15. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Beth

H aving lunch in the food court is kind of chaotic, but I love the crazy-busy energy of the mall on a Saturday. There are so many people to watch, so many snatches of conversations to tune in and out of.

I start to sip my large soda once I'm done with my burger and there are only a few French fries left in the carton. I'm pretty stuffed, but I'll take that ready-to-burst feeling over the empty stomach I'd still have if I'd chosen a salad like my sister did.

She seems lost in thought when I stop watching the people around us to look back at her.

"So, what have I missed these last six or seven years?" I ask, as if it's a normal question. "Catch me up."

She takes a sip of her plain black coffee, and then she shrugs and says, "Not much."

"Oh, come on. You must have some cool stories about the city."

"I came out here determined to get a decent job, and it took a while, but I finally got there. That's pretty much the whole story for me."

"What do you do for fun?" I ask, trying not to judge.

"I read," she says. "Sometimes I go to dinner with friends, and I have Daniel."

"That's the hotel meet-up guy, right?" I ask, logging the name for future social media checks.

"It's kind of nice to feel like I'm actually being wooed, you know," she says. "Most guys can't be bothered with the whole going out part of dating anymore. It feels like they really just want to go straight to the bedroom. It's not like that with him."

Okay, I'm starting to like him better now.

She's smiling as she talks about him.

"It sounds like you're really into him."

"It's only been a few months."

"It's okay to like someone sooner than that."

She sighs. "Fine. I like him a lot. He's hot and he really listens when I'm talking. He's not just sitting across from me waiting for his turn to speak. He can tell when something's upset me at work or whatever, and he always tries to make me feel better."

"Sounds like husband material to me."

She laughs. "See? This is why I wasn't going to tell you about him. I knew you'd say something like that, and we're nowhere close to that stage."

"You mean, you're not."

She blinks at me. "What?"

I shrug. "You don't know what he's thinking, but if he's being that sweet then it sounds like he's really into you. Maybe watch out for him asking you to go on a trip or something."

"Oh my God," she groans. "Now I'm going to be paranoid about what it means if he does ask me to go somewhere with him."

"Let's just pretend we didn't have this conversation?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "I'm definitely going to try."

I take another sip of my soda. "So, where's this arcade you were talking about? I'm in the mood to change a twenty into quarters and go nuts."

Considering I've spent most of my life so far as a student, I don't like to throw away money, but it's not throwing it away if you're doing something fun with it. I know some people, probably Catherine included, think arcades are just another way to drain their wallets, but where else can you test out a bunch of different games and try to win silly prizes from machines?

"It's on the top floor of the mall. I think we should go to the candy store first."

"Yeah, good call."

That way I can eat some candy while I'm deciding where to spend my quarters.

That's a win, win situation for me.