Clara
There weren’t many choices as far as places to eat in town, so I just drove to a small diner not far from Alex’s place. Like all the guys in the MC, he beat me to the door opening it for me. Sometimes it bothered me that all the guys did this. I know it was meant to be polite or whatever, but I could open my own door. And it didn’t matter who you were to them. If they saw a female walking towards a door or whatever, they would nearly all fall over themselves to open the door for them. Still, though, I thanked him as I walked by him and stepped inside. The place wasn’t all that busy, which meant we could sit wherever we wanted. I walked straight back to one of the booths and slid in. Alex slid into the seat across from me. He pulled the menus out, handing me one. “So, are your parents having a party for you later?” I shook my head, “I asked them not to if they got me the car.” Glancing up from the menu at me, he raised an eyebrow. “So your mom is throwing you a party tonight?” I laughed, “Probably. Want to come?” He shook his head, “I think I will pass. Your girly friends weird me out.” I laughed at him, “How do they weird you out?” He shrugged, “I don’t know. They are always staring at me.” It was my turn to look up at him and raise an eyebrow at him. “Are you for real?” He shrugged his shoulders as he tucked his menu back in the holder. His attention went to the waitress that just walked up to our table. I rolled my eyes at him as I placed my own menu back and smiled up at the waitress. “What can I get ya?” She was young and attractive, and I instantly hated her as she smiled down at Alex. “I’ll do a burger and fries with a coke and then whatever the birthday girl wants.” I rolled my eyes at him. I don’t know why he ever bothered looking at the menu. He always got the same thing no matter where we went. The waitress looked over at me as if she was just now noticing I was even there. “I’ll do the same, thanks.” Flashing another smile at Alex, she walked off-putting in our orders. Kicking Alex as hard as I could under the table, I pulled his attention back to me. “s**t Clara what was that for?” I smiled at him, “For being a pig.” Giving me his best hurt face, he placed his hand on his chest. “I am not a pig.” I rolled my eyes at him. “You are. Don’t you have a girlfriend? What would she think if she saw you ogling some random girl?” He shook his head, “Nope. As of last night, I am a free man. I can ogle anyone I want.” I rolled my eyes at him again, “Pig.” He scoffed. “Keep rolling your eyes like that princess, and they might just get stuck in the back of your head.” I rolled my eyes at him again, making us both laugh.
After we ate and Alex paid, I took him back to his place, parking in front as I had before. “You coming up?” I nodded, “I am so not ready to head back and see the party my mom is throwing for me against my will.” He nodded, “Well, in that case, let’s go.” We climbed out and headed back into his little apartment, where we plopped down on his little couch. He kicked his boots off and turned the television on. “Want a movie?” I shrugged, “Sure.” He didn’t really wait for my answer as he clicked on a random movie on the screen before tossing the remote onto the little coffee table in front of the couch. He probed his feet up and leaned back into the couch. “So why don’t you want a party?” I shrugged, “Just not feeling it this year.” He eyed me. I knew he wouldn’t push the subject, but I also knew if I told him, then he would tell me he told me so. You see, I had decided when he got with this last girlfriend of his that I would try and date one of the guys my own age. My hope was that would help me get over my little crush on him. But it didn’t. In fact, Alex and my father both hated the kid. Ignoring both of them when they told me all he wanted was to get into my pants, I still went out with him. And well, after a few weeks of me not putting out, he broke up with me, but not before telling all the guys in the school I was easy. The fact that everyone thought I was easy didn’t bother me. It was only s*x, and everyone did it. And well, if they wanted to call me a slut or a w***e, whatever, they could take a look in the mirror. No, it was the fact that a couple of guys I thought were friends now seemed to think they could hit on me, and I would be willing to give them a taste. And not having told my mom or dad any of this, they wouldn’t know, and my mom would have invited said friends to my birthday, not knowing they were being jerks now. So no, I didn’t really feel like being present at my birthday party. I knew I would have to return home, though, which would mean dealing with my so-called friends. I also knew Alex well enough to know that if I told him why he would go and start a fight, and well, I didn’t want that, so instead, I pretended to be interested in the movie all of a sudden. As I knew he would, he let it go. With a sigh, he wrapped an arm around me and turned his attention to the movie.
We sat in silence, watching the movie. Well, he was watching the movie. I was staring at the television, trying to get my heart to stop beating so fast. The moment his arm went around me, my whole body went into overdrive. I got butterflies in my stomach, my heart started to race, and my palms got all sweaty. I wonder if he feels the same way about me. I mean, our relationship isn’t normal, is it? He doesn’t roughhouse with his own sister the way he does with me. But then he has girlfriends. Did he do that to hide his feelings for me like I tried to do with having a boyfriend to hide my feelings for him? I was kind of curious to find out, but the question was how. If he didn’t share the same feelings for me, I didn’t want to screw up our friendship either. I didn’t want things to be weird between us. He was my best friend. My phone buzzed in my pocket, pulling me from my thoughts. Glancing at it, I could see my mom sent me a message telling me to come home. Sighing, I got up from the couch, “times up.” Grabbing me, he pulled me back down. I landed on his lap, his arms wrapped around me, hugging me. I wiggled out of his hold, turning and smacking him. Then I did something I instantly regretted. I don’t know why I did it. Alex hugging me before leaving was nothing new. Hell, this wasn’t the first time he pulled me down into his lap to give me a hug when he didn’t want to get up. So why I leaned in and kissed him, I don’t know, but I did. If that wasn’t enough to wish I was dead, his reaction made me want to hide under a rock.