Clear Eyes, Full Hearts

[ 6 ] : The Do's and Don'ts of Dining Out

Dillon, TX

I've learned two things since my arrival at Lou's Diner tonight.

The first thing that I learned is that you should always carpool to these team dinners. Though the diner is small in size, Lou's will never deny anyone a meal. As a result, the customer to parking space ratio is a little off and often results in half-mile walks from down the road. This mistake was made by many tonight and my friends and I suffered the consequences.

The second thing that I learned is that you should always be careful who you choose to carpool with because there is a slight chance that, like myself, you will find that you have been left behind without a ride home.

I sigh heavily as I watch another car pull out of the parking lot and onto the main highway, feeling a little more sorry for myself with each passing moment.

Nearly everyone has gone now aside from a few stragglers who are still sipping on milkshakes in a booth near the window and a group of guys leaned against the bar, chatting away with one of the waitresses. I recognize the guys from football practice, but I could never put names to their faces and my social anxiety is preventing me from asking any of them for a ride.

Instead of begging for a ride, I sit in a booth near the window, my eyes glued to my phone as I wait for anyone to reply to my texts (my parents, my siblings, Parker, and even one of Brian's friends). No one is replying and I'm beginning to accept the fact that I'll likely be spending the night here.

I pull on my cardigan and tug it close before opening Instagram on my phone. I begin scrolling through my feed and I'm nearly caught up when someone slides into the booth across from me. I jump and my eyes jolt up, widening in surprise as they meet the green-eyed gaze of the last person I ever expected to find sitting across from me without a bet or prank being involved.

"Riggins?" I question, my brows furrowing almost instantly. "What are you still doing here? I thought you left hours ago."

Tim shrugs his broad shoulders and leans back in the booth, pushing the wet hair out of his eyes. "I did, but Smash called, said you needed a ride home," he replies casually as if this sort of thing happens all the time. "I'll gladly offer my services, but for a small fee."

"A small fee?" I press, raising my eyebrows. "And what might that small fee entail? Money? Alcohol?"

"Those fries," he says simply, his eyes falling on the half-empty basket of fries in front of me. I furrow my brows but push the basket across the table's surface and he immediately digs in. "So," he begins, his mouth full, "how'd you end up stuck here without a ride anyways? Didn't you come with Brooklyn and Parker?"

I sigh heavily, my eyes dropping to my hands. "Brooklyn got sick - she's severely allergic to peanut butter and for some reason she thought drinking an entire peanut butter milkshake would be a good idea." I roll my eyes at the memory. For someone so smart, she can be so dumb sometimes. "Anyways, Parker rushed her to the bathroom and then half an hour later, I got worried and went to look for them only to find out they'd left five minutes prior."

"Damn," Tim mumbles through his final bites. "They didn't even tell you they were leaving?"

I shake my head and reach for one of the fries and take a bite. "Honestly, I think they forgot I was even here. It's been just the two of them for a long time now."

"And your parents?" he questions and I just shake my head as a humorless laugh escapes my lips.

"Yeah, I'm really killing it tonight," I say sarcastically. "0 for 2 right now."