Let Me Fall

I stare up at Brian, my mind racing. I know that I should say no. I want to say no. I know that this is just some ploy. There’s no way that he’s serious about this being strictly platonic. I’ve seen guys like him before; I’ve been warned about guys like him. And I’m wise enough to know that he’s just saying whatever he can so he can try to get into my pants tonight, which is definitely not going to happen.

But if I know his game, why am I actually tempted to say yes to him? Why is there a small, tiny, miniscule part of me that wants to give him a shot? Why do I want to give him the chance to prove that he’s not just another pretty boy trying to charm another girl into bed? Why?

“Piper?”

I blink, pull myself out of my thoughts, and look up to meet his brown eyes. I never noticed it before, but his eyes are so…warm; they’re inviting and kind. “Hmm?” I ask, momentarily forgetting what he had asked me.

“What do you say? You, me, dinner, tonight?” he says, his eyes still trained on me. “And I promise that it’s strictly platonic.”

“Um… Well, I…” I pause for a moment and shake my head. “Sorry, Brian, I think I’m going to have to pass on tonight.”

“Oh…” I can see the disappointment flash across his face as he lifts his hand to scratch the back of his neck.

“It’s just… It’s kind of last minute and all… I don’t know if I’ll have time… I’ve got some stuff to do when I get home.”

“That’s fine. I understand. I guess it was sort of last minute…” he trails off as he stuffs his hands into his pockets and looks down at the ground for a moment. However, mere seconds later, he looks back at me with a glint in his eyes; I can tell that he’s just thought of something. “But how about this,” he starts, moving back towards his car.

“What are you doing?” I ask, watching him as he pulls out his keys and opens the Impala’s front driver’s side door.

“Getting something,” he answers simply, rummaging around in the car.

“And something would be?”

He faces me again, a ripped up piece of paper in his right hand and a smile on his face. “It’s something very important, so guard it with your life.”

“Okay…” I trail off uncertainly.

He smiles at me and licks his lips. “Here’s my number,” he says, holding the paper out to me. “If you end up being free tonight, just give me a call and we can hang out or grab something to eat; whatever you want.”

I chuckle and shake my head. “I’m not going to be free tonight, Brian.”

“That’s fine,” he says, keeping his hand out to me. “My phone will be on tomorrow, the day after that, the day after that, and even the day after that.”

“What if I’m busy all those days, too?”

“Then I can wait for a day where you’re available,” he states, matter-of-factly. “But, you won’t be able to let me know when you’re available unless you take my number today.”

I lick my lips anxiously and I stare at the paper in his hand for a moment. The blood pounds in my ears as I reach for the scrap of paper. My fingers lightly brush against his for a moment while I take the number from him, and my heart pounds even harder. “But-- But just so you know, I’m not going to be available for a very long time,” I inform him.

He simply smiles. “And just so you know, I don’t mind waiting.”

Our eyes meet and I swallow hard as I gaze into his brown orbs. There’s nothing special about them at all; they’re just brown. That’s it. But if there’s nothing special about them, why is it so difficult to look away?

I blink, forcing myself to break our stare, and look down at my feet. “Well, uh, it’s time for me to go home,” I say, finally looking back up at him, making sure not to meet his eyes; the last thing I want is to get trapped in his gaze again.

“Right,” he nods his head, “and if your schedule doesn’t open up tonight, I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow… Bye, Brian,” I mumble, my gaze flickering down to the paper in my hand for a moment before I let my eyes drift back up to him.

“Bye, Piper,” he says, a smile on his lips.

I watch him as he walks away, heading towards the diner and disappearing inside a couple of moments later. I sigh and turn back to my car. I unlock the door, get inside the vehicle, and I sigh, staring out the windshield for a few seconds. My eyes fall to the piece of paper still resting in my hand. I lick my lips as my eyes scan over the number he jotted down.

Shaking my head, I shove the number into my pocket and I stick my keys into the ignition. I start up the engine and check to see if anyone is behind me before I shift into reverse. As I back out of the spot, Brian’s Impala catches my eye, and I sigh in disappointment. Why does such a gorgeous car have to belong to such a pretentious ass?

