Chapter 12 *
The girls arrived at Denny's before the boys did so they slid into a corner table and ordered drinks, content for the time being to wait. The guys showed up and joined the women in the booth. Jeff sat on the end, then Matt, who sat next to Amy, who was beside Kirsten, and Monique was at the other end. The waitress came to take the boys drink order and give them time to figure out what they wanted-since the girls had ample time to peruse the menu and make their selections.
"So Monique, Kirsten, tell us about yourselves." Great thought Mon, here comes the part where they act interested in us.
Kirsten looked at her sister who nodded at her. "I'll go first. K Mon?"
"Fine with me."
"Ok, I'm 21, soon to be 22. I just graduated from Drew University in May and decided to move here with Mon when she got the offer for her current job. I need to start pounding the pavement this week to hold up my end of the responsibilities."
Just then Monique's beeper just went off. "If you'll excuse me, I have to return this page" Monique got up and went to the pay phone.
"I hope everything is ok." Jeff offered. Kirsten and Amy just looked at each other and started to snicker. "What's so funny?"
"Someone has a crush on my sister." Kirsten joked.
Matt and Amy started to laugh as Jeff turned a deep shade of red.
"I didn't mean…"
"It's ok Jeff, Monique could use someone like you to brighten up that life of hers."
"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Jeff was getting curious now.
"I'm just saying that she could use some excitement. That's all." Kirsten winked at him. Monique returned to the group just as the food arrived.
"Hope I didn't miss anything."
"Nope, didn't miss a thing"
Monique looked at her sister, "I don't buy that for a second. But I don't want to know either. By the way, Nicole saw us on tv. She got so excited. You were right, she knew exactly who you were."
Kirsten just smiled while the three other people at the table looked at Monique for an explanation. Kirsten saw the tense lines in her sister's face and jumped in to rescue her, "Nicole is a little girl who has Monique wrapped around her finger." Monique smiled and was thankful that she didn't have to explain who Nicole was.
"Yeah and she's just as addicted to wrestling as Kirsten is. Bad influence you are."
"What can I say? I enjoy seeing hot guys fight each other." Kirsten just realized what she said. "Oh god, open mouth, insert foot." She immediately hid her face in her hands. Everyone laughed at there turn of Kirsten's shyness and Jeff took pity on her.
He turned to Monique and said, "So, Kirsten told us a little bit about her, do you care to share as well?"
Monique began to try and form words as Jeff cut into his chicken fried steak but without warning Kirsten interrupted "Where is that waitress? There is no gravy on these fries. How can I eat my French fries without mozzarella cheese and gravy? Ah, there she is. Excuse me!" she waved the waitress to come over, Kirsten requested her missing gravy and the waitress was off.
"Again, excuse her, she's obsessed with gravy/cheese fries." Monique explained.
"I can't say I've ever tried French fries like that." Matt stated.
"But it's nuuuuuuuummy. You'll just have to try mine." Kirsten gets her gravy and pours it onto one of her fries. "Give me your fork." Matt hands over his fork and watches in amazement as Kirsten twirls the cheese around the French fry and drowns it in gravy. "There ya go."
Matt hesitantly takes the fork with the dripping fry on it and timidly tastes it while everybody looks on anxiously awaiting his reaction. Kirsten can't take the suspense any longer, "Well? What do you think?"
Matt smiled, "I think you are going to have to share those with me."
"Woohoo, another one converted. Monique didn't like them either."
"Here K, why don't you and I switch? That way it'll be easier to share." Amy smirked at Kirsten and whispered, "You owe me, big time." Kirsten and Amy switch seats allowing Matt to dig in to the fries.
"HEY HEY, don't eat them all bucko!"
Jeff looked at Monique, "so Monique, about yourself?"
"Oh right, sorry, well I'm 27. I moved here after I got a call about a great opportunity with an up and coming sports advertising agency. I finally get to use my degree and look forward to starting next week."
"You haven't utilized it before now?" Jeff asked.
Monique shot a glance towards Kirsten who was too busy enjoying her French fries. "I unfortunately got side tracked, but this is the chance I was praying for to get my career straightened out. Let's just say this is a new beginning."
Jeff took the hint that she was not going to venture any further into the subject-he sensed some thing wrong but didn't desire to put her on the spot. He knew that wasn't the way to encourage future conversation on her part. He tried to think of topics that were lighter in nature and more recreational. The discussion soon turned to music and movies, sports and other various favorite past times. Matt and Kirsten seemed to have a lot in common, in the majority of the opinions that were bouncing back and forth across the table. Monique was definitely very reserved and conservative-it was noticeable that she held a lot of value impersonal privacy. The fact that she had dyed her hair was beginning to surprise Jeff-he realized that she had probably done it at the coaxing of her sister-it wasn't something he believed she'd have done otherwise. She was his complete opposite. He saw that she was very intelligent and he was beginning to become intrigued- there was something else and he couldn't put his finger on it. Monique noticed that Jeff had grown silent-not interacting with Matt , Kirsten, and Amy. She hoped to God he wasn't analyzing her. She definitely didn't want to be his next project or challenge. He was giving something way too much thought. For his age he was very intuitive and smart as a whip. Most men in his position this young were extremely immature and superficial. She worked around it enough to know. Gees, what was she sizing him up for-it's not like he was a candidate for anything. This is a passing association Mon, let it go.
