Lights, Camera, Action!

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"What are you doing here?" I nervously asked Eli.

Eli put his hands in his pockets and glanced between Carter and I. "I stopped at your house, but your parents said you weren't there. I figured you'd be working here all summer." He replied.

I didn't say anything at first. I should've known that he would figure out I was here, but that didn't make me any happier. "Well I am, but I'm leaving now." I told him, nodding to Carter, as if saying goodbye. I punched out, and so did he.

"Come on, Han, can we just talk? I'm sorry, okay?"

I scoffed. "Yeah, you always are."

Eli sighed. "Can we at least talk about this over coffee or something?" He asked. "We can go right now. I'll buy."

"Actually," Carter said, interrupting our conversation. "We were just on our way to dinner. I'm taking Hannah out tonight. Sorry."

My eyes snapped to Carter. He smirked at me, then put his hand on my lower back and guided me towards the door.

"Oh. You two are, uh-." Eli stammered.

"Yeah." Carter said shortly, escorting me outside. He guided me towards his car and opened the passenger door for me. I got in and saw Eli leaving the building, staring at us. Carter put his camera bag in the back seat, got in, and started the car.

I stayed quiet as he pulled out of the parking lot and left Eli at the theatre. What the? He wasn't actually taking me to dinner, was he? I appreciated his help in avoiding Eli, but I just figured we'd wait until Eli left, then go our separate ways.

Finally, after about five minutes of silence, I broke it. "Thank you."

Carter glanced over at me, smiling. "Ex-boyfriend?"

I nodded. Eli and I started dating 3 years ago. He was sweet at first when we first started dating, but then he started going out drinking a lot more, usually coming back with some random girl. I've caught him with other girls several times, but I always forgave him and stayed. It wasn't until this past December that I broke up with him. I was reading in his room, he was drunk, and I found a set of lacy underwear under his blanket.  When I accused him of cheating once again, he shoved me into his wall and told me it's what happens after 3 years of me not 'putting out.' I hadn't seen him since. Not until today. "I'm sure he's gone by now. We can go back."

Carter shook his head. "No, I'll take you to dinner first," he said.

"Okay," I said quietly. He really was super cute.

"Are you in the mood for anything in particular?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, whatever you want is fine." I told him.

"Sounds good."

We drove for a few more minutes, then finally pulled into the parking lot of Amanda's, a local diner downtown. We both got out of the car, and we entered the building, seeing a "Please seat yourself" sign. I slid into a booth, and Carter sat right across from me.

Say something, I thought. Don't make it more awkward than it already is.

"H-How do you like the rehearsals so far?" I asked, opening my menu.

"They're really good," He responded. "But I'll be honest, I don't have much to work with since everyone just reads in a circle right now, but that's going to change soon, right?"

"Yep," I replied. "They'll start acting it out next week. Then it starts to get interesting."

"So, what's the deal with your ex, if you don't mind me asking?"