Between Two

Chapter 10

I pursed my lips, leaning back against the booth, "I don't know..." Chris looked up in thought then smiled brightly.

"Let me plead my case, one, I'm bearable, two, I will be a gentlemen..." He started counting down the reasons making me smile, but I don't know if I wanted this to be a date.

"I've never been on a date before, Chris, and-"

"Wait, don't reject me just yet, Avi." I shook my head at him, looking up as a waitress started heading our way.

"Fine, I'll reject you later." He rolled his eyes at me, leaning back while the waitress set two menus down in front of us.

"Can I start you two off with a drink?" Chris motioned for me and I played with the menu, not sure what I wanted.

"Um... just a..." I trailed off, staring at the menu.

"She likes sweet tea." I blew out a breath, flipping through the menu to see the assortment of drinks they had.

"And I'll just have a coke." She nodded, saying something about coming back to take our order.

"Okay, psycho, how do you know that I like sweet tea?" He scoffed, looking down at the table.

"I practically have your order mesmerized by now since, again, every weekend you came into the restaurant I worked at and ordered the same thing. Not my fault. I remembered a lot of the usuals." I pretended to pout, sticking my bottom lip out as an extra effect.

"So, I'm not special?" He laughed, a lingering look in his eyes before he looked away.

"It depends... let's do ping pong questions, I ask a question and you answer then you ask me a question and I answer. It has to be quick though, no thinking." I groaned, not really wanting to.

"Since you seem so enthusiastic, you can go first." I refrained from flipping him off and started to think of a question.

"Where do you work?" He awkwardly laughed, his cheeks turning a deep pink.

"Uh... well... Build-A-Bear... don't laugh." I covered my mouth, staring at him in shock.

"Build-A-Bear, you're serious? Oh my god, Chris, I'm learning so much about you." He glared at me, his face turning red.

"It's not my fault... I get discounts so I could buy some bears for Gracie, sometimes I get them for free if they're out of season. Plus, I like kids." I admired him, finding what he does sweet.

"That's really cute, Chris." He didn't say anything, looking up as the waitress came back, setting our drinks down.

"You two ready to order?" I shrugged, looking at the menu while Chris said what he wanted.

I bit my lip, knowing they were both waiting for me, "Um... Just a burger and fries, please." She nodded, writing it down.

"Your food should be ready in a bit." Chris quietly thanked her, averting his gaze back to me.

"What is your favorite movie at the moment?" I smiled, interlacing my hands on the table.

"Five Feet Apart." He shook his head at me, a knowing smirk on his face.

"I knew it." I was going to ask him how he knew, but I didn't want to waste a question on that.

"Of course you did... Favorite ice cream flavor?" He didn't hesitate, leaning in towards me.

"Cotton Candy." I couldn't contain my smile as he happily said it. I never expected him to like that flavor, I expected him to like something such as Cookies and Cream.

"Yours?" I rested my chin in my hand, giving him a smile.

"Mint chocolate chip." Chuckling, he went to respond until his phone started to ring.

"Um... sorry, is it okay if I...?" I nodded, motioning for him to answer his phone.

He stood up and walked away, glancing back at me while mouthing an apology. It didn't bother me at all, it could be important. As much as I liked getting to know Chris, I wanted to get to know Jonah too. There's two sides to every story and I'd like to know Jonah's view of things. Plus, if I'm going to be friends with them, I might as well get to know about them both as much as possible.

Chris walked back, a mar on his forehead while he sat down, "My mom got called into work and she needs me to take care of Gracie right now. I'm so sorry." I shook my head, starting to stand up.

"It's fine, Chris, family comes first." There was a frown on his face before he stood back up.

"I really am sorry, Avi... do you want to come over? Meet Gracie?" I felt a smile form on my face while he ran a hand through his hair, looking down.

"I'm sorry, you probably do-"

"I want to." He smiled brightly, his dimple showing making him look adorable.

"Great, I'll just go ask if they could make the food to go." I nodded, watching him walk away.

I let out a breath, looking down at my shoes. I couldn't deny that it felt nice to have another friend rather than Tara. Don't get me wrong, I love Tara, but she's literally been my only friend since I could remember. It made me feel good that I was friends with Chris and Jonah, even if it started on odd circumstances. I liked getting to know Chris too, I just hope I get to learn more about Jonah now.