I told Callie to meet me at this little diner down the street from our house, it's called Jonny's I think. It has great breakfast food for the hungover patron. I walk in and to my left there is an attached gas station with cheap crap lining the walls and a very cranky looking cashier giving me the death look from behind the register. I shoot her a slight smile, more like a grimace, then turned toward the restaurant. I could smell bacon and eggs, hash browns, and fresh coffee, a nice dark roast. The dining room was dim, almost all of the light came in through the blinds on the large windows surrounding the room. The sunlight seeped through each slit and made the room golden in the early light. Dust and other unknown particles flitted through the golden streams, it almost looked like there was a glitter party there the night before. There was a brown sign with gold lettering reading, Please seat yourself, so I found a booth in the far corner and sat down to wait for Callie. We liked to stay under the radar. Looking out the window I thought about my term paper, that lead me to thinking about Dillan. My head filled with, what the hell, and, why the hell questions, and my heart felt heavy and I was confused "Hey hon, can I get you anything?" The waitresses' voice snapped me out of my trance. I turned toward her with a jump, "Oh, I'm sorry dear I didn't mean to scare you! Can I get you anything to drink?" She had a sweet smile like a warm summer day, her hair was up in a sloppy bun and strands of it fell onto her cheek bones like little ribbons. Her baby doll pink uniform was unflattering to her round physique and looked a size too small. "Uh, s-sure I'll have a coffee, you know what just bring a pot for us please." I was still shaken from being brought back to reality so suddenly. "Alrighty, no problem!" she chirped as she bounced off to the kitchen. I turned my gaze toward the window again and watched the cars on the highway, I wondered where they were going today and who they were, who they were with, loved ones, friends, enemies? The thoughts kept coming as my eyes wandered the skies and clouds. There were birds sitting high on the telephone lines singing their morning tunes while the world whirred by beneath them. I sighed out, relieved that my life was as simple as it was. I could feel someone approaching so I turned from the window. It was Callie followed by our waitress with a pot of coffee and two cups. Callie plopped down in the seat across from me, she smelled like stale cigarettes and sour milk, probably vomit. "That party was insane Jac, I feel like shit! You look amazing of course! How do you do it?" Callie was skinny, almost too skinny, she had on a black leather mini skirt with matching leather knee high boots, a bright pink tank top that said PLAYMATE on it and a jacket with some kind of fake fur. Her make up was smeared under her eyes and her dark hair was pulled into a messy pony tail. "Wow, you look like shit too!" I snicker as she peels her jacket off. "I was horrid this morning but I did this thing that helps alot! I took a shower. Why didn't you take a shower?" She looked up at me from her coffee cup like I told her her cat died or something tragic of those sorts. Her hands began to shake and I felt guilty, maybe that was a little mean but I didn't think it would make her cry. "Oh, Callie, I'm sorry, what is it?" I grabbed her hand and it was so cold it made me jump. "I met someone at your place last night." She wouldn't even look up at me, just down at the coffee in her cup like a shamed child. "O.K.-- you meet lots of people at my house Callie that's never bothered you before. What's the deal?" She shot a glance at my face then turned her gaze out the window. "You know how Mark and I got into a fight last night before the party?" she still wouldn't look at me. "Yeah, that's why he didn't come over right." I stated. "Yea." Her voice was barely a whisper that time. "Well, what is it Callie? You know you can tell me." She sighed out heavily and looked at me, eyes sunken into her thin face. "Well, I met this guy, uh, Logan is his name I think. I don't really remember, ugh! I feel so stupid!" she buried her face in her hands and began to sob quietly. Callie and Mark had been together for almost 4 years now. All of us met senior year of high school, Dillan, Mark, Callie, Trevor and I all had home room together the whole year. Mark and Callie fell hard and fast for each other, while the rest of us just remained friends. They didn't always see eye to eye on some matters but, they were meant to be that was clear. I could tell where this was going, I grabbed her hands and made