Don't Fall in Love

Chapter Two - Dinner

Growing up an only child was definitely an experience. I had all the toys I wanted, never shared my snacks, and the house was always quiet. Since both of my parents had jobs, I learned to be independent from a very young age. By the time I was seven I would clean my room without my mom telling me to, and I'd make my own breakfast before my parents woke up. I had a very strict routine that I followed every single day. My parents admired how independent and well behaved I was, they knew that if they had another child the odds of it being just like me were low, so they didn't have anymore kids after me.

In elementary school kids complained about not getting enough sleep because their baby brother/sister cried all night, I gloated about getting my 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep. My classmates whined about what it was like to share a room with their siblings, and I spoke about how peaceful it was to have my own room. When I was in high school and looks became everything, people started comparing siblings and saying who was prettier or who was more popular, while no one compared me, because I didn't have a sibling to be compared to. My friends constantly said it was annoying to drive their siblings to school because they never got ready in time, I never had that problem because I left the house at whatever time I wanted.

But one thing my friends and other classmates had that I didn't was, a relationship with both of their parents. I never spent time with my mom because she was always working, I rarely ever saw her, but I understood that she was busy. Whenever dads were mentioned I stayed quiet, because I didn't have anything to add to the conversation. I loved being an only child, but I also longed for a best friend, someone who would always be there no matter what, but I never had that.

Dinner was always my favorite part of the day, getting to sit at the kitchen table with a food of my choice and my Ipad to watch my favorite TV show. I never had dinner with my mom, she always got home after I was in bed, but I always made sure to make her an extra plate.

Tonight I'm having dinner with Erick and his friends, apparently they go to some restaraunt every Friday night and discuss what they earned throughout the week from their businesses. At first it made me laugh, a bunch of teenage boys having a business meeting, the thought of it alone was enough for a giggle to slip out in front of Erick. But then I realized that they're more successful than I am so it really wasn't funny. He invited me because I told him how I spent my afternoons in Washington and he thought it'd be nice if I went along with them. At first I declined because I didn't want to intrude, but he insisted as did Santiago, so of course I caved in and said yes.

I arrived to the restaraunt and saw Erick leaning against the hood of his car, he's dressed nicely, and he looks even better in the glow from the sunset. A smile appeared on his face when I got out of my car, he walked toward me.

"You look really pretty, I like how your hair looks when it's straightened." He gently ran his hand through my hair, there's times where he's gentle with me in ways that makes it feel like we're more than friends.

"Thank you, and you look good in blue."

"You look amazing in pink."

"Alright chill stop complimenting me, you're gonna make me blush." I playfully pushed him and he chuckled.

"My bad, come on let's go inside, they're already waiting for us." He held his hand out for me to hold, I held it with a smile on my face as we walked in.

The restaraunt wasn't fancy, but it wasn't a regular place either, for some reason it was a nice mixture of both. It had low lighting, booths instead of tables, and the theme colors were maroon and black, it was elegant. There was also a pool table in the back, along with a stage that had a drumset on it, for live music. Erick and I walked around then we saw his friends, all sitting at one booth, we walked to them and sat down, we all greeted each other.