The car ride to the restaurant is mostly spent in comfortable silence, other than the music playing softly from the radio. Liam and I strike up light small talk. I find it to be really easy to talk to him. Most first dates I have been on have been so awkward or nerve-wracking, but with Liam, I feel like I don't have to worry about making a fool out of myself. Is it a bad thing that I'm not nervous? Should I be? I try and focus on the conversation in front of me, ignoring my thoughts for the time being. I learn that he is studying business and comes from a huge Italian family on his mom's side. When he asks me about my family, I pause. Before I could even try to describe my complicated home-life situation, we arrive at the restaurant. Liam opens my door for me, and we head in.
Once inside, I am welcomed by the faint smell of garlic and loud, boisterous laughter coming from the kitchen. The lighting is dim, giving the place a peaceful ambiance. Rustic-looking chandeliers hang from the ceiling, while the walls are covered in ivory and a variety of flowers. I look over at Liam and see him being hugged by a short, elderly woman. Confused, I walk over to them, gaining the attention of the older lady.
"Oh Liam, dear, who is your friend?" she asks him, smiling warmly at me.
"Grandma, this is Makayla. Makayla, this is my Grandma Rose." Liam introduces us.
"It's nice to meet you!" I say, holding out my hand to shake. She chuckles at me.
"Oh sweetie, I'm more of a hugger," she replies. Before I know it, a small, Italian woman is squeezing me. She lets go of me, and I stand there awkwardly, as she sizes me up. Seeming to nod her head in approval, she turns to Liam.
"Well, my grandson sure knows how to pick them. You are a vision of beauty, but much too skinny. We need to get some meat on your bones. Come, come. Sit! I will get you menus, yes?" She scurries off and I laugh. She reminds me of my grandma. She died when I was in high school, but she was the sweetest lady and never took no for an answer. Liam and I sit down in the nearest booth, as Grandma Rose makes her way back to us with the menus. "Okay, if you two need anything let me know. Annabeth should be right over to get your orders. So nice to meet you, Makayla," she remarks. I thank her again before she walks away, leaving Liam and I alone.
"I'm sorry about her. She can come off a little strong." Liam mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck, nervously. There's just something about a guy when he's nervous. I can't really explain it, but it's kind of adorable.
"Are you kidding? I love her. I think it's sweet how she dotes on you." I reply. Looking down at my menu, I'm blown away by all the different choices of pasta. I think I'm in heaven.
"Hi, I'm Annabeth, and I'll be your waitress tonight. Liam, your grandma has been ranting about how she hasn't seen you since school started." I'm taken back by how pretty she is. With long jet-black hair and icy blue eyes, I can't help but feel a little intimidated.
"Hey Annie! I know. I've been the worst grandson, but football has been keeping me pretty busy." He smiles at her, getting up to pull her into a hug. The moment lasts a little longer than I would expect between two friends. When they finally loosen their hold on each other, Liam looks back over at me, widening his eyes in realization. "Oh, sorry. Makayla, this is Annabeth. Our families are really close, so we practically grew up together. Annie, this is Makayla." Liam says. Annabeth looks over at me and beams.
"Hi Makayla! Leave it to this idiot to not introduce you. Don't mind him, he was dropped on his head a few times as a kid," she jokes, pointing over at Liam. I laugh, as Liam shoots her a glare. So, she's super sweet and pretty. I can't help but wonder why Liam wanted to go out with me when he knows a girl like Annabeth.
"Ha ha, very funny. Can we at least order our drinks first before you start embarrassing me?" he questions. Annabeth laughs, pulling out her notepad. Liam orders a coke, while I ask for a water with lemon. She writes it down quickly, promising to be back shortly with our drinks and more jokes at Liam's expense.
"She is awesome! Can I be her friend?" I joke.
"You can have her," he jokes back. Annabeth brings back our drinks, and leaves again, giving us a few more minutes to look over the menu. We fall into a comfortable silence until I realize I still cannot decide on what to order.
"Okay, so this is your family's restaurant, right?" I ask him. He nods. "Then, can you tell me what I should get? I am overwhelmed by so many pasta dishes, and they all sound amazing, and I have no clue what to order." I ramble. Liam laughs at my word vomit before looking down at the menu again. I take a sip of my water. He tells me lasagna is his favorite, so it's decided.
After Annabeth comes back and takes our orders, we fall into an easygoing conversation. Everything is going great until I hear Liam's name being shouted. A bunch of the football players and their girlfriends come pouring into the restaurant. And who's leading the charge? Asher freaking Thomas, with his arm around a cheerleader.
A bunch of the guy's dab Liam up and strike up a conversation. I try to ignore Asher, but he makes it impossible. He whispers in the girl's ear, while she blushes furiously. Nodding quickly, she walks off, while he takes it upon himself to walk over to our table.
