Page 38 of Clichés & Curses

‘Let me get that,’ I said, taking my drink from his hands, when I saw him struggle with the two drinks and a large popcorn in his hold.

‘Thanks.’ He looked up at the line of numbers that indicated which halls were already open for seating. ‘What hall are we in?’

I looked at the tickets in my hand. ‘Hall 7.’ Glancing up, I saw that number seven was lit up. ‘Our hall is open. Is there anything else you want to get, or should we head inside?’

Aiden shook his head. ‘I think I got everything, let’s head in.’

The movie turned out to be a lot of fun. A rom-com was exactly what I needed after this week.

‘What did you think of the movie?’ Aiden asked once we left the movie hall and headed back to his car.

‘Honestly, it was really good. I haven’t been to the cinema in a while, so thank you for bringing me here,’ I replied, smiling at him.

He opened my car door for me and closed it once I got inside.

‘What did you think of it?’ I asked him once he got in the car.

He didn’t say anything for a while until after he reversed the car, and we were on our way to our next stop for the night. ‘I liked it. Nothing beats a feel-good movie after midterms week. Anyway, I’m guessing you’re hungry. We can head back to your street to get dinner or go somewhere close by. I think there’s a diner around here.’

As much as I would have loved to go and eat somewhere familiar, I did want to check out the diner he was talking about. ‘The diner is fine with me,’ I told him. ‘Nina and I need more food options, so if the food is good, I can bring her with me next time.’

Turns out the diner was barely a five-minute drive from the movie theatre. Before I knew it, Aiden was already turning on his blinker and driving the car into the diner’s parking lot. It was about nine, but the parking lot was still quite full. So, we had to wait around for a bit.

Aiden parked his car, once again opening my door, and we finally made our way inside.

We chose a booth that was at the end of the diner, and I looked around to take in the surroundings of the eating establishment. From my observation, I could sense the theme they had been going for was the typical diner that you would go to when you’re on a road trip. It honestly reminded me of Radiator Springs from the movieCars.

It also occurred to me that the diner was only half-full when we got in, which I found a bit odd, since the parking lot was full.

Aiden must’ve noticed the confusion on my face when he said, ‘Most of the people park here while they go to the bar over there.’ He was pointing towards a lit-up bar across the street from us.

I nodded at him. ‘Have you ever checked it out?’

‘I haven’t actually. But from what people have told me, it’s more catered towards people in their thirties, and I heard they do karaoke on the weekends,’ he said with a slightly sour look on his face.

‘I take it karaoke isn’t your thing?’

‘Not really,’ he answered.

I just gave him a forced smile in return. Guess I had found a thing we were incompatible about. I mean, it wasn’t really a big deal, but I love going to karaoke, so it did suck he didn’t feel the same way.

Does Colton like karaoke?The thought unexpectedly popped into my head.

I quickly pushed it away.

Aiden was about to say something else when the waitress reached our table with two menus in her hand.

‘Hello there! My name’s Tracy and I’ll be serving you two tonight,’ the waitress greeted us. She looked to be in her mid-fifties, but her sweet smile and cheerfulness gave off a youthful aura that made her seem younger. ‘Here’s our menu. Can I get you something to drink while you look?’

‘Root beer for me,’ Aiden answered.

‘Just water, please,’ I told her.

‘Coming right up,’ she said as she went off.

I looked at the menu to see what was available and saw that they had a small Italian cuisine section, which included spaghetti and meatballs.

Perfect, just what I was in the mood for.

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