~

I cradle Trevor in my arms, gently rocking him as he begins to drift off to sleep. Smiling down at him, I slowly get out of the rocking chair and carry him across the room to his crib. I lay him down into the crib and watch him as he slumbers.

It’s almost crazy to think about how terrified I was to have him when I found out I was pregnant. I remember even considering putting him up for adoption because I didn’t think I’d be able to handle being a mom. But now, I can’t imagine my life without him. He means the world to me, and I’m so happy that I didn’t give him up. I just wish his father felt the same way I do…

“How’s our little prince doing?” my mother asks quietly from the doorway.

“He just fell asleep,” I answer, my gaze still focused on my son’s sleeping face. “Can you believe how easy it is for him to sleep now? I mean, before he was screaming and crying and waking up all the time. Now, he’s so peaceful.”

“He’s just getting used to having a sleep schedule. All babies start off as screaming, crying messes that wake up every hour or two,” she chuckles, “even you.”

I laugh softly and turn to look at my mom. “I don’t know what I’d do if you and Dad didn’t let us stay here… I know I couldn’t do this without your help.”

“You’re our daughter, sweetheart,” she murmurs, walking up beside me and resting her arm around me. “We may not have been thrilled to have our teenage daughter have a baby, but we’re not just going to abandon you when you needed us. We couldn’t do that to you and we definitely couldn’t do that to our grandson.”

“Thanks, Mom. I really appreciate it,” I whisper, resting my head on her shoulder as I watch Trevor continue to sleep.

“You’re welcome, sweetie. Now, I have something to ask you.”

“Hmm?”

“I was doing the laundry, and I found this in your pocket,” she says, holding a familiar looking piece of scratch paper.

“Oh…” I mumble, my smile quickly fading away. “It’s nothing…”

“Really? Because it looks like it’s a phone number. Whose number is it?”

“No one important, Mom, really,” I answer, shrugging it off as I walk over to my bed and sit down.

“If it’s not important, why did you take it in the first place?” she asks, taking a seat beside me.

“Because… Because…” I bite my lip, my eyes focused on the phone number in her hand. “Because I knew he wouldn’t leave me alone if I didn’t.”

“So it’s a boy’s number,” she muses, a hint of a smile on her lips. “Why am I not surprised? Do you like this boy?”

“No,” I answer quickly, perhaps a little too quickly… “No, Mom. It’s nothing like that at all. I don’t really like him or anything like that. He’s just a guy in my class; no one special.”

“I see. So, why did he give you his number?” she asks, her kind blue eyes meeting my dark brown ones.

“He…” I pause, pressing my lips together as I search for the right words to use. “He just wants to hang out sometime; that’s all. He asked if I wanted to go have dinner tonight-- just as friends-- but I declined since it was so last minute and all. So he decided to give me his number in case I ended up having some free time today or… any other day, I guess.”

“Well, why don’t you call him and let him know you’re free tonight? You guys still have some time to grab something to eat.”

“Because I don’t have time tonight, Mom,” I reply, wishing that she had never found that stupid number in my pocket. Or better yet, that I was smart enough to have tossed the number in the trash as soon as I got home.

“You don’t?” she queries, looking around the room for a moment. “What is it that is keeping you busy tonight, Piper? You shouldn’t have homework tonight since it was only the first day of your classes, and even if you did, you have until Tuesday to turn it in. You’ve done all of your chores. And Trev--”

“Could wake up at any moment and need me,” I say, abruptly cutting her off.

Mom lets out a long, heavy sigh and shakes her head before looking back up at me. “Piper, I know that you don’t want to be some sort of burden on me and your father. But you have to realize that we’re here to help you with Trevor. You can’t just keep acting like some sort of shut-in. You need to make friends, sweetheart. You need to open up to people and trust again, because not everyone out there is going to screw you over.