"Makayla! Liam! Hey, sorry to interrupt, but all the guys wanted to go out and grab a bite to eat and celebrate the win tonight. Nobody could agree on where to go, until I remembered that your family owned a little Italian place, Liam. Earlier today at the house, you were talking about coming here later and it completely slipped my mind about your date with Makayla. Sorry, forgot that you have a habit of taking all your first dates here, buddy." Asher chuckles, slapping Liam on the back. Liam flinches, and I'm not sure if it's from Asher's little confession on his dating habits or if he hit him a little too hard.
"Yeah, I'm sure it was an honest mistake, 'buddy'." Liam emphasizes 'buddy' with a harsher undertone to his voice. " I'm sure my grandma will be happy to see all the guys, and I bet Annie can't wait to say hi." Liam shoots back. Asher frowns at the mention of Annabeth.
"Asher, baby, there's no more open tables." The girl Asher walked in with, comes up to the table, frowning.
"Damn." Asher sighs, but then an almost mischievous glint flickers in his eyes. "Hey guys, you don't mind if Maddie and I join do you? You guys have a booth meant for 4 anyways." Asher asks, looking between the two of us. Asher's smirk grows, as he notices my wide-eyed expression.
"That's a great idea? You don't mind, right Liam?" the girl asks, with a hopeful smile on her face. Liam looks over at me, as I try and signal to him with my eyes that this is a terrible idea, hoping he gets the message.
"Uh, I mean we kind of wanted to be alone." Liam starts to say before Asher interrupts.
"Thanks for understanding dude. Class- act guy right here." Asher says, scooting in next to me, as Maddie sits next to Liam. I can tell Liam is just as annoyed as I am, but Asher clearly doesn't care.
"Umm, Liam, why don't you sit next to me?" I suggest. All thoughts of Asher were supposed to be forgotten and yet here he is, sitting too close. I can't even think straight.
Liam nods and tries to get up to move.
"No. It's better if you sit across from her Liam. Wouldn't want to be staring at the side of her head all night!" Asher chimes in. Liam thinks about it and then sits back down. I mentally groan. Great. Now, I'm on a date with Liam, Asher, and this girl I barely know. Should be a fun night.
Annabeth comes back around and is taken off guard when she sees two extra people with us. She stops in her tracks when she sees Asher sitting at the table. After Liam explains the situation, she nods. Asher and Maddie add in their orders. Annabeth jots down their order, shooting a nervous glance to both boys before she leaves. What the hell was that about? I feel Asher's arm brush against me, and suddenly, I feel like I need a second to collect myself. I get up, practically pushing Asher over to get out.
"I'm going to head to the bathroom. Be back in a sec." I tell Liam. I nearly sprint out of there and to the restroom. This is the worst night ever. I'm supposed to be keeping my mind off Asher. Talking to the girls earlier, I was trying to convince both them and me that I didn't feel anything towards Asher. I don't want to have feelings for him, but spending this much time around him isn't helping. Get it together Makayla. Whatever you're feeling for Asher isn't real. If anything, it's attraction at most. Just get through the rest of this night, and you can go back to barely tolerating the idiot. It takes a minute or so to gather myself. Once I feel like I am calm enough to make it through this dinner from hell, I open the door and walk out, bumping into, of course, Asher.
"We really got to stop meeting like this, Davis," he chuckles.
"Okay, so what's your angle here?" I ask, folding my arms over my chest. He gives me a fake confused look in return.
"Angle? I have no idea what you mean," he replies.
"You know exactly what I am talking about! Look, what is the point in interrupting my date with Liam? I mean, seriously? What? Did you think if I saw you here with another girl, I would be so overcome with jealousy? That I would throw myself into your arms, like every other girl you've tried this on?" I retort.
"Why, is it working?" he asks, grinning while stepping towards me. I take a step back, trying to put distance between us. I feel my back brush against the wall and realize stepping back might have not been the best choice. Asher moves closer, putting his hands on the wall by my head, trapping me in. I can't seem to think of any words to say. The smell of his cologne is wafting through the air, clouding my judgment. Fuck what is happening and why does he have to smell good?
"Why are you here? Why are you doing this to me? Why can't you just go bother another girl?" I ask, looking up into his eyes, as he hovers over me. A variety of emotions play behind his eyes, his expression softening. My gaze goes to his lips that are so close. I can feel his hot breath on my skin, as I feel dizzy from how close our bodies are. Damn my hormones for betraying me.
"Because for some reason, I can't seem to get you out of my head. Because you shouldn't be with him. You should be with me." Asher says softly, staring at me. His eyes drift down for a moment to my lips and then back to my eyes again. He starts to lean in. My walls start to crumble, as I lean in too. Right before our lips meet, I panic and push him away. He looks back at me, confused. Guess this doesn't happen too often for him.
"I can't do this. I don't know what you're playing out, but it needs to stop. There's a nice guy out there who is waiting for me. Someone who sees me as a person. Not just a challenge he's trying to get into bed. I mean, that's what you said not too long ago? You never back down from a challenge, right?" I look into his eyes, reminding him of the words he spoke to me that night after the first game of the season. He looks taken back, shaking his head in denial.
