“God, you look gorgeous,” he said.
Oh, those heart flutters. I wanted to feel those heart flutters forever.
“I’m in an ugly uniform,” I said, looking down at my outfit. I smoothed my apron on my stomach.
“Not ugly at all. Sexy more like.”
I blushed, and this time he saw. I couldn’t conceal it under the glare of the restaurant lights.
“Hungry?” I asked, and pulled out my order pad.
“What would you recommend?”
“Honestly? I’ve only eaten the turkey sandwich. It was all right,” I confessed.
“Don’t you get to eat for free?” Ryan asked.
“Are you kidding? A little bit of a discount, sure, but nothing for free,” I said. “And anyway, I’m so tired after work, I don’t want to stick around and eat. I want to go home.”
“I can understand that,” he said. He looked over the menu. “Well, I guess I’ll try this steak sandwich.”
“A man who eats manly meat,” I said. “I like it.”
“Manly meat, huh?” he asked, chuckling.
“Sure. Didn’t you know steak was the manliest of meats?”
“Making a note of it,” Ryan said.
I nodded. “And to drink?”
“A Cherry Coke,” he said.
“Now that’s a little girly, but I’ll let it slide.”
“Well, I really ordered it for you,” Ryan said. “See, I thought you could bring it over here along with two straws. You could sit across from me, and we could drink it together.”
It was decided. I was going to let Ryan Foster do me. I had no idea when it would happen, but it was inevitable. If he kept being this cute, it was inevitable.
“I can’t take Cherry Coke breaks in the middle of my shift,” I said.
“Too bad,” Ryan replied. “Just give me a regular Coke then.”
I nodded and walked away, glimpsing four boys filing in. Cal. Parker. Someone. And another someone.
I sighed deeply. Life was so unfair sometimes. Why couldn’t I flirt with Ryan in public without being interrupted? And then I realized that a table in my section just opened up. And it was a four top. No no no. I watched helplessly as Kimberly led the four boys to my section, seating them at a table a few feet away from Ryan.
I could feel the instant sweat break out underneath my arms. It wasn’t so much Cal anymore who made me nervous, though he should have. Parker was really the person who made me uneasy. He didn’t like me; that was evident. And I didn’t know what he planned to do about it. One part of me thought he had no plans at all, but he didn’t strike me as that kind of guy. He struck me as the calculating, vengeful guy who always paid back his enemies. I inadvertently became an enemy when I ran into him in the hallway. He knew I overheard his conversation in the stairwell. I was convinced of it. And then I landed right on the top of his hit list when I tore Gretchen away from his greedy claws at Tanner’s party.
As I poured Ryan’s Coke, I surreptitiously watched the four boys, feeling my anger rise, that righteous anger I had not felt in weeks. I think I heard Beth sigh relief. I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves, before bringing Ryan his Coke.
Ryan’s demeanor completely changed. He was no longer openly flirty, avoiding my eyes as he said “thank you” when I placed his Coke in front of him. I was fine with that. I didn’t want Cal seeing us flirt anyway. It was foolish on my part: pursuing a guy who was off limits. I entertained the idea of being secret friends with Ryan, and then scolded myself for being so shallow and selfish. I didn’t want to be secret friends. I wanted to be open friends, but it would ruin everything. Could Beth forgive me if I chose to move on instead of getting revenge?
I reluctantly walked over to the four top.
“Hi, guys,” I said.
“Hey, Brooke,” Cal said. He looked happy. I think it was because I had to serve him.
The other boys mumbled “hellos.”
“Decided?” I asked, readying my pen.
“You have to write down orders?” Parker asked. “You can’t just remember them? It’s not hard. There are only four of us.”
I considered what would be the appropriate response, but there wasn’t one. So I just repeated my question.
“Decided?”
Parker snorted and asked for Evian water.
“We don’t have Evian water,” I said. “We have tap water.”
“Pepsi then,” he said.
“Nope. Coke here,” I replied.
“We’re in North Carolina. Pepsi country,” he argued.
“There’s a Bojangles right down the road.”
Parker called me a bitch with his eyes, but I stood stoic, refusing to give him the reaction he wanted. I wondered why Cal wasn’t saying anything. It was obvious, the open hostility between Parker and me. I felt like this lunch was one big test. I wasn’t sure if I was passing, and more alarmingly, I didn’t know why I cared.
“Whatever. Give me a Sprite,” Parker said. “And this turkey sandwich.”
“You got it.” Asshole.
“And for you boys?”
“Same as Parker,” one of them said. Hanger-on. How pathetic.