“I prefer Gabriella Martinez with her mouth closed.Much more attractive?”
“Tate McGregor + Clay Williams = forever.Heart-eyes emoji, heart with arrow through it emoji.”
“Hey Levi Johnson, how about dem Cowboys?”
“I’m from Tennessee, moron!”The outburst slips from my lips before I can stop it.Three pairs of eyes smile at me.I exit out of the comments before shutting down Tate’s phone completely.“These people don’t know what they are talking about, and you shouldn’t read this,” I say, directing my stare at Tate, who all of a sudden looks so small, so innocent.I hand her back her phone in a wordless exchange and watch as she tucks it away in her pocket.I lean back in the booth, letting my weight be absorbed by the partially torn cushion.
The waitress comes with Gabriella’s tea and Clay’s Diet Coke.“Alright, kids,” she says, despite the fact that we’re probably all the same age.“What will it be?”
Gabriella orders her soup and then it’s Tate’s turn.I watch as she spends the majority of Gabriella’s questioning (“Is this gluten-free, dairy-free, sodium-heavy?”) quickly scanning the menu.When her turn comes, Tiffany waits, pen to pad, for her order.“I’ll...have...”She flips the plastic page once more, her eyes dancing back and forth.“I’ll get the cowboy burger please.Extra bacon.”She smiles, handing her menu over.Clay starts rattling off his order, which is enough to feed a small state.I rub at the bridge of my nose, preparing for the inevitable.
“And for you?”she says, stacking the long rectangle of menus together.
“I’ll get your cowboy burger with extra bacon.”
“So, exactly what she’s getting?”Tiffany asks, making sure she heard correctly.I dare a glance at Tate, a bemused smile playing on her face.Even if it’s at my expense, I definitely prefer it to the sulky look she had before.“I guess so.”
“Great.Oh, and how do you guys want your burgers?Medium?”Her eyes ping-pong between us.
“Medium-rare,” we say in almost perfect harmony, eliciting a laugh from everyone at the table, even Tiffany.
“Alright, I’ll be back.”
“You had to get that burger, didn’t you?For the sake of science, do you always order anything with the word ‘cowboy’ in front?”Clay laughs, nudging me by the shoulder.
“What?Don’t be ridiculous.I just wanted bacon on my burger.Tate ordered it too, and she’s probably never seen a cow in her life.”
“I’ve seen a cow, Levi.In fact, I’m looking at one right now.”Her smile hitches up on one side into the saltiest little smirk.Clay heaves over, laughing his butt off into his forearm, and Gabriella chokes on the sip she just took, lungs spasming in laughter.I don’t even try to fight my smile, and it feels...good.It feels like we’re the closest of friends, despite the fact that we have only known each other a week.I rub my eyes, blurred from tears of laughter.When it clears, Tate comes into view and all the happy I’ve just felt drops like a stone in my stomach.I like her.I was attracted to her when I met her, and I’ve been denying that, but now I think I might actually like her.Gabriella was right.My palms go slick as the booth starts to strangle me.I feel trapped, caged, choked for breath.
“Levi...are you okay?”I hear Clay under the strong whoosh of my breath.I force myself to nod.
“I need to get some air.I’ll be back.”I pinch my eyes together once, like a reset, before trying and failing to stand.The table.Right.I slide out and power walk through the diner, swinging open the door with a little more force than necessary.The crash of the door against the exterior wall is followed by a gasp from the people closest.The cool air hits and it’s a welcome relief.I take a seat on the curb, letting my head hang between my knees.I started getting panic attacks in high school.The therapist my mom made me go to suggested it had something to do with my dad and the pressure of him leaving, but I won’t give him that credit.Some people have asthma; I have panic attacks.It’s the card I was dealt.I just need a minute and I’ll be fine.
Chapter 12
Tate