her look at me. "It's O.K. Cal, everyone makes mistakes--" just then she ripped her hands from mine and I was left sitting with my mouth open once again. "You don't understand Jacy. I don't love him anymore!" That was something I did not expect. She had been crazy about him for 4 years, "Wh-what happened?" I stuttered "He cheated on me." She said quietly, looking out the window again. "He cheated on me last year with that slut I saw him with at Trevor's place. He told me nothing happened but, this guy I met last night, he said he saw the them together. He said he walked in on them doing 'the nasty' he called it. I just can't believe it! I've been oblivious to it for a whole year! He lied to my face more than once about her. It just makes me sick to my stomach! How could he do this to me and live with it for a year? Who is to say he wouldn't have gone longer, if I didn't find out." I sat for a moment trying to think of the right words to say to her. "I'm sorry Cal, that's low. Is that what you guys fought about before the party?" "No," she said quietly, "He got mad at me because he thought I was cheating on him! When I found out he was the one cheating, well that's when got black out drunk! Then Logan asked if I wanted to go back to his place, and of course I'm so drunk I go right along! Ugh, pathetic. Anyway, that's why I'm not clean, got bad news, got fucked up, got laid, and didn't go home. I woke up this morning and couldn't believe myself. I noticed your message and took off. Honestly, I don't think I could eat right now. I'll be right back." She hurried off to the bathroom and as if on cue the waitress was back. "You ready to order hunnie?" Her voice was concerned like she knew something was wrong. "Uh, we'll just stick with coffee for now, thank you." "Alrighty then!" She smiled and walked away. Callie hadn't surfaced from the bathroom yet, so I looked around the restaurant. I realized I hadn't looked at the time once this morning, I searched the cluttered walls for a clock but there was clearly no room. So instead I walk around to the booth in front of us. I know someone was seated there because our waitress took their order after she checked on us. They must have came when Callie was crying so I didn't notice. When I turned towards the booth I didn't expect to see a familiar face. "Jake?" I said, thinking about how coincidental this was. He looked up at me, he didn't look surprised to see me. "Hey, how you doing beautiful?" He smiled and sipped his coffee. "Go ahead, sit down." He nodded towards the seat across from him. "Uh, I'm here with a friend actually so--" He put his hand up and said, "Come on, we can share a table. I'll get your bill." He gestured again to the seat across from him. "We are actually having kind of a private conversation over here , I just came to ask for the time so--" before I could finish I was interrupted by desperation. "Don't be stupid Jacy!" I heard Callie's high pitched voice come from behind me. I turned to see her all cleaned up, hair brushed and scrunched, make up fixed, and smelling like her Victoria's Secret perfume. Not that I'm complaining, it's better than vomit. "But, Callie we were talking about Mar--" she slapped her hand over my mouth before I could finish. "Shh!" she hissed."He's cute! You need to flirt with him!" Callie was always playing match maker with me and random guys I care nothing about. She thinks I live with too many guys and don't date enough of them. "We can talk about me later! Lets get you laid!" I rolled my eyes and looked at her like she was crazy, "I don't need to get laid! Your being ridiculous, come on." I started walking back to our booth but she grabbed my arm. "He offered to pay for our meal Jac, please! I'm sad, this will make me happy." I pushed out a sigh and walked to get my purse from our retired booth. She sat in the seat across form him right on the edge so I had no room to sit next to her. Jake was looking at her with a smirk. He knew exactly what she was doing, but she didn't care. He didn't seem to mind her elementary behavior either. So I took the seat next to him and put my purse between us. "So nice of you to invite us!" Callie said a little too excited about her success with all of this. "Oh, no problem it's my pleasure to have two lovely ladies in my booth with me." I noticed a slight southern accent in his voice. It was deep and velvety like silk and his words flicked off his tongue effortlessly. He had a crooked smile that he couldn't seem to extinguish. Callie was right he is cute. I was too flustered this morning to notice. He had a dusting of freckles where the sun had kissed his cheeks just