Astoria looked around nervously as she headed to the bathroom. Retrieving her phone from her purse, she typed a frantic message to her friends in their secret group chat.
"OMG guys, I'm panicking!! I'm out with that stranger we talked about before, and he invited me to eat Korean food together. I'm so scared right now, I can't even think straight."
"Wait... Is this the guy you've had a crush on for months? The one you always talk about?" Bailey chimed in.
"I honestly don't know how this happened. Yesterday we were talking, today we met again, and the next minute he's like 'Hey, let's grab some Korean food together,' and I was like 'Sure, why not?'"
“OMG girl, I'm so proud of you. Just be yourself and don't overthink things. He's probably just as nervous as you are, so try to relax,” reassured Alyssa.
“If he dares to do anything bad, just call me and I’ll be on my way to kick his nuts” shouted Bailey, in exclamation mark in texts.
Astoria chuckled at Bailey's protective nature. "Thanks guys. I really needed to hear that."
Astoria nervously smiled at Brandon as she sat back down. He then asked her what she would like to order. She quickly scanned through the menu, looking for something that caught her eye. She laughed nervously as she realized how indecisive she was.
“I'm so indecisive,” she admitted, hoping to ease the tension. “Can you help me pick something?”
Brandon smiled, finding her nervousness endearing. “Sure,” he said confidently.
Astoria felt a wave of relief as Brandon agreed to help her choose. “Thanks, I really appreciate it,” she said gratefully.
“Of course,” Brandon replied, his confidence reassuring her.
He began suggesting different dishes, and Astoria listened intently as he described each one. Astoria felt a wave of relief wash over her body, and her shoulder began to relaxed as Brandon agreed to help her choose. She smiled gratefully at him. He then started suggesting different things that he picked out, and she listened intently as he described each of them.
“Oh, that sounds really delicious, let’s have that then” she exclaims.
Brandon smiled at her choice, seeming pleased that she had gone with his suggestion.
“Perfect, I think you'll enjoy it.” With that, he turned to the waiter to place the order.
While the waiter walked away to place the order, Astoria looked over at Brandon and asked him if he frequently came here.
“Oh, all the time,” Brandon replied casually. “This is my favorite place; I even know some of the waiters pretty well.”
Astoria smiled, trying to match his casual tone. “That's great to hear. I'm honored you wanted to introduce me to your favorite spot.”
“Well, I thought you'd like it here,” Brandon replied confidently. “Besides, I'm happy to share my favorite spots with you.”
"Huh..." Astoria thought to herself, "Could he have meant it that way? Or is he just being friendly like he is with everyone?"
She was unsure of what to make of his words, and felt her heart racing as she began to overthink the situation.
"Well, maybe he is pretty friendly to everyone," she thought to herself, trying to convince herself that he wasn't flirting with her. But she couldn't shake the feeling that something about his words sounded more than friendly, and her heart began to pound fast and hard inside her chest.
YOU ARE READING
Invisible String
Romance"I wonder if, in all my time walking around the world, I have met you in one of them?" Astoria has always felt a sense of longing, a feeling that she has been searching for something or someone across the many places she has wandered. After an eveni...
