It Had to Be You

thirty three

WITH more vacant tables than occupied ones, it was fairly easy to pick out the back of Adrian's head when I arrived at Jenny's Diner. I crossed the room, sliding into booth across from him and placing my purse beside me. Adrian's eyes sought out mine from over his laminate menu, scrutinizing my appearance.

I opened my mouth, about to ask him what he found so interesting to stare at, when he beat me to the punch. "There's a twig in your hair."

Hastily, I pulled on the twig causing my freshly straighten hair to frizz out. I dropped the vermin onto the floor, attempting to smooth out my hair even though I knew it was no use. It was going to frizz.

And there was nothing I could do to stop it.

I tried to hide my frown behind my glass of water. No reaching across the table to untangle the twig himself? Maybe I misjudged our situation.

"Did you sneak out your window?" He lowered his menu to show the sharp, handsomeness of his face...and the smirk pulling on his plush lips.

"I couldn't use the front door," I picked up my own menu, "my dad was camped out just in the right place to watch both the front and the back door."

"After all these years, I'm still shocked that as big as your house is, it only has two exits."

That thought had crossed my mind over the years, but it didn't concern me too much as I never had a reason to sneak out before. But spending the night with Adrian in handcuffs (separate this time, not connected) and everything that blew up between me and my parents, my mind was made up. I wanted to test the waters with Adrian and if we had to sneak around for a little bit,

Then so be it.

It did sound kind of hot, anyway.

The thrill of someone walking in at any second. Kisses behind closed doors. Dates far out of town where there were no prying eyes.

"Do you even need to look at the menu?" I asked him as he picked his up again. "I would've thought you had it memorized."

"I'm not even sure Jenny has this thing memorized, but I'm glad you have that much faith in me." He said. "I don't work enough hours to have this engrained in my memory."

With musical practices adding up and running late into the night, he hasn't been at able to take on any new shifts. I couldn't imagine with my already busy schedule, adding a part-time job on top of that. Adrian deserved a lot more credit than I had been willing to give.

We ordered our food, conversations flowing easily between the two of us. There wasn't a dull moment, something that greatly contrasted the first time we came here together, after that gala that made both of us want to rip our hair from our head. It felt like eons ago, rather than a little over a month, when we were testing the borders between I-guess-you're-not-that-bad to I-like-spending-time-with-you.

After our plates were cleared, we ordered a large banana split to share and warmness settled in the pit of my belly that he hadn't criticized my acceptance to more food. Our spoons clashed against each other as we picked the sundae apart. I was busy trying to slice through the banana when a warm hand clasped over my left on the table, the movement startling me and my spoon slipped through my sticky fingers.

Taking in three deep breaths, I picked up my spoon, leaving my hand nestled comfortably between his own. My breath hitched as his thumb started to rub slow circles across the back of my hand. "Maybe when you're done being grounded...we can go out sometime?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Aren't we already out?"

Adrian couldn't stop his eye roll. "On a real date."