“You have proven to your father and me that you’re not some irresponsible teen mother who just expects us to do everything for you when it comes to Trevor. You’ve showed us that you are taking responsibility for him. But you’re not taking care of yourself. You need friends.”

I inhale deeply through my nose and look into my mother’s eyes. I can see the concern, the worry, reflected in her loving eyes, and I feel my heart wrench as I open my mouth to speak. “I’m fine without friends, Mom.”

“Piper…” She closes her eyes for a second and sighs as she brings her arms around me and hugs me tightly. “Everyone needs friends,” she pulls away a little, resting her hands gently on my shoulders, “even you.”

“I… I went to lunch with that girl from my English class, Patricia, and her friends today. Isn’t that enough?”

“It’s a start, but there’s nothing wrong with going out tonight. You have no homework and no chores; I’d say it’s the perfect night to go out with a friend.”

“He’s not--”

“Right, he’s not your friend, but he could be,” she says as she places the number in my hand.

“I guess…” I mumble, less than enthused at the idea of seeing Brian tonight.

“He can’t be that bad, can he?” Mom asks wish a slight chuckle in her voice.

“Eh,” I answer, shrugging my shoulders. In all actuality, he really isn’t that bad at all. And that kind of scares me…

“Just give him a call. It won’t hurt to call.”

“Yeah…”

“Well, I’ll leave you alone so you can have some privacy. But promise me that you’ll give him a call.”

“I promise, Mom,” I tell her, a small smile on my lips. She knows me too well.

She smiles and kisses my forehead. “That’s my girl,” she beams as she stands up to walk out of the room.

My mom walks out of the room and I look down at the paper with Brian’s number scrawled on it. I lick my lips as I silently read each number. My stomach twists into knots and I anxiously chew on the inside of my bottom lip. Taking a deep breath, I reach for my phone and slowly begin to dial his number. I lift the phone up to my ear and listen to the line.

One ring… Two rings…

I quickly hang up the phone before the line has another chance to ring and shake my head. God, what am I even doing? I don’t know what to say! What am I supposed to just go, “Oh, hi, Brian, it’s Piper. I was just calling to let you know that I really am a loser with no life and I’d love to hang out tonight!”? That sounds so ridiculous!

Maybe I should just try to be casual… Just say that my schedule cleared up and I’m free to hang out tonight. Yeah, that’s fine, right? I don’t see anything wrong with that.

Again, I dial his number and hit send. I lift the phone back up to my ear and wait a moment for the line to connect. I hear one ring… two rings… three rings…

“I can’t do this,” I mutter to myself as I hang up the phone again, tossing it onto my bed. I’ll just tell Mom that he ended up being busy. Besides, I’m sure he’ll ask me out to something tomorrow after class. The guy never seems to give up.

I sigh and begin to stand up when my phone begins to vibrate. I stare down at the phone in surprise, frozen. It can’t be… Can it?

I swallow hard as I reach down for the phone. As I pick it up, I can see the already familiar looking number on the screen. It is… It’s Brian. He’s calling me back… I inhale deeply and exhale through my mouth, moving my thumb over the button to answer.

“Hello?” I say; my voice a little on the shaky side.

“Piper?” His voice rings from the other end.

I bite my lip, silently cursing Caller ID. I should have known that my number would show up in his call history and he'd call to see who it was. “Yes, this is Piper...”

“Hey, it’s Brian.”

“Oh, hi, Brian. How are you doing?”

“I’m doing alright, how about you?”

“I’m well…” I answer, feeling nervousness gnaw at my stomach.

“That’s good. Look, I know it’s probably weird for me to call, but I saw that I had a couple of missed calls and I thought I’d check out who was calling… And it turned out to be you…”

“Oh…”

“Yeah… So, you tried calling me?”

“Yeah… Yeah, I did...”

“Well, uh, what were you calling about?”

“Oh… Uh… Well…” I gulp hard. I wish I knew what to say… Why couldn’t this be easy, like how it used to be when I’d talk to Kendall?

“Piper, are you still there?”

“Yeah… I’m here… I just… I was calling to let you know that my schedule cleared up tonight and that if you’re still free to hang out or whatever then we can go someplace…” I mumble unsurely into the phone.

