The Loner and Her

Chapter Twelve : Smoothies and Attraction

Griffin waits outside the women's restroom as Gia cleans up her makeup. His hands are stuffed in his front pockets. His black button up shirt beneath his suit jacket is unbuttoned a bit at the top.

A lady in her mid-fifties exits the restroom. When noticing Griffin, she narrows her eyes and glares at him as she passes by.

Griffin gulps uncomfortably.

He hears her whisper under her breath, "Boys this days..." She shakes her head, "Dirty little boys... All of them!"

Griffin breathes through his nose, rubbing his temples as he silently pleads with himself for Gia to hurry up.

After another long two minutes, Gia exits the bathroom with her face swiped clean of makeup. Her hair is pulled up into a messy-bun because it was beginning to frizz just a little bit.

Griffin glances up at her and she shrugs before he can show any emotion, "I know, but I don't care. I didn't bring my clutch with me down stairs and even if I had," She sighs, "I only have mascara and lip gloss in there."

Griffin shrugs, "You always don't wear makeup."

Gia sighs, "Yeah, but this is a dinner party for the Mayor..."

Griffin's eyebrows furrow, "Wait, you think we're going back up there?"

"Well, yeah- "

He snorts, "I'm not going back up there. You can if you want, Giules, but are we really needed there?"

Gia bows her head down. She thinks about leaving her mom all alone up there. She doesn't want to do that to her. Especially, since Mr. Prescott seemed to have been flirting with her and Aunt Caterina.

"I don't know, Griffin. I can't just leave my mom up there like that. We always do these things together," she explains.

Griffin gives a curt nod, "Yeah, I get it. Just tell my dad that I wasn't feeling good, okay? Make up some lie- like- I think I'm coming down with something Nate has."

"Who's Nate?" Gia asks, although she really doesn't want to go back upstairs without him. Actually, she doesn't want to do anything that will mean ending her time with him.

"My little brother; the one with the flu," Griffin explains.

"Oh," Gia says, remembering Mr. Prescott's words from earlier that evening, "Yeah, I-I guess I can do that."

Griffin scratches the back of his neck, "Uh, cool, thanks, Giules."

Gia sighs internally, Did he really have to call her Giules?

Then with that, Griffin turns on his heel and starts walking towards the hotel's entrance.

Gia watches as he walks with ease. He has a sway to his walk, she thinks to herself as she openly admires him, obliviously.

When he is only two feet away from the entrance, the doorman begins to open the doors and Gia calls out, without even realizing her own actions, "Griffin, wait!"

Griffin stops dead in his tracks. He turns around slightly, and Gia takes it as her cue and runs right over to him.

"I'll- I'll go with you. Wherever you go. You're right. I don't want to go back up there," Gia says so quickly Griffin almost didn't catch all of it.

But he did.

"Are you sure? I don't want to upset your mom..."

Gia realizes she left her cell phone in her clutch upstairs. She asks Griffin, "Can I borrow your phone?"

He pulls his cell-phone out of his front pocket and hands it to her wordlessly.

"Thanks," she says before texting her mother.

Sorry, Mom. Griffin and I are going out. We both don't feel up for the party. -Gia

Gia gives Griffin back his cell-phone, not waiting for her mother's reply. "Come on. Let's go!"

She makes her way out of the doubled doors, the same one the poor old door man had kept open for the two of them, and her and Griffin make it back out to the cold air, bright city lights catch their eyes.

Gia would be lying if she said she didn't miss the city. New York will forever be a part of her. It's where she grew up, where her family is, and will be forever her favorite place in the world.

It's a nice feeling to visit it, but she knew she can never live here again. Not anymore. Too many memories plague her mind and so much has happened since she's moved to Oakwood. She can't ever imagine leaving Griffin now.

Griffin is her friend. Her first ever real friend. He's the first guy, who isn't a part of her family, to understand her or to actually connect to her on a level more than one of an acquaintance.

Yet, right now, as the two of them walk side-by-side with one another, and the city lights reflect onto his soft features, Gia can't help but fond over him.

She finds him so breath-taking to look at. Gia has never, ever, thought of a boy as "breath-taking" before.

