Chapter 3

"Sorry about Luke. He's a handful." Kathy is scrubbing down a few tables while I'm furiously wiping down a table, so hard that I almost knock it over. "Be careful! If any of these breaks, Luke and his dad will most likely be the ones to fix it! I doubt you'd like to see him again."

"That was the smartest thing you've said!" I continue wiping down the table, a little more gently this time, but the events of tonight continue to bother me. Luke constantly bickered about the drinks until I refused to bring him anything else. Kathy tried asking him to be nicer since it was my first time but he insisted I learned the ropes quicker. He kept using the term Newbie when referring to me. Angrily, I toss the rag onto the table and let out a disgruntled breath of air.

"Why don't we go out for a walk? That usually calms me down." Kathy grabs my arm and ushers me outside. The smell of the ocean overwhelms me and I feel myself becoming calmer. The sun has set and the stars and moon are slowly making their way into the darkness above. Kathy continues walking down the pier and I follow behind her slowly.

"It's beautiful tonight," I say.

She smiles at me. "It's always beautiful here. That's why I'm so glad we live in this town. It may be small but it's worth it," she leans against the railing at the end of the walkway and I stand next to her. We stand quietly for a few minutes before another presence joins us.

"Good evening, ladies," the blond from earlier, Gill I think, is standing next to me, a smile planted on his perfect face. His bright blue eyes are almost a purple in the moonlight.

"Hey Gill," Kathy says in a friendly tone. Something about it put me on edge.

"How do you like our little seaside town so far, Akari?" He leans against the railing and I notice he doesn't have on his vest. His shirt is ruffled and the first three buttons are undone.

"It was going nicely until that no good Luke showed up," I mumble the last part but I think he still heard me.

"Luke? The carpenter? He's bad news," he says softly. "I'm sorry if he caused you any trouble."

I hear Kathy make a small snort but ignore it. "Yeah, I plan to keep a good distance from him."

"You can always hang out with me," Gill smiles and I notice his teeth are perfect and two dimples poke out of his cheeks.

"I don't think Akari will have time. She's still new to the bar so she'll be busy learning the rules and menus," Kathy elbows me in the side and I make a small noise. I look at her questioningly. Gill was gorgeous. I wouldn't mind hanging with him.

"That's too bad. Well if you ever get any free time, please don't hesitate to find me," he leans down and kisses my hand again followed by a wink before he walks away from us towards a small road leading uphill.

"You do not want to hang out with him," Kathy says when he's out of earshot.

"Why? He seems really nice. Not to mention he's really attractive," I feel myself smiling when I say the last part.

"It's better you don't find out why the hard way. Please promise me you won't be alone with him," she looks at me and her eyes show that she's worried.

"Okay. I won't hang out with him by myself," I promise.

"Good. Let's try to get some sleep."

I wake up feeling tired and groggy but I force myself out of bed and into the bathroom. I take a quick shower and get myself dressed for the day. I decide to wear jean shorts and a basic t-shirt. I notice Kathy's door is still closed so I assume she's still asleep. I step out into the dining hall and find it empty. I enter the kitchen to see Chase hard at work on something. The kitchen smells delicious.

"Good morning," I yawn. I walk past him and open the fridge. Vegetables and fruits of all varieties take up one shelf of the fridge. The rest are meats, different types of drinks, and various cases of whipped cream.

"Are you hungry?" Chase sneaks up behind me and I slam the fridge shut in surprise. "I am actually," I say quickly.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I'll cook you something. Least I can do after last night. Kathy told me what happened," He smiles at me and I can't help getting lost in his eyes. They're a bright violet with specks of dark purple around the pupil. His peach hair was ruffled from sleep and pinned to the side of his head with bobby pins.

"That'd be great," I respond finally. He shakes his head before opening the fridge and grabbing some eggs and bacon. I sit on the counter and watch him. His hands steadily multitask as he prepares the stove for the eggs. He cracks two open perfectly without getting egg white all over the stove.

Amazing.

"What is?" He asks me. I realize I said it out loud. "The way you crack the eggs. I can never crack them that perfectly."

"It's pretty simple. I'll s how you," he holds out an egg and I grab it, brushing his warm, soft hands. I feel a tingle go up my arm but I shake it away. He holds out his egg and taps it on the edge of the frying pan and releases a perfect egg onto it. "Your turn," he says.

I lean against the stove and follow his example, only my egg shatters and egg shells fall into the pan. "I'm sorry," I wine. He quietly pulls out a fork and grabs the egg shells. "It's okay, it takes a while to get the hang of it," he grabs another egg and places it into my hand.

"You sure you want to try this again?" I ask honestly.

"I'll guide you this time." I feel his chest pressed against my back and his hand is placed over mine. He guides my hand over to the pan and softly taps the egg against the edge. A perfect split parts the egg and it falls onto the pan, sizzling with the others.

"You tapped it too hard. You have to be softer," he releases my hand and smiles. I feel my cheeks burning and realize I'm smiling like an idiot.

"Thank you," I finally manage to say.

"No problem. I'm happy to teach. If you want to learn how to cook anything, let me know," he smiles before tending to the eggs and bacon. His touch still lingers on my hand and I stagger out of the kitchen and lean against a nearby table. Moments later Chase joins me and sets a plate of warm eggs and smoking bacon on the table and some orange juice.

"Here is your breakfast," he waits for me to take a bite and I release a small sound of enjoyment.

"This is delicious!" I say rather loudly. Kathy walks into the room in her pajamas and notices my plate of hot food. "Breakfast? That smells really good!" She makes a puppy face towards Chase and he smiles. "I'll make you some too," he heads back into the kitchen and Kathy sits across from me at the table, stealing a piece of bacon.

"He makes the best breakfast. Any girl who marries him will be extremely lucky," she says with a mouthful of bacon.

I choke on my food and Kathy looks at me with horror. "Are you okay?" She stands up and starts slapping my back.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I say while gasping in air. "It just went down the wrong pipe," I quickly add. Chase was adorable and really handsome. Not that I'm thinking of marrying him. I just met him, but I wouldn't mind eating like this every morning.