Page 34 of The Sky Between Us

The smell of burnt oil, French fries and burger hit my nose, making my stomach grumble. I was starving, in all departments.

“Welcome to Dina’s Diner,” the hostess greeted us in her usual red and white outfit. “My name is Terry and I’ll be your hostess tonight. Do you have any seating preferences?”

“The booth,” I muttered nodding towards one of the empty ones in the back, on the opposite side of the jukebox. Call me anti-social, but I didn’t need a bunch of chicks playing music and giggling right next to my ear.

Hazel wore a blank expression that almost made me crack up as she followed through the narrow hallway between the booths and settled in with her back to the rest of the restaurant.

“Thank you,” she smiled at the waitress when she placed the menu in front of her, and I slid in next to her.

“What do you want for drinks?” Terry took her notepad.

Glancing at Hazel, I gave her the chance to speak up first. “Coke Zero please.”

“I’ll take a regular one,” I mumbled, hiding my grin from the waitress but I couldn’t fake it for my date.

“What’s so funny?” she turned towards me half mad, half curious. She wanted to play it cool, but at the same time, she’s already lost it and curiosity was tickling her.

“You just seemed like a healthy freak. Your coffee is simple, you drink water first thing in the morning, yet you took Coke Zero. It’s the worst thing ever. Regular Coke is better than that shit.”

Hazel nodded. “I like to take care of my body, yes. But sometimes I treat myself too,” she explained in an even tone. “Plus, I find the taste of the regular Coke disgusting. It’s like drinking cleaning products. Coke Zero tastes much better.”

“Have you ever tried drinking cleaning products?” I asked, doing my best not to burst into a laugh.

Hazel’s eyes narrowed and laughter erupted out of me.

“You know, I might not be a social being on campus, but I know that you are not supposed to laugh at your date while on a date. First impressions and all,” she rolled her eyes, making me laugh even harder.

“Here are your drinks.” Terry re-appeared, placing two big glasses in front of us. “Have you chosen food?”

“I’ll take the double cheeseburger with fries. No tomatoes and pickles,” I replied automatically, still choking on my laugh as Hazel studied the menu.

“I would like a chicken burger, but in a lettuce wrap instead of the bun and sweet potato fries,” she said after a long silence.

Finally catching my breath, and the waitress gone, I risked taking another look at her.

“Let me guess, you don’t like the taste of bun?” I asked innocently, but a wide grin was eating at my face.

Hazel smacked my arm, and took a deep sip from her Coke. Her full, pink lips wrapped around the straw and she sucked hard on it, making other parts of me hard. My grin faded, and suddenly my mouth felt way too dry to even swallow my own spit. She threw a knowing, half glance my way before placing her glass back.

“You were saying?” she raised one single eyebrow.

Shaking my head, I slowly smiled. “Nothing. Not a word.”

“Good,” she interlaced her fingers on the table and turned towards me. “Your turn. Tell me all your secrets now, captain.”

A smirk played on my lips as I contemplated her words. “I don’t know, baby girl, fire away all your questions. I’m an open book.”

“Yeah, right.” Hazel lifted her eyes to the ceiling and shook her head. “Why do you work at Starbucks? Guys like you…”

“Wow, are we back to being a judgmental bitch? Next time, warn me. I wanted to have a conversation with the other Hazel.”

Her patience was wearing thin, as she resisted the urge to roll her eyes and her fingers drummed on her legs. I wanted to break through and get to her, and based on her question, she wanted the same from me. Two were playing this game, but I was the only captain.

Silence stretched between us, as an invisible wall separating us in that tiny booth. I felt it circle around us, slowly sucking the air out of our bubble, suffocating us. Time was slowly ticking away, with every passing second our silence grew and her walls cemented.

She didn’t trust me; it was clear from her rigid seating position to her constantly bouncing eyes. The wheels of her brain spun and I could see the smoke leaving her ears as they overheated from the thinking.

Two were playing this game, and one of us needed to let up. I was the one with the agenda, so I had to do it, because I wanted to know her. But most of all, I wanted to spend one meal with that fun girl I met over the weekend. Bitchy Hazel was all right, but her real side was a million times better. That girl was someone I could find myself falling for. She checked all the boxes. The only problem was, she usually used her other, fake face.

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