Beside You Ch. 22: Forget Me Too 1/3
1753 Words
Chapter Twenty-Two: Forget Me Too 1/3
Collin pulled up at a small restaurant.
The sign by the door said ‘Rachel’s Place.’
“It looks nice,” I said.
It wasn’t in the most fantastic shape. I knew most places with the best food didn’t look like a five-star restaurant.
I was already excited.
Then it hit me. Maybe a little harder than I would have liked it to.
This is a date.
This is an actual date.
I glanced over at Collin as he got out of the car.
I took a deep breath before I got out too.
“I know it doesn’t look like much,” Collin stated, “But their pasta is amazing.”
I had a feeling that this place would be good.
“I look forward to trying some,” I admitted.
He grinned at me.
He waited for me to reach the sidewalk so that we could walk to the door together.
It was sweet.
He held the door open for me, and I thanked him.
The smell of something amazing hit my nose.
What is that?
“Hey there,” a woman greeted, “Just a minute.”
Collin nodded before grinning at me again.
“What?” I asked awkwardly.
“Nothing,” he said, “I’m just glad you said yes.”
In a weird way, so was I.
“It’s off to a great start so far,” I said.
“Yeah?” he asked, “Then I’m glad.”
I found myself grinning back at him.
“Just the two of you?”
I turned to see a woman holding menus in her hands.
“Yeah,” Collin said, “Just us.”
“This way,” she said.
Collin gestured for me to go first, so I did.
The woman led us not too far from the door. In front of her was a two-person table.
She placed a menu in front of each spot.
I was getting nervous.
“I will be back in just a minute to get your drink orders,” she said, “My name is Sandra. I’ll be your server tonight.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“Thank you,” Collin said almost in unison.
Sandra walked away, and Collin and I took our seats.
“Anything sound good?” he asked.
We’ve only been looking at our menus for a few minutes, but I was lost.
I felt so uncultured.
The only pasta I could say I knew was spaghetti.
I mean, I knew what some basic pasta noodles were called, but that was the extent of my pasta knowledge.
“I’m not sure,” I said.
My eyes glanced over some of the pictures.
There was a massive burger with a lot of things thrown in it, and it made me think of Gus.
“Anything you recommend?” I asked.
Collin looked at his menu again a little awkwardly.
“I’m not sure what kind of things you’ll like,” he admitted.
He lifted the laminated paper to shield himself from my prying eyes.
Was it normal to think someone was so adorable?
“It’s good to try new things,” I said.
He lowered the menu just a little so that I could see his eyes.
“Yeah?” he asked.
I nodded, “Some things you need to try to know if you’ll like them.”
“That makes sense,” he said.
“So,” I said, “What is your favorite pasta here?”
“I haven’t tried them all,” he said.
“That’s not what I asked you,” I said.
He opened his mouth to speak, but a voice interrupted.
“Sorry about that,” Sandra said, smiling slightly, “What can I get the two of you to drink?”
Collin stared at me as if waiting for me to go first.
“Cherry Coke,” I said, “Thank you.”
She nodded, writing it down on a small pad of paper.
“And for you?” she asked Collin.
“Dr. Pepper,” he said, “And if it’s okay, I think we’re ready to order.”
Oh, are we?
Sandra wrote down his choice of drink, “Go ahead.”
“Two creamy garlic Penne,” he said, “Please.”
“Garlic bread?” she asked.
Collin’s eyes went to me again.
“Yes please,” I said.
“Will that be all?” she asked.
I nodded.
“Yes,” Collin said, “Thank you.”
“Alrighty,” Sandra said, “I’ll be right back with your drinks.”
She walked away after taking our menus.
I couldn’t help but giggle.
“What?” Collin asked.
I could see the concern on his face, and it only made me laugh a little harder.
“What?” he asked again, “Did I do something?”
“Nothing wrong,” I stated, “I’ve just never had someone order food for me like that.”
“Oh,” he said awkwardly, “I’m sorry about that.”
I shook my head, “Don’t be. It was sweet.”
I could see a slight pink tint to his cheeks.
This boy can blush.
“I’m glad you aren't mad,” he admitted.
I was going to keep to myself that this was my first fancy date.
Michael was my first date ever.
I felt myself frown.
He needed to not occupy my thoughts as much as he did.
I was on a date with a nice guy.
“Is everything alright?” Collin asked.
I nodded quickly, “I was just thinking about something.”
“Was it something bad?” he asked.
“It wasn’t bad,” I said.
“Whatever it was made you frown,” he said softly.
I glared at him.
“This is just my face,” I stated, “It does that a lot.”
He just stared at me.
It made me feel a little bad about what I just said.
I understand that he is just trying to be nice, but I don’t know how much of that I can handle right away.
It says more about me than it does about him.
He should know just how f****d up I really am.
If anything more were to happen between us, then he deserves to know.
I just can’t bring myself to tell him.
“I like it better when you smile,” he said, “So it bothers me when I see you looking unhappy.”
I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say to that.
He had no control over how I felt about anything.
Despite the sweet words that left his mouth, I felt irritated.
Is this what happens when I think about Michael?
He hurts me and then ruins everything.
I just let him.
I needed to forget about him.
I needed to forget about how he made me feel.
I needed to be stronger, for myself.
“I’d like to smile more too,” I admitted, “I just wish it was that easy.”
“I get that,” he said, “I’d rather you be honest than pretend to feel a way you don’t.”
I only nodded.
I hated having to pretend too. It was exhausting in the end.
“How about you?” I asked, “Do you pretend?”
He smiled, but I could tell it wasn’t genuine.
“I do,” he admitted.
“Are you pretending right now?” I asked.
“Right now?” he asked, “No.”
“That’s good to hear,” I said.
Sandra walked up to the table and set our drinks in front of us.
“Your food will be done soon,” she said.
She left the way she came.
Collin just stared at me.
It was different than before.
His gaze felt a little more intense.
“Are you feeling alright?” I asked.
He only nodded.
It was feeling awkward now.
I glanced at the table, trying to find a blemish in the dark wood.
“I’m sorry,” Collin mumbled, “I didn’t intend for tonight to be heavy. I wanted you to have fun.”
I met his eyes, but he was quick to avert his gaze.
“I can handle serious,” I stated.
“I think you’ve been through enough of that this week,” he said, “With… well, you know.”
I nodded.
“That doesn’t mean other people don’t deserve to be taken seriously,” I stated.
“I know,” he said, rubbing the back of his head, “But it just doesn’t feel right.”
“I’m not made of glass,” I said, “And I do appreciate that.”
“Fair,” he said, “But I can’t help how I feel either.”
“That’s fine,” I said, “That doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy our date though, right?”
He smirked, “I would very much like to enjoy my time with you.”
“Then quit making it weird,” I said, “Let’s just pretend tonight that none of that happened.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, “I don’t want to accidentally say something that might bother you.”
“I’m sure,” I stated, “And if you do say something I don’t like, I will tell you. Okay?”
He nodded.
“And you do the same,” I stated, “If I say something you don’t like, let me know.”
“Okay,” he said, “I like that.”
“On a more serious note,” I said, feeling my stomach hurt, “Where is our pasta at?”
He grinned, and I could see his mood getting lighter already.
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- Writer