“You’re free?” he asks, his tone suddenly brighter; I can imagine the smile on his face as he speaks.

I find myself smiling at the thought and quickly shake it off. “Yeah, I am. So, did you still want to go grab something to eat or…whatever?”

God, this is so awkward it’s almost painful.

“Yeah, that sounds great. I’ll come by to pick you up. What’s your address?”

“Oh… Um… Can’t we just meet up someplace?” I ask, biting my bottom lip. If I let him pick me up, doesn’t that mean that this is a date? And this is not a date. “I mean, we are just going as friends, right?”

“Right; and friends are allowed to come by and pick each other up. Besides, think of how much you’re gonna save on gas if you just let me pick you up.”

I grimace, hating that he’s right about something. “Yeah, but--”

“Just let me pick you up,” he interrupts. “Really, is there any harm in it?”

“Fine,” I concede, sighing in defeat as I give him my address.

“Great. I’ll be there in about…thirty minutes. Is that alright?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Great! I’ll see you soon.”

“Alright.”

“Bye, Piper.”

“Bye.”

I hang up the phone and stare ahead for maybe a minute or two, thinking about what I just did. I just called Brian. I called him and told him that I want to hang out. And I’m letting him pick me up. I glance back at my clock and sigh as I look down at my clothes. I guess that means I should start getting ready. I’d go as I am, but I don’t think ratty pajama bottoms and a baggy T-shit count as decent clothing for going out in public.

I stand up and walk across the room to my dresser. I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and frown. And it probably wouldn’t hurt to run a brush through my hair… and cover up some of my blemishes… It’s a good thing he gave me thirty minutes to get ready.

~

I run my brush through my long chocolate brown hair one last time before setting it down on my dresser. I turn to the side and look myself over in the mirror. I don’t look great, but at least I look presentable now. Not that I really care about looking good. I mean, it’s just Brian; it’s not like he matters. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t look nice, right?

Maybe I look too nice… Maybe I should change this blouse. I guess it might be a little too nice for just hanging out… Really, how many people wear cute flow-y blouses to hang out with a…kind of friend person…guy? Sighing, I turn and walk to my closet, hoping that I can find something a little less dressy to wear.

But as I reach for the knob of my closet door, I hear the doorbell ring through the house. I freeze for a moment before glancing over at Trevor. Thankfully, he’s still sleeping peacefully in his crib. My eyes dart to the clock and I realize that my thirty minutes are up; Brian’s here.

Oh, God, Brian’s here! I have to get the door before Mom or Dad has the chance to answer it. I snatch up my purse, bound out of the room, and rush down the hallway, hoping and praying to reach the door before them.

“Oh, hello, you must be Piper’s friend,” I hear my mother say cheerfully as I reach the end of the hallway.

“Yeah, that’s me,” Brian’s familiar voice answers. “And you must be Piper’s mom.”

I peek around the corner and see my mom nod her head, a smile on his face. “You would be correct.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Brian.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Brian.”

I can see her face light up at the mention of his name and I bite my lip. I knew I shouldn’t have told about Brian… Now she probably thinks that this is a date.

“Would you like to come inside and sit for a moment? I think Piper’s still getting--”

“Hi, Brian,” I interrupt as I step out of the hallway and make my presence known.

“Hey, Piper,” he replies, that familiar smile playing on his lips. I give him a tiny smile in return as I move closer to the door.

“You look pretty, sweetheart,” Mom says warmly.

“Thanks,” I mumble, looking down at my feet for a moment. “Just threw something on; that’s all…”

My mom simply smiles at me, her eyes telling me that she still thinks I look nice. I give a weak smile in return.

“Um, just give me a second to get some shoes on, and I’ll be ready,” I tell Brian as I look to the side for a pair of shoes to slip on.

Panic settles into the pit of my stomach as my gaze falls on Trevor’s playpen. I sure as hell cannot let Brian see that. I anxiously lick my lip and spot of pair of black flats next to the Chucks I wore earlier today; I quickly slip them on.

