Rejected At First Sight

Chapter Eleven

I looked through my closet for what seemed like the hundredth time. Nothing jumped out at me. I mean, I didn't know what exactly to wear. It wasn't a date. But we were going out to a restaurant. Should I even be nervous? What if he thinks this is more than what I think of it? What if he likes me? I don't really want a boyfriend.

My head starts hurting from all the different thoughts. I take a couple of steps back and look again. I concentrate only on colors.

My eyes immediately go to my blue summer dress. It's not summer and I don't want to wear a dress. I go over to it, take it out of my closet and put it on my bed. I look again. I see my forest green Hollister, v-neck, elbow length sweater. I go over to it and pull it out.

I walk to my mirror and hold it up to my body. It looked nice, and would look better with some dark wash skinny jeans. It seemed appropriate for our 'date' that's not a date. Not too fancy, yet not too casual either.

I put that sweater on the bed and put my blue dress back into my closet. I take out a pair of my dark wash skinny jeans. I put the jeans on my bed next to the sweater.

Next, I walk over to my bathroom and take out my curler. It heats up and I put a light curl into my hair.

I walk back over to my bedroom and notice the time: 5:42. Shit, I only have fifteen minutes until Josh comes and picks me up. I quickly walk over to my bed and put on my outfit. Looking into the mirror, I straighten my shirt so it's over the waistband of my pants.

With my shirt straightened out, I walked over to my makeup which was on top of my dresser, in front of my smaller mirror. I took out my black eyeliner and put a small line on my top and bottom lash line. Then, I took out my mascara and put a swipe on each lash line. I then took out my foundation and brushed it on to make sure that there were no dark circles under my eyes. With my makeup looking the way I wanted, I again looked at the clock: 5:51.

I quickly walked over to my closer and grabbed my moccasins. With my shoes in hand, I walked down the stairs and to the front door. I slipped on the shoes and grabbed my purse that I placed by the front door so I would remember to bring it.

I sat on the stairs, looking through my purse, making sure I had everything I needed. Money, Chapstick, tampons, and lipgloss.

The doorbell rang and I jumped. I looked at my phone: 5:57, he's early. I hop up and walked to the door and open it.

Josh looked good, to say the least. He was wearing dark jeans and tight, long sleeved dark green shirt. We were sort of matchy, not that I minded.

"Hey, you look good." Josh complimented me, though he seemed very nervous to say something like that.

"Look who's talking." I responded with a smile. Josh's nervous expression vanished as soon as he saw my smile.

"Shall we go?" He asked, gesturing for me to out.

"We shall." I stepped out the front door, turned around, locked it, and then followed Josh to his car.

He opened the door as I approached and gestured for me to get in the car. I smiled and slid in. Once I was all the way in he shut the door and walked around the front of the car to the drivers side.

He got in and started the car.

"So where's this cafe?" I asked him as he started driving.

"Just in town a bit." He vaguely responded. I raised my eyebrow, but didn't say anything in return.

Silence fell over us, however it wasn't an awkward silence. It was more like a thoughtful silence. I think Josh was letting me think over our past conversation. I stomach churned at the possibility of telling someone else about the pains in my stomach. How would he respond?

My thoughts were interrupted when the car stopped. I looked out the window and saw a small, blue, house-like building that said 'Nikki's Cafe' painted a bright yellow on a wooden board that was attached to the front of the building. It didn't look crowded, as I couldn't see many people through the dimly lit windows.

"Here we are." Josh said as he opened his door. I followed suit until I heard an annoyed grunt come from Josh. With one foot out of the car, I looked back at Josh.

"What?" I questioned.

"It's customary for the guy to open the door." Josh responded. I gave him a sheepish smile.

"Sorry. Do you want me to close it so you can open it again?"

Josh smiled, "No it's okay. But next time I want to open the door." He exited the car.

"Next time?" There was going to be a next time? I exited the car, walked to the front of the car, and took Josh's outstretched hand. We walked towards the cafe together, and like a gentleman, Josh opened the door for me.

Immediately when I walked in, I was hit with the aroma of old fashioned cooking. The smell of burgers, French fries and milkshakes wafted around the establishment. A vibration of voices surrounded me as I took a couple more steps in. The place was almost filled with people of all ages.

The inside of the cafe looked like a home transformed into a restaurant. The dark wooden floor ended on each side as tan walls rose up. A staircase in the back behind the counter led to the upstairs. Next to the staircase, still behind the counter, was a window that showed the kitchen. The counter held pastries such as cookies, brownies, and fresh made bread. A waitress behind the counter was giving change to an elderly couple from an old fashioned cash register. From there, tables filled the space. They were spaced out evenly throughout the rest of the restaurant. In front of me, a little podium stood with a small chalkboard attached to it. The chalkboard said 'Please wait to be seated.'

"Do you like it?" Josh asked me as he stood next me.

"It's so," I tried to find the right word, "homey."

Josh smiled, "I know. But wait until you tried their food."

