Please Choose Me

2 : I Need A Distraction?

I was about to say something when Andrea beats me to it, "Oh good! You already know each other. I guess that should make lunch less awkward."

"Lunch." I echoed. I must have sounded stupid. To my relief, the poor guy looked just as confused as I was.

"Well I don't know about you two but I'm starving.." Andrea answered.

I knew I should have left when I had a chance. She can be such a little prick sometimes. She knows I hate new people. She knows I hate awkward social interactions.

"Sure," the guy says (to my surprise, I should add), "I don't want to impose though."

Andrea waved her hands no. "Chris here has nothing to do for hours and there's this place just across the street that I want to try. Unless you guys have something else in mind." But in typical Andrea fashion, she didn't bother waiting for a response before motioning us to get going.

I don't know if it was just me, but the first couple of minutes walking together felt really awkward. Andrea, being the unbelievably friendly person that she is, kept stopping to say hi and chat with people she knew. I would imagine it's how anonymous friends of celebrities feel.

It was Andrea's friend that broke our mutual silence, "So thanks for saving me earlier. I probably would've died if it weren't for you." he grinned. I assumed he was kidding, trying to make light conversation.

I gave him a good look for the first time. He actually didn't look bad. He was cute in the common douchebag kinda way--no--I guess douchebag is too strong a judgment for someone I've only exchanged a couple of sentences with. He just looks like those confident guys who are very much aware of how attractive they are. I wondered if he was Andrea's new prospect. She usually goes for those types.

"Actually, you almost died because of me." I corrected him, making an effort not to sound too dismissive.

"Yeah but you were so quick to grab me."

Yup, this is officially one of the most awkward, dead end conversations I've ever had. I looked at him again. I was starting to think my first assessment of the guy was wrong. He is cute, but usually the confident d-bag types are better conversationalists than this. That is one of their defining characteristics after all--they sway you with their smooth moves and way with words.

Oh no, I would never grab you. I'll have you know I'm a lady and would never just grab a stranger. This is what I would've said if I was funny or cheeky, but I'm miserable and hopeless so I settled with another awkward silence.

I could've sworn the restaurant was just across the street. But with Andrea's frequent stops and the awkward attempts at starting a conversation, it felt a lot farther away.

"You two seem chatty." Andrea comments. I don't have the words to express how relieved I was that she's finally back in our conversation.

He smiled. I rolled my eyes. And finally, we were in front of the restaurant. Considering it was noon, it was surprisingly not that busy.

'TRYST', read the sign on top of the door. Inside, it was an eclectic little place with mismatched chairs in cream and white, paired with rustic antiqued wooden tables. I'm guess it's supposed to be trendy, but my secret germophobic side was more weary than it was impressed.

We were seated at a square table, that I thought was too small to seat more than two people (I guess unless you're only having coffee or tea). Andrea sat between her friend and I.

A server approached shortly, pouring us water and asking what we wanted to drink.

"One of my friends say their clubhouse sandwiches here are phenomenal." says Andrea.

I laughed.

She protested, "What?"

"I don't know, the way you call a fucking clubhouse sandwich phenomenal." I shrugged.

"You're such an assho--" Andrea starts, cutting herself short as she spots yet another acquaintance. The girl just couldn't help herself. I think she should definitely either be a local celebrity or a politician. She excused herself before getting up to greet a girl with blue hair, from across the restaurant.

"I guess it's just you and me again." the guy says. By this time, I was starting to get pretty impressed by the fact that I still hadn't caught his name. Did Andrea mention it earlier? I was struggling to remember.

"Yeah." I said, "She knows everyone."

"I should've made an excuse and said no when Andrea invited me along, huh?" he smiled.

I stared at him and resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow but involuntarily wrinkled my nose. He had a tentative grin on his face. Was he waiting for a proper response?

"Nothing personal." I played with my glass of water before deciding to have a drink. It was a social anxiety tick.

He chuckled. I was mid gulp when he asked, "That time of the month?"

Water went up my nose and I sprayed some all over the table. If I weren't too busy coughing the water out of my windpipe, I would've felt embarrassed. It was one of those situations that I always thought only happened in rom-coms.

He inched his seat closer to mine and handed me a napkin, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to--i have three sisters--so I--I'm really sorry."

I looked up at him as I wiped the water off of my chin. I struggled to recover from the coughing fit, and just when I was about to open my mouth to say I'm fine, I saw Ryan and Anna hovering over our table. Of course, they were at the same restaurant. Of course these things happen in real life. And of course I just couldn't catch a fucking break.

"Hey Chris!" Anna greeted before leaning into me to quickly whisper, "So this is the something you were talking about." At the corner of my eye, I could see Ryan standing just behind Anna, with his hands in his pockets. He looked like he didn't know what to do with himself. I had to wrestle with myself to muffle a scoff. He was acting so awkward--as if he didn't know me.

"Hi, I'm Chris' new friend" the guy beside me interjected. For a brief moment I almost forgot he was there. But the tone of his voice was so composed, so reassuring--as if he sensed the slight awkwardness and he wanted to save me, "I'm Jake.". Jake. So that's his name.

Ryan simply nods at him as Anna beamed, "It's nice to meet you." I don't know if I just imagined it, but I remember seeing Ryan tug on Anna, giving her a certain look. One that I assumed meant, Hurry up, let's go. So she quickly added, "We have to get going though. But we'll see you guys around."

"Good friends of yours?" Jake asked as Ryan and Anna walked away, holding each other's hands and all.

"Oh only the bestest." I said in a less than convincing voice.

"You're cute." he said, changing from the composed tone he just had (or did I just imagine that because I was caught off guard and I felt desperate not to have to deal with Ryan and Anna?) to what I assumed was his brooding, flirty one.

I answered with a smirk, "Don't even."

Andrea walks back to our table. She had a weird expression on her face. "Was that Ry and Anna just now?" she didn't wait for an answer, "You guys, I'm really sorry! Something came up and I have to go."

As soon as she ended her sentence I was ready to get up and go, but she put her hand on my arm and said, "No, just go ahead and eat. I'll have lunch with you two next time. Sorry!" She already started walking away before either Jake or I could say anything.

My phone buzzed. It was Andrea:

He's a cool guy. Trust me, you need a distraction from you know...