27

Seventeen Years Old

FRIDAY NIGHTS ARE USUALLY date nights for Moriah and me. It's an easy night; usually, we head to a burger joint a few towns over.

Moriah laces her fingers through mine as we walk through the parking lot.

"I wish you‘d worn your button-down shirt," she says, sighing.

"It's not a fancy place. Besides, I didn't know you wanted to dress up."

"Date night is always a reason to dress up. But it's not a big deal."

The way she says it doesn't convince me that it's not actually a big deal. But I don't push the subject further. I don't care if Moriah wants us to dress up for our dates, but I would appreciate more communication.

I'm not dressed badly. I'm in a dark blue band tee and jeans. Moriah is wearing a simple dress that's not super fancy. I don't see the big deal.

We find a booth near the window and a waitress takes our order.

Moriah sits across from me, texting one of her friends while we wait for the food.

I don't really mind, though.

My phone chimes and I see a text from Ophelia.

I decide to respond since Moriah is also on her phone.

Ophelia: hey are you busy?

Me: I'm a few towns over getting burgers with Moriah. Shouldn't be late getting back tho. Why?

Ophelia: nevermind. new book came out. thought we could go check it out at the bookstore.

Me: wanna go tomorrow?

Ophelia: sounds good :)

It's been a while since I've gone to the bookstore with Ophelia. Or even gotten to hang out with her.

"Who was that?" Moriah asks, her voice a bit cold.

"Why?"

"You're smiling, and you never smile like that when you text."

I shrug. "It's just Ophelia."

Moriah sets her phone down. "We're on a date right now, though."

"You were on your phone, too."

Moriah frowns. "Only for a moment. I was responding to a text. You were texting for a little bit. I want us to focus on each other."

"We've been dating for over a year, Moriah. I think it's okay for me to text my best friend while we wait for our dinner to arrive."

Before Moriah can respond, the waitress returns with two burger combos. I thank her as she bounces away.

"Okay, let's make a deal," I say. "I won't get on my phone while we eat, but that means you can't either."

Moriah's frown deepens and I know she's frustrated. I don't understand why she seems to want to control my time talking to other people. Especially when I'm talking to Ophelia.

There's something more to the frustration than just me using my phone. Whatever it is, I don't like it.

But maybe it's been a stressful week; maybe she's just tired and lashing out. I don't press it further. It's not worth it.