As I straighten myself up, I adjust my purse on my shoulder and tuck my hair behind my right ear. My gaze rests on Brian, and I see him smiling at me. I swallow hard before giving him a tiny smile in return, unease still churning in my stomach.

“Okay, ready,” I say, looking back at my mom for a moment and then back at the playpen. I hope to God that Brian hasn’t noticed it yet… But my constant looking at it is probably only going to draw more attention to it. “Um, Mom, I’ll be back by--”

“Don’t worry about it,” Mom tells me, still smiling. “If you’re gonna be running a little late, just call.”

“Oh… Okay…” I trail off, biting my lip as I turn to face Brian. “Well, I guess we should get going?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” he replies, the corners of his lips still upturned. “It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Warren. And don’t worry, I’ll take care of her and make sure she comes back home in once piece,” he calls over to my mother.

She chuckles. “It was nice meeting you, too, Brian. You two have a good time.”

“Thanks,” he says while I manage to nod my head, doing my best to smile back at her.

Mom shuts the door behind us, and we walk in silence to his car-- his gorgeous car. I simply stare at the Impala as we draw closer to it, my eyes roving over every inch of its shiny black body. I know he said that he’s still working on it, but I think it already looks perfect.

“Here, let me get that for you,” he says, reaching for the passenger door.

He holds it open for me, but I don’t slide in right away. I simply stare at the car’s interior, still in awe over the fact that I’m about to ride in a 1967 Chevy Impala. I know I probably sound ridiculous right now, but this has been my dream car for the last four years and I never thought I’d be as lucky to have the chance to ride in one.

“Piper?”

I look up at him blankly. “Huh?”

His lips curl into a smile and he chuckles softly. “I was just wondering if you’re alright. You were just standing there, so I figured I’d check.”

“Oh… Sorry…” I mumble, looking down at my shoes for a second. “I just… It’s a ’67 Impala.”

“You really like my car, huh?” he asks, amused.

“I told you already that this is my dream car. I just can’t believe that I’m actually getting the chance to ride in one, that’s all. They’re not exactly easy to find now, especially in such good shape.”

“Well, you’re not gonna be able to ride in it until you actually get inside,” he points out, his arm resting on the open door and a smirk playing on his lips.

“Oh… Right,” I quietly say, nodding my head before sliding into the passenger seat.

Brian shuts the door for me. I look around the car as he walks around to the driver’s side. Even the interior looks amazing. He said that it wasn’t in the best shape when he got it, so I wonder how much work he’s put into it.

“So, what do you think?” he asks me as he settles himself in the driver’s seat.

“Absolutely gorgeous,” I breathe, my eyes still going around the car’s interior

He chuckles. “I know I am, but girls usually wait until the end of the date before they tell me that.”

I roll my eyes and shake my head at him. “This isn’t--”

“A date, I know,” he finishes for me.

“Good. And I wasn’t talking about you; I was talking about--”

“The car; I know that, too. I was just joking around with you, Piper.”

“And you’re just so hilarious. Have any girls ever told you that you’re a cocky son of a bitch, too?” I ask, arching an eyebrow at him.

“Well… No… No… Well, unless you count my dad and my step-mom.”

“Well, at least they have some sense in their heads.”

“If that’s what you wanna call it,” he says, laughing as he starts up the car. “So, what shall we do tonight?”

“I don’t know…” I shrug. “You’re the one who said we could go out to eat or hang out…or something…”

“We could see a movie.”

“I thought I told you that this isn’t a date.”

“And it’s not. Friends can go to the movies together; it’s not taboo or anything.”

“I don’t feel like going to a movie,” I state simply.

“Alright, well, are you hungry?”

“A little…”

“Then how about we go someplace to eat?”

“I guess that sounds alright…”

“Okay, then… So, do you have any place in mind?” he queries, resting his hand on the steering wheel as he looks over at me.

“You’re letting me pick the place?” I ask in surprise.

“Well, I did take you to the diner; I figure it’s only fair that you get to pick someplace this time.”

