Chapter Fifty-Seven

**

�You gonna stick by me?�

�Maybe�.�

**

�Oh my God,� Mia squealed as we drove by Jerry�s. �Look! There he is!�

�Who?� Jamie asked, looking around.

�Wes,� I explained. �There�see him? Over by that table?�

�No�� she said slowly.

�You�ll see him when we get inside,� Amber said, laughing.

�I�m so going to marry him�� Mia sighed as she parked the car.

�Yeah�he just doesn�t know it yet, right?� I laughed.

�Exactly!�

�So do you guys come here a lot?� Jamie asked as we walked in.

Kelly, the hostess, came up before any of us could answer. �Hey girls!� she said, giving Mia a hug. �Four tonight, huh?�

�Yeah,� Amber said. �Jamie�s new in town, so we had to corrupt her, you know.�

�Of course!� Kelly laughed. �Here, I�ve been saving a table for you�follow me.�

�So I guess that answered my question,� Jamie laughed as she sat down next to me in the booth, facing the door.

�Huh?� I asked, looking over at her.

�You know�I asked if you guys came here a lot�� she explained.

�Oh, absolutely,� Mia answered. �We�ve been coming here just about every week, since I got my license. It�s my favorite restaurant. My dad used to know the owner�worked on his cars and stuff.�

�Oh that�s cool,� Jamie said.

�Yeah,� I went on. �Mia comes here to drool over guys, and Amber and I come for the food.�

�You don�t like checking out the guys?� Jamie asked, looking around the restaurant. �Aren�t you single?�

�Well�yeah�� I answered slowly. I kinda felt bad about lying to her, but there wasn�t really anything else I could do. �I don�t know, I�m just not really into the whole guy thing. Taking a break from it all, you know?�

�Ah,� Jamie nodded.

�Oooh, look at him!� Mia said just then, interrupting us.

�Who?� Jamie asked, turning around and trying to figure out who Mia was talking about.

�That guy�sitting at the table right over there�with the dark blond hair and the beige jacket with the wool cuffs��

�Can�t see him,� Amber said. �There�s all these people in the way. Is he cuter than Wes?�

�Hello, ladies!� Wes said as he walked up to our table.

Amber grimaced, and I could tell Mia had kicked her under the table or something to get her to shut up.

�Hey Wes,� I said, since Mia didn�t look like she was gonna be talking anytime soon. �How you livin�?�

�Eh, pretty good,� he answered. �Better now that you girls are here! So, your usual drinks?�

�Yep,� Amber nodded.

�And�what about you?� Wes asked, turning to Jamie.

�Uhm�a Diet Coke,� Jamie said. �And can I get a slice of lemon with that?�

�Sure,� Wes said. �So,� he went on, looking back over at Amber and Mia, �you managed to drag someone else along with you this week?�

�Yeah,� Mia answered, blushing a little. �Jamie�s new in town.�

�So, you know, make sure you keep an eye out for famous people so we can convince her this place is worth driving to West Hollywood for,� Amber grinned.

�Of course!� Wes laughed. ��ll go ask around and see if there�ve been any sightings yet tonight�and I�ll be back with your drinks in just a minute.�

�He seems nice,� Jamie said after Wes had walked away.

�Yeah,� Amber agreed. �He�s a pretty cool guy.�

�And don�t forget about how adorable he is!� Mia added.

�Now, just remember, Mia,� I said, grinning, �you�re not allowed to play with the napkin holder, the salt and pepper shakers, or anything else that might be on the table� And you have to actually talk to him!�

�Mia gets nervous,� Amber explained.

�Really?� Jamie asked.

�Yeah�� Mia said, blushing even more.

�I�d never guess it�� Jamie said slowly. �You seem so confident, I mean��

�Yeah, well it�s easy to talk about guys�� Mia started. �But when it comes to actually talking to them�and then knowing that anyone I date is gonna have to survive the third degree not only from Dom but from Leon and Vince too��

�Ah�I see�� Jamie said.

�Do you know what you want yet?� Amber asked Jamie just as Wes came back over with our drinks.

