FOUR

"I said, what would you like to have?" I repeat, trying to get his attention.

"I don't think what I want is on the menu." His eyes seemed to twinkle with amusement.

"Oh? And what will that be?" I question, raising an eyebrow.

"You."

Damn! This smooth bastard!

My cheeks heat up involuntarily, and I stammer.

"P-please, just order!"

"Okay, okay," He relents, "I want a potato salad with a lemonade." He smirks, enjoying how uncomfortable he's making me. Suddenly, his phone rings.

I left while he was occupied and quickly retreated the kitchen, breathing out a sigh of relief. I look up as my two best friend glances down at me suggestively, twin smirks playing on their faces.

"You know, I think he's hot." Amelia chides in, a victorious smile on her face.

"Yeah, I totally dig his aura." Carter piles on, enjoying my frustration.

Avoiding the now generating conversation, I whirled around to get the order and deliver it. I was not talking about this with them. Not yet.

"Here's your food." I say, noticing how his once amused expression is replaced by a dark one.

"What else are you waiting for?" he snaps bitterly. He then looks up to me with his hazel eyes, which I'm just noticing is a very beautiful shade.

"I just wanted to know if you needed anything." I reply wearily.

" Listen, Miss. I've already gotten my order, and now you standing here is beginning to irritate me. Please go before I have you fired." He hissed bluntly, frustration coloring his tone.

I'm not in the mood for a confrontation and seeing as he's a customer, I just walked away. I wonder what crawled up in his ass and died.

Shrugging, I decide not to give him any thought while getting ready to end my shift.

------

After a long day, I finally arrive home and decide to have a shower to relive my body. I lay down on my bed, and just then I get notification from Carter.

▪McBeth

21:00 | Don’t forget about the date!

I closed my phone, ignoring Carter as I turn to my side. My attempt at sleeping was interrupted when my phone buzzed again.

I stretched over to see who it was.

Mother.

"Great. Seems like everyone out to ruin my sleep." I groan. I pick up hesitantly.

"Hi mum."

"Hey sweetie, how's everything? How is school going?"

"Well, as usual, no drama. Sometimes I feel it's a little too boring." I answer truthfully, my exhaustion forgotten. I really miss the conversations my mother and I had.

"Isn't that meant to be fun?" She laughs.

"No mum. Now seriously, why'd you call so late?" I ask, changing topics.

"You know, your dad wants you to come over on Friday for an important dinner. Before you say anything or try to interrupt me, I want you to attend that dinner. It's going to be important to the family that you attend because I know you wouldn't listen." Mum pleads.

I snicker when she says family, but I don't say anything. It's really weird that my mum calls me for things like this. Is it worth the hassle? A positive point was that I got to argue with my father, so why not?

"Is Logan going to be there?" I ask my mum in anticipation. After Leon, Logan is the only person that keeps me in check, especially when I have to be in the same room with my dad.

"Yes honey, Logan will be there." She assures me.

" Then it won't be a problem. Look, mum, I have to go. I had a long day and I want to rest. I'll call you later, okay? Goodnight." I say, feeling the exhaustion kicking in.

"Okay honey, goodnight." She coos, and hangs up.

I love my mum, but ever since the whole Leon situation, she stopped being open. She just really stopped being a mother in general.

I dropped my phone on the bedside table and laid back, thinking about Leon as I drift off to sleep.

...........

"Wake up! Damn woman, why does she sleep so much? She literally slept throughout the day." I hear a familiar voice grumble.

"I honestly don't know. She's a lady, not a koala." Carter responds to Amelia as I begin to drift into consciousness.

"Why the hell do you know that?" She asks, just as I pipe in.

"You know, some of us actually value their sleep. So, for the love of God, why are you guys disturbing me?" I moan, using the pillow to cover my head.

"Honey, it's five in the afternoon. You kind of promised to go on a date." Amelia says sheepishly.

"Remind me why I agreed to this?" I groaned defeatedly, sitting up.

"Look, Looney, if you don't get up in the next 10 minutes, I swear I will sing till you cry in pain. You only have fifty minutes 'till Wren gets here to take you on a date." He barks, pacing around impatiently.

Taking a deep breath, I drag myself out of the bed. No one wants to hear Carter sing. He'd put a yowling cat to shame. I got a cup of juice for myself, had my bath and waited for Melia to start working her magic on my face.

I'm not the best at makeup, so whenever I have situations like this, Melia and Brooke are always here to my rescue. Today, Brooke was at work, leaving me alone with Melia.

"I just want light makeup." I say desperately.

"Chicka, I think it's best if you shut up and let me work my magic." She growls, ripping out a vibrant lipstick and applying it to my lips. I sigh in defeat.

After a while, she finally finishes with the makeup and gets me a dress from my closet after a while of searching. I have a thousand dresses because dad is a businessman, and he lives for formal parties. Personally, they're very annoying because I always have to act polite and respectful, even to the foulest of people.

Melia brought out the perfect dress for the date. It's a tight fit, no hand type of dress. Never the less, I'll survive in it.

......

Wren takes me to a small restaurant where people come to fill themselves after a long day, making me feel overdressed.

As we waited for our order to arrive, we began talking about ourselves. I noticed a lot of things about him which were odd, but I didn't complain.

"You know, when I was a teenager, I used to fantasize about...fucking my dad." Wren speaks up, and I basically got whiplash from the seriousness in which he said it.

Trying not to seem awkward, I sarcastically replied: "Ah yes, and I once dated my dog."

Wren looks at me weirdly. "...oh, that must've been hard."

"Dude, I was being sarcastic, I thought we were trying to say impossible things." I shrug in confusion.

"No, I'm actually serious about that." He laughs.

"Well, maybe that was your way of trying to get a greater emotional connection with him?" I ask helplessly, trying to normalize him in any way I possibly can.

"I don’t know. But I think that's why I go for daddies now." He says, as if it's the most normal thing in the world. I choke on my food.

I drank some water, trying to process this.

Carter, you're dead to me.

Going on a date with a gay guy was not part of the plan.

"Then why are you on a date with me?" I question, trying to think of a way to get out of this date as fast as I can.

"I thought I should try to break the pattern." he answered with a shrug.

Oh, God! I gagged. I'm so going to kill you, Carter!

"So, I'm here to help you break your unhealthy pattern?" I say, unsure of what to do.

"Yeah, but don't worry. Nothing's going to happen between us." And with that I lost not only my appetite, but my motivation for this date.

Excusing myself, I went to the bathroom to call Carter, and he picked up on the fourth ring.

"Looney, how's your date going-"

"Carter Macbeth Williams. I am going to murder you!" I fume, cutting him off.