Chasing Charming ✔️

6 - Strawberry Milkshake

The older woman took the menus, that we had not looked at, and left us.

Eli still looked troubled as he watched me from across the small table. I smiled, trying to ease his fears. I was okay now if just a little embarrassed. There was no point in having a silly crush on a boy who had now seen me in two ridiculous situations, but I couldn't help but like him even more.

"Thank you; I haven't had a panic attack in years. I don't know what happened."

He smiled, "That is okay, Betty, you don't need to explain yourself. It happens."

My heart skipped a beat when he said my name.

"Have you had a panic attack before?" I asked, genuinely curious.

He laughed out loud, "Oh, god, no." I blushed and put my head down.

He stopped chuckling immediately, "but my brother used to have them... a lot. So it's nothing to be ashamed of."

I nodded. "Is that how you knew what to do?" I asked in a soft voice. He laughed, but he did everything perfectly.

He crossed his hands in front of him on the table. His eyes were shining sadly. His eyelashes were so long. "Yeah, my brother got a lot of panic attacks after my mom died. My dad couldn't handle it, so I had to step in."

I paused. "Oh, I'm sorry."

He smiled wistfully, "It's okay, no need to apologize."

I nodded, biting my tongue to keep from apologizing again.

"Why do you apologize so much?"

I tilted my head to the side, "Do I?" I knew I did.

"I mean yeah, from what I have seen. Also, I am sorry about Monday. I was a bit hungover... another stupid senior tradition. That's not usually like me."

From what I had heard, that was exactly like him.

"It's okay; you weren't the one that threw a slushie on me on my first day at a new school."

He laughed, "but still not a good first impression on my part."

"I saw you once before, actually! When I first moved here with your two friends."

He grinned, "Oh, you saw me before? Do I have a stalker I should worry about?" He was being cheeky, but that did not stop my embarrassment.

I put my head in my hands, "oh my god." I said quietly. Why did I say that?

The lady from before brought us our milkshakes, and she looked at me strangely and then Eli accusingly. When she walked away, we both started to giggle. My face was hot, and I am sure it was beet red.

But any tension that we had built up broke down with that interaction, and we fell into a comfortable conversation.

I was delightfully surprised to learn that he was easy to talk to and had a pleasant attitude. Sure, he might be aggressive and a bit of a player, but if he was one, I was falling right into his trap. He seemed so genuine, though that it was hard to imagine that this was all some bigger plan. He was kind, and it was nice to find out we had some things in common, and he seemed interested in what I had to say.

Eli asked me about Arizona and my friends. I told him about the drive-in and the lake and my old group of friends. I mean, I am not sure if he was actually interested or just good at distractions, but he could have fooled me.

Either way, I had almost completely forgotten about what Jackson had done, and I was glad that Eli kept me distracted. And I was glad he had not asked me why my panic attack had happened - even though I am sure he was curious.