The Same Mistakes Club

Chapter Twenty-Six

The long car ride was spent talking mostly about school and basic gossip about teachers, but only one thought kept racing through my mind: Gabriel Smithers called me beautiful. Gabriel Smithers thinks I'm beautiful.

Or maybe he was just being polite.

When we had reached Miami, we had gone to a small restaurant called "Maria's Diner." I looked across the booth at the restaurant and saw him studying the menu. His brown hair was so dramatically swept to the side, his hair perfectly in place. It seemed so soft as well. He looked up and caught me staring. "See anything that looks good to you?"

You have no idea.

I debated over what to eat. Ariana always ordered salads on first dates, but I wasn't on a first date. Although I did wonder if Gabriel was expecting me to eat light. But I was really hungry...

"What can I get you, sweetie?" Our middle-aged waitress looked down and smiled at me in an encouraging way, probably sensing we were on a... whatever we were on.

I opted for a club sandwich with fries and a soda. I wasn't in the mood for a salad, and I would never approve of someone who gave up their identity for a guy, even a guy who was just a friend. I wasn't going to pretend to be someone that I wasn't. Although I was hoping Gabriel would order something similar.

"And what about you?" The waitress looked Gabriel up and down, clearly impressed. I knew most girls would probably be offended by another woman checking out her date, or in this case, pseudo date, but I thought it was a compliment. Plus, she was like twenty years older than us.

"I'd like the green salad," Gabriel began. My head started pounding. No, no, no, for the love of all that is pure, you can't be ordering a salad, you're a sixteen-year-old boy! "... with ranch dressing to start, then a double cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate shake."

That's my boy.

Well, not technically my boy.

"So, Alissa, I'm sort of surprised you agreed to come out with me."

"Why would you say that?"

He shrugged. "I don't know - to be honest, I was a little frightened your group of girls were going to tie me down when they found out we were doing something together."

"You know, the things Jacob says about the Club aren't true." I felt my cheeks begin to burn.

"I know...." He started playing with his straw wrapper. "I guess I sometimes don't know what to believe. But none of that matters, because you're here with me now."

I stared at him in silence, not sure what to say next.

"Anyways, I've really been looking forward to this night." He looked up and smiled at me.

Me, too, I thought to myself. Maybe too much.

A few moments of silence passed between us. I found it hard to break away from his gaze.

"Ah, so, anyways." Gabriel looked away and flipped his hair. "Um, I hope you don't think less of me when I tell you this, but I don't know a lot about One Direction. I probably only know a couple songs."

"What? You cannot be serious!" I practically screamed, forgetting that I was in a restaurant.

"Whoa, sorry! This is one of the reasons I wanted to come, to see what the big deal is about."

"What the big deal is about?" It was nice to know that Gabriel had a flaw - and it was a major one. "One Direction are the greatest boy band of all time. I've been a huge fan of their's for years! I have, like, several posters of them, I've bought all of the merchandise! I... I..." I put my head in my hands.

"What?"

"Nothing. I just started to ramble on about 1D, and I probably wouldn't have stopped if I hadn't caught myself."

"Aw, come on." Gabriel took my chin and lifted it away from my hands. "I think it's cute."

"Yeah, cute in a demented way. Like a drunk puppy."

He shook his head, but kept his hand under my chin. "No, I mean cute in a completely irresistible way."

The smile on his face diminished as he started to slowly lean forward....

"Which one of you ordered the salad?"

Gabriel sat back up as our food was delivered. I looked down at the food and tried to collect myself. I could practically feel Gabriel's eyes on me.

He wasn't going to...

Last Saturday night with Hadassa flashed in my head. If he... The Same Mistakes Club would be ruined.

But I was being silly. Gabriel was just leaning in. He was just being friendly. He had always been friendly. I was clearly misinterpreting him.

I started to pick at my fries, wishing that I could escape to call Ariana on my cell phone.

This was a major emergency.