A/N-This is our first story together (Jen and Jordan) and I hope you all enjoy it as much as we have writing it.

Looking into the tiny mirror in the restaurant's back room, Regina Mills swept her hair up off her neck and into a ponytail holder. "Dumb hair," she muttered toward the mirror.

"What'd you say?" asked her friend and fellow waitress Ruby as she approached from behind. Large earrings dangled nearly to her shoulders, their red and purple beads clashing with her pink uniform.

"Nothing," Regina replied. "Just wishing..." For a better job, a better life, a better future. The noise of the train rumbling past outside the diner blotted out the sound of her sigh. "Just wishing for better hair," she finally said, still peering helplessly into the glass.

Ruby shook her head, obviously annoyed. "You've got some great harir, Regina. You just need to floof it up some."

"Floof it up?" Ruby attended hair design school at night, but her terminology often came out sounding less than techinal.

Ruby raked her fingers through her own voluminous dark hair, that had red streaks in it. "Like this," she explained. "I could do it for you-"

Regina cut her off. "No, you couldn't." Ruby taste was a bit wild, and despite repeated promises, Regina wasn't sure she could trust her friend.

"Hey Regina, you working today ot just playing beauty shop?" their boss Grumpy thundered, cutting through the conversation. "Got a table of big spenders out here and nobody to take their order."

Ruby always claimed that Grumpy's bark was worse than his bite, but Regina jerked to attention, anyway. "Coming Grumpy," she said, rushing through the grease laden kitchen, then grabbing a handful of white laminated menus. She glanced into the dining area and counted four suits in a booth near the door. She hurriedly filled four small water glasses, placed them on a tray, and moved toward her customers.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," she said, briskly placing the glasses on the table, one by one.

"No problem," said the smoothest, deepest voice she'd ever heard. It had a british accent with it.

She looked subtly toward the voice as she distributed the plastic menus. The suit who had spoken had brown hair, cut short in back. To call him handsome would have been a gross understatement. Overwhelmingly, devastatingly handsome was more like it. His alluring smile made Regina's chest tighten with quick desire as his blue eyes pinned her in place. And as for his companions, they could have been aliens-Regina didn't even notice them.

Was this love? Lust? Regina couldn't tell the difference at the moment, and she only prayed that her reaction didn't show on her face. She licked her lips quickly, realizing that they'd gone suddenly dry, and then she attempted to speak. "What would you like?" Her eyes stayed glued to the object of her desire. So much for subtlety.

"The specials, Regina!" Grumpy bellowed through the window behind the counter. "Tell them the specials."

"Oh yeah," she muttered, glancing briefly over her shoulder.

Grumpy's booming voice had shaken Regina from her trance, which was both a relief and a disappointment. Turbing back to the table, she deliberately fixed her gaze on the napkin holder in the center. That would be much safer than mooning at the man with the fabulous eyes. And it was her only hope of getting through this with any dignity.

"We have a chicken and dumpling playe with two side items for four ninety nine, and a pork a barbecue sandwich with cole slaw and baked bean for five ninety nine. Are you ready to order or do you need a few minutes?"

Regina accidently lifted her gaze to Blue Eyes, having already forgotten the effect it would have on her. Oh, God, he was looking back. Her heart beat wildly, and she knew all attempts at dignity were futile.

"I think I'll try the barbecue," he said, flashing another smile. "And a glass of sweet tea."

Damn, he had dimples too!

Regina swallowed. "Great," she managed to mumble as she scibbed furiously on her order pad. Unbeknownst to him, she was referring more to the way he looked than to his order.

She gripped her ink pen tightly, her palms now sweating, as the other three men placed their order. Oh for Han Solo's sake, her concentration had completely evaporated, she had to repeat two of the orders back to make sure they were correct.

After finally getting them right, Regina made a beeline for Grumpy. "Here," she said, shoving the orders into his waiting fist. Then she rushed breathlessly to Ruby, who sat reading a fashion magazine in the back room. "Help me," she pleaded.

"Help you what?"

"There's, there's..." She could hardly talk. "There's a gorgeous man in our dining room and I, I-"

"Want me to do your hair?" Ruby suggested hopefully.

Regina shook her head frantically, the ponytail swinging behind. 'No. I need a pep talk. Some advice. What to say to him."

Ruby looked introspective. "What are you trying to get out of this?" she asked. "A good tip, a roll in the hay, what?"

Regina's hearbeat slowed when she realized that she had no idea what she really wanted. "Just...to make a good impression," she finally explained.

