Bad At Love

Chapter Three

  "Oh, I've been traveling on this road too long," I sang along with the song. It played through the speakers of my old beaten down Camry as I zoomed past the cars on the freeway. I had been running thirty minutes late for lunch with my sister, Kiera. She had been blowing up my phone all morning to make sure the plans were still on. I tried assuring her that I would make it, but being a bridezilla, she had no care in the world and was upset at my tardiness.

I understood, though. She was on a tight schedule for the short time she'd be in town to plan for her wedding. She had something planned for each day up until her big day. Between dress altering appointments and meetings with her caterer. She had to book the DJ, taste the cakes, and plan her bachelorette party. Kiera barely had time to herself. She didn't have enough time to see me, but she tried to. She wanted me to meet her fiancee. She had not stopped gloating while we were on the phone.

I sighed as I pulled into the parking lot of a small café. Looking around, I tried to catch sight of her or possibly the car she was driving. My tan hand turned the key out of the ignition as I looked straight ahead, seeing the back of unfamiliar heads. My honey-hued orbs scanning the people through the window – a poor attempt to catch sight of my sister. With no luck, I groaned and grabbed my purse from the passenger seat. If there was one thing I couldn't stand, it wasn't knowing where to meet someone. I had always tried to go out of my way to make sure anyone I had made plans with could find me easily, but my sister? She loved to play hide-n-seek.

"Farrah!" Faintly, I heard a woman's voice calling my name. I opened my car door, letting the warm, crisp air nip at my bare arms. Standing up, I shut the car door and glanced around the parking lot to find the source of the voice. With no luck, I lifted my hand to cover the sun from burning into my eyes.

"Farrah, behind you," I heard the same feminine voice call out. I spun on my heel to see my sister walking towards me with a wide grin on her face. I flashed her a smile back, my feet carrying towards her in excitement. I lived in my sister's shadow, but she was still one of the people I would always be happy to see.

"Kiera, it's so good to see you," I admitted as I reached her. She had grown over the past two years. Her chestnut brown hair was now ash brown, blending with her olive skin. Her face had thinned out, along with the rest of her. She was in general, much smaller than I remember.

"It's good to see you, too, Fah. God, look at you. You're so pretty!" She grinned at me and enveloped me into a hug, her arms snaked around my back. She squeezed tightly, expelling any bit of oxygen I had left in my lungs, causing me to cough out.

"You're tiny, how are you this strong?" I huffed out, trying to catch my breath.

"Sorry, I've been told I tend to be the Hulk when I hug," she teased. Pulling away from our hug, she moved a few stray strands of my hair behind my ear in endearment. Which confused me further why she was acting as if we were best friends

"It's good to see you, Fah," she placed a gentle kiss on my cheek. She entwined our fingers together and started walking towards the entrance. Our feet fell into step as we walked side by side. It was insane how long we hadn't spoken. Despite the bad blood and past memories lingering between us. We held no animosity towards each other in this moment.

We slid into the glass door of the cafe, the bell rang as we made our way towards the hostess. She stood at a little wooden podium, a bright smile beaming at the two of us as she snagged two food menus.

"Table for two, there will be another joining later," Kiera said. My sister looked at the lady behind the host stand with a dazzling smile. I looked around with my brows knitted together. I hadn't even noticed her soon-to-be husband was nowhere to be found.

"He's not here?" I inquired as my neck craned to look around the small restaurant.

"His tuxedo fitting was running late. He should be here within the hour," she looked over at me with a playful eye roll. I let out a small chuckle at the irony; she had been waiting for both her sister and fiancée for the past half hour.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to run as late as I did. I just couldn't get out of the office yet. They don't like to listen to me when I tell them I have to head out," I mused as we neared the booth the host had stopped in front of. I slid into the seat, grabbed a hold of the table to secure myself.

"It's okay, I'm used to people running late with me. Let me tell you I am always trying to push Alex out the door every day. He always takes his sweet time. It's the bane of my existence, but you'd do anything for the ones you love," she said. She winked at me, a small smirk playing on the corners of her lips. I watched as she averted her gaze down to the menu on the table. I followed suit and looked over the menu. I hadn't heard her fiancée's name until now. Alex. It was a name that didn't register as anyone I could've possibly met before, despite it being a popular name.

As I looked over the menu, I let my mind wander to other things. More specifically, to the thought of the man I had hooked up with last week. He had been like a record in my mind, playing on repeat ever since that night. He had literally and figuratively rocked my world, more than once. The next morning, I woke up next to him, which was refreshing. He kissed every inch of my skin and sent me into ecstasy all over again.

We had s*x several times, which is exactly why I couldn't get him off my mind; he was just that intoxicating. I sighed at myself for thinking about hooking up with him again. There was no way in hell I would ever see him again. We hadn't traded numbers or anything. We bid our goodbyes and swapped saliva until we both went our separate ways. That's how hook ups were supposed to be, one and done. But I couldn't help wanting to see him every time I turned a corner or walked into a building.

