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“Elizabeth!” He hollered, trying to get her attention.
“Hey—Elizabeth!” He finally got her attention as she was getting into the front seat of her Altima.
“Wow.” Breathed Jacob, catching his breath as he finally reached her car. “Wasn’t sure if I would catch you. How are you feeling? You look better than you did last night.”
Elizabeth gave him a sharp stare.
“I mean, you don’t look sick.”
Another very quizzical look.
Jacob took a large breath and laughed at himself. “Here, let me start over. Hi, Elizabeth. It’s good to see you at church. You look great, and I hope you’re feeling better.”
Elizabeth laughed and smiled that relaxed smile he saw her give her dad. This close to her he could see how pretty her eyes were. They truly danced when she was amused.
“Hi, Jacob. I’m feeling much better. Thank you. I think I was just exhausted yesterday. I do have to admit, I am a little embarrassed about what happened and that I had to leave early. I’m sorry about that.”
“Don’t be sorry. It’s not like you planned on getting sick. Anyway, to change the subject, Chad and I always go grab something to eat after church, usually at The Pizza Place. Would you like to join us?”
Jacob surprised himself by being this blunt. He sure didn’t expect to ask her out to eat, yet he also didn’t see himself running across the parking lot to catch up with her, but here he was, doing both.
“You know, I’d like that, but I promised my parents we would spend time together today. I’m on my way to pick us up lunch, so, I’ll have to say, no thank you. Maybe we could get pizza another time?”
Just at that moment, Chad pulled up next to Jacob. “Hey there, new girl. Elizabeth, right? Do you mind if I steal my buddy back? I’m about to blow away from starvation here.” Chad was making a face like he was sick and dying.
Jacob shook his head at his friend. “I’d say sorry for him, but it wouldn’t help. He is always rude and thinks only with his stomach. I guess we should go. I’ll catch you later, if you’re sure you don’t want to join us.”
“Thank you, really, but I can’t. I appreciate the invitation, though.” Elizabeth closed her door, put the key in the ignition, and pulled out of her parking spot. She waved to the guys and flashed a smile as she pulled away.
“Man! You invited her to lunch? Even after she puked in your toilet. You must really like her, yet not enough to stay away from Kristen last night.”
Chad hopped out of the car laughing and avoided the punch coming at him. He ran around to the other side and hopped into the passenger seat, letting Jacob drive his own car.
“It’s not like that. I was just making sure she was feeling okay. You know, being neighborly and all.” Jacob climbed behind the steering wheel and put the car in drive, ignoring the last part of Chad’s comment.
“Yeah, right, neighborly. That’s also why you couldn’t keep your eyes off her in church. Just being neighborly.” Chad chuckled a little and reached out to turn the radio up as they headed to their weekly lunch spot.
Jacob and Chad pulled into the parking lot of The Pizza Place, parked in what seemed to be their spot at the best pizza shop in town, and headed into the restaurant.
Stacey and Kristen showed up and motioned for them as they sat at a booth for four. The two girls sat on opposite sides of the table; Chad quickly slid in next to Stacey, leaving Jacob no choice but to sit with Kristen. They ordered a pitcher of beer and a large pepperoni pizza.
“It took you two long enough. We’ve been waiting forever.” Kristen agreed with what Stacey stated, nodded her head at Jacob, and gave him a flirtatious smile.
“Yeah, what was the hold up?” asked Kristen with fake curiosity. More like being nosey where Jacob was concerned.
Chad put his arm around Stacey’s shoulders, making her shake her head and roll her eyes. She reached up, grabbed his arm, and took it down from around her with a look of finality.
Chad shrugged at her. “A guy can try, can’t he? You never know, one day you might just surprise me and enjoy my attention.”
Turning away from Stacey, he addressed Kristen. “Anyway, to answer your question, Kristen, we happened to see that new girl, Elizabeth, at church today. Lover boy here,” he said, pointing across the table at Jacob, “sprinted across the parking lot after church to talk to her.”
Seeing the incredulous look on Kristen’s face, and questioning look on his sister’s, Jacob felt he needed to clear things up. “It wasn’t a big deal. I was just seeing how she was feeling. She felt bad last night and left quickly. Checking on her was the right thing to do.” He looked at his friends around the table.
Kristen rolled her eyes and took a sip from her soda. “I’d leave pretty quickly, too if I puked in the toilet at someone’s house I hardly knew.” Kristen shook her head and scrunched her face up in disgust. “Did she even talk to you? If I were her, I would have hidden my face in embarrassment.”
“Yeah, she talked to me,” replied Jacob. “She did seem embarrassed, and I assured her it wasn’t a big deal. Why do you need to be such a bitch all the time, Kristen? It wouldn’t hurt if you showed a caring attitude once in a while. A little respect and caring goes a long way.”
Kristen laughed out loud at that statement and leaned over plucking a bit of fuzz off Jacob’s dress shirt. “Really?” Incredibly, she added. “Are you implying I don’t care? You think I’m an uncaring person? I might be the only person who always cares about your feelings, Jacob. That should mean something.” She flashed Jacob a pouty, flirtatious, knowing glance just as the pizza arrived.