It scares her and pleases her all at once to know that she finds Griffin so attractive.

Giuliana Fitzpatrick is attracted to Griffin Kane, her only friend- practically her best friend.

And he isn't attracted to her.

How can he be? She thinks harshly to herself as she quickly, without him knowing, glances at her reflection passing a*****e. I'm plain old Gia. Boys don't befriend girls they're attracted to, right? Don't they go through all these things to make the girls like them? Griffin has only ever treated me as a friend, and I will only ever be that to him.

Sure, he called her cute, but what if he was just being nice or meant it in a friendly-kind-of-way?

She got all dolled-up tonight and he didn't compliment her at all. Then again, was there anytime to do so? Between her break-down and the awkward time at dinner, when did he have time to stop and really look at her? When she was a crying mess and looked like a raccoon with makeup smeared all over her face? Of course, not.

Gia sighs, quietly, for once in her life she doesn't like the silence between them. It isn't awkward, but it feels wrong. They both have so much to talk about, and yet, they can't say one word to each other right now.

Clearing her throat because it began to feel very dry, Gia speaks up, "So, both of our dads are lawyers, huh?"

Griffin nods stiffly, "Weird coincidence."

Or fate, Gia thinks, but mentally slaps herself after the crazy thought.

"You don't get along with your dad," Gia observes, not ask.

Griffin shrugs, "We just don't talk, I guess. My mom..." He sighs running a hand down his face.

"You don't have to tell me," Gia says, hurriedly. She doesn't want him to stress over something the two of them can talk about another time.

"But you're confused- "

She shrugs, "I don't want you to tell me something because I'm confused or you think I need to know. I want you to tell me something about yourself because you want me to know. Because you're okay with talking about it with me."

They both stopped in the middle of the sidewalk again. Civilians passing them by with a sudden annoyance, because they had stopped randomly, getting in everyone's way.

Gia shivers slightly as a cool breeze hits her. She could not believe she didn't even think to bring her coat when she had decided to come downstairs in the first place.

Griffin notices. He takes off his suit jacket, placing it, as cliche as ever, around Gia's cold and bare shoulders. He can't stop looking at her face as he whispers, "Dammit, Giules. You really make me wanna kiss you."

So do it, Gia thinks, but stops herself. How bad of an idea that could ever be. It would single handedly ruin their friendship and Gia is not, by all means, ever risking the best thing that's happened to her in a long time.

She blushes instead, bowing her head, "Oh." Is all she says.

A small curl escaped her mess of a bun. Griffin wraps his index finger around it, "I like your hair curly, Giules. It's you."

She rolls her eyes in return, "It's a mess."

Griffin awkwardly lets go of the small curl. He says to her, "I like messes."

Gia snorts as she turns and begins to continue walking down the crowded and busy street, leaving Griffin behind, "You really know how to compliment a lady," she jokes.

He catches up to her easily. "I can compliment you," Griffin declares.

Gia laughs lightly, "Saying, "It's you," isn't a compliment. How are you supposed to pick up a girl with no smooth moves?" She teases.

Although, her heart hurts at the thought of him looking at a girl the way he looks at her, or looking at another girl with more admiration and complete awe.

That really, really hurts her.

Griffin, stiffly at first, wraps an arm around Gia's shoulder, "I've got moves. I flirt with you, don't I?"

He knows. He knows he flirts with her sometimes. Oh, Lord.

She doesn't bother to look up at him, knowing he's grinning, "You wink."

"Winking says a hell of a lot more than a pick up line, Giules. It says, you're cute. You're gorgeous. I want you. All of those things fall under a subtle wink."

Gia's hearts pounds against her ribcage. She asks him, almost shakily, "Yeah? And what is my wink meant to be?"

He answers without hesitation, "Sup."

Gia sighs. Just a friend.

"But," he says, his hand sliding up and down her right arm, "Tonight, when I saw you at dinner, it meant, damn, you're gorgeous."

And just like that, Gia now has a crush on Griffin Kane.

After Gia regains her thoughts, she can't help but point out, "You know, you just contradicted yourself."

Griffin's eyebrows furrow, he never takes his arm off of Gia, "What do you mean?"