"So, how's your love life?" The question ricocheted off my mind. I tossed with the idea of throwing her a bone. Letting her in on my dirty little secret. Part of me wondered if I should keep it to myself, tell her some half truth about being alone and single. I took my lower lip into my mouth and let a small smirk play on my lips.

There was no harm in indulging a little?

"Well, I did just meet this guy? It's not much of anything, really. I met him at this bar, took him home, and he took me for a wild ride, or four," I started. I wagged my brows at her as she choked on the air she was breathing in. "The problem is, we didn't exchange numbers or anything like that. So, I probably won't ever see him again." I finished. My teeth sunk into my lower lip.

"Farrah! I don't want to know that," she laughed at my comment, her cheeks turning red. I mimicked her and laughed. It was weird, laughing with her -- being friendly. She had been a completely different person the last time I met her. She was more into herself, selfish – if you will. She wouldn't have ever talked to me about anything remotely close to s*x and whom I was seeing at the time.

"No, but really, he seems like a good guy from what I can tell," I admitted before closing the food menu.

"Different from Jake?" She asked as the name made my muscles tense. It had been a long time since I heard his name, let alone even thought of him. He was nothing but a distant memory, and yet here Keira was bringing him up as if he was just a name with no history behind it.

I should've expected it though, because that's what Keira does. She would always bring a topic to light despite you. She'd always play it off as if she had no clue she was doing anything wrong. But she knew, and the little glint in her eyes would always give her away. In this moment, yet, I didn't see any mischief; only concern.

I nodded softly.

"I don't know anything about him in regards to his personal life, but he seems like a nice guy. He bought the drinks with no expectation of sleeping with me. Then, he talked with Sofia rather than ignoring her. Well, when she wasn't sucking off his friend's face, that is," I explained. My fingers fiddled as I tried to ignore the gnawing on my heart.

"That's good, I'm glad. Hopefully it all works out in the end, and you've found yourself a keeper." She teased as she closed the menu herself. I couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle as I watched the waitress walk over to our table with two glasses of water. We both ordered our food. She stuck with a basic order of burger and fries, while I ordered a trio of street tacos. The waitress smiled and took the menus off our hands. She walked off to put our order into the micro-system.

"So, tell me about this Alex?" I mused, taking a sip of the water through the clear colored straw.

"Well, he's nothing like you'd expect, for starters," she lowered her voice as she scratched the nape of her neck. Her comment made me furrow my brows together, "well, he's a banker – that's how we met. I was trying to help one of my clients find someone to finance her pop-up shop. He is handsome, like deadly. Every time we go out, all eyes are on him, it's like I'm dating a celebrity almost. All eyes are watching us. It's irritating," she spieled. Her hands running through her hair.

"He's charming, too. It's dangerous, he can convince me to do anything. And you, of all people, know how hard headed and stubborn I am," she joked, her eyes looking over my shoulder. I followed her gaze to see the paper wall of the entrance. I was certain she had been waiting for him to arrive.

"You said within the hour, Ki, give him some time." I attempted to soothe her, trying to encourage her to talk about him. I wanted to know more about the man that made my sister the woman she appears to be today.

"Sorry," she blew air out of the space between her teeth and shook her head.

"Anyways, he's great. He always takes care of me when I am sick, cooks the most delicious food. And, he keeps me level headed when I go overboard with my anger. I can't wait for you to meet him," she added, her eyes training onto me with a smile plastered on her face. I opened my mouth to speak, just as her phone rang through the air.

"s**t, I gotta take this, it's my dress designer," Kiera murmured. She excused herself and stepped out of the booth, leaving me alone at the table. I sighed as I leaned back onto the booth, my back sinking into the fabric and cushion. I waited for a few minutes, picking at the cuticles of my nail beds. I huffed out a breath of air as I watched our food make its way to the table. I heard my stomach rumble as I glanced around trying to catch sight of Kiera. With no luck, I smiled at the waitress as she set down our food and grabbed my fork. Usually I would wait for her to return. But with the clock already marking five minutes, there was no way I could let my food get cold.

"So sorry, my designer is having problems getting some seams. He needs me there so I can put the dress on and see what it would look like if he changed it up a bit," I heard my sister. Kiera came rushing in, her mouth running fifty miles a minute.

"Slow down, Ki. It's okay, it's perfectly fine, we can easily reschedule. I understand how hectic weddings can be," I lied. I had no clue what weddings were like, and she knew that.

"You are a blessing, sis," she smiled and kissed my cheek. She waved the waitress down for a to-go box, "I am definitely taking this with me and paying the tab." She mused as she handed the server a twenty and waited for the woman to bring her a styrofoam container.

"It was so good seeing you. We have to do this soon." She placed her hand firmly on my shoulder and gave a squeeze. She smiled at the waitress, who appeared at her side with her to-go container. She snagged it with ease, before sliding her food inside.

Kiera turned to face me with a small smile on her lips.

"Love you, Fah." She nodded her head slightly, before turning on her heel and walking out of the diner. Left alone with luke warm food and an empty booth, I accepted my fate.