right. His eyes were a gentle brown that just invited me in and I wasn't uncomfortable to be sitting so close like I thought I would be. "Have you two ordered anything?" he asked looking into my eyes way to deeply for the kind of question he was asking me. I just starred at him for a moment that turned awkward when Callie kicked me from under the table. "Ouch! What the hell!" she jumped and looked at Jake to see his reaction, but he wasn't looking at her. "Uh, I'm sorry," I stuttered trying to shake the butterflies in my stomach. "No, we have not ordered yet, just coffee. Oh, Jake, this is Callie. Callie, Jake." It was then he turned his attention to Callie and took her hand, "Nice to meet ya Callie." he said turning back to me again. His back was against the wall and he was facing me directly. "So, do you want to order? Or are you two those kind of girls who don't eat." I could see Callie cringe out of the corner of my eye, she has struggled with an eating disorder her whole life. She is having a rough time right now. Sometimes it's better and she looks good but then something triggers a memory and she takes a spiral downward. Mark was always good at bringing her up when she would get down but the tension in the relationship must have been getting to her for a few weeks, she was looking pretty thin. "Of course we are going to eat!" she snapped not trying to. "No, we are not those kind of girls!" He looked surprised now, then seemed to notice how skinny she was. I could tell he felt sorry. He flagged the waitress and we placed our orders. Callie claimed her hangover wouldn't let her eat anything right now, so she didn't order. We ate our food and had our awkward conversations and then it was time to go. I was trying to keep Jake from paying for my meal. I didn't really like strange men buying me food. "Please, don't worry about it, you don't have to pay for me to eat with you. I have plenty of money." I grabbed the check from the table before anyone else could and was holding in my hand, digging furiously through my purse looking for my wallet. He looked at me with that crooked smile and leaned towards me until he was maybe three inches away from my face. "Chill out lil' lady, I got this one. Next ones on you." He said it matter-of-factly but the words flowed from his mouth and into my ears drowning out any buzz from the restaurant. All I could hear was my heart pounding, and the sound of his voice. "O.K. then..." I barely mumbled the words. He grabbed the check with two fingers and slowly slid it out of my clenched fist, reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. The waitress came to claim the money and went off to retrieve his change. I sat in a daze, I couldn't wait to get out of there. Callie was the life of the party, chatting it up with Mr. Pays the Bill! I don't know why it bothered me so much, I guess maybe I felt violated for some stupid reason. I have some boundary issues, probably why I have so many guy friends but can't seem to see myself settling down with any of them. As soon as the waitress dropped his change I said my thank yous and high tailed it to my car. I could hear Callie screaming at me, "SLOW DOWN JAC! I NEED A RIDE MY CAR IS OUT OF GA-" her voice gets cut off by my car door slamming. Then just the silence of my car, for a moment. The next thing I know Callie is knocking on the passenger window and pulling on the door handle really fast so it made an annoying noise. I unlock the doors and she climbs in. "What is your deal? Are you crazy? He is so- into you! And- and he is so- hott!! Why are you such a cold fish? He totally has a good job, did you see all the green in that wallet! Whoa, I mean if you were to date him, take me shopping with you! HA! Ya know-" I couldn't listen to her freaking out anymore, I was already freaked out. I have had one hell of a morning and it's not even noon. "Callie!" I screamed so loud my ear drums vibrated. She fell silent and gawked at me like an idiot. "Please, Callie, shut up! I will give you a ride if you can be quiet and not say another word about that boy! O.K. Thank you." We sat in silence all the way to Callie's apartment. When we got there she looked over at me, she still looked stunned. "I'm sorry Jacy, I didn't mean to piss you off. I just think-" I put my finger over her lips. "No, please don't say anything about Jake. Call me later O.K. I have to go home and work on my paper. I'm not mad don't worry." She looked down and then back up at me. "Alright Jac, I'll see ya later."
Now all I had to worry about was going home to face Dillan. Should be fantastic.
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