"No, Makayla, it's not like that. I know that's what I said, but for once, I swear, that's not what I'm doing," he says.
"No, I don't want to hear it. Liam is waiting for me." I turn to walk away, but Asher grabs a hold of my arm.
"Makayla please, if you would just give me a second?" he pleads. I shake my head and loosen his grip from my arm. Once I sit back down at the table, Liam grins at me. I try and forgot the almost-kiss between me and Asher and focus my attention on Liam. Asher returns to the table shortly after, just as the food arrives. I don't look at him for the rest of dinner. Maddie tries to get Asher's attention, but he ignores her, mumbling one word answers every now and then. He sits, stiff as a board next to me. Liam and I do our best to ignore the awkwardness coming from the couple next to us and continue to get to know each other, while sitting through the most uncomfortable dinner of my life. The boys both pay the bill, while Maddie and I stand by the door and wait. Liam's grandma waves goodbye to me. Trying to ignore the guilt of almost kissing another guy while on a date with her grandson, I force my best smile and wave back before following Liam out the door. I get in his car, while he hops in the driver's seat. I can feel Asher staring at me from the parking lot, but I don't look up. It's a short ride back to my apartment, with the sound of music playing softly from the radio. Liam pulls up to the curb outside my building, turning off the engine. He turns to me and smiles.
"Hey, I know tonight wasn't ideal, but I still had a good time." Liam says. No, it was most definitely not. It was painfully awkward, and I spent the whole night all too aware of Asher sitting inches away from me.
"Yeah, I had a good time too, but maybe next time, it can be just the two of us," I reply.
"I think that can be arranged," he grins and leans over to kiss me. Oh god I wasn't expecting this. Not after how tonight went. Do I even want this? Before I have time to make up my mind, his lips are on mine. The kiss is nice and short, but I feel nothing. When we pull away, I try to hide my disappointment.
"Umm, did you feel anything?"
"Honestly?" He nods. "No, god I'm sorry. It wasn't bad. It was just. I mean, there was no-," I start.
"Spark? Yeah, okay, good. I was hoping it wasn't just me," he sighed in relief.
"I'm sorry Liam. To tell you the truth, I wish I had felt something. Can we at least still hangout and be friends?" I ask. He nods and smiles back at me. I open the car door to leave. No need to prolong this awkward night.
"Because of Asher, right?" I snap my head back in his direction. I'm sure I look as shocked as I feel. "It's okay. I had a feeling there was something between you and Asher before I asked you out. I didn't care though because I wanted you. More importantly, I didn't want him to have you." Liam surprises me in this. Is that why he asked me out? To piss off Asher? That was more important? Seriously?
"There's nothing going on between me and Asher. At least, I don't want there to be." I reply, shocked at my own answer. He nods in understanding.
"What is the deal with you two, anyways? I mean, him making the remark that you take all your first dates to the restaurant. Is that true?" I ask. He looks away, like he's embarrassed of the accusation. When he doesn't reply, I realize I have my answer.
"Look, I don't need to know what went down between you two, but whatever it is, I don't really appreciate being used as some pawn to get a rise out of Asher." I say, bluntly. Even if there was no romantic connection between me and Liam, I don't appreciate being used. He stays quiet for another moment or two before answering me.
" I'm sorry. You're right; I shouldn't have put you in the middle of me and Asher. We used to be friends. Things changed after he slept with Annie."
"He slept with Annie?!?" God who hasn't he slept with?
"Yeah, right before the end of sophomore year. He says he didn't know I liked her, but he's full of shit. If I'm being honest, Makayla, a small part of the reason I took you to my family's restaurant was to try and make her jealous." Oh, well now I don't feel as guilty about my almost moment with Asher.
"Well, Liam, you should tell her how you feel. Girls want a guy who knows what and who he wants. If she feels the same way you do, bringing other dates around is only going to make her think you aren't interested. Trust me on this." I reply.
"Thanks! I might take your advice. Again, I am sorry about tonight," he apologizes. I wave him off. Even if he asked me out for the wrong reasons, it's not like I was the perfect date tonight anyway.
"It's fine. I mean, it's not fine, but we're cool. I should get going, though. I'll see you around, Liam." I step out, saying a quick good night to him before closing the door. I start to walk towards my apartment entrance when Liam rolls down the window and calls my name.
"Hey, if you ever need me to make Asher jealous, I'm your guy. I take any chance I can get to piss him off," he laughs.
"I don't have feelings for Asher, so your services are not needed." I shoot back.
He rolls his eyes, knowingly. "Makayla, trust me when I say I never want to do the guy any favors, but I have known Asher a long time. I have never seen him work so hard to get a girl's attention," he remarks.
"He just isn't used to a girl saying no. It's nothing; he'll move on to another girl by next week." I reply, waving off the idea.
Liam pauses for a moment before speaking. "I don't think so. This isn't about just getting a girl to sleep with him. You guys have something. Everyone can see it, but you," he says before driving away.
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