�Uhm� I don�t know,� Jamie said slowly. �There�s so many things��

�Yeah,� Mia laughed. �We usually get the same every time��

�Two orders of cheese sticks, two orders of fries, extra ranch dressing,� Wes chimed in, grinning.

�The cheese sticks here are amazing,� Amber said, looking over at Jamie. �You wanna just split with us?�

�Uhm�yeah, that sounds good,� Jamie said as she put down her menu. �And a garden salad too�ranch dressing,� she told Wes.

�Okay,� Wes said, writing her order down on his pad. �Anything else for the rest of you?�

�Either of you wanna split a grilled cheese with me?� Amber asked, looking back and forth between Mia and me.

�Yeah, that sounds good,� we both answered at the same time.

�Oh,� Mia said, laughing. �You go for it Letty. God knows I don�t need it��

�No,� I protested, shaking my head. �I�m not really that hungry�you and Amber should split it.�

�C�mon,� Amber said, �someone has to split it with me! I can�t eat the whole thing by myself!�

�How�s this,� Wes suggested. �I�ll get George to make an extra-big sandwich, and then split it in three for you. That work?�

I looked at Mia and Amber before turning to Wes. �Yeah, man, that�s good. Lucky we have you to look after us, huh?�

�Yeah,� Wes laughed. �Okay, I�ll be back with your stuff in a while.�

�He really is cute�� Mia said after a few minutes.

�Who�Wes?� I asked. �I thought we�d already agreed on that one��

�No, not him,� Mia explained. �Even though he is cute. But I was talking about the guy in the jacket.�

�Oh, him!� Amber said. �Okay, I get you now.�

�Did you get a look at him yet?� Mia asked.

�Hmm?� Amber asked as she picked up her drink.

�You know�there were people in the way earlier��

�Oh, yeah,� Amber said. �I did.�

�And?� Mia asked.

�Oh�I didn�t look at his face�� Amber said slowly. �I was looking at his jacket.�

I busted out laughing as Mia dropped her head onto the table, nearly knocking her drink over.

�God,� she moaned. �What did I do to deserve you people?�

�Oh, come on, you know you love us,� Amber laughed.

�What�s so funny?� Wes asked as he walked over with our food.

Amber and I just giggled� For some reason I couldn�t stop laughing. Every time I looked at Amber, it just set me off more. And since she was right across the table from me, it was kinda impossible not to look at her.

�Oh�uhm�� Jamie stammered, trying to cover for us.

�They�re totally laughing at me�� Mia said, blushing a little.

�What?� Wes asked, kneeling down to talk to her. �Why would they be doing that? They�re not laughing at you��

�It was�� Amber choked out, �her head�and the table�and the glass� I can�t breathe!�

�Just ignore them,� Mia said, blushing a little. �They�re crazy.�

�Okay,� Wes laughed. �Well, here�s your food�I�m going on my break, but I�ll be around later to make sure you�re doing okay.�

�Thanks,� Jamie said as he walked away.

�God!� Mia exclaimed, smacking Amber�s arm after she was sure Wes couldn�t hear us anymore. �I cannot believe you guys!�

�That,� I said, trying to catch my breath, �was the funniest thing I�ve seen all month, I think.�

�I�m going to the bathroom,� Mia said, scooting her way out of the booth.

��Kay,� Amber nodded as she dug into the fries.

�Oh my God, look at her pants!� I heard some girl say as Mia walked by their table.

I leaned back and looked at Mia, trying to remember what pants she was wearing. Black jeans that Amber�d cut the waist off of�I actually had a couple pairs like them myself.

�I can�t believe anyone would leave their house looking like that�� one of her friends chimed in. �You know�unless they wanted to look like a whore� Look, her underwear�s showing and everything� She might as well be wearing a sign advertising her prices.�

�You know,� I said, making sure I had their attention. �I can�t believe you�re talking all that shit with us sitting right here where we can hear you��

�What�s up, Let?� Amber asked, turning to look over at the table where the girls were sitting.

