Dealing with Karter

Chapter 3: Plan B

If I wanted to talk to Karter I needed to corner him, force my friendship on him when he least expected. But I needed resources to do that. What better intel then from his own flesh and blood?

I hunted down Madeline after classes only to find her talking to one of her friends. They both stopped upon seeing me. I could see why Jared was so crazy about her. She was beautiful, maybe even sexy. I knew I had nothing on her despite how confident I was about my looks.

"Hey Madeline, do you have a second?" I asked.

Her friend turned to her before leaving. "I'll see you later."

When we were alone, Madeline looked at me curiously. "What's up? Did Jared--"

"No, no! This is about me, sort of. It's just that I was paired up with Karter for a project and I don't know how to reach him. Do you know how I'd be able to talk to him?" I said feeling my hands starting to sweat. I hated lying! Will she catch me in my lie? My parents always caught me lying. Well, there was always the fact that they were lawyers so it would not have been a surprise if they did catch me but still.

I held my breath waiting for her answer.

"His phone broke the other day, he should have it fixed this week," she said apologetically.

Darn it!

"Do you know where I could find him? Maybe I could just meet with him instead?"

Wow, that was a good one! Smart thinking Livia!

Face to face interactions were better if we going to make this friendship work.

Madeline looked weary. "You could visit him at work. He's at Momo's today."

He worked at a diner?

Madeline spotted something behind my shoulder as a small smile crept on her lips. She looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry but I need to go, can I help you with anything else?"

"Not at the moment, thank you for your time," I smiled kindly. She returned the smile before walking away. I watched her leave only to find she had met with my brother. Jared looked at her with twinkling eyes. It sort of wasn't fair that Karter wouldn't let anyone date his sister. It was her choice to be with whoever she wanted. This was also the first time Jared had been desperate about a girl like this. He had always gotten what he wanted, I guess this was the first time he didn't. He was so close to finish line, but yet so so far.

So, my next target: Momo's.

I texted Jared that I wasn't going home with him today. Instead, I walked down to Momo's, a fifteen-minute walk away from our school. Manny wanted to join me but I did not want to be embarrassed by Karter in front of anyone. The less witnesses the better.

My stomach grumbled reminding me of the lunch I didn't eat because of Karter. I ordered a cheeseburger and some fries with something to wash it down. I took a seat in one of the booths looking around patiently for Karter. He appeared suddenly wiping a table and putting the dirty plates in a bucket. I noticed that he wasn't in his usual tattered black sweater. Instead, he was in a well fitted black t-shirt showing off his well-toned arms. I knew there was a nice body somewhere behind that sweater. Those wide shoulders were there for a reason. His dark hair was tied back in a man bun showing off his face for the first time. From this angle, all I could see was how he had a very strong jaw line and pretty attractive neck. Was it weird that I was attracted to his neck?

Okay, what was I supposed to do now? Maybe I should just wait for him to notice me. Maybe he'll attempt conversation if I was lucky. I ate my meal with no luck of having Karter even look my way. He would just alternate between wiping down the tables and picking up plates before disappearing into the kitchen for a while. I decided to give up and do something productive like my homework.