FRIENDS LIKE YOU! lucas mendoza

CHAPTER NINE

Lori grins. "Oh, yeah."

****

What was supposed to be a great first date is turning out to be the worst. 

Sammi had texted Bryce she was there at the restaurant when she didn't see him there and Bryce didn't reply back to her, but she just assumed he was running late and wasn't able to respond. It has been half an hour since Sammi had sat at this booth in the restaurant. By herself. She hated it. She kept thinking that people were staring at her or talking about her, maybe they were even sympathetic or taking pity towards her for being alone at a nice restaurant for lunch.  

She stayed on her phone for most of the time, to keep herself busy while she waited and distract herself from the sadness and disappointment she was feeling. Every once in a while, she would look up at the door when she heard the bell above the door chime, hoping she would see Bryce, but he never showed up. 

A sad sigh escaped Sammi's lips as she glanced at the time on her phone. It just now turned to one o'clock, and the date was supposed to be at noon. She was about to pay for her drink she got and leave when she heard a familiar voice she thought she wouldn't hear at the restaurant.

"Is this seat taken, Samshine?"

Sammi looks to her left, her mood lifting when she saw Lucas standing there and he was looking at her with a smile. She knew it was Lucas standing there by his voice that she could recognize anywhere, but even if she didn't recognize who it was by the voice she would've known it was Lucas because he was the only one who called her 'samshine'. "Lucas? W-What are you doing here?"

"A few minutes ago, after you texted me that you were still waiting for Bryce to show up, I decided to come to your rescue." Lucas explains, gesturing with a nod of his head to the empty booth across from Sammi, silently asking if he could sit. Sammi nods at him and smiles at him. Lucas sits down in front of Sammi, looking at her with a sympathetic smile. "I can't believe that he didn't show up. That guy is a jerk."

Sammi sighs, setting her phone on the table since she had been holding it. "I didn't think he was at first," She frowns, thinking about the times when Bryce kept the topic on himself or something he liked to do or when he would shut down her ideas on what they could do when they hung out together. "But after thinking more about him I've realized that he was a jerk. I was just blinded by his charm and good looks." 

"If you know where he is, let me know and I'll give him a lesson." Lucas told her, raising his fists and pretended to punch someone with a smirk on his face.

Sammi giggles a bit, her lips forming into a smile, and shakes her head. "I don't know, but he's not worth it."

Lucas' eyes soften, crossing his arms in front of him on the table and leaning on them. "Sammi, if a guy is making you upset then it's definitely worth punching him."

Sammi sighs heavily, staring at the table. "Yeah, I know." She shakes her head, deciding to change the subject. "But thank you for coming here. You saved me from boredom." She joked, trying to lighten the mood, and she was looking at him with a small smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. She was still sad and disappointed about getting stood up and she couldn't hide that no matter how hard she tried.

Lucas notices she still seemed to be upset, so he smiles and nods. "Not a problem." 

A few moments of awkward silence go by before Sammi break the ice by joking around. She chuckles awkwardly, looking at him with a smile and asks, "Who needs an enemy when I got a friend like you, Lucas, ain't that right?"

"Oh, come on, Samshine." Lucas chuckles. He smiles at her. "We both know we're not enemies or frenemies anymore."

Sammi smiles back at him, feeling butterflies swarming in her stomach. Comfortable silence now fills the air and Lucas is the one to break the silence this time. He grins at her. "How about we ditch this place and get a slice of pizza?"