51 Shades of Mumu

Chapter 3

    "Uhh, a slice of chocolate cake…and a pastrami sandwich," Gorden said to the old waitress who was practically looming over us.

    "Make that two slices of cake!" I chimed in. "Don't worry, I'll pay for the second one," I whispered to Gorden. I felt bad enough that he had taken me out to eat after only knowing me for what felt like seconds. Making him pay for everything would have been straight up cruelty.

*

    Originally, Gorden had promised to take me out to get pizza, but as the bus rolled past one of the many strip malls that lined our drive home, Gorden had grabbed my arm and pressed the tape, requesting the bus to stop. "I have an idea that's better than pizza."

    I looked at him skeptically as we hopped off the bus and strolled over to a diner with a massive sign over it that read 'Deli King.'

    "I work here," Gorden smiled. I could tell he was trying to impress me, but frankly, there was nothing fabulous about working at a Jewish diner/ deli that looked like it hadn't been remodeled since the 50s.

    "You okay?" He asked, glancing down at me as he opened the grungy door. "You look like you're gonna throw up."

    "Nope. Fine." I lied.  The nerves were beginning to take over.  What was I doing out with some guy I didn't even know?  What if he tried to kidnap me? What if he was doing this as some kind of prank and ended up laughing to his friends about it later? What if the whole school found out and everyone hated me? It was only freshman year. I couldn't let that happen. I mean, I didn't really care about popularity or anything, but being hated was far too ghastly.

    I strolled over to a table smack in the middle of the deli (safety reasons, of course) and plopped down. God, I didn't even know what to talk about. Thankfully, a waitress who looked older than the deli herself came up to us and saved me from any awkward silences that might have occurred.

    "Well, hello JorJor!" She squawked, pinching Gorden's right cheek. "And who is this?  What would you too like today?"

    She seemed so kind I almost felt bad for giggling. Almost.

*

    The second the waitress left us, I burst out laughing.  "JorJor! She calls you JorJor?"

    "Yes," he blushed, "it's sexy, I know."

    "Can I call you JorJor?"

     "No.  You can call me your boyfriend."

    Holy. Crap. Was this really happening? I widened my eyes at him and slapped the ancient blue table in disbelief. Gorden Perlman was seriously asking me out.  Indirectly, but still. He. Wanted. To. Be. My. Boyfriend.

    "With pleasure." I grinned at him as he stretched his hands across the table to hold mine.