doesn’t seem to know how to take no for an answer.” I shrugged. “I was pretty worked up over it, but I’ve got bigger things to worry about right now.”
“Oh god,” she said, with exaggerated fatigue. “The zombies aren’t back again, are they?”
“No, it’s something different.” My stomach growled. “I’ll tell you about it later, okay? I don’t want to leave Aaron alone with the bimbo too long.”
When we walked up to the booth, I nearly had a fit. Aaron was sitting next to the wall with Elle sandwiched up next to him. As I watched, she rubbed her chin against his shoulder like a cat. It kind of made me want to barf. I had two choices: I could cause a scene, or I could be the more mature person. And yeah, I knew that maturity was the right choice, especially with Aaron’s mentorship at stake, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to punch Elle in the nose.
While I hovered there indecisively, the waitress showed up ina pair of shorts made from about as much fabric as my left sock and a white tee plastered to her upper body. I shivered just looking at her.
My stomach rumbled, and suddenly, ordering seemed more important than teaching Elle a lesson. I sat down. Rocky launched herself into the booth next to me and ordered without even looking at the menu.
I ended up going last because I couldn’t decide between the strawberry waffle and the biscuits and gravy. Then I put on my most pleasant expression and leaned forward just in time to hear Elle say, “You are such an awesomely awesome note taker, Aaron. I don’t know how you do it. You’re like really smart, aren’t you?”
Aaron shrugged uncomfortably. “Not so much. Kate’s the genius. She’s much more impressive than me. Smart. Sweet. I’m lucky to have her.”
I guess I didn’t need to kick him after all. Our eyes met over the table, and I felt all warm and fuzzy. It would have been a really nice moment if Elle had shut her stupid yap.
“Yeah, I wish I had a smart sister,” she said. “I mean, it would be so cool, because we could study together and I could borrow her notes and things like that. And it would be so much fun to have a twin. Have you guys ever pretended to be each other?”
I really hoped she was kidding, but somehow I was sure she wasn’t. I wanted to laugh, or maybe shake her head really hard to see if it rattled. But I contented myself with smirking in Rocky’s direction. Unfortunately, she was way too engrossed in her iPhone to notice. Texting Bryan, probably.
The amusement faded pretty fast, mostly because Elle put her head on Aaron’s shoulder. He looked at me with a panicked expression, and I was so done. I understood his ambition. Heck, I shared it. And if that meant he felt like his hands were tied with regard to putting Elle in her place, I’d just have to be the bad guy.
“I don’t think you get it.” I crossed my arms and glared at her. “Aaron is my boyfriend.”
“Yeah, right.” She laughed so hard she snorted.
This got Rocky’s attention; she slammed her hand on the table so hard that the silverware rattled. “Not a joke!”
Our waitress picked that moment to return with those stupid shorts barely covering her butt, a tray full of food, and a concerned look on her face. Elle stalked off toward the bathrooms and boy, was I going to miss her. I asked the waitress to box up her stupid salad plate.
“Is she okay?” asked the waitress.
“Oh yeah.” I nodded reassuringly. “She’s got cephaloproctitis and she forgot her medicine. That’s all.”
Her eyes widened as she placed my plate of greasy-spoon goodness on the table. After she left, Rocky said, “Cephaloprowhatsis?”
“
Cephalo
means ‘head’ and proctitis means ‘up the butt.’ Essentially.”
Aaron laughed so hard that he choked. And the world was right again.
I’d like to say everything went smoothly after that, but it didn’t. Elle returned to the table more obnoxious than ever. Throughoutthe rest of dinner,
“Oh god,” she said, with exaggerated fatigue. “The zombies aren’t back again, are they?”
“No, it’s something different.” My stomach growled. “I’ll tell you about it later, okay? I don’t want to leave Aaron alone with the bimbo too long.”
When we walked up to the booth, I nearly had a fit. Aaron was sitting next to the wall with Elle sandwiched up next to him. As I watched, she rubbed her chin against his shoulder like a cat. It kind of made me want to barf. I had two choices: I could cause a scene, or I could be the more mature person. And yeah, I knew that maturity was the right choice, especially with Aaron’s mentorship at stake, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to punch Elle in the nose.
While I hovered there indecisively, the waitress showed up ina pair of shorts made from about as much fabric as my left sock and a white tee plastered to her upper body. I shivered just looking at her.
My stomach rumbled, and suddenly, ordering seemed more important than teaching Elle a lesson. I sat down. Rocky launched herself into the booth next to me and ordered without even looking at the menu.
I ended up going last because I couldn’t decide between the strawberry waffle and the biscuits and gravy. Then I put on my most pleasant expression and leaned forward just in time to hear Elle say, “You are such an awesomely awesome note taker, Aaron. I don’t know how you do it. You’re like really smart, aren’t you?”
Aaron shrugged uncomfortably. “Not so much. Kate’s the genius. She’s much more impressive than me. Smart. Sweet. I’m lucky to have her.”
I guess I didn’t need to kick him after all. Our eyes met over the table, and I felt all warm and fuzzy. It would have been a really nice moment if Elle had shut her stupid yap.
“Yeah, I wish I had a smart sister,” she said. “I mean, it would be so cool, because we could study together and I could borrow her notes and things like that. And it would be so much fun to have a twin. Have you guys ever pretended to be each other?”
I really hoped she was kidding, but somehow I was sure she wasn’t. I wanted to laugh, or maybe shake her head really hard to see if it rattled. But I contented myself with smirking in Rocky’s direction. Unfortunately, she was way too engrossed in her iPhone to notice. Texting Bryan, probably.
The amusement faded pretty fast, mostly because Elle put her head on Aaron’s shoulder. He looked at me with a panicked expression, and I was so done. I understood his ambition. Heck, I shared it. And if that meant he felt like his hands were tied with regard to putting Elle in her place, I’d just have to be the bad guy.
“I don’t think you get it.” I crossed my arms and glared at her. “Aaron is my boyfriend.”
“Yeah, right.” She laughed so hard she snorted.
This got Rocky’s attention; she slammed her hand on the table so hard that the silverware rattled. “Not a joke!”
Our waitress picked that moment to return with those stupid shorts barely covering her butt, a tray full of food, and a concerned look on her face. Elle stalked off toward the bathrooms and boy, was I going to miss her. I asked the waitress to box up her stupid salad plate.
“Is she okay?” asked the waitress.
“Oh yeah.” I nodded reassuringly. “She’s got cephaloproctitis and she forgot her medicine. That’s all.”
Her eyes widened as she placed my plate of greasy-spoon goodness on the table. After she left, Rocky said, “Cephaloprowhatsis?”
“
Cephalo
means ‘head’ and proctitis means ‘up the butt.’ Essentially.”
Aaron laughed so hard that he choked. And the world was right again.
I’d like to say everything went smoothly after that, but it didn’t. Elle returned to the table more obnoxious than ever. Throughoutthe rest of dinner,
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