Don't Get Angry

18- Dalta: Two Straws

I squinted. "A what now about what now?"

He turned away and sipped some of the shake.

I stared at him, then sulked. "I'm sorry... I'm just not into dating right now."

He looked at me with a purse-lipped smile and shrugged. "I figured."

I rolled my eyes. "I mean...I thought I was at first, but after we pretended to date at Chad's..." I stared at the milkshake. "I just realized that I'm not into it."

"Dating's weird, just like having a crush on someone. I'm nervous about it too. But you'll never know what it's like until you try it."

"Sounds like you're trying to sell me drugs." I smiled at Otis.

He chuckled, then he looked at the milkshake. He pushed it in front of me.

I lifted the straw and put it to my lips, taking a sip of the shake.

His eyes strayed to the front door and his smile faded.

I turned around. Taylor had come to the diner. She waved at us, smiling this weird, fake smile. I sensed it, but wise, all-knowing Otis couldn't.

"Hey, guys!" She wedged herself between us with a grin. "Funny seeing you here."

"You too," Otis said, with slightly squinted eyes. "What are you doing on this side of the town?"

"I live here actually. What are you guys doing here?"

"We were visiting a friend."

"Who? I might know them."

I looked at Otis. He looked pale. "You won't know him." I smiled at Taylor.

"Are you sure-"

"We're sure."

She nodded, then noticed the two straws in the glass. "Oh..." She lifted her brows. "I know this diner is the place where lovers hang out. Didn't think you two knew that since you're not from here. But it seems like you do."

"Oh no! We're not on a date," Otis quickly corrected her, chuckling awkwardly and waving his hand as if disgusted by the thought of it all of a sudden. "We decided to share the shake so we wouldn't have to pay too much."

Taylor looked at me, then she looked at him. "You're on a date." She forced another smile, then walked away shaking her head.

Otis sighed and turned around.

I looked down trying to hide my disappointment. I pushed the rest of the milkshake in front of him. "You can have the rest." I got down from the stool and started walking away.

"Dalta, wait."

I walked out of the diner and made my way over to the car.

He ran after me. "Dalta," he sighed and stood in front of me holding my upper arms. "The only reason why I said we weren't on a date is because I want you to be ready for that. I don't want to force you to date me after you said you didn't want that."

"Are you sure that's the only reason?"

He stared at me waiting for me to explain myself.

"Penny told me that you like Taylor," I said with a shrug.

He groaned. "You can't tell Penny anything, can you?"

"You've learned your lesson... Otis, she told me that when you told her you thought you were talking to me."

"What's that have to do with us?"

"You thought you were talking to a friend." I pushed his arms off of mine and held his shoulders, then I looked into his eyes. "I'm not ready to date anyone. And I think we're better off as friends right now."

His brows fell.

"That being said," I let him go, "I think it's okay for you to date other girls if you prefer to wait until I'm ready. And if you don't want to wait...then that's fine too. I'm not going to be ready for a long time."

"But I-"

"Otis," I sighed, "Taylor likes you. Don't waste your time on me. Go ask Taylor out."

He stared at me with a slight frown. I could tell he was a bit disappointed. But I was fine with that. He really liked Taylor and I liked our friendship. Even though it was a really terrible one. It was obvious that Otis and I had nothing in common except for the fact that we were both criminals. Otis was mature and he was already into dating. He thought a lot about things before he acted. I didn't. I was more of the "act and not think" type. The only thing I'd given much thought into was dating, and after my date with Ethan, I had decided that I would rather get to know someone before I started getting serious. SO, I decided that I would stalk Otis from afar.

I watched him walk back into the diner. He made his way over to Taylor and sat in front of her. I could see how nervous he was from far away. His shoulders were shrugged and his eyes were wide. He clasped his hands together and stared at her. His eyes met mine. I smiled at him and he smiled back, then he unclasped his hands and sat straight, suddenly gaining his confidence.

I was about to get into the car, when I noticed the red one parked near the sidewalk. I looked at Otis, then I started making my way out of the lot. I walked on to the sidewalk staring at the car. It was empty. I walked over to it, completely suspicious. I peeped into the window and looked around. A pink wig and sunglasses were on the seat driver's seat. I stood straight. "Uh-oh."