Palinoia

Chapter 15

"I don't know Seb. I feel like she's giving me mixed signals. One minute she talks to me then the next minute, she becomes distant. Maybe she resents me."

I patted my friend on the head as if he were a small little puppy and sighed out of exhaustion. "She's probably just shy."

"But she was able to approach the other guys more easily and even insulted one of them," Peter retorted.

I shrugged. I didn't know anything about Brie so I couldn't really offer much advice. "I don't know man. I heard girls do that when they like someone but..."

Peter's eyes suddenly lit up with glee. "She likes me? Cool, tough and beautiful. I am a lucky man."

"Easy there. I said could. Don't go turning into a creep," I warned.

Peter snorted while walking towards the direction of his place. "See you later Seb!" he shouted. I sent him a wave goodbye before turning away.

Instead of going home immediately, I headed towards the busy streets in need of a decent meal. Working at TSN sure drained a lot of energy and my stomach was on the receiving end.

There was a particular diner that I was keen on going but it required passing through one of the busy sides of the city. It was a diner I used to go to when I was younger because the steak was absolutely amazing.

I noticed that more people came out of their shells and decided to continue their lives. At least it didn't make the city look like a barbaric wasteland but I still wasn't fond of too many people in one area.

In fact, I took an entirely different route just to get away from the crowd. No, I didn't go through an alleyway but headed down a quieter path a couple residential buildings with no lights on. The area seemed peaceful so I continued to venture off. The only thing I'd lose is ten extra minutes because the route was longer.

However, not after a few minutes, fate thought it was kind to screw me over by adding some suspicious sounds nearby. I shook my head and decided not to repeat the same mistakes as last time and began running.

I ran as fast as I could until I diverted from the area. I stopped once I was surrounded by the crowd again and made my way inside the diner.

It was quite full, not that I was surprised anyway. I only cared about finding a decent seat.

Most seats were taken but I managed to find a good spot. The only catch was that there was someone who sat opposite from where I was going to sit. Oh well. If the person didn't try to strike a conversion, I think I'd be fine.

Sitting down, I made no eye contact with the person who held the menu in front of their face. They didn't say anything when I sat down so I was assuming he or she didn't acknowledge my presence. This did not bother me.

I stared down at the menu and targeted the best steak they had. It didn't even cost me much. While I waited for someone to attend to my table, I noticed that the person stiffened up. I couldn't blame them. Me being there probably made them jump.

"I've been expecting you."

It was my time to jump in surprise, not expecting the person to talk to me. They had a feminine tone that was smooth yet attracting.

I blinked, still unable to see the person because of the menu in front of their face but it still caused me to grow uncomfortable. "Are you talking to me?" I asked.

They lowered the menu from their face and revealed their eyes to me. That's when my breath hitched.

Auburn eyes.