As A Friend

3: You Slept with His Sister

"Who knew you were such an annoying person when you have a crush on someone?" Dominic mutters as he sits across from me at lunch.

"What do you mean?" I put my phone down and pick my fork back up. The conversation with Eli is interesting and has yet to die; from morning until night, we text about everything and anything. We have a lot in common and he's just as funny as he is flirty.

Dramatically, Dominic takes his phone from his pocket and giggles girlishly. He begins tapping away noisily and biting his lip as he makes a thinking face. When he finally stops the act, he narrows his eyes at me. "That's what you look like."

My face reddens and my palms grow sweaty as I glare at him. "First of all, I don't have a crush on him," I snap.

"Sure you don't," he replies. "You know, sometimes I forget that you're a girl but right now, you're doing a good job reminding me."

Just as he finishes his sentence, my phone vibrates on the table and we both glance at it. In an instant, the phone is in his hand. I reach for it, practically throwing myself across the table at him but he's too fast. He's dodging and weaving my hand as he quickly types on the screen. Abruptly, he reaches out and hands my phone back to me. I snatch it from him, unlock it, and assess the damage he's done.

Me: hi this is Dominic not to sound rude but you're distracting her from lunch please shut up thank you i hope to meet u soon

"Dominic!" I read the message and think of how I can undo it. I stare and wonder what I should say. The three bubbles pop up and he texts back quickly.

Elias: Boyfriend?

Me: No, omg. My best friend. I'm sorry. He snatched the phone from the table as I was eating.

I make attempts to continue the conversation but I can't help but feel like Dominic made things awkward. I glare at my best friend, who looks satisfied at the slower responses. "You're so childish." I learn from my mistake and put my phone down in my lap.

"Sorry," he mumbles almost inaudibly.

"What was that?"

"Sorry." He's a little louder this time.

I cup my ear with my hand as I lean over. "I can't hear you."

"Sorry." This time, he speaks at regular volume and offers me a glare.

"You're forgiven, but next time you grab my phone, I'll hurt you," I threaten.

"Oh, really?" I nod in response and he tilts his head. "Is that a threat?"

"No..." I push around the food on my plate before locking eyes with him. "It's a promise."

"You know, if you weren't so short, I might be scared," he continues to mock me.

I jump in his direction and he flinches a little. "You might be?" I grin widely and he smirks at me.

I start to get up and he's out of his seat and running out of the dining hall. I clean up both of our messes, shaking my head at him as he peeks through the doorway. When I exit, I find him bouncing from foot to foot nervously. "Boo!" He jumps almost five feet in the air.

"You're such a scaredy-cat." I check my phone as I walk alongside him towards the exit. My eyes widen in surprise. I look at Dominic and open and close my mouth, trying to form a sentence.

"What?" he asks and he grabs my phone. I don't fight this time and instead, let him use his heaps of experience to help me. "He wants to hang out with you tonight. Say yes."

"What if he tries to kiss me or something?" I start to feel my nerves get the best of me.

"Then kiss him if you want to. If you don't, then don't," he oversimplifies. It's never that easy. "Or you could make him wait to build the tension."