Not Just Acting (Negovanman)

Chapter 23

It's my birthday, so here's my present to you. 

~

"One." I pick a piece of lint off my black sweatpants. "Two." I pull off a hair and let it go near the floor. "Thr-okay, I am officially bored." I fist my hair in between my fingers and lean back further into the couch, letting the soft cushions suck me in, to stare at the very non-interesting, white ceiling. 

It's not like I can't go hang out with my friends to pass two days of time, but I can't focus. I was with them the other day and all they did was yell at me about how I wasn't laughing at their jokes or responding to their questions or recognizing their existence as people. I did not appreciate it.

I'm nervous, really nervous and that's all I can think about. I can only think about Natasha and the expectations of the date. What if she doesn't try hard, I become visibly disappointed, and she hates me forever? What if she tries too hard and I take her right there, public or not? On another note, that second option doesn't sound too bad.

"Okay, Elise," I say while rising from the couch. "You are going to go do something productive. Now stop talking to yourself!" I shake my head and skip to my bedroom.

I change into publicly decent clothes before grabbing my bag and heading out the door. I drag my feet down the steps, bored, and almost trip. I glance around to make sure no one saw me, but there's no one else in the stairwell anyway. This place is like a ghost town... or ghost apartment. I never see the other tenants living here.

Driving to the store bores me, so I turn on some music to start jamming. Not knowing how hard I'm rocking to my music, a car of old people pulls up next to me at a stoplight to give me a disapproving look. I glare as a response and press on the gas when the light turns green. Rude.

Shopping isn't the most fun thing in the world, especially when it's forced and the last thing to do with my day. I do it anyway, getting milk, bread, chocolate, the necessities. Everything is pretty chill until my cart runs into someone else's. When I look up, I am met with the green eyes of Amber.

"Sorry," I quickly apologize before going into my mumbling, fast-speaking reasoning. "I took that corner pretty quick and didn't see-"

"It's okay," she says with her charming smile. "It was an accident."

"That it was." I move my cart around hers and try to move past her.

"Say, Elise, this is technically our third time running into each other." Amber rests her elbows on the handles of her shopping cart to lean in closer to me. Yet, she is still a full cart away from me. Leaning in like this is the process of showing interest. Oh. "That's a pretty big coincidence."

"Yeah, I guess so." I nod and look ahead of me, where my next destination is. If I walk away I'll seem rude, but she is clearly flirting with me. It makes me nervous because she's really pretty but also Natasha is really pretty. I can't lean Amber's way when I'm already fallen flat on Natasha's side.

"How about we run into each other on purpose next time? Tomorrow night at the theater, eight?" Her eyes look hopeful but also like they're used to getting what they want. That's understandable; she has a certain way of how she carries herself that must attract loads of people.

"Um..." I've never had to reject anyone before. What new experiences! "I am actually already... involved with someone."

"Really? You don't sound so sure about that." Amber puts on a flirty smile that's quite stunning but nothing like Natasha's enticing smirk. I need to stop comparing the two, but Natasha is all that's in my head right now.

"I'm sure," I say sternly.

"Okay, I apologize for trying to asking out a taken lady," she says sincerely, putting her hand over her heart. Once she's done being dramatic, she takes a white card out of her purse and holds it out to me. "Maybe call me sometime? We could be friends."