She watched the three men at the table. They were there again. Aleister, Baron and Drew. A weird little trio that came in often. She had gotten to know them well. She put on her best smile and walked over to the table.
"What can I get for you boys today?" She asked.
Aleister looked up at the sunflower blonde haired woman with the crystal blue eyes. He gave her a big smile in return.
"The same as always," he said.
"The answer is still no," she said.
"Come on," he tried. "One date."
"No," she shut him down.
"You're breaking his heart," Drew chuckled.
"Coffee as always?" She wrote it down without getting an answer. "Anything else?"
"You're a tough woman," Baron said. "Let's get three omelets with everything."
"And your phone number," Aleister tried.
She walked away with a headshake, and returned shortly after to fill their mugs with coffee.
"One date, Cynwise," Aleister gave her puppy eyes. "Please!"
"I'll be back with your food," she said.
"Damn, you're playing a hard game," he said.
"It's not a game," she said.
She served their food shortly after, and tended to other customers. Around half an hour later she noticed Aleister was sitting alone by the table. Baron and Drew were gone. She walked over to clean the table.
"Did they leave you with the bill?" She asked.
"I asked them to leave," he answered. "Please, sit down, Cynwise. Just for a moment."
She sat down across from him, and he took a deep breath.
"I suck at picking up signals, so I'm gonna be straight forward. I don't know if you're being honest when you turn me down, or if you think I'm joking when I ask you out. But I really wanna go out with you," he said.
"I'm gonna give you some names, and you tell me what they have in common," she said.
"Okay?" He looked at her puzzled.
"Andrade Almas, Dash Wilder, Seth Rollins," she said.
"They're my friends," he said. "How do you know them?"
"All friends of Randy. Just like you," she said.
"I don't follow," he said.
She gathered the three plates on the table in a little pile.
"They were all sent by him to ask me out, make me fall for them, fuck me and leave me. All so he could laugh at me," she said.
"What?" He looked shocked. "I admit I know Randy, but I don't know him that well. I had no idea. Why would he do that?"
"He had a hard time accepting I broke up with him a year ago, so he's taking revenge like a fucking teenager," she said. "And it works."
She stood up and picked up the pile of plates.
"I'm gonna be honest with you, Aleister. You would have gotten that date a long time ago if it hadn't been for Randy. I've tried my hardest not to fall for you, but it hasn't worked. The only thing I can do to protect myself is to keep telling you no," she said.
"Cynwise," he grabbed her wrist gently. "Please, give me one chance. Let me prove to you that I'm not sent by him. You get to call all the shots. Plan the perfect date, and I'll do whatever you want."
It felt like electricity shot through her when he touched her wrist. She looked down at his hand, suddenly wishing to feel it on more intimate places of her body. He was so damn hard to say no to, and for some reason she wanted to give him the chance to prove he wasn't another trap sent by Randy.
"Tomorrow," she said.
"I can do that," he smiled widely.
"Pick me up from work at 6 PM," she said.
"I'll be here five minutes early," he promised.