Chapter Forty Three

Chelsea's POV
School let out early today, and after I took a shower and left my house, I and Kayla have been at the mall for an hour now, and according to her, we have not found a dress that screams at me yet. I do not know how that works, so do not ask me.
She is dragging me to the fifth store when my tummy grumbles.
"Chill Kay." I say, pulling her back. "Can we have a five minute lunch break first? I am extremely famished."
"We can not. Your date is in..."
"Four hours. I still have more than enough time to get ready Kay. I need to eat. It will not take long, I promise." I say trying to convince her to follow me to the food court.
She begrudgingly follows me, pouting as we tell the waiters our orders.
"You are not the one going on a date Kay. Relax. Stop having nerves on my behalf." I tease.
"I am not having nerves. I am being time conscious. I know how long it takes to get glammed up." She stresses.
"Well, not me. I get ready faster than guys do. I do not even take up to five minutes getting dressed." I say nonchalantly.
"Well, thank God you are not the one getting yourself ready." She says, looking at me like I killed someone.
I never knew Kayla was this girly. Based on how she dresses every day, you would think she just wakes up and puts anything she finds on, but ends up looking really good. Turns out, she spends hours getting ready and trying to achieve that effortless 'I just rolled out of bed looking this good' look. It is endearing.
"Aren't you going to eat something?" I ask her, after noticing she only has a drink with her.
"Nope." She answers taking a sip of her drink. I just noticed that while I have been stuffing my face with a burger, she on the other hand, had just been nursing her drink.
"Aren't you hungry?" I ask. We didn't get to eat at home before leaving, I know that is not why I am famished, but I also know that she should be hungry by now.
"I am." She says with a shrug. I can not believe this. Is she serious right now?
"So why on earth are you not eating food." I practically scream out in disbelief.
"Because I have way too much anxiety in me right now and it would not let me eat." She says in a total of one breath.
Who knew Kayla could be such a drama queen. Even if I told someone this story, they would not believe me at all. This is not the persona she let's the world see.
"Kayla, hunny." I say, dramatically reaching out to place my hands on hers. "I am the one going out on this date. Not you. You do not see me being dramatic about it all. Just chill out. Get something to eat, and when we are done filling up our tummies with a lot of goodness, we can go get me a nice dress to wear on this date that may, or may not be a flop." I say, trying to calm her down. She just rolls her eyes at me.
"I am not nervous about your date Chels." She says shaking her head. "I am nervous because of that." She points at something behind me and when I turn around, I see Torin and my jaw drops.
He looks like a god damn god with his white t-shirt, black jean trouser, and a black leather jacket. To add the icing on the cake, he has a little girl, who seems to be about six or seven years old, perched up on his shoulders. Dude looks too good to be real.
"You do know it is not too late to say you like him." Kayla whispers to me. I can sense the worry in her voice.
I look at her like she couldn't be any more wrong and shake my head. "I do not like him. Sure he is hot, but I feel absolutely nothing romantic towards him." I say, and that is the truth. Sure his male aura and stuff have an effect on me, but I am not attracted to him.
I know when I am attracted to someone, and the way he makes me feel is nothing compared to the way Alaric does. I do not know where that thought came from but I am going to completely ignore it.
"Oh. Okay." She says quietly, and just like before, I can see the relief that washes over her features.
"I should be the one telling you to admit your feelings, and not the other way around." I tease her, and she goes pink all over. "Aww, you are blushing." I tease again and she rolls her eyes.
"This is why I do not have female friends." She says under her breath.
"What was that?" I ask mockingly. "You love me and I am the best female friend you have ever come in contact with? Aew, thank you Kay. I love you too." I say and she shakes her head in disbelief.
"Are you almost done?" She asks impatiently.
I check the time and check my watch. I still have time.
"Nope. Just getting started." I say waving the waiter over.
"I would like some more fries and a refill of my drink please." I say with a sweet smile that he reciprocates. Cute.
"Aren't you worried that you would be too full to actually eat anything on your date?" She asks, looking at me with wide eyes full of disbelief.
"Nope." I say with a shrug. "This tummy of mine is a warehouse. It is big enough to contain all the food in the whole wide world." I say spread my hands wide apart.
"No one would ever believe that you are a foodie." She says shaking her head and taking a sip of her drink.
"I did not know I was a foodie either, until recently." I say. I always liked food, I just never ate this much. Like at all. Not even close.
"Maybe you just need to be dewormed." She suggests and I shake my head.
"Already did that. Twice. Did not work."
"Okay... Seen a doctor?" She asks.
"Yup. Says it is just hormones and I am fine. I should just make sure I always feed the hunger away so I do not get an ulcer."
"Aren't you worried you could get fat?" She asks which makes me laugh.
"I have not added by even an inch. Besides, I do not mind putting on some weight." I shrug.
"Hmm. Okay. Cool."
Just then, my phone pings and I check it out and see a message from Torin.
[Hey stranger. Who are you with?] It reads.
[Just Kayla. We are shopping for the mystery date you are putting me on.] I reply him.
[Cool. Can we join you guys?] He asks and I look up at Kayla. It would be good to hook them up. Especially considering the fact that they are basically getting me ready to meet a complete stranger. At least they both know each other and have hung out before. Even if it was just within our friend group.
[Uhh.. Sure. You would get bored out of your mind though.] I reply back.
[Trust me. I highly doubt that.]
[Ok... if you say so.]
[I do 😉]
I have barely put down my phone when Kayla gets really giddy.
"Oh my, he is walking over here. I think he saw us. Shit." She says panicking. I am presently struggling to bite down a smile.
"Just calm down. Take deep breaths and relax. It is just Torin." I say trying to calm her down but she looks at me like I have suddenly grown two heads.
"Just Torin?" She exclaims and I can not help but roll my eyes.
"Hey. What's up?" Torin says as he gets to our table. He sets down the little girl he is with on a chair and sits down beside her.
"Hey Torin." I say, acting like I just saw him.
"Hi." Kayla says shyly and I struggle not to laugh.
"Hey beautiful." He says smirking at her and she immediately starts blushing hard.
"Stop flirting." The little says tapping Torin and I can't help but laugh.
"And who is this adorable cutie?" I coo.
"My name is Lexi and I am seven years old." She answers, smiling brightly.
"She's my little cousin." Torin adds.
"And she is so cute." I say.
"Thank you. You are beautiful too." She says and I smile at her.
"I like this one." I say nudging Torin.
"I like your shoes." Lexi tells Kayla and she smiles shyly.
"Uhmm. Thank you. I just got them."
"Well you obviously have good taste in fashion. I love the effortless look." Lexi says and I and Kayla look at each other with amazed expressions on our faces.
"Yeah. She gets that a lot." Torin says laughing. "Lexi, these are Chelsea and Kayla, and they are my friends from school." Torin says, introducing us.
"Nice to meet you both." She says excitedly. "Are you dating Kayla?" She asks Torin and he and Kayla both go pink.
"Uhm.. no." He answers after clearing his clothes.
"Oh. Okay. My bad." Lexi says with a shrug.
"Uhmm, can we continue shopping?" Kayla asks nervously.
"My food is not here yet." I object.
"We can get it to go." She says, practically dragging me out of my seat. I stop her halfway and turn back to Torin and Lexi.
"You coming?" I ask and Kayla gives me a death stare.
Torin and Lexi look at each other and their mouths lift up in identical smiles.
"Definitely." He says holding Lexi's hand and following us.