“Oh, okay…” I trail off, biting the inside of my lip as I try to think of someplace to go. I’m not exactly prepared for this; I had figured that if we did decide to grab something to eat, that we were just going to head over to the diner.

“So, do you have someplace in mind?”

“Well… There is one place…” I start, nervously tucking my hair behind my ear. “But only if you don’t mind going over to the beach.”

He smiles and leans a little in his seat. “I don’t mind at all.”

~

“So how did you find this place?” Brian asks me after we find a table and place our order at the small café that I have picked out.

“My mom and I used to come here when I was younger for lunch. You know, before it was lame to be seen with your parents and stuff,” I reply, smiling slightly at the memory. “I came here a couple of times with my friends, but they didn’t really like it here-- said they preferred places like Starbucks.”

“I see.”

“Yeah… It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been here…” I say, my gaze shifting over to the window; this place always has had the greatest view of the beach.

“Well, I like it here,” he tells me.

“You’re just saying that because I told you that all my other friends didn’t like it here,” I say, turning my focus back to him.

“No, I’m being honest. I really do like it here. It’s got a nice, cozy kind of feel to it. It kinda reminds me of the diner, actually.”

I take a moment to look around the café and nod my head in agreement. I can see what he means; this place has one of those warm and welcoming vibes, much like the diner. “Yeah, it kinda does, huh? I didn’t notice…”

“Well, I have spent more time at the diner than you have,” he points out with a chuckle, and I nod.

Silence falls over us. I look down at the table and lick my lips, trying to figure out what to talk about. This is why I don’t like hanging out with people I barely know-- the awkward silences that fill the air as you both mentally scramble to think up topics to discuss.

“So…” he says, elongating the o for a second or two.

“So…” I echo, glancing up at him from across the table.

He chuckles, biting down on his bottom lip. “What should we talk about?”

I draw my lips together and think. “How about…” I click my tongue and look around, hoping for something to jump out at me, “your face?”

His eyes narrow for a moment, looking me over quizzically. “My face?” he repeats, as if he must have misheard what I had said.

“Yeah, why not?”

“Because--”

“Sorry for the wait, guys,” our waiter says as he comes over with our food. “I’ve got a chicken and cheddar melt with potato soup,” he sets the order in front of me, and I thank him, “and a BLT.”

“Thanks,” Brian tells the waiter as he places the sandwich in front of him.

“You’re welcome. Is there anything else I can get for you two?”

“Um…” Brian glances over at me, and I shake my head to let him know that I’m fine. “No, I think we’re fine for now. Thanks.”

“Not a problem, just let me know if you need anything else,” he says with a polite smile before turning away from us.

“Well, the food here looks great.”

“If it’s anything like it was a few years ago, then it’s going to taste even better,” I tell him as I pick up my chicken and cheddar melt.

I watch him pick up the sandwich on his plate. He takes a bite and nods as he chews. “Not bad at all,” he says once he finishes swallowing his food. “Almost as good as the ones you can get at the diner.”

“Almost as good?”

“Nothing can beat the diner’s BLTs, but this comes in a very close second,” he answers, smiling as he leans in to take a sip of his drink.

“You’re just biased,” I counter with a smile as I have some of my melt. “So, back to what we were talking about-- your face.”

A small smirk plays on his lips. “Okay, what about my face?”

I glance over him for a moment. “You have really high cheekbones. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a guy with cheekbones like yours.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s actually one of the first things I noticed about you. They’re very…prominent. A lot of Asians tend to have high cheekbones, but you don’t look Asian, so…I’m guessing Native American?”

“That would be correct, I've got a bit in there. But you said that my cheekbones were one of the first things you noticed about me. What was the other thing you noticed?” he queries, his eyes locking onto mine.

I stare into his eyes. His eyes were the very first thing I noticed about him-- those piercing brown eyes. But I’m not going to tell him that. I probably shouldn’t have even mentioned his cheekbones, or talked about his face in the first place. Now he probably thinks I’m harboring some sort of crush on him-- which I am not.