A waitress came up to the podium. She looked around twenty-five with shoulder length blonde hair.

"Hiya. Table for two?" She asked in a cheery voice.

"Yes please." Josh responded.

"Right this way." We followed her as she walked to an empty two person table by the right side of the restaurant. Josh and I sat down and the waitress placed the menus in front of us. The waitress then left us saying that she would be right back to take our orders.

Another silence settled over Josh and I as we both looked over the menus.

"Is it okay if I order for both of us?" Josh asked me, looking directly in my eye.

"Sure." I responded.

The waitress returned and asked us what we would like. Josh responded for both of us.

"We'll have two chocolate milkshakes, and two cheeseburgers and fries."

She wrote down the order and left. Josh turned to me again and sighed.

"So where were we in our conversation yesterday?"

I bit my bottom lip, my nerves returning, "I thought you wanted us to get to know each other better."

"Alright. What's your favorite color?" I smiled at Josh's question.

"Real original way to start a conversation." I said sarcastically. Josh smiled in return.

"And I don't know. It depends on the day and how I'm feeling." I responded.

"Okay, then what's your favorite color today?" Josh asked.

I thought for a second, "Blue. TARDIS blue."

Josh looked confused, "What kind of blue is TARDIS blue?"

I smiled, of course he wouldn't get it, "The color of the TARDIS, from Doctor Who. I watched it yesterday and I guess I feel like that blue is my favorite color right now."

"Okay." Josh responded looking a little confused.

"What about you? What's your favorite color?" I asked him.

"Forest green." He responded immediately.

"The color of your eyes." Josh looked confused at my statement. I blushed and tried to explain myself.

"Your eyes. The color of your eyes are forest green."

"Oh." I could see a very light pink color his cheeks.

"What's your favorite food?" I quickly asked him.

"Meat." Josh answered simply.

"What kind of meat?" I questioned him further.

"Really any kind. Steak, chicken, bacon. I love bacon," I laughed at Josh's facial expression when he said bacon, "what's your favorite food?"

The waitress returned with our chocolate milkshakes and said the burgers would be out in a few minutes. The aroma of the milkshake was so entrancing that I had to try it. I put my lips to the straw and moaned at the taste. This was the best milkshake I had ever tasted.

"My favorite food? This milkshake." I responded after I had drunken almost half of my milkshake.

"What did I tell you?" Josh responded with a smile.

I responded with my own smile.

"What's your favorite movie?" Josh asked after he took a sip of his milkshake.

"Um," I thought for a minute, "you're going to have to be more specific than that."

"What do you mean, it's a pretty simple question." Josh smiled.

"If it's so easy, then you answer it." I responded childishly.

Josh paused for a few seconds, thinking, "I would have to say my all time favorite movie is, I don't know. You're right, it is hard."

I stuck out my tongue, "Told you."

"Alright then, next question since neither of us can answer the last one-"

"I never said I could answer the question. I just said you needed to be more specific." I interrupted.

"What do you mean by 'specific'?" Josh asked.

"Like favorite movie of a year, or favorite movie in a specific genre." I explained simply.

"Oh, obviously," I smirked at Josh's slowness, "okay. What's your favorite romance movie?"

I crinkled my nose in disgust, "Wow Josh. Way to be cliche."

"What? I'm curious." Josh held his hands up in surrender.

"Fair enough. I don't like romance movies." I simply stated. Josh's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"What?" I questioned.

"Well, it's just, I thought you would like romance movies." He responded a little sheepish. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Okay so what's your favorite romance movie?" I taunted him.

Josh scoffed, "Please. You think this," he gestured to himself, "watches romance movies?"

"Yep. I actually think that The Notebook is your favorite movie ever. You seem like that kind of guy." I egged him on.

Josh smirked and a mischievous glint entered his eyes. He raised his pointer finger and waved it side to side like you would to a child. His other hand shot out and grabbed my milkshake and held it deliberately away from me.

"Hey!" My hand reached out to try and grab it back. Josh held my milkshake behind him so I couldn't reach it. After a few seconds of trying to reach across, I sit back in my chair and cross my arms in front of my chest. Josh's eyes light up in mischievous victory.

"Give me back my milkshake." I demand. Josh laughs.

"Take it back." He mimics my demand.

"Take what back?" I ask, still irritated that he has my milkshake.

"That The Notebook," he spits out the movie title, "is my favorite movie."

"Why should I? It's probably true." I continued to taunt him.

Josh's eyes narrowed. Then as if a lightbulb went off in his head, a sinister smile came across his face and his eyes turned playful.

"Hmm, this looks like a good milkshake. Don't you agree Evie?" Josh brought the milkshake closer to his mouth.

"Don't you dare." I hissed at him.

"Dare do what?" He taunted me. The straw was less than two inches from his mouth and closing. He wasn't going to stop.

"Fine! I take it back. Your favorite movie isn't The Notebook. Now give me my milkshake." I gave in.

