Classic Rock

Sneaky

The following week went by pretty faster than I thought. Next thing I knew it was Wednesday.

While walking out of class, I noticed Alice walking down the hall, eyes glued to her phone.
"Hey Alice." I got her attention.
"Oh, hey Simon!" She looked up, "What's up?"
"Nothing, just heading to lunch."
"Ooh, I'll join you."

We walked out of the building and down a long sidewalk that lead to the main cafeteria.
"How's everything going?" She asked.
"Pretty good so far, I've got to go work in a hour." I checked my phone.
"Oh ok." She pulled a piece of gum from her purse. "Must be nice working at coffee shop. The smell of coffee is so soothing."
"It can be." I laughed, "But the customers though... I don't get why they're so demanding."
"People get that way when they want their fix." She shrugged. Then she gasped.

"There's your partner." She nudged my shoulder, "Who's he walking with?"
"I don't know..." I squinted.
From what I could tell, it looked like a guy—and it wasn't one of the band members. Hmm...

"I've heard he's pretty cold towards his fans, but the girls love that for some reason." Alice added.
"Um...aren't you into that?" I asked.
"Eh, to a certain degree." She shrugged, "If someone acts like a dick all the time, I would've cut them off a lot sooner."

When we entered the cafeteria, the tables were packed with students. Alice and I found an open table near a window and she asked me to watch her things while she went to get food.
To block the noisy crowd of students, I grabbed my earbuds to listen to some music.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Dexter leaving the Chick-fil-A line and walked out with the same guy from before. Who was that?
When Alice came back, she brought a plate of brown noodles with specks of red peppers, sautéed broccoli, and a cup of lemonade.
"Ooh..." I reached out to her plate.
"Um, no sir." She smacked my hand, "Go get your own.
"Ugh, fine." I laughed, "So ungrateful..."
"This is my food, not ours." She laughed.

After we ate, I started my way back to my apartment to change for work. Suddenly, my phone 'dinged' from a message from Dexter. So I replied:

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Him: Hey wyd

Me: Going to get changed for work.

Him: Ok

Him: You even walk like a nerd

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I paused to look behind me and no one was there. So I kept walking...

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Me: Where are you?

Him: Nowhere

Him: Just keep walking

Me: This isn't funny. I don't like being followed.

Him: Just follow directions.

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I cautiously walked forward until he told me to stop. I really don't have the time for this... 'Don't move', he texted me. For some reason I want to move. A pair of arms wrapped around my neck and I screamed.

"You're so scary..." He laughed in my ear. I pushed him off of me and he snickered.
"What the hell is wrong with you?! I could've—"
"What? Hurt me? I highly doubt that." He smiled, putting his hands in his pockets.
I gave him a cold glare and he came kiss me on the cheek. I flinched.

"Dexter!" I raised my hands, "We're...in public."
"And?" He frowned, "You didn't say that when I kissed you at the concert."
I felt my heart skip a beat.
"Well—that was different! There was a lot of emotion..."
He tilted his head and gave me a sweet smile. Stop it! I can't take it when you give me those eyes...

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Oh shit!" I jumped back to reality, "I'll see you later!"

When I made it to work, I swung the door open, startling a few people inside. I saw my coworker, Bailey, taking orders at the register and I walked around the counter.
"Am I late?" I asked her.
"By...three minutes. But don't worry about it." She handed a customer their change, "Thank you so much. Have a good day!"
"Did you have class or something?" She asked.
"I did, but I ran into a friend."
"Well, I'm glad you're here now; the lunch period is stressful. I've got two small caramel lattes and an ice coffee."
"I'm on it."

That evening, I came home and sighed as I shut the door. I heard Benjamin meow and roll on the floor at my feet.
"Aww, hi Ben...are you hungry?"
He gave a delighted 'meow' and I paced to the pantry to grab his food.

Just before bed, I got another text from Dexter, so I replied:

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Him: 👻😱😂

Me: Shut up

Him: 😜

Him: Goodnight Mr. Scary

Me: Goodnight

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