When We're Thirty

Chapter 5

"What's a good place to share a snack around here?" He asked her, not knowing anything in the town.

"There's a cool mexican place up ahead that has good nachos." She suggested, walking next to him, bumping her shoulder into his upper arm occasionally. "It's called Burritos Grill. Want to go there?"

"Sounds great," he said. Even though he had a big breakfast he was now starving, the curse of a teenage guy.

She led him back to the main street, the one that lined up and led off onto the bridge. They walked the opposite of the way they came over the bridge, this time taking a left opposite of the Starbucks they were in earlier during the day. The sun was starting to get lower in the sky, and Julian guessed it was around five o'clock. They made their way up to the restaurant, passing more antique shops, a jerky place, a leather place some odds-and-ends creepy museum, then they were in front of the restaurant.

As she made a reservation for two, the hostess asked whether they would want to sit inside or out. Without hesitation, Sophie responded saying she wanted to sit outside.

"Keen of the outdoors?" Julian asked her as the hostess put down their menus.

"I love the outdoors, but only when its warm. I absolutely hate the cold so if it's warm outside, I try to get as much of it as I can before it gets cold again." She closed her eyes and leaned back, smiling and breathing in the warm summer air. Julian guessed she chose that seat because it was directly in the sunlight. As she sat back, he noticed how the sunlight hit her hair, making it glow a golden blonde and he admired it. The waitress came over, bringing them ice waters that they chugged, barely breathing.

"I finished mine first," Sophie proudly slammed her cup on the table, the ice clinking emptily in the plastic cup.

"I didn't know this was a contest," Julian stared her down over the rim of his cup, still half full of water.

The pair put in their order for nachos, deciding on an order each because they were so hungry. He got chicken on his, while she got ground beef.

They chatted back and forth, waiting for the wait staff to bring their desperately needed meal. "Do you come to New Hope often?" he asked her, sipping the last of his water.

"During the summer I love coming here. There's nothing like exploring an old town during the summer heat. I love walking along the river. I've lived here my whole life but there's always something new to see." She smiled and looked away from him, up the sunny roads of the town.

"Guess that's why they call it NEW hope," he made a pun at her, smiling stupidly as she gave him a blank stare before breaking into a smile at his humor.

"Get out of here," she laughed hard, crossing her legs the other way as the waitress came by and filled up their water's, informing them that their food was almost done.

As the waitress walked away, Julian shifted clearly antsy. "I'm so hungry I'm going to gnaw my arm off. You promise it's good?"

"Cross my hea--," Sophie was cut off as steaming plates of nachos was dropped off in front of them. "Bon appetit" she said under her breath as they both dug in.

The pair didn't talk for quite some time as they basically inhaled the food in front of them. Both reaching for napkins to clean their cheese-covered fingers, their hands touched and they laughed; Sophie almost choked on the tortilla and cheesy treat.

"Sweet mother of Jesus," she sighed, finally being able to catch her breath while getting the yellow cheese off her hands.

"I'm pretty sure that was blasphemy," he laughed, cleaning his fingers and looking at her. She was clearly content by the meaty goodness. The nachos had a slight spice to them, with salsa and a hint of lime. His chicken on top was flavored perfectly and he wished that he could have had a bowl of just the seasoned poultry.

She observed his place compared to her own. "Holy shit you eat fast," she poked at the remains on his place, looking at hers which was still piled half way up.

"What can I say? I'm a beast." He smiled at her. "Hey, look! A deer!" he pointed behind her, up the street to a wooded area.

She turned around in her seat, looking where he pointed. "Where?" She peered up the street at the small trees.

At that moment, he reached across the table and took a few nachos with ground beef on them, quickly stuffing them into his mouth and trying to chew as fast as possible.

She turned around and looked at him with a puzzled look on her face. "There's no deer. Surprising because there's always deer in this area." She studied his face a bit longer, and realized the sharp jaw line that he donned was covered with the bulge of his cheeks. She looked down at her plate, then back at him with a smirk. "Really?"

"Sorry,'' he could barely choke out with a mouth full of food.

"You're insane," She laughed at him. "I got to use the bathroom I'll be right back. Make sure to keep your grimy hands off my food - nacho cheese!" She used the classic "not your cheese" line to sound like the popular food.

While she was in the bathroom, the waitress returned with the bill and dropped it off. Without a thought, Julian picked up the bill, placed his own card and handed it back to the waitress. He felt good using his hard earned money from his job at home to treat her. It made his heart flutter a bit that he could treat her to something as simple as nachos, and he suppressed the increasing feelings he had for her.

Sophie returned the same time that the waitress came back and dropped off Julian's card and already paid bill. Sophie took out crumpled bills from her pocket, looking at the menu seeing how much her entree was.

"Don't worry about it, I already took care of it." Julian put his hand on her arm, motioning her to put her money away. At that moment, he could see a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"Are you sure?" She asked. "Let me at least pay you back," but was met with Julian shaking his head. Sophie was uncomfortable, she hated that he paid for her. No one has ever paid for her before, except when he paid for her ice cream the week earlier and she didn't know what to do. Then again, it was nice to not blow through her hard earned cash that took her at least a month to make, but it still hurt. Did he know she was poor, is that why he pitied her and paid? Or was he just being a gentleman? She sighed quietly and thanked him profusely, feeling the quilt of being economically unstable fall upon her shoulders. She always grew up having close to nothing because her mother spent her salary on booze and clubs, not getting enough to her and her younger brother.

Her younger brother! Sophie stood up quickly, almost tipping the green plastic chair behind her. "What time is it?" She panicked, looking for her slide phone.

Julian clicked his smartphone. "It's 4:28, what's the matter?" He watched her flail around trying to get herself together

"Fuck fuck fuck," she muttered under her breath. "Ah, I have to babysit my younger brother and I was supposed to be home at 4," she was panicking, thinking about what her mother would do to her, or how she would take it out on her three year-old brother because she was late. "Thank you so much for lunch. Can we meet again soon? Great, thank you again, bye."

With that, Julian watched the girl who made his heart speed, speed down the cement sidewalk to the bridge that connected the two quaint towns. He watched her long hair flow behind her, her white shorts crisply colored against her tan thighs and grey halter top, her hand tightly clutching her phone. He could almost hear her shoes hitting the pavement. She was always so relaxed and it was weird to see a girl he's known for a bit to show such a weird side. He wondered what triggered the response; was it something at home? He packed up himself also, taking his card and walking back across the sae bridge that Sophie thundered over, making his way home.