Don't Make Me Love You

Chapter 18

I tapped my heel impatiently as I waited by the front door, watching out the window for Brandon's rust bucket of a truck. My mom poked her head out of the kitchen with a frown. "Is everything alright?" she asked. "You've been standing there for an hour."

My lips turned down in a frown as I glanced out the window again. "I'm just waiting for someone," I mumbled. "We're just going out for the evening."

"Oh! Is it a girlfriend?" My mother looked excited.

I blushed and shook my head frantically. "What? No! It's just a friend; a guy friend. We're just going to hang out."

My mom looked disappointed. "Too bad, I was going to tell her to stay for dinner," she said.

"Mom, you can't ask her over for dinner because there is no 'her'," I said irritably. "Besides, we already have plans."

She shrugged and went back to cooking. Just then, the doorbell rang and I practically threw the door open. Brandon raised an eyebrow at my look of desperation. "Everything alright?" He asked.

I grabbed my jacket and pushed him down the porch as I closed the door behind me. "You know, you're the second person to ask me that," I grumbled.

He chuckled and opened the door for me to get in. Then he got in the driver's seat and we took off down the road. After a few minutes of silence, I asked, "So where are we going?"

He smiled, turning into the city. "I made reservations for a nice restaurant," he told me.

I frowned. "Oh."

Wow. Nice one, Bobby. Guess he knew his guys better than I originally though. I sat back in my seat, wondering how I felt about a date at an expensive restaurant. Part of me was flattered, like Bobby had predicted, but the other part of me was worried. I didn't really like fancy stuff. It made me feel uncomfortable, especially if I wasn't the one paying for it. A smaller place, or maybe just fast food would be a better option, but I guess it was too late to say anything now.

My expression must have been weird because Brandon looked anxious all of a sudden. "Is that... alright?"

I looked up, surprised by the genuine concern in his voice. "Oh, sorry. Yeah, it's cool. Sounds great," I said.

He was still frowning when he turned back to the road, but I tried not to think about who had made him frown like that. It wasn't that big a deal. Ugh. Why did I even care? I rested my chin in my hand with a scowl. This was making my head hurt.

I resigned myself to glowering out the window for the rest of the drive, hoping Brandon wouldn't notice my annoyance with myself. Soon the car turned into a parking lot and I looked up. Then I blinked. "A... diner?"

Brandon parked and pulled the keys out of the ignition. "Well... you seem reluctant about the other place so I though maybe you'd be more comfortable with a place like this," he said.

I frowned. "But what about your reservations?" I asked.

He shrugged. "It's not a big deal. This night is supposed to make you happy and if this makes you happier, then this is what we'll do," he said.

I stared at him. He'd dropped his special reservations, driven to a whole other place, just for me. My eyes shifted away and I tried to hide my small smile. "Oh... Um, thanks," I said. I looked at the diner. "This is very nice. Thank you."

He smiled looking relieved and quickly got out, hurrying around to open my door before I could. We walked into the diner and chose some seats near the back where it was quieter. After we'd ordered our drinks, Brandon smiled at me. "So how have you been? I mean, I know that we just saw each other a few days ago at school, but you never know what can happen in two days." His nervousness couldn't have been more obvious. It was kind of cute, if I was being honest. But I wasn't.