Necklace In The Path

Chapter 18: Hangover French Toast and Boxed Smiles

The drive felt like it went on forever, I'm not sure if that's because of the traffic, or all the thoughts racing in my mind. How was I going to talk to Beam about last night? I wanted to know what I said to him, and why did he want to hang out today? Did I lead him on or something?

As I stepped out of the car, I took a look around. I wasn't sure if the driver dropped me off in the right area because there were so many businesses around, it was difficult to tell which building it might be. I should probably just call Beam. I began to pull out my phone from my purse, when I felt something tap my shoulder. With one hand up, I swung around, pivoting on my heel.

"Whoa! Don't hit me!" There stood a very tall younger guy. He was wearing black wide frame sunglasses and light brown T-shirt, with dark brown slacks. This has to be Beam, "Oh... Sorry! Are you Beam?" I'm not sure why he started laughing, that was a legitimate question.

"You're funny Tabi!" He must've noticed the addled look I had because his expression changed to a more earnest look, "That's right... You don't remember much from last night huh? I'm Beam! We met last night..."

"S-sorry! I think the sunglasses are throwing me off."

"Oh, duh! Well let's go inside first and then you'll be able to see my face more clearly."

He began heading down a side street, in which I followed him closely behind. There in the midst, was a tiny white building that had a flower arch surrounding the entryway . We walked inside, and fortunately, it wasn't too crowded. We were seated at a two person table against the wall. The aesthetic was very clean and white. They definitely loved the flower look because you could see, located in the back of the restaurant, they had a flower wall that could be used for photo opportunities.

After me and Beam got ourselves adjusted and ordered drinks, I took my sunglasses off. Beam noticed and removed his sunglasses soon after. There wasn't much talking between us, as we both had our heads smothered on the menu. I occasionally took a glance at Beam to check if this was the same person from last night, and I couldn't help but notice how pretty he was. He was prettier than most girls, and his complexion was clean looking. This made me start to think about the way I looked and how I could never take care of myself, as much as he seemed to.

Since there weren't that many people in the restaurant, the waiter came back to take our order. Ironically, I ordered the hangover french toast, which I saw Beam giggle to himself. Beam had decided on the bacon & egg pancake. Once we placed our orders, the waiter took our menus away and left us alone. I didn't really know what to say to him and he was quiet too.

"Sooo... Do you come here often?" Wow Tabitha, that sounded like the worst pick-up line ever. Beam's face contorted, as though he was trying to hold back his laugh, "Ummm, uh... Occasionally. I mean the only time I've gone is on the weekends, but it's actually pretty mellow here during the week." Beam was looking around the restaurant, "I've actually never been here during the week, so I didn't know it was going to be like this." He almost sounded disappointed.

"Would you prefer it to be crowded?"

"Oh! Uh, no... I just was thinking I should've been going here during the week more often."

"I see."

The air grew still again. I'm used to meeting people who know how to keep conversations going, but Beam wasn't like that. This kind of reminded me of James, he was always a bit awkward and was never sure how to interact with others. This always made it so that I would be the one talking... I guess I'm going to have to do that with Beam.

"Sooo... Beam. I'm going to get straight to the point. What happened last night? What did I tell you? And why did you take me home?" Beam looked thrown off by the series of questions. I watched him like a hawk, waiting to hear what he was going to say next.