Change (Patrick Kane)

42: Jealous

We finally got a table that was near the back of the restaurant. I sat on one side of Patrick while Jackie sat on the other. Rachel was right across from Patrick while Erica and Jessica were on both sides of her. I noticed Jessica try to grab the seat across from Pat, but Rachel beat her to it.

"Wow, I haven't seen you all in forever," Rachel smiled while looking around.

Erica gave her a polite smile. "Yeah, it's been a while."

Rachel and I made eye contact, so I decided to introduce myself. "Hi, I'm Delilah, Patrick's girlfriend."

She smiled at me and extended her hand over the table to shake mine. "Nice to meet you. I'm Rachel, Patrick's old friend."

We ordered drinks and appetizers. I talked to Jackie a lot, since Pat and Rachel were too busy getting 'caught up' with each other. More like Rachel was flirting with him while he was too naive to notice.

I felt another pang of jealousy shoot through my heart as Patrick laughed at something Rachel said. They were talking about their old childhood memories. From what I heard, they were pretty close friends. They started dating but then broke up. I still had yet to figure out why they broke up.

It was finally time to order our food and I was already ready to leave the restaurant and go home and sleep. I ordered some pasta that sounded good to me. Rachel, of course, ordered a salad. She just had to always make me feel bad about myself. On the outside she seemed friendly and bubbly, but I knew that deep down she wanted Patrick back.

While we waited for our food, Rachel and I made conversation. "So what do you do?" she asked. "Like for work, I mean."

I smiled, thinking about my job. "I'm part of the media team for the Blackhawks. I mostly do photography but sometimes I work on other stuff in that field. What about you?"

"I'm still in school trying to become a vet. In my free time though, I work at an animal shelter."

God damn it. She did it again.

I have her a fake smile and said, "Oh, that's nice." I then turned to Erica and struck up a conversation with her about photography.

There was a gap in our conversation just long enough for me to overhear Rachel talking to Patrick. "Woah, that's a nice watch." She reached over the table and grabbed his wrist to take a closed look. "Your hands are huge!" She put her palm against his to compare them. "I can't believe how much you've grown up since I last saw you."

Patrick laughed, but didn't move his hand away. The edges of my vision got a little blurry, but I blinked the tears away. "I need to get some air," I announced as I stood up.

"Honey, you alright?" Donna asked with a concerned look on her face.

I faked a smile and nodded. "Just feeling a bit light headed."

I grabbed my purse and quickly exited the restaurant. I sat down on a bench outside and set my purse beside me. Tears began to prick at the corners of my eyes again. I didn't blink them away and let a few fall down my cheeks.

The door to the restaurant flew open and Jackie walked outside. She looked both ways before spotting me and waking over. I tried to wipe my tears away so she wouldn't see, but she still noticed.

"Delilah, you okay?" She sat down beside me.

I nodded. "I'm fine. She just gets on my nerves a lot."

"Trust me, she gets on pretty much everyone's nerves," Jackie assured me.

"Not Patrick's," I grumbled.

Her expression softened. "Hey, don't worry about it. I haven't seen her in years, I doubt they'll stay in contact."

I have to admit, that lifted my spirits a bit. "I'm sorry," I apologized as I wiped away my tears. "I actually don't know why I'm crying."

Jackie chuckled and handed me a small compact mirror from her bag. "Touch up your makeup; we're going to shut her up."

I got some makeup from my purse as I raised my eyebrows. "Why don't you like her? She seems really nice."

"She hurt Patrick," Jackie said. "It was pretty bad. Pat will tell you why they broke up."

I finished my makeup and blinked my eyes a few times to make it look like I wasn't just crying. "Okay, let's head back in."

Jackie smiled and put her mirror back in her purse. "You sure you're good?"

I nodded. "Thanks for talking it through with me, by the way," I said as we entered the restaurant again.

"No problem, you're a nice kid," she replied.

"Kid? I'm like, four years older than you."

"Age is just a number," Jackie said dramatically. I let out a loud laugh at our banter as we arrived back at the table.

I took my seat next to Patrick again and took a sip of water. Rachel was engaged in conversation with the two mothers on the other end of the table.

Patrick put a hand on my thigh and leaned in to whisper in my ear. "You okay?"

I nodded and met his gaze. His blue eyes reflected concern but I smiled to assure him that everything was fine.

The rest of dinner went the same as before. Rachel would flirt with Patrick, he would laugh it off, and his sisters would shoot me glances.

Finally, Mr. Kane paid the check. Everyone stood up to leave. "Well, it was really great seeing you all again," Donna said as she grabbed her purse.

"Yes, we should get together more often," Shirley replied as we all started walking to the door.

They all said their goodbyes outside of the restaurant. "It was nice meeting you," I said to Rachel with a fake smile.

She returned the expression while saying, "Definitely." She then turned to Patrick and gave him a hug. His hands wrapped around her back while hers rested around his neck. They pulled away but Rachel kept a grip on Pat's biceps. You have got to be kidding me.

"See you later Patrick," she said with a smirk.

"Bye Rachel," Patrick stepped away from her grip and gave a small wave. Before turning around, Rachel's eyes met mine for a split second.

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daaaammmnnn delilah is getting jealous

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