, and he came to the galas and dinner parties I had to attend for work."

"You two never went on dates, or did stuff that the two of you enjoyed?"