My mind has been a mess ever since I got back from school.
Why, you ask?
Because I don't know how the hell I'm gonna tell Sydney I don't want to go out with him.
Urghhhh!
Now I'm sitting on my bed, dressed in a short beige T-dress, white sneakers and black baseball cap, thinking of how I should gently but firmly turn him down.
"Alex?!" I hear my name being called from downstairs.
"Yeah?"
"There's a boy here saying something about taking you out."
"Oh. I'll be right there dad."I shout back.
I take in deep breaths and I stand up.
You can do this Alexis.
I grab my phone from my bed and I walk downstairs.
"So what's it about you going out?" My dad crosses his arms when I get to the door.
I look at Sydney then to my dad, then to Sydney again.
"Dad, remember when you were watching a game last night and I told you I was gonna hang out with a friend and you said I should have fun?"
"I don't." He says and I sigh.
"You asked for a cup of water and I asked you right then." He rubs his hand on his chin.
"Oh yeah. You said with Sydney."
"Well, this is Sydney." I point to the guy dressed in a black top, brown jeans and black sneakers.
"I thought it was a girl."
"Well now we know he's a guy."
One thing about my dad is that when he's watching a football game, you can literally get anything you want.
"I don't think I approve of this." My dad mutters.
Wait!
If my dad says no, I wouldn't have to go out with Syd and I wouldn't have to turn him down
"Well, if you think-"
"Don't worry Mr Dalton. I've known your daughter since kindergarten and she knows me well. I like her too much to hurt her."
Oh no. Shut up!
"And I can keep you rest assured that I won't do anything to her and I won't let anything happen to her."
"Really?" My dad raises an eyebrow.
No!
I know that look. When you have accepted already but you're still playing hard.
"Affirmative." Syd nods and my dad smiles.
"Very well. But don't come back too late." He side hugs me and I huff.
I just hated my dad a little right now.
"Great." I wave my hands around and fake a smile. "Let's get going then." I walk out of the door.
"Bye kid!" Dad shouts and I hear laughter in his voice.
Why do I feel he's doing this on purpose.
Syd leads me to his car and we get inside.
"So where are we going?" I ask him after he starts driving.
"Well, honestly, I didn't know where we could go so I just thought, 'Inside out'." He says dramatically with his hand.
"Nooooooo." I drawl.
"Yes."
Inside out is like the best restaurant in Greenville. They serve everything. Burgers, pizza, Nachos, classic breakfast, lunch and dinner, beverages, Mexican, Indian, Korean foods, you just name it.
It's like all the food restaurants in one.
For a tiny bit, I forget I don't want to hang out with him. Instead, I'm thinking of all the foods I'll eat.
Fifteen minutes later, we get there and I'm already bubbling with excitement.
"Well someone's happy." I turn to see Syd smiling.
"You have no idea how much I love inside out." I open the door and he does too.
"You mean the food."
"Of course. What else would I mean?"
"Well then, I made the right decision."
We walk in and we have our seats. First off, I order some burgers, then nachos, then pizza, don't forget the tacos.
I finally washed everything down with a cup of whipped coffee.
"Wow. When you said you love food, I didn't think it would be this much." He says and I smile.
"I take after my dad." I smile proudly.
"Well he must be proud."
"He is actually."
During the time we were eating, Sydney told me about himself.
Turns out, his dad is a cop, and his mom is a lawyer.
Sick combo.
He has a kid sister in fifth grade and apparently, has a lousy mouth. Wants to be a cop like his dad and is just using football as a hobby.
Wow.
"That's nice." I smile.
"You have a nice smile." My smile drops and I cough.
"I'm sorry."
"No it's okay." I calm down and I sigh.
"Look Sydney, you are cute and all, but-"
"You don't like me." He finishes
"I do, I do. But not just the way you do."
"It's no problem. At least I got to take you on a date." He smiles.
"And you did a great job at that." I smile back.
"But it doesn't mean I'll give up easily."
What?
I was about to question his words but he beat me to it.
"C'mon, it's getting late." He stands up and we move to the cashier. I didn't want him to pay and he didn't want me to pay. So we split it in half.
The drive home is a silent one with cool music playing on the radio.
When we get home, he walks me to my door and we bid each other good night.
I walk in to see my dad on the couch flipping through channels.
"You back already?" He switches the TV off.
"I know what you did." I sit beside him.
"I knew you didn't want to go out with him at first glance."
"But why did you allow me go?"
"I wanted you to hang out with a guy. it's been a while since I've seen you with any other person after lan." I close my eyes at the mention of his name.
It's been two years since he left and I've tried not to talk about him.
He was my first boyfriend and the guy I loved. Well, until Matt Harper came along and piqued my interest.
"You know I don't talk about him dad."
"I know sweetie. I know." He suddenly stands up. "Well, it's gonna be a new day tomorrow, so I'm going to go to bed. Night."
"Night dad." I sit for a while thinking about nothing and everything before I finally stand up to go upstairs.