Beside You

Chapter 4

We get to the restaurant and Jess waves to a group of people at a table in the back. I follow her over. There are three guys and two girls. Jess and I slip into the large booth with them.

"Hey, Jess, how are ya?" A thin, red-headed guy asks her. He has long, curly hair.

"I'm awesome, Jackson. This is Paisley, my roommate." All eyes are now on me and I feel my cheeks redden.

A tiny girl with black hair, probably only five feet tall, sticks out her small hand, and I shake it. "I'm Tanya, nice to meet you!" She says in a very, very high pitched voice. She doesn't look older than sixteen.

"And I'm Josh." Says a large, dark-haired man next to Tanya. I smile at him.

Jess points at another guy, one with medium-brown hair and light freckles. "That's Troy." She points at the tan blonde next to him. She is on her phone and not paying attention to us. "And that's Becca." I try to remember all the names, replaying them in my head. A waiter comes over and asks for our drink orders. I just want a water. I remember Jess saying someone was paying for our food. I don't want to order anything expensive. Everyone else orders some form of alcoholic beverage.

"I met Josh and Tanya at a club our first night here. They're so great. Then I went out with them again and I met the rest of the gang." Jess tells me.

"Oh, nice." Is all I say. I don't really know what to talk to these people about, I just met them.

The waiter comes back with our drinks and takes our food orders and is soon gone again.

"So, what club are we going to, Josh?" Asks Jess. So that's why Jess wanted me to look nice. My heart drops to my stomach; I did not agree to going clubbing, just dinner.

"Bright Lights. It's a couple blocks south." Josh replies.

"Do you like clubbing, Paisley?" Asks Tanya. She seems really nice.

"Um, not really." I say. Tanya laughs.

"Well, you'll have fun tonight."

I look over at Jess. She's trying to hide her amusement.

"Jess, I told you I didn't want to go clubbing tonight." I sternly tell her. She doesn't respond because, at that moment, our food comes.

"I know," she eventually replies. "but you ALWAYS say no, and I figured this was the only way to get you to come. You'll have so much fun." I'm so mad, I don't say anything else, and just eat my pasta. Becca remains on her phone for the rest of the meal, not bothering to eat any of it, while Josh, Tanya, Troy, and Jess debate over who can make the best martini. Jackson seems pretty content just to eat his food and listen. I do the same.

When the waiter brings our check, all eyes seem to instinctively turn to Jackson, as he pulls out a debit card. My mouth drops open as I realize he is expected to pay for everyone. He seems unphased, as if he's done this a million times before. I can't just sit here and watch this guy spend two hundred dollars on our combined dinners.

"Hey," I begin. "you don't have to-" I am interrupted my a jab in the side from Jess's elbow.

"Don't worry about it, Jackson's always got us covered." She whispers. I'm confused.

"Why?"

She sighs and quietly says, "He comes from a very, very rich family from the upper east side. But, if you couldn't tell, he's not exactly the most socially cool guy ever. So Josh, Tanya, Becca and Troy accepted him into their social group to help us with little amenities, like drinks and outings."

"So, he doesn't mind paying for our food?" I ask, still feeling guilty.

"Nah, he's fine." Everyone is getting ready to go, and I follow them outside, still feeling like I should have paid for my own meal.