“Your massive ego,” I state matter-of-factly, smiling.

“My massive ego?” he repeats, his mouth hanging open slightly. “Why--”

“Would I say that you have a huge ego?” I query, finishing his sentence for him. “It’s because you do. I mean, you hit on me as soon as you met me. In my experience, guys don’t do that unless they’re completely full of themselves.”

“Now, why do you think I was hitting on you? All I did was talk to you.”

“You asked me out!”

“No, I asked if you wanted to go to lunch. It was a friendly gesture, nothing more to it. If I wanted to hit on you, I’d have said something like…” He pauses and nibbles on his bottom lip as he tries to think of what I can only imagine would be a decent pickup line. The corners of my mouth turn up as I watch him think, and something flickers in his eyes. “Like how you’ve got a beautiful smile.”

My smile quickly fades away and I look down at the table. “Oh… Um… I didn’t know that…” I mumble, letting my gaze return to him even though I desperately feel like looking away.

“Or I could have gone the classy route. Could have said something like, ‘If you were a booger, I’d pick you,’” he says, sending me a wink. I can’t help but chuckle. “Did I say either of those things to you?”

“No, you did not.”

“Well, then I clearly wasn’t hitting on you.”

“I guess not. Sorry I misread you. It’s just that you were coming on so strong, I figured you were hitting on me. But I should have known you weren’t, huh?” I say as I stir my soup with my spoon.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because guys like you don’t hit on girls like me. Well, unless there’s some kind of bet going on or something.”

He furrows his brow. “What do you mean by guys like me?”

“You know… Guys that are like you…” I lick my lips. “Guys who are… well, good-looking,” I answer, casting a glance his way.

He raises his eyebrows, looking surprised, but I can see a trace of a smirk on his face. “So you think I’m good-looking, eh?” he asks, leaning forward a bit.

I sigh, mentally kicking myself for admitting such a thing, and shake my head. “Oh, come on, as if you didn’t know that you’re attractive.”

“You never know,” he grins, laughing softly. “But why do you say that guys like me don’t hit on girls like you?”

“Because… There’s nothing special about me. I’m not super pretty or anything like that; I’m average. And guys like you don’t tend to go for average.”

He bites into his sandwich and shakes his head, wiping the corners of his mouth with his thumb. “So you’re one of those girls.”

I knit my brow together. “I’m one of what girls?”

“One of those pretty girls with zero self-esteem,” he says matter-of-factly. “The reason why you think guys like me don’t hit on girls like you isn’t because you’re not pretty; far from it, actually.”

“Oh, really?” I ask, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

“Yep. You know what your problem is?”

I simply shake my head, popping in a spoonful of soup into my mouth.

“Your problem is that you have no self-confidence, and guys can see that. Confidence is sexy. If you start believing that you’re beautiful, you’ll see a difference. I guarantee it.”

“You do?”

“Yes, I do, because whether you believe it or not, you’re actually a very beautiful girl. All you have to do is have a different attitude. But what do I know? I’m just a guy,” he says before taking another bite of his food.

“Oh… Well… I didn’t know that…” I mumble, biting my lip as I look down at the table.

“Just something to think about,” he says, sipping his Coke.

“Yeah…” I trail off.

We finish eating our food in silence. But I can’t help but look over at Brian every now and then. I know that he didn’t mean anything by it, but I can’t get over how he said that I’m beautiful. No one’s ever really called me that before, well, aside from Kendall. There’s just something about Brian saying it…

“So, what do you want to do next?” he asks me as we wait for the check.

“Next?” I query, surprised.

He smiles. “Well, unless you want to go ahead and call it a night. But I thought we could hang out a little longer.”

“Oh… Yeah, we can hang out some more.” I purse my lips. “But I don’t really have anything in mind. How about you pick?”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I picked here, so you can decide what we do next.”

“Alright,” he glances out the window, “I think I’ve got something in mind.”

I wait for him to say more, but nothing. “So are you gonna tell me where?”

He smiles. “You’ll see.”