Carter had endured quite a few awkward times in his life, there was the time that his mother had found condoms in his room, and there was that one time when Roxy accidentally walked in on him in the shower. Those times were awkward. So was this.
Alex just seemed to stare at him, whereas Carter flickered his gaze to Jayden and then his sister, whispering, "You could have told me who your date was."
Lara shrugged guilty, bitting at her lip. She seemed to not want to answer that question as she sent a pleading look in Jayden's direction.
"Why don't you two go home, and we can call you to pick us up later?" Jayden asked, but before either of them could answer him, he had linked his arm with Lara's and they were already heading towards the waitress to be seated.
Carter just stared after them for a few moments, realising that he was pretty much stuck with Alex. He had promised his mother that he would chaperone, and even though he knew that Jayden wouldn't hurt a fly, he still didn't feel comfortable leaving his little sister. Alex seemed to be the same way, as he didn't make a move to leave either. They both locked eyes at the same time.
"So.." Carter almost laughed at the awkwardness of this situation.
"So, do you want to join me for dinner?" Alex asked and Carter could have rolled his eyes.
What was he doing in a restaurant with his ex? The same ex that he is actively trying to get over. Refusal was not an option unfortunately, so Carter nodded his head. "Uh, sure."
They walked an arm's length apart the whole time they walked to the waitress and then to the table. Carter made sure that their legs didn't brush against each other's when they sat down. The table laid out before them was exactly what Carter would expect on a date, the white table cloth was pristine, with delicate silverware on the sides and wine glasses in front. The centre of the table held a small blue candle, bringing some life to the simple décor around them.
"Here's some menu's," a pretty, blonde waitress smiled as she handed them both large black pieces of paper, containing the menu. She sent an admiring glance to Alex as she spoke, and by the blatant lust on her face, Carter realised that he would be almost invisible to her the entire night. He was used to that though, it happened all the time when they used to date. In those moments Alex would hold his hand across the table or swing a casual arm around his shoulders and the person would realise that Alex was taken and was no way going to buy what they were selling. "I'll be right back to take your orders." She smiled a flirty smile at Alex before turning on her heels, her bright blonde locks swinging behind her as she walked away.
Carter turned his attention back to Alex, whose gaze, he had discovered had been locked onto him the entire time. It felt like going back in time, and for a moment, only a moment, he could almost imagine that it was their one year anniversary. That they were happy, together, about to make a promise that would seal their love. They were so young then, so innocent in believing that they would be together for the rest of their days.
This wasn't their anniversary. They weren't together.
He still loved the man who was looking at him, who sat across from him in the crowded restaurant, but there was no use living in the past, so he tore his gaze away from Alex and looked down at his menu, reading over the words and pretending that he couldn't feel Alex's gaze on him. Perhaps Alex was feeling the same way, remembering the same things. It was unlikely, yet it sparked that little bit of hope that Carter held deep within his chest.
"What are you going to have?" he asked Alex, and this seemed to tear Alex out of his mind as his eyes dropped down to the menu before going back up to Carters in only half a second.
Alex got a glint in his eye and a secret smile on his lips. "I will have pasta and you will have chicken, and then you will steal bites of my pasta and tell me that you are going to have pasta next time because mine was so good, but you never do."
He laughed, and smiled and placed his menu back down on the table with a soft thud. "You aren't wrong."
"I know. We've done this before." Alex smiled and it was the first pleasant moment that the two had shared in such a long time. Carter couldn't help but drink in his features, watch the little dimple that formed on his cheek as he smiled and notice the way he looked so uninhibited, like all of his walls had dropped without him even realising.
It seemed that Alex had realised what he had done, that he had let all of those walls come tumbling down. A sliver of pain formed in Carters stomach as he watched Alex try to build those walls again, his smile leaving his face and his posture strengthened.
Carter had to wonder why the boy did this to himself. What was so wrong with them having a good time, what was stopping Alex from being himself around him?
