Keith drove us all to red lobster. There were quite a bit of people, but it wasn't completely packed. After a bit of searching, we found a spot to park. We entered the restaurant and saw all the people inside. I wasn't really a fan of eating in places with a lot of people, but I liked the food here. We were soon seated. I sat next to Monika while Keith sat next to Kiara. The waiter came and we ordered our drinks. After he left, I made some conversation.
"So, how have you all, been," I asked.
"I've been good," Keith said.
"What about you, Monika?"
"I've been great."
"That's good." I turned to Kiara, who was typing on her phone. "And what about you, Kiara?"
"Hmm?" She looked at me. "I'm sorry, what?"
"How have you been," I asked again.
"Oh. Fine, I've been fine."
She seemed a lot more chill when she was at Keith's apartment.
"You seem busy, is everything alright," I asked.
She continued to type away at her phone as she spoke.
"Yeah everything's cool."
I gave her a questioning look. She didn't notice of course, since she was so focused on her phone. Keith looked a little embarrassed, which I could definitely understand.
"Alright then. Well uh, how did you and Keith meet?"
She glanced at me before looking back at her phone. "Uh Keith, why don't you tell them?"
"Of course. Well we actually met this semester. We have an Advanced Biology class together and that's where we started talking. I remember when..."
Kiara's phone started to ring again.
She answered it, interrupting Keith.
"Hello? No I'm not, I already told you. What would you make you think something like that? What? Who?" She paused for a moment while she was still on the phone. "What did he look like?" As she paused again, she glared at me. "I think I know who it is. Let me call you back, okay?" She hung up the phone and put it in her purse.
Finally. I was sure she'd have it in her hand throughout the whole time we were out.
She looked at me with anger in her eyes. "When Keith was outside, where were you?"
I guess she found me out.
"I was getting some fresh air. I saw something that made me wanna throw up."
"And where did you go?"
Keith came into the conversation. "He was probably just walking around."
"No, I want to know where he was."
I looked at Monika and then back at Kiara. I wanted to mention the guy, but I didn't want Keith to get hurt. But then again, if I don't mention it now, it'll hurt him more in the long run. I had to do it now.
"Something caught my attention," I said.
I was still nervous. Should I really?
"What caught your attention," Kiara asked.
"Well, I uh, saw someone at the side of your house."
That should be enough, right?
"What, oh! You must've seen my brother."
Was she still trying to lie her way out of this?
"Eh, I don't think so. It seemed like he was watching Keith, and when he saw me, he ran behind your house."
She became visibly nervous. "Well, he's just trying to protect me. He's always paranoid when I get a boyfriend."
"Well you see, I talked to that 'brother' of yours."
Her fake smile disappeared. "What?"
"Yup. He's a pretty interesting dude. I mean..."
Time to go for it. Keith looked concerned, but he had to know.
"I could've sworn he said you were his girlfriend? Which I would find strange, considering he's supposed to be your brother. Not only that. Cheaters tend make me wanna puke, and I was feeling pretty nauseous. Why do you think that would be? And it sure didn't help that your 'brother' punched me in the chest."
Maybe that was my fault, but still. I'm just throwing everything at her right now.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. The only person at my house was my brother."
I banged my hands on the table. "Drop the act! I know you're a cheater and I know that guy's your boyfriend! How could you cheat on a sweet guy like Keith?"
"Me and Keith aren't dating!"
Keith turned to her. "We're not?"
"No, we're not. I have a boyfriend."
I could see Keith's disappointment, even though he was doing his best to hide it.
Then why were you going along on this date," I asked.
"I thought it was a friend thing."
"I told you it was our first date. You even seemed really excited about it," Keith said.
"Oh did you? No no, of course not. I'm with Connor."
She was being pretty confusing. First she's trying to convince us that he's her brother, and now she's going all out and saying Keith and her weren't dating in the first place?
"Then why did you lie about who Connor was," I asked.
"Because I knew that Keith thought we were dating."
What?!
"So you kept leading him on?"
"Well, Keith is really sweet. He was fun to hang out with. And a little 'cheating' isn't such a bad thing, is it?"
"You bitch! Cheating is a horrible thing to do, you don't cheat on someone you love! Love isn't something that should be taken lightly, and neither is cheating. You don't deserve someone as sweet as Keith and he sure as hell doesn't deserve someone as horrible as you! How could you go and take advantage of him? He bought flowers and chocolates to surprise you and make you happy while you're there acting as though you love him? Horrible, just horrible!"
Monika?!
"I already said we weren't dating. What else do you want?"
"Oh shut up! You led him on! And then you have the audacity to act as if you two weren't even dating? He cared about you! Go back to fucking your 'brother!' Anyone who would go and punch Danny is horrible enough to deserve you."
I was shocked. I had never seen Monika so angry before. And I don't think I've ever heard her curse before today.
The rest of the building seemed as shocked as I was. Everyone was looking in our direction, including some of the waiters and waitresses.
Kiara scoffed. "Please, you can't tell me you haven't at least thought about it. Why, with looks like yours, men are probably lining up just to talk to you."
Kiara wasn't even hiding the fact that she had been cheating. I could tell Monika didn't like or agree with what Kiara said.
Monika hugged me. "I would never! I love Danny, and I wouldn't want to be with anyone else."
"Whatever, I'm leaving." She took her phone out of her purse and called someone. "Hey babe, it's me. I'm sorry, I was busy, but like, could you come pick me up? Sweet, I love you. Of course I do, I showed you today, didn't I? That's what I thought. I'm at red lobster, I'll be waiting outside, so don't take long! Bye!" She hung up. "Ah well, screw you all," she said before leaving.
I kinda felt bad. Not for Kiara, but for Keith. I pushed away his date and made her leave. I was sure Keith just wanted to forget this and just go home, so I decided that I'd pay for the drinks and we'd all just head home.
Damn, I really need to think more about my decisions before I make them.
"Hey guys, maybe we should head home," I said.
Keith looked at me. He actually didn't seem sad or mad about the situation. Instead, he smiled.
"It's alright, just cause Kiara's gone doesn't mean we can't have fun on our own."
I was surprised. He was taking this pretty well.
"You sure Keith? We don't have to stay if you don't feel like it. I'll pay for the drinks."
"Relax Danny, I'm fine. Better, actually. I would've been dating a cheater if it wasn't for you. Thanks for looking out for me."
"No problem Keith. What are friends for?"
We soon received our drinks along with a couple of comments and questions from the waiter about what just happened. We laughed about it and told him a little bit. We looked at the menu afterwards and gave him our orders. We continued to talk about random things until the food got there. After eating, we continued to talk for a bit before leaving. It was a nice time. Keith wasn't stuck with a cheater, we all had a good meal, and everyone was happy. And best of all, Monika and I still had the rest of the day together. What could beat that?