Scarlet Awakening (Sweet Secrets #2) (11 page)

Chapter 20

The neon sign on top of the diner was bright and inviting as I walked toward Neece’s Place. I was anxious to be back at my old hangout spot, and even more anxious at the idea of seeing Carter and telling him what I had decided to do regarding his question. Once I got to the entrance, I stopped for a moment to check my makeup and hair in the camera on my phone and straighten my outfit. My hair was in natural curls that framed my face. I didn’t want to seem like I had tried too hard, so I had hurriedly changed into a pair of high-waisted shorts and a crop top that only showed an inch of my stomach.

Before I proceeded into the diner, I replied to a text message from Violet. I had been texting her on and off since the incident with my mom, and had filled her in about my going to meet Carter. The last time we’d talked, I told her everything about Carter, and she was rooting for me to give him a second chance just like everyone else was. The message was short and simple.

Violet: Use that boy intuition and go get your man!

I laughed to myself, thinking of when I had first met her and had joked about having boy intuition. I needed that little push, and with a smile and a deep breath I reached for the door handle and walked inside.

The cool air from the air conditioning hit me as I walked in, and the smell of mouth-watering burgers filled the air. Everything looked the same as it had the last time I was here. It was bright and filled with families and kids my age who were out with their friends. Nothing had changed. The jukebox was playing “Here Comes the Sun”
by the Beatles, and as soon as I heard it I smiled wider. I was a firm believer in signs, and that song made me feel like I was making the right choice.

I didn’t even have to look for Carter, because one glance at our old table confirmed that he had chosen to sit there. Now my cheeks were hurting from how hard I was smiling. It didn’t get any better when he looked up from his phone and met my gaze. I had to bite my lip to attempt to calm myself down.

Carter smiled when he saw me, and beckoned me over with his hand. I slipped my phone into my pocket and proceeded toward him, weaving in and out of tables until I got to ‘our’ booth. He stood when I got to the table, and I was reminded once again of how much of a gentleman he was. My eyes scanned over his outfit. He was wearing a nice short-sleeved shirt that showed off his tan and muscular arms, and a pair of khakis. He had dressed business casual, while I had just dressed casual.

“You look beautiful,” he said, staring straight into my eyes. Then he smirked, and added, “Little Snot.”

I laughed and rolled my eyes playfully. I hated the nickname like hell, but I missed hearing him call me it, so I let it slide. “And I almost made the mistake of thinking about how sweet you were.” I raised an eyebrow and slid into the booth on the opposite side.

Carter chuckled and ran a hand through his hair, effectively messing it up as he slid in across from me. “You know I only say it with affection.”

“Mhm,” I responded.

He rubbed his chin. “I hope that didn’t ruin my chances of winning you back.”

I felt his gaze on me as I shrugged and picked up one of the large menus that sat on the table in front of us. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see, huh?” I glanced at him over the menu to see his expression. He looked nervous, but he tried to hide it with a smile.

Carter leaned forward, raised his hand, and lowered my menu to the table. “Well, then answer this question.”

I raised my gaze to meet his.

“Why are you looking at the menu?”

I furrowed my eyebrows and gave him a confused stare. I had expected a different question. “Maybe the menu has changed since I left.”

Carter shook his head and laughed. “You were gone for less than a year. The menu hasn’t changed since we were fourteen, and you think that Mrs. Jackson just decided to change it this year?”

“You never know,” I replied, continuing to scan the menu.

He scoffed. “Yeah, right. Besides, you always get the same thing anyway.” He pushed his menu to the edge of the table.

“You aren’t going to look at the menu?” I stopped scanning my menu and looked up in shock. When we used to come here, he had always spent forever looking at the menu trying to decide what he wanted. He liked nearly everything. Unlike him, I was less into trying new things. I stuck to what I knew.

“Nope. I know what I want.” He looked smug as he stroked his chiseled jaw.

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really? And what would that be? You didn’t even look at the menu.”

He laughed at that. “I practically have the menu memorized, I normally just like to look at the pictures of the food while I decide.”

“So then what are you getting?” I tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear, and stared him right in the eyes.

Carter shrugged. “The same thing you are.”

“I don’t even know what I’m getting yet. I might get something different.”

“Okay,” he said. He smiled lightly at me and then gestured at my menu. “Surprise me.”

“Fine,” I replied, returning my gaze to the menu. I scanned over it again, looking at the different burgers and dinner options. My stomach growled. I had been with my mom all day until Ella had gotten dropped off. Earlier I’d turned down a container of strawberry Jell-O so that I wouldn’t lose my appetite. Finally, my eyes landed on my old usual, and I read over the description.

Two buttery buns encasing our juiciest beef patty, topped with crispy bacon strips, fresh lettuce, and ripe tomato. Served with our special curly fries.

My mouth was practically watering just from reading it. Damn, the boy knew me too well. I groaned as I closed the menu and looked up into Carter’s smirking face.

“You’re getting the bacon cheeseburger. Aren’t you?” His hazel eyes were fixated on mine.

I nodded in defeat. “Yeah, but only because I haven’t had it in a while,” I said, ignoring the smug expression that crossed onto his face.

I placed my menu on top of his just as a short waitress came up to our table. I recognized her instantly, not even needing the name tag that was on her shirt that said, ‘
Hi, my name is Nevaeh!’
She had gone to school with me, and was just a grade younger. She was the owner Neece Jackson’s daughter.

