“Love you guys. Are you ready to go?” she asked me.
“Yeah. It was nice meeting you both,” I told her parents.
They smiled and stood side by side. “Same here, Falon,” her dad said. “Take care of my baby girl.”
“Yes sir,” I said, and then followed his baby girl out of their house.
Don't kiss her. I reminded myself once more.
♥
Julie gave me the name of the restaurant. I knew where it was, but it didn't stop me from giving her a bewildered expression.
“You know, I would have been fine with a Burger King, or McDonald’s,” I told her.
She smiled, shaking her head. “Nonsense. You just graduated. You deserve a nice graduation dinner,” she told me.
I just hoped Ava gave me enough to pay for it.
It wasn't that the restaurant was some really extravagant place that you waited weeks for a reservation or anything, but it was the nicest place in town. The kind where men took their wives, or proposed to their girlfriends over a candle lit dinner.
It was a date friendly atmosphere.
I couldn't tell if Julie was wearing the dress because she had assumed this was a date, or if it were restaurant attire. With Liam gone, the lines were blurred.
“Did Liam already leave?” I asked.
Julie nodded. “Yeah. He told mom and dad what he was doing and then bolted. He's been there for about an hour now,” she told me.
I nodded. Things went quiet again for a while, and I adjusted the radio. Nothing was on, so I turned down the volume and decided that conversation might work.
“Your parents are really nice,” I told her.
“Yeah, they're pretty great. They seemed like they liked you,” she told me.
I laughed. “Doesn't everyone? I'm a likable guy,” I told her, and Julie started to laugh. I made a serious face. “That wasn't a joke. I was being serious.”
Julie was still laughing. “Sure you were. You're an acquired taste, Falon. Not everyone can get past that gloomy and brooding shell of yours,” she told me.
“You did.”
“That's because we're pieces of the same puzzle.”
I chuckled. “Sure we are.”
“We are!” she protested. When I gave her a waning look, she stared at me with a disbelieving stare. “You and I are so much alike, it's scary,” she replied.
“How so?”
She stopped and looked up. “For starters, we're both comically inclined. Second, we both like the Beatles,” she said, pointing at the CD in the middle of our seats.
“That doesn't mean anything. Anyone with good taste likes the Beatles,” I told her.
She pursed her lips. “Whether you believe so or not, we're both guarded and don't easily trust. And, we've both read Cabal. I'm sure you can ask a random person, and they would have never heard of it,” she replied.
I smiled, despite thinking about the first comment about her being guarded and untrusting. It didn't seem like that to me, but slowly, I realized that maybe she trusted me, and had let down her guards. I had only been around people she loved.
“Also, we just understand each other, I think. I think I get you better than anyone else ever has, and that's the only reason you haven't shut me out completely,” she replied, toying with her dress. “And I know you understand me, whether you realize it or not. I think you see me better than I see myself,” she said, looking at me.
I only glanced at her before turning my eyes back to the road. I knew she was telling the truth, but it didn't matter. Friends could have a close relationship like ours without taking it to the next level. The next level came with too many risks.
“Pieces of the same puzzle,” I muttered.
Julie laughed, but I could still feel the lingering electricity. “Exactly. Chips off the same block,” she replied.
We were quiet the rest of the drive. It wasn't until we got to the restaurant that we finally spoke again. When it was, it was me telling her to wait.
I went around and opened her door for her. She smiled as she got out. “Thank you,” she said, and then hooked arms with me as we made our way to the restaurant.
The place wasn't really in a building. It was a beautiful pier, lit up by lanterns, with a dance floor in the middle of all of the tables. It held a picturesque view of the lake, and gave off the feel of romanticism that I was desperately trying to avoid.
The food was prepared in a small building away from the table, but was enclosed in glass, so you could watch them cook your food if you wanted. It was part of the entertainment, and I guessed that the cooks would put on a good show.
I had never been to a place like this, but I knew I would need to tell Ava about it. It was a perfect place for a date.
I tried to imagine how this would have been if Liam was with us. That would have taken the romantically charged atmosphere away. I doubted I would have been able to focus on him with her sitting close to me. This had been dangerous from the beginning.
“We have reservations,” Julie said as we came to the hostess. The woman, prim from the dyed roots of her hair to the heels of her stilettos, looked me over once. I saw her conceal a scowl from her mouth, but not her eyes.
“Name?”
“Julie Michaels.”
The woman looked at her chart, and then marked the paper. “This way, please,” she said, and lead us toward our table.
“I asked for the best view. I think any seat will work for that purpose, don't you?” she asked, whispering in
