To be honest, Minnie loved McDonalds. She couldn’t resist all the temptation of being offered it. She couldn’t turn the fries down.
Her best friend, Pia had once said “fries before life.” Minnie believed that to be more than true.
They got out of the car and walked into the McDonalds. It was empty for the most part. One or two families with children sat around. A man on his laptop. There was a teenage couple sitting in a corner booth. The girl made love eyes to the boy, but he didn’t seem to care.
“What do you want?” Nic asked her as they stood in line waiting to order. There was only one person in front of them in the line and they were ordering. It was a white old man, he barely had any hair left on his head and what was there was thin and grey. He leaned against the counter for support and wore a plaid shirt.
“Can I get large fries and a watermelon McFizz?” She didn’t even need to glance at what the place offered, she knew what she wanted.
“No burger?” Nic frowned at her. She weighed her options. She could have a burger. It wouldn’t make much of a difference to her. She just wanted some fries.
“I’ll have a cheeseburger.” Minnie allowed herself. Nothing could detract from her fries.
“The small one?” He questioned, his words slow and unbelieving.
“Yeah.” She nodded, “What?” She asked as he regarded her with odd confused eyes.
“Since you’re being held captive, I would have thought-” He started to explain.
“That I would take advantage of it.” She cut him off, “Don’t worry, I have ideas.”
“Should I fear my captive?” He asked, a small smirk spread across his lip.
“I forgot to tell you, I’m not a good princess.” She gave him a smirk as well, complimenting his. She walked towards the now vacant counter.
“I can see.” He commented, following her.
The lady behind the counter was a black woman with a clear Zulu accent. Her English wasn’t the best, but she still got the order down. The two shared a booth by a window. They sat opposite each other.
Minnie placed her straw inside the McFizz, lifting it up to her lips. The sun was starting to set even from behind the clouds. It must have been getting late, but she didn’t want to notice it. She wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Nicholas yet. She slurped the pink goodness. It tasted nothing like actual watermelons but a combination between a sprite and ‘watermelon’ flavouring. She noticed him watching her.
“You’ve never had one of these before?” She asked, her eyes widening.
“No.” He answered, lifting his burger to his lips. He took a large bit and placed the rest back inside the small box.
“Why not?” She took another sip of the cold beverage, her right hand wrapped around the cold plastic cup. The ice inside the drink jingled.
“I’ve never been interested.” He took another bit of his burger, his eyes never left her.
“Grab a straw and have a taste.” She offered. “Come on, don’t be afraid.”
She opened the lid of the drink and placed a clean straw inside, he placed his as well. He drunk slowly. He made an odd face before swallowing.
“And?” She waited for his reaction. As he swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbed. She swallowed at the sight of it, she had been trying to ignore how handsome he was but at every turn, she couldn’t just do it. It was near impossible that that rate.
“It’s okay.” He took another sip once again. It lowered her drink to just about halfway.
“Don’t finish it, you’re going to have to buy me another one.” She shook her head in warning, taking a sip of her now half-empty drink.
“I could buy you ten more.” He suggested, sipping his own drink once again. He took another bite of his burger.
“I don’t recommend that.” She said, pulling a long golden fry from the cardboard packet. She eat another fry from her pack before he picked one from hers. She glared at him.
“I bought it.” He reminded her, his green eyes glowing once again with the mischievous energy.
“You are playing a dangerous game.” Minnie warned him, plucking another one for herself. She resisted the urge to take one of his.
“I love danger.” He grinned, it was wide and bright. Warmth spread throughout her body, she would have blushed if she could. She bit into another fry as he took another bite from his burger.
“Where did your fries go?” She asked, noticing that there was none on his side of the table. Did he eat them all so quickly? How could she have not noticed?
“I didn’t get any.” Nic told her, sipping on his own drink once again.
“You’re so lame.” She shook her head, eating one of her fries. She coupled it with a sip of the McFizz.
“You didn’t get a burger.” He argued, shaking his own head at her. She rolled her eyes.
“I did.” She pointed towards the small kiddies’ cheeseburger wrapped in yellow paper in front of her.
“You got a baby one.” He shook his head, in disappointment.