�Oh,� I sneered, �these girls were just admiring the pants you altered for Mia.�

�Oh yeah?� Amber smiled. �It�s really easy to fix the waist like that, I could totally show you how to do it,� she said to them. �And it�s like a miracle if you�re short waisted�makes you look so much taller��

�Well,� I said, �apparently, only whores would wear pants like those.�

�What?� Amber asked, looking kinda shocked.

�Oh yeah,� I went on. �These girls think your next design should have a price listing right there on it. Maybe on the back pockets, what do you think? Hand jobs, fifty bucks�blow jobs, a hundred� Although, there�s not really all that much room on the pocket�maybe down one leg would be better��

�They called Mia a whore?� Jamie asked slowly.

�Indeed,� I nodded.

�What?!?� Mia said� I hadn�t noticed her walking back from the bathroom. �Excuse me?�

I looked over at the table where the girls were sitting, but they didn�t say anything, didn�t even look over at us. Just sat there, playing with their food. I glared at them, waiting for one of them to say something, to give me any excuse to kick their asses. I was practically dying for a fight�I had all these frustrations building up and no outlet for any of it.

�Just drop it, Let�� Mia muttered, tugging on my arm.

�No, Mia,� I snapped. �I don�t want to just drop it. These bitches are talking shit about you for no reason other than their own stupid jealousy��cause they know they all look like shit and so when they see some girl looking cute they have to cut her down to make themselves feel better��

�Yeah, whatever�� one of the girls snarked.

�Brandy!� her friend hissed, smacking her arm.

�What!� the girl�Brandy, I guess, replied. �Leave me alone, Stacey.�

�Look,� the blonde girl - Stacey - said, looking over at our table. �I�m real sorry about them� They�ve had like, way too much to drink tonight�we just came over from the club next door to get some food before we head home. They don�t really mean anything by it� They won�t even remember this tomorrow, I�m sure.�

�Whatever,� I said, sneering. �Being drunk isn�t an excuse for being bitchy�� I started, but Mia cut me off, started talking over me.

�It�s fine,� she said, smiling at Stacey. �Don�t worry about it.�

�They really are cute pants�� Stacey said as she stood up and started pulling her friends towards the door.

�Oh, thanks!� Mia grinned.

I just glared at her. �Why do you have to be so fucking nice all the time, Mia?� I demanded.

�Well�� she started, but I wasn�t done yet.

�You act like that, people will just walk all over you! You can�t let anybody see you being weak�not ever. Not unless you want to live with people take advantage and talking shit about you for the rest of your life!�

Mia and Amber just stared at me for a few seconds�I could hear Jamie sucking on her soda next to me, like she was trying to pretend she wasn�t there or something.

�You think I�m weak?� Mia asked, slowly.

�I�� I started, �well�no! Of course not! Just�you can�t let people fuck you over like that all the time and not do anything about it! I mean�how many times can you forgive people, knowing they�re just gonna go on doing the same shit? You have to protect yourself.�

Jamie laughed, lowly. �You know, Letty�that�s such bullshit.�

�What?� I asked, kinda shocked that she�d said anything at all.

�It�s one thing not to let people take advantage of you�but you don�t have to be hostile all the time,� she explained. �You don�t have to totally shut yourself off from people. You live like that, all you�re gonna end up with is yourself. �Cause soon enough, you�ll piss everyone off so much that they won�t want to be around you�even the people who love you.�

I couldn�t really say anything back to that� We all just kinda sat there in silence for a few minutes.

�I still don�t think I can believe it,� Amber finally said.

�What?� Mia asked.

�Did I really just see sweet, innocent little Jamie get bad with Letty? And she�s still alive?� she asked, grinning at me.

I threw a fry across the table at her, grinning back. Maybe I was even blushing a little�

�Yeah,� Mia said, smiling, �I think you did. You know, Jamie, I think you�ll be really good for Vince. Better than we thought, even.�

�Yeah�� Jamie sighed. �Too bad nothing�s ever gonna come of that, though��

�What?� Mia asked sharply. �What do you mean?