The girls arrived at Denny's before the boys did so they slid into a corner table and ordered drinks, content for the time being to wait. The guys showed up and joined the women in the booth. Jeff sat on the end, then Matt, who sat next to Amy, who was beside Kirsten, and Monique was at the other end. The waitress came to take the boys drink order and give them time to figure out what they wanted-since the girls had ample time to peruse the menu and make their selections.
"So Monique, Kirsten, tell us about yourselves." Great thought Mon, here comes the part where they act interested in us.
Kirsten looked at her sister who nodded at her. "I'll go first. K Mon?"
"Fine with me."
"Ok, I'm 21, soon to be 22. I just graduated from Drew University in May and decided to move here with Mon when she got the offer for her current job. I need to start pounding the pavement this week to hold up my end of the responsibilities."
Just then Monique's beeper just went off. "If you'll excuse me, I have to return this page" Monique got up and went to the pay phone.
"I hope everything is ok." Jeff offered. Kirsten and Amy just looked at each other and started to snicker. "What's so funny?"
"Someone has a crush on my sister." Kirsten joked.
Matt and Amy started to laugh as Jeff turned a deep shade of red.
"I didn't mean…"
"It's ok Jeff, Monique could use someone like you to brighten up that life of hers."
"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Jeff was getting curious now.
"I'm just saying that she could use some excitement. That's all." Kirsten winked at him. Monique returned to the group just as the food arrived.
"Hope I didn't miss anything."
"Nope, didn't miss a thing"
Monique looked at her sister, "I don't buy that for a second. But I don't want to know either. By the way, Nicole saw us on tv. She got so excited. You were right, she knew exactly who you were."
Kirsten just smiled while the three other people at the table looked at Monique for an explanation. Kirsten saw the tense lines in her sister's face and jumped in to rescue her, "Nicole is a little girl who has Monique wrapped around her finger." Monique smiled and was thankful that she didn't have to explain who Nicole was.
"Yeah and she's just as addicted to wrestling as Kirsten is. Bad influence you are."
"What can I say? I enjoy seeing hot guys fight each other." Kirsten just realized what she said. "Oh god, open mouth, insert foot." She immediately hid her face in her hands. Everyone laughed at there turn of Kirsten's shyness and Jeff took pity on her.
He turned to Monique and said, "So, Kirsten told us a little bit about her, do you care to share as well?"
Monique began to try and form words as Jeff cut into his chicken fried steak but without warning Kirsten interrupted "Where is that waitress? There is no gravy on these fries. How can I eat my French fries without mozzarella cheese and gravy? Ah, there she is. Excuse me!" she waved the waitress to come over, Kirsten requested her missing gravy and the waitress was off.
"Again, excuse her, she's obsessed with gravy/cheese fries." Monique explained.
"I can't say I've ever tried French fries like that." Matt stated.
"But it's nuuuuuuuummy. You'll just have to try mine." Kirsten gets her gravy and pours it onto one of her fries. "Give me your fork." Matt hands over his fork and watches in amazement as Kirsten twirls the cheese around the French fry and drowns it in gravy. "There ya go."
Matt hesitantly takes the fork with the dripping fry on it and timidly tastes it while everybody looks on anxiously awaiting his reaction. Kirsten can't take the suspense any longer, "Well? What do you think?"
Matt smiled, "I think you are going to have to share those with me."
"Woohoo, another one converted. Monique didn't like them either."
"Here K, why don't you and I switch? That way it'll be easier to share." Amy smirked at Kirsten and whispered, "You owe me, big time." Kirsten and Amy switch seats allowing Matt to dig in to the fries.
"HEY HEY, don't eat them all bucko!"
Jeff looked at Monique, "so Monique, about yourself?"
"Oh right, sorry, well I'm 27. I moved here after I got a call about a great opportunity with an up and coming sports advertising agency. I finally get to use my degree and look forward to starting next week."
"You haven't utilized it before now?" Jeff asked.
Monique shot a glance towards Kirsten who was too busy enjoying her French fries. "I unfortunately got side tracked, but this is the chance I was praying for to get my career straightened out. Let's just say this is a new beginning."
Jeff took the hint that she was not going to venture any further into the subject-he sensed some thing wrong but didn't desire to put her on the spot. He knew that wasn't the way to encourage future conversation on her part. He tried to think of topics that were lighter in nature and more recreational. The discussion soon turned to music and movies, sports and other various favorite past times. Matt and Kirsten seemed to have a lot in common, in the majority of the opinions that were bouncing back and forth across the table. Monique was definitely very reserved and conservative-it was noticeable that she held a lot of value impersonal privacy. The fact that she had dyed her hair was beginning to surprise Jeff-he realized that she had probably done it at the coaxing of her sister-it wasn't something he believed she'd have done otherwise. She was his complete opposite. He saw that she was very intelligent and he was beginning to become intrigued- there was something else and he couldn't put his finger on it. Monique noticed that Jeff had grown silent-not interacting with Matt , Kirsten, and Amy. She hoped to God he wasn't analyzing her. She definitely didn't want to be his next project or challenge. He was giving something way too much thought. For his age he was very intuitive and smart as a whip. Most men in his position this young were extremely immature and superficial. She worked around it enough to know. Gees, what was she sizing him up for-it's not like he was a candidate for anything. This is a passing association Mon, let it go.