Ruby rose from the table and skirted quickly past Regina to poke her head around the corner, where she could spy the customers. "Let me guess," she said. "The tall, handsome hottie, next to the window."

Regina nodded.

"Girl, go up to him and ask him for his number," Ruby said. "Even better go sit in his lap and ask for it."

"I can't do that," Regina said.

"Why not? Just tell him you're on the menu, and see what he says," Ruby said.

Regina smiled as she started toward that way. "Regina! Drinks, silverware," Grumpy yelled at her. "The gentlemen at table three need these things. It's the part of the job that comes between taking their orders and serving their food."

Regina cautiously raised her eyes. "Sorry, Grumpy," she said. "I'm having a weird day."

"I noticed," he muttered, withdrawing to the kitchen.

Regina moved swiftly behind the counter, her back to the four men as she assembled their drinks. At first she wondered if her blue eyed hunk might be watching her, studying her, and her heartbeat quickened with nervous anticipation. But then reality set in. Why would a gorgeous guy like that look twice at a waitress like her? She was used to being ogled by the construction guys who came in for lunch, and she knew that Archie, who delivered their dairy products, had a crush on her. But Blue Eyes was in a different league altogether. Wait-what was she thinking? He was in a different galaxy.

Regina had forced herself into a state of calm by the time she moved back toward the table bearing drinks and silverware rolled in white napkins. This was just another table, after all. Another set of customers.

She lowered two cups of coffee in front of them men across from Blue Eyes. Then she placed a soda before the man to Blue Eyes's right. She tried to not look at him. She really did. But there he was, beaming up at her like she was the most important thing in the room, and she felt herself begin to tremble. Taking a deep breath and trying to short up her nerves, she pulled her gaze away from him and back to the glass of sweet tea. She bit her lip as she carefully picked it up off the tray and leaned toward him over the table. Just as she began to wonder if he was able to see down the top of her dress, the moisture on the outside of the plastic glass made Regina lose her grip.

The glass seemed to drop from her hand in slow motion, giving her time to think why me?, pray a helpless prayer, and lunge madly for the glass with her other hand, letting the tray clutter to the floor behind her. Despite all this, the glass clanked unevenly on the table, falling on its side and spewing its contents all over the gorgeous man.

"Oh my god!" she gasped. "Oh my...oh...no."

Blue eyes companion moved quickly from the booth to let his wet friend stant. Regina clenched her teeth in horror at what she'd done, at the sight of the handsome well dressed man drenched in sweet tea. This couldn't be happening to her! It just couldn't! "I'm so...I'm so...sorry!"

Blue eyes used his hands to brush the excess wetness from his shirt and jacket lapels as Regina watched in horror. Finally it occurred to her to run to the counter and grab a dry rag. She returned, still mortified, and began to blot at the man's shirt and tie, trying to somehow fix what she'd done, although, like saving her dignity, this effort was just as useless. When she heard his low gasp, she realized what she was doing then. She was bascially blotting at his groin area, she looked up to see twinkling eyes looking down at her.

"I can't believe I did that to you," she finally managed to say, still blotting at him, and at the same time taking in the scent of the cologne that seemed to emanate from his body. "Your shirt," she went on, "and your suit." His clothes looked expensive-GQ all the way. "How can I...what can I...I'm so sorry."

Only then did she notice that he was smiling down at her, his eyes nearly glittering beneath the fluorescent lighting. "No harm done," he said. "It can all be dry cleaned."

What a sweet, sweet man! Beyond sweet! He could be a prince! But Regina still couldn't believe what she'd done to him. Her gaze landed on his tie, obviously silk and obviously costly, now stained and soggy. Without thinking, she reached out and touched it. She bit her lip and peered up at him. "Even the tie?"

His eyes filled with sympathy, which wasn't exactly what she wished from him, but it was better than anger or the host of other emotions that he could be displaying. His deep voice came out softer than before. 'Well, the tie's probably shot," he admitted, "but it's no big deal.

Regina sighed heavily. Only then did she realize that she was practically petting the soggy silk tie, and the chest beneath it, as well. She dropped the tie abruptly and took a step back from him.

He still smiled down at her, damn those dimples! "The tie's not a big thing," he reassured her.

Regina smiled and went to the window and got their orders, taking great care with placing them on the table. "Will there be anything else right now?"

Blue eyes lifted his gaze and spoke softly. "Could I um, get another glass of sweet tea?"