Mine

Chepter 3 - Look like a couple

*Talia P.O.V.*

Michael and Ana already look like a couple. Whenever I look over at them, they're either laughing, either looking at each other suggestively. Sometimes they would be pretty touchy-feely: her hand on his tight (near his crotch), while his was on her lower back (under her shirt).
And while Anastasia and Mike have flirted non-stop in the last hour, Zimon and I haven't exchanged so much as another look, let alone talked.
I've mostly left the two lovebirds alone and have been on my phone. I'm currently texting my guy-bestie, Tyler. He's kinda hot, if you will. He's seventeen (a year older), tall-ish, has dark-brown, curly hair, light-blue eyes and a pretty good body.
I'm complaining to him about Anastasia dragging me to this totally boring double-date.

Ty: Is it that bad?
Me: My "date" and I haven't even looked at each other since introductions, so.. yeah.
Ty: What would make it better?
Me: You ;)
Ty: Want me to come over?
Me: Pleeeease do, love. I'm dieing here.
Ty: Okay, love. I'll be there in ten.
Me: See ya. Hurry.

Tyler and I have made a habit of calling each other names like that as a joke. Most of our jokes are made of just sarcastic flirting. Sometimes, while we're in public, we're so convincing people actually believe we're a couple.
As happy as I am for the night not to be a total bust, I should give Ana a heads up, since she and Ty can't really stand each other. So I text her, to avoid breaking her away from her possible boyfriend.

Me: I am dieing here. Ty is coming to hang with me. K?
Anastasia: Fine, but at least TRY to talk to Zimon before Tyler gets here.
Me: Fine.

That last text went with a dirty look. Ughhhhh. Now I'm gonna have to socialize with the mute.
When I turn around to talk to him, I notice he was already looking at me, something between examining and checking me out. I paste a warm, flirty smile on my face and try my best not to look as fake as I felt.
"They do make a good couple, don't they?" I ask, throwing an affectionate look Ana's way.
Then I returned my attention to Zimon, who looked absolutely rattled. I looked directly into his eyes, which may have slowed down his recovery, not that he wasn't taking his time anyways. And, not for the first time this evening, I have to restrain myself from laughing in his face.
"Yeah they do," the response finally came.
Now he seemed to be blushing, not knowing how to keep the conversation going. He kept appraising me, though, like wheighting options.
Even though we haven't spoken the whole evening, we've been sitting on the same bench. And only now is Zimon trying to take advantage of the closeness. He bent down to tie his shoes, and lightly touched my leg from thigh to ankle, leaving little tingles behind. The way he did it, it had looked almost accidental. Almost. For someone as experienced in flirting as me, though.. it wasn't so subtle.
I made myself busy with my phone, careful to look as natural as possible, like I didn't even notice him making a move on me. From my peripheral vision, I was watching him, though, and, sure enough, he was looking at me expecting some reaction, some acknowledgement. And much to his disappointment, he got none.
I could see Tyler approaching us, and I took the opportunity to make a move of my own.
I stood up and went around the bench, and lightly dragged my nail across his shoulders while passing him. Unlike him, I got a visible reaction. The second I touched him, Zimon drew a sharp breath and straightened up.
I had to bite my lip to keep from grinning, though it didn't do much good.
After putting some distance between me and the benches while walking slowly and letting my hips sway a little, I took off in a jog towards the entrance to greet my friend.
When he was close enough, I leaped and trew my arms around his neck as he caught me and wrapped his arms around me, one tight on my waist, and one grabbing my ass.
And after the celebratory moment, I pulled away to smack the back of his head. "Took you long enough," I told him.
"You didn't have to be aggressive about it!"
He started rubbing the spot where I hit him, then grabbed my hand. "No more hitting me for the night."
"Fine," I pouted.
Holding my hand has become a habbit from a few years ago, not much after we became friends. He held the hand(mine)  nearest to him to keep it captive, so I couldn't hit him with it anymore.
We reached the benches where the others were, and the guys looked pretty confused, so I decided to introduce Ty to them.
"Um, so, guys, this is Tyler. Tyler, Mike and Zimon."
Tyler gave a weird look the second I said Zimon's name. I just shrugged, like "I don't know, man. The guy just has a weird name".
I guess the guy in question saw our exchange, because he suddenly decided to explain his name.
"It's Jewish." And that's all he said.
Everybody engaged in conversation, and while we were talking, Tyler pulled me into his lap and just wrapped his arms around my waist from behind me. I just went with it, because it wasn't anything new. PDA in general wasn't anything new for me and Ty. Though we're just friends, things like that sort of come naturally to us.
After a while, Tyler got up and went over to a girl with big boobs, probably to ask for her number. But turns out, he got even better. The girl pulled on his arm towards the exit, and he was going willingly, to say the least.
He turned to me and winked before he left with the girl in question. All I could do was shake my head and smile a little. It's not like I expected much of anything else from Tyler. Oh, well. Karma will get him.
So while my source of entertainment was gone, I had to get back to scrolling on my Instagram feed.
"You deserve better, you know," said Zimon right when I was reaching for my phone.
I slowly turned to him, trying not to burst out laughing. "Excuse me?"
"Don't tell me you didn't see your boyfriend leave with that chick."
I get why he must've thought Tyler was my boyfriend. We hugged, we held hands, I sat in his lap and we kept on calling each other love names.
But I just stared at him, because why the hell would he care.
"And it concerns you.. how?"
Right about then, he turned beet red and started rambling. "Um, yeah, sorry.. it's not my place to speak.."
I probably should put him out of his misery.
He went on. "Your relationship is none of my business.." and that's where I cut him off.
"You're right. My relationship is none of your business. That's because I don't have one." I said in a very calm tone.
For a few moments, he just froze.
"It didn't look like you guys were breaking up." It was an affirmation, but he said it more like a question.
"That's because we weren't."
He looked lost in thought for a few seconds, while I tried my best not to laugh, and then he looked like he had an "Eureka" moment. "He never was your boyfriend, was he?"
Well, would you look at that! He actually has a brain!
Again, I tried to keep a straight face while answering. "Nope. We're friends. We're not a couple, and we're not friends with benefits. Just friends."
"So.. you don't have a boyfriend?"
Huh. Funny you should ask that. "No, I don't." I paused for a bit, time in which his eyes looked a little hopeful. "And nor will I anytime soon." And then, his face fell a little. Poor guy. If he knew me, he'd understand.
But he didn't quite give up. "You know, there are lots of sweet guys out there."
I struggled to stiffen a shudder. Urgh. Sweet guys. They almost make me hurl with all their cheesy and romantic behaviour.
"I know there are. It's a personal choice. I like being single."