Between Us

Chapter 10

"You want to be confident, right?" asked Caden, taking a sip of his strawberry milkshake. We were at the food court after getting boots and heels. It was hard to walk in them, and Caden made me try on a lot until my feet felt like they were about to fall off.

Maybe he was getting revenge for my prying before. Who knows?

I had text messages from Sai and missed calls from my parents, wondering if I was okay. They knew I was out but maybe they had never seen me actually go out for so long that one would think I had a life.

That was pretty sad.

"That is why I asked you for help," I finally said, taking a spoonful of my chocolate ice cream. His emerald eyes skimmed the food court subtly; there were two girls on the table next to us, a couple of guys on the tables behind Caden, elderly couples and families with kids of all ages littered about.

He leaned his arms forward on the white table as if he was about to let me in on a little secret. "Ask out two random guys right now."

I nearly choked on my next bite. "I can't do that!" I said, lowering my voice. There were so many people and...and what if they said no?! "I've had enough embarrassment for one day, Caden."

"If you were that chicken, that makeup look could have helped you."

"Very funny," I spat. "I'm serious."

Caden shrugged, leaning back into his chair. "Confidence isn't just a change of style. It means you're not afraid to risk embarrassment."

"Then why don't you do it?"

He turned to the table next to us. There were two girls, one with strawberry blonde hair and a fuzzy white turtle neck jumper and the other with short curly black hair and a red hoodie. They were both beautiful and had long, sharp nails and big eyes made even thicker and fuller with fake lashes and artistically done eyeshadow. Currently, the blonde was dipping her nugget into her vanilla milkshake.

Caden casually grabbed a nugget from the box and dipped it briefly into his shake. He then asked, as if he hadn't just deliberately done it after seeing her, "You dip your food in milkshake, too?" He gestured to his own nugget. Sneaky, I thought. The blonde blinked, confused before catching sight of Caden. Her eyes widened and she looked at her friend, hiding a bright grin. My heart buzzed in my ears. What if she said no? What if Caden got humiliated in front of everyone here? I'd have to be the one to comfort him. Oh, geez, I didn't know how to do that.

Then again, how they were looking at him told me he'd have no issues in that department.

"Yeah," she said, her voice smokey. She lifted a delicate shoulder to her ear. "I get told that it's not normal."

"Well, I prefer my women unique." The pupils in her light cerulean eyes dilated a little and I nearly dropped my ice cream spoon. "By the way, you know the best way to ask a girl for her number?"

The nugget in the woman's hand was forgotten as she angled her body toward him. A little grin tugged at her nude lips. "Why, you want my number?"

"Not yours." He gestured his chin over to her friend whose jaw fell. "Hers."

The blonde glanced at her friend and then back at him. "Unfortunately for you, she's gay."

Caden's gaze explored her face intently, maintaining eye contact with her as a slow, lazy smile grew on his face. "Fortunately for me, you're not."

"How do you know I'm not?"

"Are you?"

"No." She giggled. "Fuck you."