The unexpected silence dispersed the moment that the blonde waitress came back to the table, all her attention focussed on Alex. Alex ordered for the both of them, and Carter was glad, otherwise the girl may have not even noticed that he was sitting at the table as well. Carter rolled his eyes as the girl tried to blatantly flirt with Alex, who didn't even seem to notice her advances.
Alex noticed one of Carter's many eye rolls as the waitress was leaving the table. "What was that for?" he asked, a confused look on his face.
"That girl was all over you," Carter stated before realising how jealous that sounded.
"I don't bat for that team," Alex stated simply, as if to reassure Carter.
"I know, but she doesn't know that."
Alex just shrugged. Carter took this opportunity of awkward silence to look over to the table where Lara and Jayden were sitting. They seemed to be waiting for their food too, but there was no awkward silence to be heard of at their table. Lara seemed to be telling him some sort of story, and was speaking animatedly, using her arms and hands to emphasise almost every word. Jayden was leaning forward with a giant grin on his face, eating up every word like a kid at a buffet.
"They seem to be having a good time," Alex said, and Carter could hear the smile in his voice. Alex had always cared deeply for his brother, Carter knew that.
"Yeah, they are," he said, deciding to turn back around just in case Lara realised that they were being watched so intently.
They made small talk for the next few minutes until their meals arrived, but the moment that they did the two of them seemed to launch into riveting conversation. It was strange how they both slid back into how they used to be, how at peace and relaxed Carter was with every moment that he spent with Alex. This was how things used to be, laughing and telling stories at restaurant tables.
Alex was right about the food, the moment that the plate was set down in front of him, Carter had already pierced a piece of pasta onto the prong of his fork. Alex didn't even looked surprised. The pasta was delicious and Carter mentally reminded himself to get that next time he was there. He made sure to do it mentally because if he did it out loud, well, then it would have probably been quite embarrassing as he apparently did it every time before that.
Carter managed to forget about everything that had happened over the last couple of months and actually just spend some time with his old friend. They dated, yes, but they were friends first, and even after everything, Alex was still a comforting presence to Carter. It felt like being on the doorstep at home, just close enough but still too far away, and maybe that door would never open, but from here he could see the house and that was all he needed right now.
For a brief moment he wondered how Archer was going to feel about him having dinner with Alex. Albeit this impromptu 'date' wasn't even planned and it wasn't like Carter was about to go make out with him in the back of a car or something. Still, with the strange dynamic that the two strangely seemed to have, it seemed like he ought to let Archer know on their date the next night. A relationship with secrets was not something he wanted to be a part of, even innocent ones.
"Are you alright?" Alex asked, seemingly noticing Carter's sudden change in emotions.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, and it was mostly true.
The waitress came and took their plates, and when she dropped a fork onto the ground, the sauce covered object sliding down the side of her white shorts, Carter had to stifle a laugh at karma coming to bite her in the ass.
Take that, he thought, that will teach you to ignore customers.
Alex seemed to notice the smug expression that covered Carter's features, and shook his head slightly in fond amusement, dark hair swinging gently around his strong face.
"You're evil you know that." Alex smirked.
"Oh, shh, It's not like I stabbed her in the eye with the fork, I just take pleasure in watching Karma at work." He shrugged.
"Evil bastard." Alex laughed and Carter couldn't help but join in.
When the laughter subsided Carter looked over to the table which Lara and Jayden were sitting at, and Alex followed his gaze. The two still had food on their plates, yet they seemed to be more interested in each other than the food. They had pushed their chairs closer together and were laughing about something.
"Do you want to go get some ice-cream from around the corner? They look like they need some more time," Alex asked Carter, who nodded.
Carter couldn't help but notice that feeling of butterflies in his stomach as he looked at Alex. He realised that he was allowing himself to dream, he was slipping too easily back into the way things used to be with Alex, and that scared him.
Alex wasn't forgiven for what happened all those months ago and Carter was confused as ever. Alex was the one who broke things off, Alex pushed him away, yet he seemed to be having just as much fun at dinner as Carter was. What did that mean?
And, more importantly, had Alex's feelings towards him changed?
Second half of the 'date' will be up in a few days! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!