Finding Ourselves Together (READ REVAMP VERSION - IN WAVES)

13 | Comfort Food

After driving for about five more minutes in the heavy traffic, Nate pulled into the parking lot of a little diner across from a busy beach. Cars whooshed passed on the road, but you could still see all the people having fun playing in the sand and splashing around in the sea, enjoying the sweltering Saturday that it was. I could see sandcastles being built, girls walking around in bikinis, families spending time together, and surfers far out in the water. I had never been a huge fan of the beach, but seeing all of them having a great time out there made me wonder if I'd ever warm up to it.

I followed Nate into the welcoming diner surrounded in exposed brick and bright art, and he immediately made a beeline across the checkered floor to a particular red booth by a large window, indicating that it must have been his favorite table. He took a seat across from me and beamed cheerfully, settling into the cozy booth and looking around with a somewhat silly grin.

"Um, good mood?" I asked jokingly, and his mouth fell agape with surprise for a second when he realized I was watching him.

"Sorry, I've been here so many times but this booth is usually taken, especially on Saturdays." He pointed out the window with his index finger. "See that? Best view you're going to get in this place."

I twisted around and saw the beach behind me through the window, except the chaotic road was mostly obscured from this angle, and the sea looked beautifully vast as a result. It was remarkable how different it had seemed from the position of the parking lot.

"Wow." Was all I managed to get out as my eyes took in the sight.

"Right?" Nate's happy voice agreed from behind me. I turned back as he greeted a friendly faced waitress who looked like she was in her early twenties, and had come to give us our menus. I didn't realize how starving I was until I was reading all the descriptions of food and looking at the pictures with a watering mouth. I guess I hadn't actually eaten anything since yesterday afternoon, and everything had sped by since then. 

I still had a slight hangover and I was craving breakfast food even though it was after twelve, so I ordered the first thing that popped off the menu ­– waffles and coffee, and Nate ordered a cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate milkshake without a second thought.

"Good choice, but mine's gonna be better." He playfully winked and then handed the menus back to the waitress with charming smile, making her blush a little before scuttling back to the kitchen.

We chatted lightheartedly while we waited for our food, and considering what had happened between us the night before, there were no uncomfortable silences or us avoiding eye contact with each other. It just felt natural, and conversation rolled along easily with him. This might have been the first conversation where we were actually getting to know one another properly, during the week there was the awkward encounter when I ran into him at school, us speaking briefly in the record store, and the fight between our brothers we had to deal with. Even though we hung out at the party and had fun, we weren't fully sober then.

It was different now, sitting across from each other clear-headed and in the light of day – I wasn't depending on alcohol to make me more confident or less nervous, because I figured out pretty quickly that Nate wasn't the type of person who I actually needed that kind of help around. He seemed to like my sober self, and that gave me the confidence I thought only drinking could give.

The hot aromatic coffee and sweet toasty waffles fulfilled my hangover cravings almost instantly, but I still couldn't help drooling over the appetizing look of Nate's meal. He guarded his plate when he saw my longing gaze and swatted me away when I tried to steal some fries, but eventually gave in and let me take a bite of the succulent burger with a laugh. My eyes grew big when I tasted how delicious it was and he nodded knowingly.