11 Days

THE NEW GUY

"Table six is hungry." Maven announced as she leaned against the bar to hand me the note of the order she had taken. "Do you have gum? This one is no longer flavored." and suddenly she spat out the gum she had been chewing for more than three hours. The colorless ball fell right next to my arm.

“Nice.” I said flicking the disgusting thing off the barstool and watching it on to the window right across the room.

The diner was pretty calm today. During the morning shift, Maven and I were like crazy waiting tables, luckily for us the customers were regulars and they knew that only the two of us were the only waitresses during that shift. Like the lunch and dinner shift. Anyone who wasn't part of the pleasant Quiet Gate would think that we were being exploited by our boss, but the pay was pretty good, and the tips were excellent. During lunchtime there were many takeout orders as well as during dinner. Our boss, Joey, was a kind man with a great sense of humor. He was as big as a mountain and although he looked intimidating because of his scarred face and long beard, he was actually a loving teddy bear. Joey had a habit of opening doors to anyone in trouble. That's how it was in this paper town. We were all running from something and no one was revealing what. The only one who knew our secrets was Joey.

Maven narrowed her eyes at me, those huge honey-colored orbs trained on my face. "What are you looking at?" I asked irritably, walking away from the bar to hand over the note without even reading it to Tony, our cook. I heard him whistle and say something about the order.

“I had no idea that your hair was red.” My eyes widened at the comment. I rarely dared to see my reflection in the morning and only did it at night when I returned home. After what happened five years ago, I fought relentlessly to get rid of the red in my hair dying it in a thousand colors until recently I decided to stop doing it and stay blonde. Apparently, my natural tone refused to be overshadowed. My luck is great. I had not given myself time to dye my hair. Maven noticed my apprehension and added, "You should tell Joey that you need to take care of a situation. He'll understand," then she arched an eyebrow for emphasis, "you know this."

“Do you have a situation like this too?” I raised a brow back at her. Maven and I had been friends for six months. We immediately hit it off as soon as she started working here but I didn't know anything about her other than her name and age. She didn't know anything about my life either. Maven Torres was a beautiful woman with enviable curves and a confidence in herself that I wanted for myself. Curly purple hair and blue lights. She looked perfect all the time, today was no exception. Most of the men in town drooled whenever they were around her.

She shrugged while shaking her head, her curls bouncing along. “No, girl. Can’t you see I am all natural?”

Tony ringed the bell a couple of times, “For the six!” I swiveled and gasped out loud when I saw seven plates ready to be picked up.

“Jesus, how many people are in the table?” I said accommodating the plates upon a tray as I glanced over a shoulder. Maven leaned forward and her t**s almost spilled out from her blouse. “They sure are hungry. There’s a bit of everything here.”

“One person.”

“One?!”

Maven put a finger to her lips, a panic-crazed look masking her face. “Quiet! He could hear you!”

“Here you go, be careful with it.” I warned her. It was not the first time that she broke dishes. Luckily for her, Joey didn't seem to care, even the customers, as they took advantage of the sight of her voluptuous ass when she bent down to pick up the mess. She blew me a kiss and carefully took the food away. I began to wonder if my life would not advance further. If I would always be a waitress here at Quiet Gate or if I would dare to go out into the world again and be part of society, date, party, meet someone and fall in love. That seemed complicated. f**k all that.

“Girrrrrrl!” Maven came back with an empty tray and reddened from her throat and face. “They want you at six!”

I frowned in confusion placing my hands on my hips and tilting my head. “Who wants me where at six?”

“Stop playing! The guy from six heard your ass!”

Uh oh.

“He wants you to go over there!”

“You ratted me out?! Maven!” I cried out feeling more than mortified. I never had problems with clients. I rarely had a problem with someone in this town. Everyone knew me and knew that I was calm and relatively good person! Why me? I cursed under my breath at my big mouth and little brain as I pulled the chain back so I could get off the counter and put it back in place. I touched my hair nervously still in a ponytail. I hugged myself as I made my walk of shame towards the table. I stopped just behind the diner. There was no empty space on the table. It had been covered to full capacity by the food Tony prepared. I grunted miserably, feeling sorry for my situation. The client was a man with a wide back and short wavy golden hair with locks slightly darker than others. A beautiful hair color. Enviable for not saying otherwise. This man's blond hair looked much better than mine. I watched as his arm reached out and took a french fry. Just do it! I approached slowly and stopped right where he could see me. Lightning seemed to have struck me and I was astonished to see the most perfect profile I had ever seen before. An upright and graceful posture kept this man straight. His face had been carved in stone; he was undeniably handsome. And apparently, I insulted him for questioning the amount of food he had ordered. Earth swallow me whole. I cleared my throat to get his attention. He immediately stopped chewing and turned his head to regard me. Liquid silver eyes gleamed in the fluorescent lights. "Hi," God, I sounded so pathetic. "I'm very sorry if I offended you with my comment. It's strange to see someone order so much food for themselves."

Silence. He popped another fry into his mouth.

"You are new here." I pointed it out. "It's the first time you've come to eat here too. No new faces have been seen at Quiet Gate in a long time." and yet he remained silent. If he was trying to make me feel guilty by keeping quiet, it wasn't going to work. I was easily irritated. "Hey, I already apologized. The least you could do is say yes or no or ... something!" No you didn’t! The handsome stranger quirked a smile and shrugged. And then… the most humiliating thing he could have ever done: He waved me off. The only thing he needed to say was shoo, shoo. At that moment I saw red. I was a bull in cornered by an i***t. I couldn't help it, I really tried but I couldn't contain my anger. “You know what? I don’t need this s**t! f**k you, asshole!” he arched his brows, seemingly amused by my outburst. d**k. I marched off feeling positively evil. I hope he chokes on a fry.

Tony poked his head out of the kitchen window a bit worried about me. I hid in the kitchen with him until Maven came for me later. She handed me a small yellow envelope. "This is for you."

“What is this?” I groaned.

“The number six guy wanted to tip you too.” And then she handed me a napkin. He had written on it. I opened the envelope and pulled out the money gasping in surprise at the count of five hundred dollars. Then I read what the napkin said. Tell the grumpy girl I'll order even more food next time.

“Who the hell is this guy?!” I screamed putting the money back in the envelope. “How long has he been gone? Did you watch him drive?” I immediately started grilling Maven for information.

“He walked. Took the right.” She grinned and said. “Go, girl. I’ve got you.”

And then I was out, chasing the guy from table six.