Aiden stared at me with the same cold look in his eyes, and I could feel the tension rolling off of him in waves, until finally he burst.

"That's it!" He shouted. "Arm wrestle!"

I did a double take.

"What?"

Of all the things I thought he'd might say, this was definitely not one of them.

"You heard me," He responded, putting his arm on the table. "Now."

I screwed up my face. "Is this how men solve their problems nowadays?"

"I'm waiting."

"Fine," I said, placing my arm on the table. Then, when they were side by side, I noticed just how much bigger his arm was than mine.

I mean, my arm was really muscular, but his was really muscular.

Well, I hope my family mourns me.

He counted, "And a five, six, seven, eigh-"

"What is this, a dance number?" I interrupted. "I'll do it. Three- two- one- ZERO!"

And we went at it.

The force of his arm hit me hard, but my arm was all muscle, and I held him off.

Our arms were both shaking with strain, but neither of us were getting anywhere.

"Getting tired?" He asked me.

I snorted, "Yeah, of your attitude!"

And then his force increased dramatically. Our hands went down a couple inches in his favor, and we stayed there, both of us nearly sweating.

Then, just my luck, his arm got too close to the edge of the table and slipped off, letting go of my hands and falling forward.

I looked at my hand. "Does this mean I win by default?"

"No," He said as Cate said yes.

They then looked over and glared at each other while a satisfied smile planted itself on my face. I'll take what I can get.

"So, Caroline," Miles began, putting his chin in his hands and staring at me.

I looked behind me to see who he was talking to, and then realized that that was me.

"Yes?" I asked innocently.

"Got quite the appetite, don't you?" He asked.

"No," I said, "That was just a snack. I'll probably get something else later," I added just to annoy Aiden.

It worked. His nostrils flared.

"Cate, how have you been," Garret asked, sipping his water.

"Moody, blatant, salty, and a bit poetic," She responded, folding her napkin. "So the usual. Want to hear my new poem?"

"Cate thinks she's good at poetry," Aiden whispered to me.

"Here's my haiku;
Long days filled with pain.
No escape from this torment. Everyone hates me." She finished, and smiled. "That one was called School."

Wow! That was good!

We all clapped politely, and Adeline gasped in delight.

"What a great idea! Let's all go around and say a Haiku!"

Cole squealed, "That sounds fun!"

Then they both held hands and squealed.

Adeline grinned. "I'll go first. Sunshine and rainbows. I think everyone is nice. Except for meanies."

She beamed in pride and we all clapped again.

"Sports and food and fun," Garret began. "Play until the day is done. I prank everyone. HAHA SUCKERS! Mine rhymed!"

"Shuuuuushshsh," Cole said. "My turn. My name is Cooooole. I am a cool guy with friends. My age is eighteen."

"The first line has only four syllables," Cate said.

"I made Cole two. Cooooole," He told her.

"Whatever, it's Miles's turn," Garret said.

Miles said, "Pass."

"Oh! Looks like it's Caroline!" Cate said, grinning at me.

I formed a draft in my head. "Healthy and sexy. Irritated easily. Kind but also not."

I hoped that they noticed that the first letters of each line spelled HIK. Help I'm Kidnapped.

Actually, that was way too hard. Man, I'm hopeless.

Aiden cleared his throat, before reciting, "None compare to me. Handsome, pretty, and so hot. Also I have cash."

That one earned the loudest clap of all, and I couldn't help the roll of my eyes.

"Ok, I've said enough about myself," Cate started, "What have you all been up to?"

Miles smiled, "Aiden and I went to Governor's school of Advanced Talent. Me for math and him for cooking."

I slammed my palm down on the table, scaring everyone.

"Darn it!" I exclaimed. "I knew I should've gotten that pasta!"

Aiden smiled smugly and added, "While Garret and Cole got jobs."

"Where?" Cate asked.

"In a daycare center!" Garret grinned. "Kids love me."

"That's because you are a kid," Cole flicked his ear. "They hate me."

"We sacrificed him," Garret clarified.

"That's unfortunate," I mused.

"So, how did you too get together?" Adeline asked from across the table, gesturing to us with her spoon.

A faint smile touched my lips as I stared at the wall. "Ah, it felt like it was just two days ago..."

"But it wasn't," Aiden quickly added.

"It was almost like they forced me," I remembered.

"But we didn't," said Aiden again.

"It was almost dream-like in the beginning, like I'd been drugged by ice cream."

"But she wasn't."

"And then the next thing I know, here I am!" I finished.

The table was quiet.

"That's very... vague," Adeline finally broke the silence.

I shrugged, "Some like to keep it private."

"Very Private," Aiden clarified.

"Aiden, your turn to talk," Garret smiled devilishly. Oh no. "What is it exactly that made you fall in love with her?"

Aiden gave him the 'Wait until we get home...' look.

"I guess her looks," He shrugged nonchalantly.

"And?" Cole pressed.

"Her family ties?" He said, making it sound more like a question.

"My dad is the head of the police department," I nodded. " He specializes in kidnappings."

How much more clear did I need to be? This whole dinner i'd been trying to convey my circumstance without voicing it. Was this why I always lost at charades?

"Your diner is served," The waiter popped up from behind me, startling me again.

"Stop doing that!" I complained as he placed our plates in front of us.

There was not enough room in the table for my whole dinner, so my waiter ended up just standing there holding my plates until I finished.

To my pride and happiness, I managed to eat nearly three of the dishes, the Pasta, Beef stew, and half the prime rib.

After so long without quality food, my stomach savored the dinner, and I was a happy camper.

The check was ridiculous, I couldn't even count that high. But oh well!

We left the restaurant with happy memories and unhappy payers.