Thirty minutes of washing later, Harrison's hair had apparently become less of a pain.
When she got to the coffee shop, my car was parked in the back of the lot and I was sitting in the front seat on my phone, scrolling Facebook even though I could care less about the app. It seemed like such a pointless app, in my opinion.
"Ready?" I asked once she had reached my car, getting in the passenger's seat.
"I don't know why I wouldn't be. Let's get out of here," she said. As I started driving away from the parking lot, Harrison said, "Do you mind if I call West for a sec? I forgot he called me earlier, too. He called seven times."
"Yeah, no problem," I replied. Now probably wasn't the best time to bring up the fact that Jason had freaked out on me again this morning, and that he did it only a few days ago as well. If she and West really were best friends, he would tell her what was going on, wouldn't he? And hopefully, the truth wouldn't be anywhere close to what I was expecting from Jason's odd behavior.
"Hey, West," She said and the rest of the conversation continued on as such:
"What-"
"West, you don't have to be so defensive-"
"Okay, wow!"
"Seriously?"
"Cut it out-"
"Whatever."
And then she hung up and set her phone on her thigh. The conversation had lasted just under a minute and Harrison had barely gotten a word out. I was able to hear West on the other end of the line, practically screaming at her, although I couldn't make out exactly what he was saying.
"Everything alright?" I asked.
Harrison took a deep breath and shot me an unconvincing smile. "Yeah. Everything's great." There was a slight pause and then she sighed. "West's just having some problems right now and he's being a total bitch about everything. I guess he's having problems with Jason, if you happen to know anything about that."
"Jason's been acting weird, but I don't know much about it," I said. It wasn't technically a lie since Jason hadn't exactly told me what was going on with him and West. "Maybe we can get your mind off of West today. We'll have a good early dinner, a fantastic dessert, and whatever else you want along the way." Harrison reached out to put her hand on top of mine which rested on my leg.
"Thank you, Otto," she said, giving me a genuine smile and then facing forward again. I moved my hand and laced our fingers together, squeezing her hand and then lifting it up to my face. I kissed the top of her hand and placed it back down on my leg.
I smiled to myself, feeling like maybe being with her hadn't been a mistake, but the best decision I have made in a while.
•••
An hour and a half or so later, we arrived in Grand Rapids. Walking around and enjoying the scenery was a peaceful venture. We made small conversation, enjoying each other's company, and that was all that mattered. And more than anything, I enjoyed learning even more about Harrison.
"My parents wanted me to come here because they thought I could get a better education," She told me after I had asked about her family. She had been slightly irresolute to telling me about them, but she finally confided in me, telling me countless details of her life back home.
"So where are you originally from?" I asked, although I already knew from my Twitter deep-dive.
"Maryland," Harrison said. "Decently far away, you know. But Arbor Coast was one of the best boarding schools in the United States. They probably would've sent me all the way to England if it weren't too expensive."
Interesting. "That's what your family is like, huh?" I questioned.
"That's them with their craziness." She said it as a joke, although a part of me believed that it wasn't actually a joke to her.
"They can't be that crazy," I said. "They only want you to get a good education, there isn't anything wrong with that."
"I know," Harrison hesitated. "They're just slight control freaks, but I do fine with school, I have you to confirm that. I guess they just want me to push myself or whatever."
"Higher education is higher education," I said. We crossed, continuing our search for somewhere to eat. "I would think it's nicer here than at a regular public school. You have some freedom and you even have it better than other students. No roommate and all."
"Yeah, that is true," she agreed. "It's just not a normal situation to have your parents be so far away. And they haven't visited since I was a freshman."
I was a bit shocked. "You haven't seen them?"
She shook her head. "Not in person, and they rarely call or even text me. It's whatever, they're pretty irrelevant as it is."
Harrison kept talking about her parents and I just kept pushing the conversation further and further to get to know her better. By keeping the conversation flowing, I was hopefully able to help her keep her mind off of thinking about West, which was optimal since her talking about West would mean me talking about Jason. And I didn't want to have to talk about Jason. He was my friend, but he's always had some personal issues and I didn't necessarily want to disclose those issues. Rest assured, that would cause Jason to be pissed at me.
"There's a restaurant a couple blocks down called La Belle's," I mentioned once Harrison had finished telling me about the town she grew up in.
"And what kind of food do they have?" She asked.
