Sassy's Café
After the limo left, Massie led everyone inside. "Table for six. Scratch that, booth for six." She told the hostess.
Claire assumed that the hostess did not like the edge in Massie voice, because she responded the way Massie had spoken, "And, uh, how old are you kids?"
"Fifteen." Cam piped up.
"Uh, sure." The hostess said, with a smug look on her face. Although they were really only thirteen, the girls began to walk with ultimate poise, and the guys held their tender hands.
"Wanna order three meals and split them?" Josh asked, still holding Alicia's hand, looking into her big brown eyes when they sat in the booth.
"Sure." Cam replied, not even looking at Claire.
Massie and Derrington gazed into each other's eyes, and held hands ever so gently. They leaned in and-
Brrr-iiing…brrr-iiing…
"Ugh!" Derrington groaned. Massie knew what he was thinking. Then, she opened her baby pink Chanel bag, looked at the caller-id on her cell-phone, then answered it.
"Hey, Ma. Yeah, I know you're going out. Bye." Massie closed her phone and slid it into her bag.
"Hi, my name is Lucy. Welcome to Sassy's Café. May I take your order?" said a slender blonde with hazel-brown eyes, double pierced ears, khaki-colored capris, and an orange Sassy's Café shirt that was short enough to reveal the bottom of her faux-diamond-encrusted belly-button ring.
Alicia tried to smile with the utmost sincerity. "Are we ready to order?" She asked the group. They nodded.
"I'll take your drink orders first." Lucy made an attempt to sound chipper.
Showing complete confidence, Claire found out what everyone was having, then told Lucy.
Brrr-iiing…brrr-iiing…
This time, without looking, Massie picked up her phone. "What?!" She barked, then blushed, "Oh, hi, Kristen. Yes, tell Dylan I said hi." Massie signaled for Claire and Alicia to follow her into the bathroom. "No, Alicia and Claire both went home." She lied, "No need to worry. Ummm…anyway, I kinda have to go. I'm in the middle of something."
"Oka-" Kristen did not get to finish.
"Put your phone on "Silent." We did." Alicia said as she and Claire held their phones out for Massie to see.
"'Kay." Massie shifted her weight from one leg to the other, eager to get back to Derrington. She opened the door, just a crack, to get a glimpse of his shaggy hair, before returning to his strong arms.
Like a ballerina, Massie walked gracefully across the floor. Alicia, being an extremely slow walker, looked like a feather, gliding past tables and chairs. Claire, however, did not care how she walked. She just looked at Cam, wondering why he was laughing. When he caught her looking at him, to Claire's surprise, Cam smiled at her. That was the first thing that made Claire feel special all night.
A few minutes after the girls were seated, Lucy came over and took the group's dinner order.
About fifteen minutes later, Lucy brought out three large platters, six dishes, and three smaller dishes. Each couple was allowed to order a dinner and a side dish. Claire and Cam ordered a large serving of steaming Mac N' Cheese, with a side of golden French fries. Massie and Derrington ordered a large green salad, with a side of freshly-baked bread sticks. Alicia and Josh ordered a large, juicy steak, seasoned to perfection, along with a side order of roasted portabella mushrooms.
"Wow, Dyl would kill to be here right now!" Derrington exclaimed, tossing his toned arms in the air.
"Shhh…she and Kris don't know that we're here." Massie leaned in, taking hold of his ah-mazing arms. Derrington scooted over, getting closer to Massie, giving his girlfriend an I-love-you-so-much-and-I-wish-I-could-just-start-making-out-with-you-right-here grin. She gave him a tiny nod in return that said, "Maybe later."
Everyone spooned some of the too-good-for-a-café-to-be-serving food onto their dishes, the girls put their napkins on their laps, the guys shook out their napkins, and then they dug in. To the girls' surprise, Cam, Derrington, and Josh did not eat like pigs. They all sat up straight and did not slurp their drinks. Could they be anymore like gentlemen?
"Does…anyone…have the…time?" Claire asked between bites. She was finally starting to have a good time when she and Cam hit it off by flirting like soon-to-be high school sweethearts.
"Yeah," Alicia looked at her silver-strap Coach watch. "It's, uh, Josh! Stop moving my arm! Sorry. It's seven thirty-five."
Massie looked worried, "C'mon, you guys, we have to finish eating. Sunset starts in twenty-five minutes!"
"Relax. We have time." Derrington assured her, adding a romantic wink. Massie smiled, biting her bottom lip, also making another mental note to reapply her Glossip Girl lip-gloss.
"Can you excuse me for one moment?" Massie asked with puppy-dog eyes.
"Us too!" Alicia grabbed Claire's wrist. They all dashed off into the bathroom.
While they were in the bathroom, Massie glossed her lip, making them look full and rich. Alicia looked in the mirror, re-glossing and removing any smudged gloss from her face from when she and Josh had secretly kissed. The only thing Claire did was check her teeth for any pieces of lettuce that might have gotten stuck in them.
Meanwhile, the guys were nudging and punching each other's arms back at the table.
"Looks like you and Alicia are going steady now." Cam said.
"Yeah." Derrington agreed.
"I guess, but I really like her." Josh said.
"We know. We saw you two "drop" your forks under the table, then you both scurried under the table to get them, and when you two came up, Alicia's hair and your hair were messed up." Cam told Josh.
"Well, nothing happened!" Josh exclaimed, hardly believing what his friends were implying. "We're only thirteen!"
"We know how old we are. But are you sure nothing happened?" Cam joked.
"Yeah. Nothing happened." Josh said, defensively.
"Dude, get this. Alicia and Josh, sittin' in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage." Derrington fake-sang.
Josh's cheeks reddened with embarrassment.
Back in the bathroom, the girls filed into the stalls. After they were done, Massie firmly gripped the handle on the door, doing last-minute inspections in the mirror. Massie fluffed her hair and applied another coat of her lip-gloss. Alicia adjusted her cleavage. Claire put on some clear lip-gloss, a tube that Massie did not want. Then, the bolted out the door and called Lucy for the check. Once the check was signed and paid for, Claire spoke up with no signs of nervousness, "Let's go!" She grabbed Cam's hand and rushed out the door. Massie and Derrington followed, hand in hand, walking just a few paces ahead of Alicia and Josh. Alicia had been so fluttered; Josh had kissed her, for real.