CLOUDS | hat films

| quatre |

We pulled up at what seemed to be a really nice restaurant. Fancy decorations and intricate designs covered the outside.

"Wow. This place is really beautiful," I muttered.

"I know! I figured I should give you a treat for your first day here."

I flushed, grabbing my wallet from my bag before we walked inside. The interior was just as beautiful as the outside, if not more. I felt incredibly underdressed in my jeans, t-shirt, and leather jacket. "How many?" the hostess interrupted my internal monologue.

"Just the two of us," Alex replied, gesturing to me.

"Special day?" she asked, smirking as she grabbed two menus.

"It's her first day in England, so I'd hope that's special," he chattered.

"Definitely! Where're you coming from, darling?" she questioned, looking at me.

"New York," I responded, smiling sheepishly. "It's been a long day for me." I huffed an awkward laugh.

"I bet!" She shook her head. "That's crazy. Tell you what, I'll buy you dessert."

"Wow, uh, thank you so much!" I managed. Her kindness amazed me. "That's very sweet."

She smiled, setting the menus on a table and gesturing for us to sit. She shuffled away, glancing back at us.

"She was so nice!" I whispered excitedly. "That's amazing."

"Never happened to me," he agreed, opening a menu. I did the same, not surprised to see tons of words I couldn't pronounce. And a ton of prices I could barely believe.

I mouthed an "oh my god" to myself, just trying to figure out what to get, eventually deciding on grilled chicken. I wasn't going to try anything unfamiliar quite yet.

Alex seemed to be pretty confident in what he ordered, which was really attractive for some odd reason. I barely managed to get out my order without feeling like an idiot.

"Good job," Alex teased as the waiter walked away.

"Shh. I don't think I've ever been somewhere this nice. Just worried I'll do something wrong."

"Hey, don't worry about that. Fuck what anyone else thinks."

I laughed, glad that the lighting was low as my cheeks turned pink. The conversation continued as we waited for our food.

When the plates did come out, I had to hold back a chuckle at the garnishes on the plate. They always seemed pointless to me. Alex pulled out his phone, holding it up to me.

"Smile!" he chuckled. I gave the best bitch face I could muster at the time, laughing as soon as he said "done". My phone buzzed in my pocket a minute later with a notification from Twitter.

alsmiffy: Official 'welcome-to-England' lunch with the best girl! @aelewin

"You asshole," I said, quickly opening my camera for a picture to post. His face almost mirrored mine when I looked at the product.

aelewin: Revenge is sweet (just like free dessert!). @alsmiffy

"There, we're even now," I said, finally cutting into my chicken.

He nodded, picking up his silverware as well. He ordered some pork dish I didn't recognize, which still looked better than any meal I'd ever eaten.