Jeff opened the door for me as we walked up to the Waffle House. The old woman and a possible teenager smiled at us warmly as we made our way to the nearest table. As i took my jacket off, i noticed someone outside, someone familiar, but i couldn't put my finger on it...
"So, a mother at 22, huh," Jeff said, shattering my thoughts.
"Yeah, it was accidental, i was 17 and utterly stupid, but i'm sure you've already pin pointed that."
He smiled, all his small, pearl white teeth glowing in the dim, gold light pouring over the table. His movements were so swift, grabbing the menu in a split second, and ordering immediately. I shook my head, trying to gather my sanity as i looked over the menu next to me.
"A black coffee for me, and," Jeff gestured towards me.
"Black, lots of cream and some sugar, please."
The girl smiled and gave Jeff a quick wink. I wrinkled my nose in what you might say disgust.
"You work around these parts?"
"Kinda, i work for a fashion designing business, and i'm what you might call a mystery shopper, and i get a good amount every couple weeks. It puts food on the table, you know," i said, playing with my fingers. His eyes were stunning, shimmering in the light a pretty, bright emerald. His skin was nice and tan, like a lighter russet, and his teeth glimmered against it.
"Yeah, us wrestlers don't really get paid too much. I mean, we get a fair amount, but we should get more," he explained. The girl finally showed up, setting Jeffs coffee down first, and throwing mine down. I gave her a dirty look as she looked back up at me. She just smiled to herself and walked away. I giggled.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing, sorry," I replied, quickly.
"Do you and Lorrie watch me on RAW or something? She looked starstruck when she saw me," he said.
"Yeah, every Monday. I always have to tell her to go to bed, but she doesn't ever want to miss her favorite," I explained, pulling my lips over my teeth for an uncommonly happy smile. He returned a grin.
"Yeah, Matt's boy always watches me. He's already tried to explain to him it's not real, because Matt-"
"Wrestles to, I know."
"Yeah, and he tells him, I'm not gonna get hurt, but he always worrys about his old man."
I shook my head and smiled as he told me about his family, and his poor mom. I told him of my dad, who's in jail for robbery, and that my mom is getting sicker by the minute. His eyes were full of pain, though I wasn't sure why.
"My mom was going through the same thing yours is now. She kept getting sicker and sicker. And I was only about 9, so it's strange I can remember all of it so clearly."
"Well, with times like that, it's something you can't forget, really."
He shook his head, like he was trying to get all the bad memories out of his head.
"So, what do you do for fun around here," he asked.
"Are you crazy? You should know, you've lived here all your life!"
"Should seem that way, huh? Well, there's a lot to do down in Whispering Pines, lots of clubs over there. I was wondering, would you, well, nevermind," he said, folding his hands around his coffee cup.
"No, tell me, what?" He sighed, and look into my eyes.
"Would you like to go to this local, well, I woudn't call it a club, but would you like to come with me? It's new and really nice, I was planning on going this Friday…"
"That would be awesome! I have to drop Lorrie off at my sisters, anyway." I smiled from ear to ear as his face lit up.
"How long have we been here," I asked, looking around for a clock somewhere.
"You've been here for almost 3 hours, sweetie," the old woman behind the counter said. I finally found my cell phone in my cluttered purse and checked the time. 12:53. I grabbed my jacket and threw the money down on the table.
"You ready to go? We can find somewhere to go, maybe shopping, before we pick up the kids."
"Yeah, sounds good."
We got up and walked out, and I waved at the woman behind the counter. The sun was bright, too bright, as I tried to climb into the car without getting blinded.
"You mind if I turned on the radio?"
"No way, go ahead," I said as I turned the key and revved the car. I really like him, but…I thought as I drove away. Was I making a mistake?
