Fast Car | Escapes #1

Chapter 7

"I still can't believe you brought a college grad to prom," Jas said as she, Lila, and I walked to the cafeteria for lunch. 

"Yeah, me neither," I replied honestly. I didn't want him to come, but we took pictures so I had proof that we went together. It wasn't my proudest moment, but it was proof that, at least for one night, I had fun. I was the girl who went to school events with a date and had fun. The girl who was carefree and had no problems at home. No dad that would beat her if he found out where she was. 

Even though it wasn't my proudest moment, it was definitely one of my favorite memories.

"I can't believe you're dating an older guy," Jas said. My attention snapped to her. Dating? "You brought him to prom, so you must really like him. How long have you been together?"

"We haven't known each other long," I said. Dating? Well, I suppose it was normal to bring the person you're dating to prom instead of someone random. "I'm not really dating him, though." They both looked at me, surprised. 

"Then why did you bring him?" Lila asked.

I shrugged. How did I explain it was an offer of charity from my boss? I couldn't. They couldn't know that. "He was cute and interested, so I brought him. It was more of a trial than anything."

That seemed to quell their curiosity. "How did you meet him?" Jas asked.

"We met through my job." It was actually true. 

"Okay, but like, how? Did you have a meet-cute or something?" Jas practically had hearts in her eyes. I forgot that she thrives on this type of stuff. 

I smiled at her. "Kind of. Someone was harassing me and he stopped them."

"Aww! That's so sweet!" She turned to Lila and smacked her arm. "Isn't that sweet?"

Lila looked up from the pizza she'd been inhaling, pausing as she was taking another bite. She looked between us and nodded as she bit down. "Mmhmm." 

Jas rolled her eyes and turned back to me. "Ignore her. I can't believe you had the guts to ask him to prom. How did that even happen?"

I was getting more comfortable with this new version of events, so the words came out of me almost without thinking. "Well, he found out about my prom and asked if I had a date. I said I didn't, so he asked to take me."

Jas squealed. "You guys are so meant for each other."

I shook my head as my heart sped up. "Why do you say that?"

"You didn't see it, but he was paying you a lot of mind. He was looking at you like you were a refreshing sight for sore eyes."

"What are you talking about?"

"He liked what he was seeing. He was definitely attracted to you. Like, seriously."

I scoffed. "The last thing I need is just something physical. If there's nothing emotional there, I want nothing to do with it." 

"I get that, and there's nothing wrong with that," she said before sipping her juice. "Still, there's something there that's worth exploring. Something on both sides."

There wasn't, but I wasn't going to say anything. I just hummed and ate my lunch. He didn't have any feelings for me. Not really. Whatever he felt was nothing more than physical attraction. I didn't think I was pretty, but maybe that night I did. He said I was beautiful, and I felt like I was. Still, it wasn't the deep emotional connection I wanted. That type of thing took time.

Not that I wanted to have that type of thing with Brayden. He was drunk that one time, and he seemed way too comfortable with it. Besides, it was morning. Why was he drunk in the morning if he didn't get drunk a lot? I couldn't handle that. That's what I was wanting to get away from - not run to.