In Love With Alex Brightman

chapter four

"I was showing you where the burgers are," He claimed, holding a long gaze when I nodded. I scooted over to give him more space as he pointed to the text on the menu. I tried to focus on his words, explaining the different food options, but his knee accidentally brushing mine distracted me.

Luckily, when the waiter came back to take our order, he moved back and I could breath normally again. Wait until I tell Katie and Rory.

We both ended up agreeing on getting the same bacon cheeseburgers because there was so much to choose from and we wanted to make sure we didn't end up buying the whole menu. Or have bloated stomachs.

"Thanks for agreeing to come out with me. I know I said coffee, but I thought getting lunch would be better," He explained, playing with his fingers.

"That's totally fine. I was kind of hungry anyways." I took another sip of my delicious milkshake and hummed afterwards.

"Oh okay," He smiled. There was a comfortable silence for a few seconds, before I spoke up.

"So, whatever-your-name-is, tell me more about yourself," I joked, slyly smirking.

"Wow," He blinked multiple times, adjusting in his seat. "Well my name is Alex Brightman, for your information," He sassed playfully. I giggled in my hands to hide it. "Um... I'm twenty six, I lived in New York for quite a while now, and I love theater. I also like hanging out with this special girl that I met at auditions, but I kind of forgot her name. Don't tell her that, though." I copied his disbelieved expression from earlier and covered my heart with my hand.

"Wow Alex, you're really hurting my feelings and we haven't even been hanging out for more than thirty minutes," I jokingly scolded, shaking my head.

"Hey, I said I like hanging out with you," He defended himself, obviously knowing I was acting.

"But you don't even know my name."

"Well I'll take a guess," He scratched his stubble in thought. "I'm pretty sure it starts with S and ends with an H. Am I close?" He asked curiously. I looked up at him and nodded slowly. "Okay well, is it Sarah? Maybe Sarah Holland to be exact?"

"How'd you know?" I exclaimed excitedly, slapping my hands down on the table.

Alex shrugged, smiling with a hint of smug. "Lucky guess." We both stared at each other, before spilling into a handful of laughter. I could never get over his smile. It was just something about it that made my stomach fill with butterflies. I was pretty sure my own heart smiled back.

"So tell me about yourself, Ms. Sarah Holland," he cleared his throat, motioning to me.

I interlocked my hands and set them on the table, looking up in thought. "Well, I'm twenty four, went to school at NYU, so I've been in the city a while too—"

"Same here, but I didn't stay in NYU for long," Alex added.

"And I also I live with my best friend, Katie. I love theater as well, definitely more than her and Rory," I chuckled more to myself.

Alex furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Rory?"

"Oh, he's my other best friend, but he doesn't live with us, though," I filled him in. He only nodded once, motioning for me to continue. "And I enjoy spending time with you, Mr. Alex Brightman," I wiggled my eyebrows. He rolled his eyes in amusement.

"Isn't that the sweetest thing," He awed, touching his heart. I blushed slightly and looked away.

Alex and I trailed into a discussion about his theater experience and the other shows he had been on. He told me that he had been in Glory Days—which didn't last very long—Big Fish, Matilda, Wicked, and School of Rock. I had to stop him there.