"Before, you said that you like me better natural. Yet, you only wink at me that I'm gorgeous, when I'm all dressed up."

Griffin rolls his eyes, "You girls dress up like that for a reason, right? You want someone to tell you, you're beautiful. You want to be complimented on like no tomorrow. That's what I did. I complimented you then and there because that was when you wanted to feel pretty. If I called you beautiful yesterday at school, you wouldn't have taken the compliment. You would think I'm playing you or something, even though, that is when I find you most gorgeous."

"Thank you," is all Gia can say. No boy has ever made her feel truly beautiful. They've all thought of her like she's an object, but not Griffin. Never Griffin.

She's surprised Griffin is so

"You mean a lot to me, you know," he tells her, quietly.

Gia pushes herself against Griffin just a bit, giving him reassurance, "Same with you, Griffin. Same with you."

She found a friend in a boy who had none. He found a friend in her, and she feels like the luckiest person in the world. Griffin chose her.

"Want to get a smoothie?" She asks him as they pass by Summer Smoothies.

He nods and they both enter through to the colorful shop.

A few people wait in line, so Gia and Griffin stand behind them, being patient as they wait their turn.

Griffin looks up at the menu, then back down at Gia. "What are you getting?"

Gia glances up at him, "Mango smoothie. Have you ever been here before?"

Griffin shakes his head, "I've only been to New York a couple times."

Gia's eyes widen, "Really? I didn't realize."

He shrugs in response, "My dad had to take me up here a couple times for business."

Gia's eyebrows furrow close together, "What does that have to do with you?"

Griffin shrugs, not saying much after that as he keeps his eyes glued to the menu, trying to figure out what he wants to get.

After they order their drinks, Griffin got a strawberry and banana smoothie, they sit at a small plastic green table, sitting right across from each other.

"Are their smoothies here good?" Griffin asks her after a couple minutes of silence.

Gia nods her head and he smirks, "Better than Jamba Juice?"

She smiles as she shrugs her shoulders, "They're pretty much the same, honestly. You can't mess up a smoothie or make it any different, but I like this place better. Even if I am biased." She smirks back at him and he doesn't understand why.

A woman with long blonde hair- almost white- exits the kitchen and into the direction of Gia and Griffin. A large smile stretches across her face and her arms open wide as she calls out, "Giuliana, darling!"

Gia gets up and goes over to hug the elder lady, "Hi, Grandma," she says, surprising Griffin in the process.

Gia's Grandma pulls back from her granddaughter, "Oh, look at you! You're all dressed up just to see little old me?" Then her eyes trail off and find Griffin sitting awkwardly at the table. Her smile gets even bigger.

"And who is this? A boy, I see? Hello, my name is Carol."

Griffin stands up and shakes Carol's hand, not saying a word.

Gia smiles slightly, pulling away from her grandmother and leaning against Griffin for comfort, "This is my friend, Griffin. He goes to Oakwood High with me."

Carol smiles, "How lovely....Now, why are you both dressed up? It's too early for prom, isn't it?"

Gia blushes at the thought of attending prom with Griffin.

"No, we were both at the Mayor's Birthday Celebration."

Carol's eyes widen considerably, "Wow. That's fancy for high schoolers."

Griffin bows his head down as he laughs softly, the air hitting Gia's neck in the process, causing it to burn a dark crimson.

"The Moretti's were invited," Gia explained.

"Ah," Carol says, "I see, and how are your grandparents? And your darling mother of yours?" She asks warmly.

Gia smiles, "Everyone's good and mom's fine. She likes Oakwood a lot."

Carol smiles brightly, "Good, I'm glad. All I ever wanted was for your mother to be happy."

Gia sighs, "Yeah...I think she's happy." Then she clears her throat, before asking quite awkwardly, "How's Dad?"

Carol opens her mouth to answer as a gust of wind picks up and enters the shop when  the door behind Griffin and Gia opens.

Carol's eyes widen slightly, "Why don't you ask him yourself, sweetheart?"

Griffin and Gia both turn around around fast. Behind them, stands a tall man almost at Griffin's height, with gray hair and a nice gray suit on. His jaw is dropped his eyes are glued to the petite girl in front of him.

Gia blinks, "Dad?"