A Cheat Among Liars

Chapter 5

A couple of days go by, and I suddenly get a message from Steph.

Hey, do you want to hang out some time?

My heart starts to race, and I get flustered. I take a moment to think about what I'll reply with. It has to be something that doesn't sound desperate, I think to myself. It's gotta be simple and friendly.

So I hit the "write a message" bar and poise my thumbs, ready to type.

Yeah, of course! What day suits you?

I read it over and over again to see if I'm okay with it. After about 40 re-reads, I hit send.

I take a deep breath in and take a slow and long breath out.

The three little dots come up. My heart is still racing but I can now hear the blood pumping in my ears.

The dots disappear. My heart stops.

A message comes up. I breathe a sigh of relief, then read it.

Friday's okay, does that suit you?

I think about this. I know I have uni that day, but...

Oh, I have uni til 3 but after that I'm free.

I get a quick reply back.

Nice! Let's meet at the juice bar in town at half 3.

Perfect, I get to spend an afternoon with my girl crush and not even worry about Liam. Oh, imagine! I could spend even more time with her if I really wanted. Maybe after Friday's "date" I could say "hey, I really enjoyed this, do you want to hang out again some time?" and really get to know her.

Sounds great! I'll be there.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

The next few days absolutely fly past, and all of a sudden it's Friday. I wake up that morning in a fantastic mood.

I get out of bed almost as soon as my alarm clock goes off, much to Liam's surprise, because I normally stay in bed for about 10 minutes before I actually get out of bed after my alarm has gone off.

"What's up with you?" Liam says, as I put my dressing gown on.

"Oh, just a bit of TGIF, y'know?"

"Yeah..."

I leave the bedroom and make myself a cup of tea and some toast for breakfast. I read the news on my phone while my tea brews, and the world isn't a hot mess like it normally is. Maybe today will be extra-great.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

After my last uni class, I practically run to my car to drive to the juice bar. It's only 3:15 by the time I get there, but I don't want to be late. I decide to just sit in my car for a few minutes before I see Steph walking inside. She must be early as well.

I open the car door and step out into the sunny car park. There's a warm breeze that blows my hair around a bit.

I walk inside the juice bar and see Steph sitting at a table on her own. She smiles as soon as she sees me, and I immediately swoon.

I pull out the chair at the table and sit down.

"Hey, Kate," says Steph.

"Hi," I reply. "Thanks for inviting me here, it's really pretty," I say, looking around at the decorations. There are plants hanging from the ceiling, lots of windows and a wall made out of blackboard to write cute messages for the staff.

"It's one of my favourite places, I come here so often that the waitresses know me by name!" she laughs.

Ironically, one of the waitresses walks up to our table and greets Steph.

"Hey, Steph! How're you doing? What can I get for you and your friend today?"

"I'm doing great, thanks for asking. I'll have a mango blast. How 'bout you, Kate?"

"Uhh..." I mumble, looking through the menu. "I'll have the mixed berry one, please."

"One mango blast and a mixed berry coming right up!" says the waitress, smiling as she walks away.

"Oh she's so kind, isn't she! Not to mention high-spirited!" says Steph.

"She does seem really friendly." I answer.

"I think she's one of my favourites here, not gonna lie." whispers Steph, looking over at the counter.

"Yeah... so, why did you invite me over here anyway?" I ask, hungry for an answer.

"Well, since Sunday all I can think about was what happened at that party, y'know? I couldn't stop thinking about you. You're really cool."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I totally want to hang out with you more often. It's not every day you meet someone with the same interests as you, if you get what I mean."

I definitely understood what she meant. And I wanted to hang out with her as well. But then I remembered that I have a boyfriend, and I couldn't go screwing that up.

"I have exactly the same mindset as you, Steph. I'd love to hang out with you more." I say, hoping to get somewhere soon.

"Why don't we go back to my place afterwards?" she suggests, then does a flirty wink.

I feel my face go scarlet red. I can't believe she's doing this in public!

"Sounds like a great idea," I say, and then the waitress comes back with our drinks.

"Enjoy, girls!" She walks away and I see her do a sly wink at Steph from behind the counter.

I smirk at Steph behind my drink and I can only think about what's going to happen next.

________________________

Boom! There's another chapter for you!

God I actually cannot wait to write the next chapter!!!!!

Until then, stay groovy af and pat lots of dogs (please pat your dogs for me bc I don't have one but I really want one)

Enjoy the next one!!
~Sydney