"Italian mostly," I started, "but the pizza is the best."
Harrison smiled. "I could so demolish a pizza right now."
•••
After a 30 minute wait at LaBelle's, we were able to get a seat and order. Otto took it upon himself to order us a bottle of wine. Although, to be honest, I had never been much of a wine person (and I shouldn't have been because I was 17, but who's counting?), I'd always preferred beer for some reason. However, the wine was certainly doing its job and it was definitely helping me forget about West. I'd been thinking about him nearly the entire ride up to Grand Rapids and I didn't want my worrying to interfere with mine and Otto's night together. So I just drank more wine. Being a lightweight, I knew it wasn't my best idea.
The pizza arrived and my mouth started to water so bad it was possible I was actually drooling. 8 beautiful slices of sausage, meatball, and bacon. It was a true meat-lovers pizza and I couldn't resist.
But as if on impulse, I gasped. "Oh my God."
Otto looked confused. "What? Is something wrong?"
"I cannot believe this happened," I said, shaking my head. "I'm a vegetarian!" I exclaimed, looking up at Otto who was looking at me with his eyebrows furrowed. It didn't take him long to catch on to the fact that I was joking.
"Bullshit. Forgive me, but you are no vegetarian. You ordered a meat lover's pizza, Harrison," he said matter-of-factly, clearly way more sober than I was.
"How dare you." I then grabbed the biggest slice and didn't even hesitate in taking an enormous bite. I closed my eyes and quietly moaned. It was so damn good. "You know what? I can't do it anymore. I can't be vegetarian anymore. This meat is just too juicy and delicious. I simply cannot resist."
"Well, that didn't last long."
I sighed overdramatically. "One long minute of my life down the drain... Whatever, it's worth it." I took another bite.
"You're crazy," He said, shaking his head.
"We're both crazy, Otto," I said.
Otto raised his glass up towards me and said, "To being crazy," before taking a sip.
"You know what? I think I've just had a bit too much to drink this time." I wasn't completely drunk as I had only consumed 3 glasses of wine, but it was typically wise of me to draw the line at 2 glasses. I was completely aware of the fact that I was a lightweight when it comes to alcohol. "Not like I have school tomorrow, but I do have homework. God, and for your class, too! You're a true asshole."
"Well, maybe I can accept your assignment late," He uttered quietly, leaning slightly over the table to graze his hand on top of mind. Jesus Christ. I physically felt the air being sucked out of me, leaving me nearly breathless. It was just a hand, god dammit.
And then for some reason, that's when everything started to hit me left and right. From where I was sitting, our situation didn't look normal. It definitely didn't look good. I was a drunken underage high school student sitting across from my completely sober high school English teacher who had purchased and allowed me to drink alcohol.
And we had sex. And he brought me here. Clearly everyone in the restaurant could see it. I mean, how could they not? It was so obvious. It had to be. I felt like a complete mess. Here I was, eating dinner with my English teacher who I was dating, which was totally illegal on so many levels. Everyone dining in the restaurant could definitely tell that this was a suspicious situation. The waiters and waitresses and the rest of the staff were probably gossiping in the back where the kitchen was, debating whether or not to call the cops. Because I was an underage teenager drinking and--
"Harrison?" Otto asked, interrupting my endless stream of drunken thoughts.
I looked up. "What?"
"I was asking you if you wanted to leave," He said, definitely able to tell how out of it I was at the current moment. "Now, I don't know if I should drop you off blocks from the school with the state you're in, so what would you like to do?"
Right before I could say anything, I felt the food coming up from my stomach.
This soon? Are you kidding me?
To avoid the terrible fate that would be puking all over the nice table, I sprinted out of the restaurant and found myself throwing up in the garden out front. Thankfully, it was late enough that nobody was out to see, and for that, I had been grateful. I stood up after finishing my little garden session, turning around to see that Otto was standing there. He looked concerned and made his way over towards me, grabbing my hand.
"Please just take me somewhere where I can pass out," I croaked. I couldn't believe how pathetic I sounded.
Otto nodded and said, "Of course." He helped me walk back to his car, which was unfortunately parked blocks away. But he held my hand the entire time, acting so polite. And he really was. I knew just how much I was attracted to Otto and it wasn't all just because of his looks. He was something else. He cared about me and that was something I could gladly get used to.
•••