I placed the taco gingerly in my mouth, biting its crispy exterior and savoring the insides, that consisted of shrimp, vegetables and sour cream, mixed with spices and chili. Shrimp Tacos with garlic cilantro lime slaw... God, they were good.
"Mm," I moaned, my eyes shut, and my mouth on speed as it chewed.
Beside me, I heard Alec take breaths from his mouth, panting. I turned to see if he was okay. Clearly, he wasn't.
One hand held his breaking taco, while the other fanned his open mouth as he stared at the ceiling, his eyes watery and tongue rolled out.
Normally, I would have laughed at his silly pose, but he genuinely looked and sounded like he was dying. I frowned, placing my hand on his shoulder. "You okay?" I asked.
He just nodded and tried smiling, but it looked wrong â what with his tongue out of his mouth and all. I sighed, "You shouldn't have insisted on the same order as me. I even told him to add extra chilis in mine, Alec."
I expected a reply of some sort, but when it didn't come, my eyebrows scrunched. I watched his red face turn sickly purple and pale, and he leaped at the end of the table for a â water? No, tissue â and spit out the contents of his face inside.
I tried not to make a face, as I watched him not-so-graciously get up, say "Excuse me!" and dash to the bathroom. As soon as he was gone, though, I burst out laughing. I wasn't the only one; almost half the restaurant had turned and seen the commotion.
For some reason, though, I didn't feel embarrassed. Rather I felt the entire situation was hilarious.
"Excuse me," I called to the waiter, who was also chuckling, "Can I have a glass of milk, please? For the poor boy."
The waiter nodded, a smile on his face, "It's on the house."
It was several minutes later that Alec came back out of the washroom, and this time, his face was neither red nor pale. It was yellow. And his lips were swollen pink. I could tell by his body language, how nervous and embarrassed he was.
I bit my lip, and passed the milk to him.
"What's this for?" He asked, frowning at the milk, but taking the glass anyway.
I just shook my head, "Drink. It will help."
He downed the glass in one go, wiping his lips which were finally beginning to cool down from their swollen state. A small smile played on my lips, as I held out my hand to him. He stared at it, a bit confused.
"Wanna finally have that flan?" I smiled.
At first, I thought he'd just quietly shake his head, but a small grin graced his face. It wasn't much, but hey, I'd take it.
"2 flans, please!" I shouted, and the waiter gave me a thumbs up.
I turned back to my adorable date, and decided it was time to fill the wait with some romantic conversation, "You've been quite the gentleman today, haven't you?" I asked, a flirtatious smile on my face.
"Well," Alec laughed, catching on and sliding closer to me; it helped that we were sitting next to each other rather than in front of, because now, our shoulders and knees were touching, "I try."
"I'm having a lot of fun," I grinned to him, "Next time, let me choose where to go."
He grinned back, nodding. Mentally, I threw my fist into the air because a second date was in the bag.
"Wanna play 20 questions?" He asked, a hopeful glint in his eyes.
"Okay," I said, "I'll start." To which he nodded
"Tell me about yourself," I said, and he laughed.
"That's not a question, Chase," He gave me a lop-sided grin, but all my mind was thinking is that he called me Chase.
"Tell me about yourself," I repeated, "Please?"
He just smiled and nodded, "Okay. So my name is Alec Smith. I'm 18â"
"You're 18?" I interrupted, a bit surprised because I didn't know.
"âdon't interrupt, Harper," He rolled his eyes, "And currently, I live with my parents and little brother."
I nodded, "Wow, I just knew your name."
"I'm aware," He nodded, "You kissed a total stranger." Cue the smirk I knew him to have.
I scoffed at him, "No, I just thought you were hoâ"
"Oh, I'm hot, huh?" The smirk grew wider.
I decided to shut up.
"Okay, okay," He laughed, putting his palms in front of his chest, "My turn..." He settled into his chair, putting his elbows on the table and leaning forward to meet my eyes, "Tell me about yourself?"
I took in a soundless breath, struck by his handsome face, "I'm... Okay, um, so you know my name â Harper Chase," I blushed, looking away from his emerald gaze, "I'm 17 years old. My middle name is Mae. And I live with my parents and my brother, Hayden, whom you have met. And what else..."
"Interests?" He prodded me, his gaze a constant heat on my neck.
"I like to draw," I nodded, "I'm in the Art club if you hadn't already noticed, what with all the paint stains on my shirts. And I like to eat spicy food," that earned me a chuckle from him, "And I like to spend time with children. Ah, I babysit."
He nodded, smiling. His eyes were zoomed to a distance, and he seemed like he was processing all the information and storing it in a file in his head.
"What about you?" I asked, curious, "What are your interests?"
He opened his mouth to answer, but at the same moment, the waiter appeared. Two china plates in his hand, "Here are your flans. Enjoy!" He put them down and I stared at the little circle puddings, white and creamy on the sides, and a golden brown at the top. They looked delicious.
"Thanks, man," Alec said, and turned to me, "Shall we dig in?"
I didn't have to be told twice.
As we exited the restaurant, after paying the bill for our separate dishes (a demand of mine, which took a lot of persuasion to get past Alec's stubborn nature), I asked, "You never answered my question back there. What do you like to do â y'know, your interests?"
"Oh yeah," Alec laughed, opening the door for me again, "I totally forgot."
I sat inside and waited for him to come round the car and sit down too. I put on my seatbelt as he drove us out of the Hot Tamales' parking lot.
"Sooo?" I pushed, "Tell me."
He laughed, "Okay, okay. I like to play ball games, and hang out with my friends. I like watching movies, mostly crime and law. And..." He briefly turned to me, and met my eyes that were already turned to him, "I like music." He whispered, "A lot. That's what made me get interested in you at first."
I blinked, a bit confused. Huh?
"It was in chemistry class," He looked back to the road, but there was a nostalgic smile on his face, "Mr. Rode made you sit next to this girl and you were all pissy about it, and I was sitting alone behind you. I didn't really know you then, but we were doing some experiments. And I heard you singing some song, and I thought, woah.
"I don't know when it started, but I kind of just noticed you since that one time," He shook his head, chuckling, "And I mean, who wouldn't, you are just so..." Even if he didn't say it, I could hear what he was saying. You are just so beautiful. I blushed, suddenly feeling hot inside his small sedan.
"It was a total coincidence," He said. He had stopped the car, and we were staring at each other, "That day, I heard you humming to yourself? That very day, Mr. Rode made us sit together? That lunch we had? It was a coincidence after coincidence. And here we are," He smiled warmly, "On a date. Getting to know each other better."
I smiled back.
"It's like a dream come true," He said, leaning forward and slowly weaving his fingers through mine.
Yeah, I blushed, a dream come true.