Milkshake •Eddie Munson

Chapter Nine: Closure

Desiree sat next to Eddie at the table while Neil and Dawn sat across from the duo. Desiree grabs a fry from Eddie's plate and pops it in her mouth, "I'm so glad I'm off today if I'm being honest, working here almost everyday." She says as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand. Eddie nodded as he grabbed one of her chicken strips and ate it, "You've been working long shifts, princess. You need to find some days to take off because you'll end up working yourself to death." Eddie tells her before he took a sip of his milkshake and resting his arm on the back of Desiree's seat.

Dawn nodded, "I agree, Sugar cube, you need to work less I don't want you to to wear yourself out." She says as she holds Desiree's hand. Neil nodded and pointed at Dawn in agreement, "I think so too." He said with a mouthful of food. Dawn looks at him in disgust, "Baby, please do not talk with your mouth full." She chuckled while putting her hand over his mouth. Eddie laughed and kicked his feet under the table, "He smacks louder than a cow." He says through laughter.

Neil flips Eddie off and throws a pickle at him, "Shut it Van Halen." Neil laughed. Desiree felt butterflies in her stomach as she felt Eddie's knee softly brushed against hers. He didn't move it. Neither did she. "Hey, mind if I join?" A voice says behind them. They all turn and smiled, "Yeah, come and sit." Desiree says as she pats the seat next to her.

Eddie leaned over and gave him a handshake that apparently every guy knows, "What's up, man?" He asked. He shook his head, "I just got off of work, I'm all fucking tired out. I had to do inventory today and it was the worst." He said as he took his vest off and rubbed his tense shoulders.. Cheryl walked up to the table, "What can I get you, hunk?" She asked, Steve awkwardly chuckled as he looked at Desiree. He looked over at Cheryl, "I'll take a cheeseburger and some fries with a coke." He answered. She nodded and walked away, causing everyone to stop looking at her and continue on with their conversation.

Eddie looked at his watch, "Shit, I hate to cut my time short but I have to head out." He said while grabbing his jean jacket and putting it on. Desiree looked at him and nodded, "Okay, I'll cover our food." She tells him. Eddie have her a stink face and shook his head, "Come on, girl. You know I already said I would pay for you." He tells her as he gently grabs her shoulders and shook her, "I'll call you." He finished before kissing the top of Desiree's head and saying goodbye to everyone else.

Desiree stood up from her seat and started pulling Eddie's leather jacket off of her shoulders, "Here, don't forget your jacket." She reminded him. He shook his head, "I'll get it back from you next time I see you, okay? Besides, you look better in it than I do." He winked then walked to the register to pay for the both of their items. Desiree sat down with slightly pink cheeks with a burning sensation in her stomach.

Dawn and Desiree make eye contact and share a mutual stare filled with internal screaming.  Cheryl comes back with Steve's drink and food, placing it in front of him, "There you go, handsome." She flirts before walking away. Steve moves to Eddie's spot and gives Desiree a smile, "Oh darn, sweetie, we better get going too. I do not want to be late to meet your family." Dawn says as she looks at the clock on the wall next to them. Neil nods his head, "Bethany is a tough cookie to crack, Dawn has been stressing about it ever since I brought up that I wanted her to meet her." He says as he gets up and pulls Dawn's chair out.

Desiree gives Dawn a wide eyed look before slightly glancing over at Steve and then back to Dawn. Dawn shrugs her shoulders and mouthed the words, "Talk to him." Dawn and Neil leave Steve and Desiree together, resulting in Steve moving to the seat across from Desiree, "So." He breaks the silence. Desiree gives him a forced smile, "How have you been?" She asked.

Steve thought for a second before softly chuckling, "I could be that guy and say that I'm thriving and I have so many options and opportunities since we broke up, but I can't even lie about that. My love life has gone to shit, I work at a video store, a majority of my friends are minors or still in high school, and now my ex-whatever-you-were works at my favorite diner, so I'm doing great." He says with a weary laugh while scratching the back of his neck. Desiree chuckled, "Does this mean I can skip the whole catching up part of the conversation?" She asked. He nodded, "Yes, please do." He laughed as he grabbed one of his fries and popped it in his mouth.

Desiree laughed too and they just looked at each other for a second, "I'm sorry, Desiree, for everything. I shouldn't have left you the way I did but I just didn't know what else to do. I mean, Nance, God, she really did a number on me and when I got with you, I thought I was over it but I guess I wasn't. I was no better than Nance either, I mean, just because she couldn't tell me she loved me, doesn't mean I should've done the same to you, I did have love for you but I just wasn't in love with and I should've told you that." He admitted his faults.

Desiree nodded and took a deep breath, "I can't blame you for your past with someone else, we tried it and it didn't work so all we can do is move forward, right?" She responded. Steve nodded and smiled, "Can we just be friends? I really feel I got the closure I needed with you." He asked. Desiree nodded her head, "Yeah, yeah, I'd like that." She smiled. He smiled back at her and grabbed his burger to take a large bite of. Once he had swallowed his bite, he looked at Desiree, "Fill me in." He smiled before he took a large gulp of his drink.