CHAPTER 8 - Pathetic

                                        

                                              
AFTER school Luca dropped me at home and told me to get ready to leave for dinner in two hours. It wasn't our anniversary yet, that was only a week away, just an impromptu date. It made me excited for the future of our relationship. Whilst things had been rocky recently, the spark from the start hadn't fizzled completely.
I picked out a tight, brown dress that reached my knees and had a low neckline. Luca said he loved how brown looked on me because it complimented my skin tone, and it slowly became my favourite colour on me as well. I left my hair the way it was and applied more mascara and some lip gloss. Satisfied with the outfit, I spritzed some perfume and was about to leave when a necklace caught my eye.
It was a simple golden chain with a small heart, something my dad had gifted me a while ago. I glanced at my reflection. Luca's silver necklace was clashing with the dress, and my heels which were a golden colour. After some deliberation, I decided to swap the necklaces. He wouldn't notice such a small thing.
Luca picked me up at 6 on the dot and we drove to the restaurant. He didn't even glance at me when I entered the car, seemingly distracted by something. I shrugged it off, looking forward to eating as I had a small lunch. 
Once we were seated I realised I had to compete with Luca's phone for his attention. 
"Is something going on?" I asked, watching him frown at the device. He shook his head in response. I observed our surroundings, feeling slightly bored when this morning's incident popped in my head and I turned to Luca. 
"You won't believe which bike I saw today," I started, grinning excitedly. 
Luca glanced up from his phone from me, halting his texting. "Sorry?"
"I said-" I stopped when he turned his attention back to his phone.
"Go on, Fallon. I'm listening, just give me a minute." He told me, his flingers clicking on the screen.
Smoothing my hand over my updo, I fidgeted with my fingers and tried to ignore my excitement dimming. "I was saying, guess which bike I saw today...?"
After thirty seconds my boyfriend answered. "Which bike?"
"The Bender Inferno!" I exclaimed, smiling. Luca blinked at me before forcing a small smile onto his face. 
"That's cool, babe. Anyway, I've been trying to draft this email to Coach about our next practice but it just feels wrong." He propped his phone on our table, facing it in my direction slightly.
I blinked, watching him watch his phone. The smile started to slip off my face but I forced it back on, turning to look at his screen. 
Luca isn't as into motorcycles as you are, Fallon. Of course he won't want to know more details of where you saw the bike, or whose it is. 
Don't be upset. No-one likes it when you're upset. 
"Um," I cleared my throat, running a hand over my hair again. "Do you want it to be a formal or casual email?"
"Formal, but not too formal." He replied, frowning at the screen. "You know how Coach is, a sucker for formalities and stuff."
"Here are your menus," Our waiter for the evening appeared out of nowhere, placing the menus on the table. He looked around our age and his name tag read James. "Let me know when you're ready to order, and if you need anything else."
Luca didn't say anything, so after an awkward pause I smiled up at the waiter. "Thank you. What meal do you like the most?"
His expression turned surprised. I guess he wasn't asked that question often. "Well, if I could afford to eat here, I'd go for the Prawn Katsu Burger meal.  It's got enough components to fill you up, but not heavy enough that you feel really full afterward."