“Hey, Carter,” she said, smiling at him then looking at me. She squinted and then smiled. “Lena, right?”

I nodded.

“Long time no see.” Then she flipped a page on her little pad, and poised her pen to write. “What would you two like today?”

Carter smiled at me, and then ordered for us. Nevaeh poked her tongue out of her mouth in concentration as she scribbled our orders and drinks down.

I sat there for a second trying to spit out what I had come here to say. Carter was patient, and kept the conversation going, but I wanted to tell him my decision. When I opened my mouth the first time to say it, Nevaeh returned with our Oreo shakes
before leaving again. I sipped at mine, relishing the taste. I had missed these shakes.

Finally, right before he opened his mouth to ask me another question about Virginia, I said, “Wait. I wanted to say something.”

He nodded, encouraging me to continue.

“Uh…” I wrung my hands together on the table in front of me nervously. “The reason I asked you to meet me here was because I wanted to answer your question from the other day.”

Carter unconsciously leaned forward, placing his arms on the table.

“Well, I’m willing to try again if your question is still on the table.”

He let out a shaky breath of air that sounded like a light laugh. “Seriously?”

I nodded yes.

He smiled and placed his hands on top of mine, stopping me from wringing them together again. His hands were so big that they covered mine protectively, and sent warm tingles shooting up my arms. “I had a feeling you were going to say yes, but I still felt like you might say no.”

“Oh yeah?” I questioned teasingly. “Why is that?”

“You’ve always been stubborn,” he replied with a smile.

I rolled my eyes. “That’s not true.”

“It is,” he insisted. “So does that mean that we’re dating again?”

I didn’t even have time to respond before Nevaeh returned with a tray with our plates of food on it. She set the identical plates in front of us and told us, “Enjoy!”

We simultaneously thanked her and began to eat. The burger was just as delicious as I remembered.

“Do you remember that time we came here and your whole milkshake spilled in your lap?” He laughed at the memory while I scowled.

“Actually, if I remember correctly, you knocked it over on me.” I shook my head and popped a few curly fries in my mouth.

Carter smirked. “I had no space, and it was an accident. It was hilarious, though.”

I shook my head, trying not to smile, but I couldn’t. We had just started dating at the time and had chosen to sit together on the same side of the table. Needless to say, it hadn’t worked out. “It was your idea for us to sit together. I never understood why couples choose to sit right next to each other rather than across from each other. You can look in each other’s eyes, and actually have space!”

“I thought it would be romantic!” he said with a laugh.

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t romantic at all.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Really? Not even when I helped wipe your pants with napkins?”

I laughed at him, remembering how his cheeks had flushed red when he helped dab at my shorts in the front. When I noticed him blushing, I had done the only sensible thing; I teased him about it. His reaction had just been too cute. “Not even that,” I chuckled.

He took a bite of his burger, chewed, and swallowed. “That was the hottest thing to happen to me other than late night HBO.”

I laughed hard. “You’re a pervert,” I stage whispered.

“And what does that make you?” he questioned, leaning forward.

I pretended to think about it. “As of now?”

He nodded.

“Well, then I guess it makes me the girlfriend of a pervert.”

Carter smiled so hard that I had to smile in return. His smile was contagious.

“That’s crazy,” he muttered.

I chewed on a fry. “What is?”

“That you actually said yes, and that we’re back together.” He looked absolutely elated.

He looked like I felt. I reached across the table and held his hand. “Feels weird, doesn’t it?” I asked.

“Hell yeah.” He stared at me across the table for a second, his eyes searching my face before he added, “Feels amazing. I feel like I got my best friend back.”

I laughed lightly at his words. “What about Shane?” I asked, mentioning his best guy friend.

Carter shrugged. “I won’t tell him if you don’t.”

The sound of the bell ringing as the diner door opened caught my attention. I glanced over, and widened my eyes as three people came in. Some of them I knew, and some I didn’t. One of them was Shane.
Speak of the devil.
To make matters worse, he was with April, the last girl Carter had dated.

Carter noticed them too, but waved it off. “They won’t come over here,” he said. He was wrong though, because the group noticed us instantly and made a beeline for our table with Shane and April in the lead.

Carter groaned in annoyance, but didn’t let go of my hand. He just squeezed it reassuringly, making me smile again.

“Carter, man. I texted you like five times,” Shane said as soon as he got to the table. Then he turned his attention to me and smirked. “Lena Snotty? In the flesh?” He gave me an award-winning smile that had stopped the hearts of many girls. Shane and I had only been friends through Carter, but we had a playful relationship. He turned his head to Carter and said, “Man, what did I tell you about gingers? They don’t make good girlfriends. You need a girl with a soul.”
Like I hadn’t heard that one before.

“Shane Quinn? What do you know about
good girlfriends
? You wouldn’t know girlfriend material if it suffocated you.”

Carter laughed.

Shane nodded slowly, still smirking. “Touché.”

“What are you guys doing here?” Carter asked.

April smiled at him, tucking her thick curls behind her ear. I noticed as her eyes flickered to Carter and my intertwined hands on the table, but she didn’t mention it. Instead she said, “Shane knew you’d be here.”

“Stalker,” Carter joked.

Shane rolled his eyes. “It’s not stalking if you found a way to secretly implant a tracking device into someone.”

“You’re a creep, man. Remind me again why I’m friends with you?” Carter asked with a laugh.

“I don’t have time to list the millions of reasons that could answer that question.”