“Did the check come yet?” I ask.
“We just asked for it.”
Beyond her, I see Harrison and Mike looking our way.
I sigh and stand up, tugging on the hem of my miniskirt. I give Ten and his friends a little wave, then slink around the aisle of booths to reach ours. “Sorry,” I say, sliding back in next to Mike.
I take in a long lungful of air that smells like roasted garlic and menthol—a scent I will forever associate with crap dates from now on. Mike spent a good portion of our meal explaining how he has to rub this cooling cream into his muscles after every game. He went as far as displaying his muscles, as though I wouldn’t know what they were… Not only do I dance but I am a human, so I know what muscles are and where they can be found in the body. I can even name most of them, but I didn’t get into that. I felt it would be a tad snarky of me.
The waitress slides our check onto the table. I reach for my purse and unzip it while Harrison calculates how much we owe.
“Fifteen bucks a head,” he says.
Since I don’t consider this a real date, I don’t expect Mike to pay for me. However, I’m expecting Harrison to pay for Rae—which might be antiquated of me, but I don’t know… it’s just fifteen dollars. When she takes out the exact change, he doesn’t tell her to put her money away.
I pull out a twenty and lay it flat on the tray.
“You sure, man?” Mike yanks the check out of Harrison’s hands. “I only got a plain pie and tap water. I remember it saying twelve dollars on the menu.” He reads over the bill. “Yep. Twelve bucks.” He digs into his pocket and comes up with a handful of ones and a balled flyer. He smooths it out. It’s a rebate for five dollars. He peels off seven ones and puts them on the tray along with his coupon. “Rae, your vegetarian pizza was eighteen bucks.”
Her eyes widen a little, and she starts for her bag again, but I reach over and touch the back of her hand. “I got you, Rae. Hey, Harrison, did you factor in tip?”
He rubs the back of his neck. “I forgot.”
I take another ten out and toss it on the pile of green bills.
“Angie, you don’t have to do that,” Rae says.
“It’s okay.” There’s nothing I dislike more than that moment at the end of meals when everyone’s tallying up what they owe. Since this dinner was already painful, I want to expedite this part, even if it means paying more than my share.
“Your daddy has a good job, huh?” Mike asks.
“My daddy’s dead.” Which he would know if he’d asked me a single question.
Mike flinches.
I stand up and hook my bag over my shoulder.
“So what’ll it be?Guardians of the GalaxyorOutbreak?” Harrison asks, pulling Rae into his side.
I frown.
Rae tucks a blonde lock behind her ear. “I suggested a movie at my place. What would you rather see?”
I’d rather see Harrison and Mike drive off. Since I don’t think that’s one of my options, I say, “I think I’m going to head home. Mom texted me that her date didn’t go too well.”
“Oh no.” If Rae senses I’m lying, she doesn’t let on.
“Rain check on our sleepover?” I ask.
“Sure, hon. I’ll drop you off.”
“That’d be great.”
As we head out, Mike falls in step next to me. “My homecoming’s next weekend. Want to go with me?”
I blink at him. “Are you serious?” Did he think this date went well?
“You don’t have to be a bitch about it,” he huffs.