Josh's smirk came on full force as he handed my milkshake back to me. Victory radiated off of him. Once it was in my reach, I snatched the milkshake out of his hand and placed it closest to me on the table.

"You're mean." I stuck out my tongue at him.

"Don't diss a guy's manliness." Josh shrugged his shoulders.

Right after Josh said that, the waitress returned with our food.

"Enjoy." She said as she placed the food in front of us. The smell of perfectly grilled cheeseburgers hit my nose and my mouth started watering. I completely forgot about my table manners as I dug in.

As soon as I took a bite, I knew this was one of the best burgers I'd ever eaten. It was grilled to perfection. I quickly started eating, wanting to eat as much of this burger as I could. Soon, it was halfway gone. It was right about now that I realized how big these burgers are, and how Josh watched me scarf down half of the burger.

"You know it's rude to stare." I blushed, grimacing at how unattractive I must of looked eating that.

"I have never seen a hu- girl eat that quickly." Josh said astounded.

"So is that a compliment?" I asked, wondering what Josh was going to say before 'girl'.

"Yes, definitely a compliment." I blushed at his statement.

We settled into a comfortable silence as we started eating. Josh looked like he was deep in thought about something. I brushed it off as I kept eating. A few seconds later, Josh cleared his throat.

"You know," he started, "you're much more outgoing when you're not in school." He was walking on dangerous territory, and he knew it.

I didn't respond. My mind was swarming with how I should respond. Josh looked at me, waiting. I cleared my throat so the now awkward silence would leave.

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked him, trying to sound offended.

"No, just an observation." He responded, not affected by my fake hostility. I didn't respond, so Josh continued.

"You know, I observed another interesting thing about you too," my heartbeat increased as Josh continued to talk, "I think it was on the second or third day I knew you. We were in science and our papers fell on the floor. You reached down to grab them and your shirt rode up."

Josh stopped talking. He knew that I knew exactly what he was talking about. My heartbeat clouded my hearing, my palms were sweaty, and I was trying to keep my eyes from tearing up. I didn't want Josh to see how much this was affecting me.

I couldn't look at him, so I stared down at my almost fully eaten cheeseburger. Something that looked and tasted so good, now almost made me sick.

"Evie-"

"I want to leave please." I interrupted him.

Josh looked like he wanted to say something in return, but the waitress beat him to it.

"How is everything?" She asked.

"Everything was delicious. Could we please get the check?" He asked politely. The waitress nodded and walked off to get the check.

We didn't talk while she was gone. I fidgeted with my hands while Josh dug something out of his pocket. I lifted my head when I noticed Josh throw something on the table.

Money. The waitress didn't return yet, but Josh still stood up and reached his hand out to me with an apologizing look. Sadness radiated from him.

In my sullen mood, I ignored his hand as I stood up and started walking toward the door. Josh fell in step beside me. I reached the door and opened it, without waiting for Josh. I stepped outside and quickly walked to Josh's car. He opened it and I slid in his car.

Josh got in and started driving. A tense silence enveloped us. I stared out the window at the forest. We were going too fast for me to see the individual trees. But eventually, the trees were becoming easier to see. We were slowing down. Soon, we came to a stop.

Josh turned to me, "Evie, please. Tell me."

"Where are we?" I asked Josh, ignoring his plea.

"We are about five minutes away from your house." He responded immediately.

"So why aren't we-"

"Evie, I saw them. You know I did. I saw the bruises." Josh's unasked question hung there. How did you get them?

"I just want to go home and get some sleep Josh." I asked, desperation in my voice.

"I just want to help, Evie." Josh pleaded.

I thought about it, "Start driving, and I'll start talking."

Josh started the car and again started driving to my house.

"Okay," I took a huge breath, "truth is, those are bruises. So you got that right. However, I don't know how they form. They just appear." My eyes started tearing up as I realized how much I really don't know.

"Almost every night," the tears spilled over, "there's this pain. It's like a burning inferno that roars through my abdomen. I don't know what it is or where it's coming from, or even why it's happening to me."

Josh pulled up to my driveway. He stopped the car, and his arms came around me in a much needed hug. I hugged him in return, almost as if my life depended on it.

I was still crying and Josh kept on hugging me. He started to whisper sweet nothings as I started to calm down. A couple minutes later, I wasn't crying anymore.

I pulled back from Josh, and found him looking at me admirably.

"Thank you for trusting me Evie." Josh said. I nodded in return, it felt really good letting someone in.

Josh gave me another hug and kissed my forehead.

"Good night Evie." Josh whispered against my forehead.

"Good night Josh." I responded. I got out of the car and walked to the front door. Once I was there, I waved back at Josh. I saw him wave back. I turned back around, unlocked the door, and stepped in. I closed the door and immediately ran up to my room.

About ten minutes later, I had washed all the makeup off my face and had gotten into pajamas. I laid in bed thinking about Josh and our 'date'. My eyelids started to feel heavy. The last feeling before I fell into unconsciousness was of a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders.