A Pocketful of Gems

Chapter 3: the birds began to sing - Part 3

"You weren't listening?"

I glanced sideways at Spencer, "um...I was seriously distracted."

Spencer's lip popped out his mouth and he exhaled slowly.

"Okay," Mitchell Gordon frowned. "Wanna go see a movie Friday night?"

"That's tomorrow."

"Only if today is Thursday," he said, face straight.

"Okay, yeah, sure." I told him. "I'll go."

"Great, we can discuss the details later." He stood and glared down at me, "answer your phone when I call."

"I'll think about it," he smiled down at me and walked off calling later to the 'guys' at the table.

I looked down at my lunch.

"You have some nerve," I looked up at Abel.

"Excuse me?" he waved his book after Mitchell.

"Letting him do 'that' in front of Spencer."

"I didn't let him do anything," I pushed my food tray away. "Spencer understands the situation, we're friends and I'm allowed to have other friends besides him."

"She's right, Abe, Gordon did that for the attention," he pulled my food tray forward. "You should eat."

"I'm not feeling hungry anymore," I pushed the tray back and glared across the table at Abel. Eve leaned over and whispered to him. He frowned at her, she nodded and he ducked down and looked under the table. He raised his head back up and opened back his notebook, but his grin was noticeable; as was my blush.

Below the table Spencer intertwined my fingers with the hand he'd laid on mines earlier to stop me moving it off his leg.

"Gem?"

"Hmmm?"

"Are you having lunch with us tomorrow?" he squeezed my hand.

"Yes...I'm going to the movies with a friend, not moving to Canada."

"I know." He towed my food tray towards me, "now eat, you know you want to."

                                                                                -

Friday evening came so quickly, and then dragged on. The movie bored me to tears, except for the parts where the star died, almost, like six times. Kept getting my hopes up! It reminded me why I didn't watch TV.

It was some action packed borefest with Tom Cruise, I said a small pray of thanks that it wasn't a romcom. I wasn't quite sure why I agreed to this movie.

Mitchell drove me home afterwards and we sat in his car something like forty-five minutes while he retold swimming highlights of his great self; his ego was giving my brain a wedgie.

God bless my father, he came out on the porch in a wife-beater, cringe, and his pajama bottoms and his bathrobe and stood arms crossed staring at the car.

"Um, I should go in before he comes over and start showing you my baby pics and photos of his guns," I smiled disappointedly.

"Damn, yea, you should," he took my hand. "You wanna go out again sometime?"

The word 'sure' queued to my mouth and my grandmother's words where a voice over of my mother speaking, "set him straight the first time or you never will."

"This is all really new to me-" Oh, gross! He just put his finger on my lips.

"Say no more, I understand, we can be friends for now while you get to know me." He took his finger away and I fought the urge to lick my lips. "I want you to be happy, I'd never rush you."