Chapter 10
We do end up managing to slip away the next night, leaving Austin at a little family that goes to Ashton's church. They have a little boy around Austin's age, too, so it was an easy choice.
As for Ashton and I, we end up at a little restaurant near Wilmington called Rasco's Fish and Fry. It's a seafood place on the water, which most likely attracts a good bit of the coeds looking for a good meal at UNCW. Ashton insisted it, saying he'd been there once before and it had good food and dancing, and so, I agreed.
We walk in side-by-side, but not close enough to accidently touch. I was careful about that. He was a good guy; sweet, too, but he was too good. Too attractive and too into me, if that could be a bad thing. I don't want to pull him into me, it's just a bad idea from the start. I'm bad news and I honestly don't want him involved because that means trouble. And, oddly enough, I care for him too much to see him go through that.
We're greeted by a stout lady in her mid-thirties, smiling widely and carrying a few menus. "Good evening, guys. Just the two of ya?"
Ashton speaks up before I have the chance, "Yes ma'am, it is."
She raises her eyebrows up and down at me a few times before gesturing us to follow her. We're led to a little picnic table in close proximity to the dance floor where several people dance in-sync to a song I don't know.
"Here you are. And can I just say, y'all are just the cutest couple." The lady says, smiling, revealing a gap in her back tooth. I feel my neck flush color and I look to Ashton. He is smiling at the woman, nodding gratefully at her.
"Thank you." He says. She takes our drink order before she saunters off, smiling all the way. I scowl at him.
"Why'd you accept it?"
He smiles. "Because, if I didnt, she'd try harder to convince us we are and it might shorten our time even more,"
"That actually makes sense."
"See, I'm a lot smarter, if you let me talk."
"I do let you talk." I pause to flip the page of my menu. "It's just that you're a good listener."
He closes his menu. "I- don't know how to respond to that."
"You could start with thank you." He scrunches his features together.
"Well, then." He feigns being taken back.
"I'm just saying!" I take a long pull of my sweet tea that somehow had been sat down in the time we were talking. "What are you getting?"
"Probably shrimp and grits." It's my turn to scrunch up my nose. "What? You don't like it?"
"I've never tried it, it doesn't sound like it goes together," I say, closing my own menu in finality.
"You're obviously not from North Carolina,"
"Obviously, I'm not." I say, a grin starting across my lips. The restaurant was cute, it had the kind of good-time atmosphere that you want in a place. As Ashton called for, there's plenty of coeds, most of them drinking or dancing a little too closely. They were older than me, but still I felt separated from their group altogether. They were very out-there, to say. I wasn't like that, and I had a feeling Ashton wasn't either. We were both under the age for drinking, anyway. I didn't feel like it.
Our food comes and we carry small talk as we eat, finish, and wait for our bill. In the meantime, I take to watching people dance.
After a few moments, I see Ashton staring at me from the corner of my eye.
"What are you doing?" I turn to him.
"Watching you," He said simply, smiling half-heartedly.
"Why?"
"Because you're beautiful, and I wanted to," I smile as he runs a hand through his hair smoothly before looking back at me. "You're pretty awesome, Taylor."
He sounds like Austin, I keep thinking. "I know."
"That's it? Nothing else?" He mocks a demanding voice. He slams an open palm on the table, making the glasses shudder, but not horribly hard. Hard enough to make people around us look and me start laughing pretty hard.
"Don't be needy; needy guys are the first to go," I tease after I wrap up my laughing.
"Look at that guy up there; blazer over a t-shirt. He's been staring at you since we walked in," He comments, pointing out a college kid who sits with a few others on the second level overhead. As called, he looks away after he sees us look.
"You're lying, you did not just notice that,"
"Needy guys notice other needy guys; especially the ones that stare at others dates," a hint of possessiveness stinges his tone.
"Like there hasn't been every girl staring at you the second we walked in,"
"We're attractive people, what can I say?"
"You find me attractive?" I raise an eyebrow, finding myself already leaned across the table to read his expression. Our eyes lock.
"Of course. I'm not out of my mind." He swigs his own tea. "What about you? Do you find me attractive?"
Yes. Yes, you're definitely hot. There's not a doubt in my mind about that.
"You're alright," I tease, already giving it away with my grin.
"What? You think I'm hot?"
I shrug. "You're alright." I repeat.
"You're blushing." He points out.
"Must be from that coed staring at me."
He narrows his gaze. "Stop that."
"I don't know what your talking about." I counter, knowing what he's talking about.
"You're trying to make me jealous." He leans back in his chair. "It's not working."
"Really? You look pretty upset to me,"
He clenches his jaw but keeps his even tone of voice.
"Do you want to dance?" Changing the subject. He takes my hand and leads me out there, a slow song coming on almost just in time. I look to Ashton but he makes no effort to back down. He pulls me in by my waist near the center of the floor, and starts to sway as soon as I wrap my arms around his neck.
He's breathtaking, I'm not even going to lie. His curls are ruffled just enough to look neat and his eyes in perfect light. His sense of presence just made me comfortable. He was, as I drug on, hot. Extremely, even.
He keeps his eyes on me as we dance at a reasonable amount of space, but it almost seemed awkward, if you looked from an outward perspective. The song was getting to the chorus when I finally got up the courage to push myself closer to him, resting my head against his shoulder. Not for a second was he tense, he simply readjusted his hands on my waist and rested his head a little more against mine. It felt good to slip away from everything happening, to be here with him right now.
•
When we finally leave the little restaurant, we walk hand-in-hand. We're not really concious of it, it kinda just.. happened. He lead me off the dance floor by my hand and we just kinda didn't move it.
He drives us back to the little house and parks in front, both of us knowing that Austin was still at the Nelsons'. He cuts the engine and smiles at me.
"I had a great time tonight."
"Do you.. wanna talk about it? Inside?" I nod insistently, smiling back at him.
He nods again and starts to get out.
"Wait. Hey Ash?" he turns to face me again. "You're pretty awesome, yourself."
••a/n
Don't get any ideas about this guys.