“Baby burgers are still burgers.” That was never something she would have thought she would have ever had to say, especially with a straight face. She couldn’t believe how she had managed it without bursting out in laughter.
“They don’t measure up to all this meaty goodness.” He pointed down to his own burger. She rolled her eyes.
“Can we call it even?” She asked, picking off another fry.
“No.” He told her, shaking his head. He was confident in his stance. “Not until you admit that baby burgers aren’t as good as big burgers.”
“Really?” She questioned, taking a small sip of her drink in an effort to conserve it for a little while longer.
“Really.” He answered, looking at her with expectant eyes and a leg melting smirk.
“Fine.” She shook her head, keeping her eyes solid on his. “Baby burgers…are… not… as good as big burgers.” She gave him her brightest and best smile. “They are better!”
“Blasphemy.” He called, feigning a dramatic gasp.
“No. Reverence.” She responded. He didn’t answer back. He took his defeat in silence, watching her sip her drink. Her smile spread wide and proud. She noticed that outside the sun had set. She knew that in Cape Town the sunsets later than in Durban, especially in summer. Did that make it late? What time was it?
“It nine.” He seemed to sense her question. She looked back at him, her eyebrows furrowed.
“P.M?” She questioned. He nodded.
“You wanna go home?” He asked, his eyes were worried. She didn’t know for what, but she didn’t like the look of it. The way his eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes lacked their shine of disobedience. She shrugged.
“It’s fine, I’ll take you back to the hotel.” Nic got up from his seat and she followed him.
They dumped all their empty food wrappers in the bin on their way out. The drive was silent. She looked at the dark city around her. She had fallen in love. With the city but at the same time with the feeling of being away from home. And it was only her first night.
If she was home, she wouldn’t have spent the evening with Nic. Her father would have never allowed that. She found comfort in not having to worry about her parents or what they think of her actions. She would deal about that in January. Or maybe even never, if all went her way and she got lucky.
She turned to face the driver of the car. His eyes were glued to the road, the silence he gave her felt natural. Space and room to think, he seemed to be using it.
In the dark night lights, his jawline and cheek bones were sharper. His eyes glinted brighter.
The moment he pulled right in front of the hotel, her heart dropped. She was going to have to say goodbye.
“You’re free, princess.” He didn’t quite meet her eye, rather he kept his focus on her lips before turning back to his steering wheel.
“Not going to hold me captive any longer?” She asked, trying to lighten the mood.
“I would love to, but first you need your beauty sleep.” He gave her a small smile. The glint in his eyes had returned.
“Can you, I don’t know, hold me captive tomorrow as well?” She requested. “That’s if you don’t have any other arrangements.”
“I would be honoured.” He mocked a bow, smiling wider. The worry was gone, and he seemed to have brought his natural smirk back to his face. It suited him too well for her liking. “How does ten suit you?”
“It suits me fine.” She smiled in return. Did she just ask him out on a date? Was it a date? What were they doing? Did what they had already done qualify as a date? She was too scared to ask, in case she scared the poor boy away.
“Bring your swimsuit.” He told her, she nodded.
“Goodnight.” She said, her face heating up under his gaze. She could feel him imagining her in one, the idea of him being nearly undressed in her presence was sparking ideas that she didn’t want to have just yet. She only just met him.
“Goodnight.” His voice was lower somehow, maybe she was just losing her head. She shut the door behind her. He didn’t drive off until she had walked inside the hotel front door. The elevator was lonely, and the hotel room was filled with ideas that she didn’t want.
Ideas of friendships that could turn into other things. Ideas of compromising positions and more late nights. Ideas of sketchpads filled to the brim with Nic.
Those ideas mulled over the concept of having her own independence, living abroad or travelling. She was anxious to receive an email from her bank and hoped it would only give her good news.
Because there written as clear as daylight on her screen was confirmation that she had complete control of her bank account and that she had a good some of money there.
Another email was from the University of Cape Town, it was frivolous really. All about random information she would soon need to know about her scholarship to study Art that the university.
She slipped off her clothes for pyjamas and spent a few hours, filling a page of her sketch pad with a drawing of him. His face in the dark of the car, eyes focused on the road.
She feel asleep with the picture half-done at midnight.
****
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