Okay, this chapter is up. Well, I don't really have anything to say here, so on to the story!
"You are a lifesaver." My boss, Jason, said as I walked into Veloce Beauditine. It wasn't the fanciest restaurant I'd ever been too, but it was a sit down, and not fast food. I was a waiter, mostly because I couldn't cook for the life of me. "I owe you one." Jason added, pulling me in for a hug. Jason was in his late twenties, with dark skin and messy curly black hair that reached just past his ears. He had a slight Italian accent from the vacation he spent in Italy this summer. He had a wife named Julie, and a three year old daughter named Harmony. Me and Jason had formed a friendship over the two years I had worked here. I sometimes babysat Minnie (My nickname for Harmony). He had turned into a close friend for me, and he was always there when I needed advice. Even my friends had met him, through they weren't as close as we were.
"Really, I owe you." Jason added with a grateful smile. I grinned as he held out the normal uniform. It was nothing special; just a beige dress with a frilly white apron.
"I know. You're just lucky that I could actually cancel my plans. And you do owe me, and I will find a good way for you to pay that debt." I said as I walked into the 'employee's only' room. I slipped into the bathroom, quickly changing my normal clothes for one of the uniforms. As I finished changing, i went out back to the room and signed in, watching the other employes passing by, getting supplies or going to the bathroom or something. It was always crowded here, and a part of me was glad. No one seemed to notice me, or care about me. In a way, that was comforting. At my school, I stood out as the nerdy outcast girl. Here, I was just another waiter doing her job.
I mean, sure, we talked. Some of us were even friends. But none of us really stood out. We were all equals.
Once I finished changing, I went to the kitchen, where I got assigned tables. Today I had B4, B8, C1, and D7.
The first half an hour flew by pretty fast. I had one family with three kids, a couple a little older than me out on a date, a lone man who was on his laptop, and a mom and her daughter out for 'Mommy-Daughter night. Nothing interesting happened.
That is, nothing interesting happened until the lone man left, and someone else took his spot. The interesting thing, what that the person taking his place wasn't a stranger. The person was Keefe Sencen.
When I went out to see if anyone had come, the root beer float I was holding slipped out of my hand in shock. Immediately every head in the restaurant turned to look at me, and I felt my cheeks start burning with embarrassment. Keefe, did not help the situation in any way by asking "You okay there Foster?"
I quickly grabbed a hand towel from the counter next to me, and ignoring the stares I was getting, and Keefe. I started cleaning up the mess. I was sure that my cheeks were the color of a tomato.
"Sophie, you need any help?" Eshaa, my co-worker asked. I looked over. She was my best friend at work, though we didn't spend much time together out of work. I was grateful for her offer, but she couldn't really do anything.
"No thank you." She looked guilty. Eshaa was always trying to help, to make things better.
"I could make the root beer float again. No one's sitting at my tables, so I'm free to do it." I smiled. How did she always know how to make things better?
"You know, you are a lifesaver. Have I mentioned that?" She grinned at me, and started to walk away to make it.
I finished cleaning up the mess and went over to collect the root beer float that Eshaa had left on the counter, and delivered it to the little girl. She thanked me, and I was in the middle of trying to figure out how to avoid Keefe, when he called out
"Foster! I'm ready!" I was debating if it would be socially acceptable to dump whatever food he wanted over your head as I walked over to him.
"What are you doing here?" I hissed at him. Keefe gave me that handsome smirk of his, and I found that I couldn't feel mad. But I sure could pretend that I was.
"What? Aren't you happy to see the most handsome and cool guy you know?"Keefe winked dramatically, and I felt the blush heat up my cheeks.
"Would you shut up? Half the restaurant is staring at us! And I've had enough attention when you surprised me enough to make me drop the root beer float." Keefe chuckled, leaning back in his chair and cocking his head at me.
"You know, you're rocking the adorable while you're angry look. Really. It's cuter than anyone else would look when they're that angry." I felt my cheeks start to burn as I rolled my eyes and tried to ignore my racing heart.
"Keefe, if you keep this up I will dump food on you, I don't care that I'm at work." Keefe's smirk widened as he casually lifted his feet onto the table and wolf whistled.
"Foster's getting feisty! Everyone better watch out for her wrath of cuteness." He waggled his eyebrows, and I suppressed a laugh. I couldn't stop the smile that slipped onto my lips. Keefe looked triumphant.
"I got a smile! See Foster? I'm just too irresistible." This time a laugh slipped out before I could stop it. "And a laugh too? I'm on a roll!"
"Oh, just shut up and tell me what you want." I grumbled, still smiling. Keefe grinned.
"Hmm… Well, I want a dog, and I want world peace, and I want a bar of gold, and I want a unicorn and-"
"What you want from the menu, idiot." I interrupted, rolling my eyes and pulling my hair around my face to hide my smile.
"Ohh, that's a lot more specific. Okay then. I don't know." I scoffed.
"You know, you called me over here, saying you were ready. Ready means you know what you want to order." I reminded him.
"I was ready… To spend time with you." He said with a wink, placing his hands behind his head and leaning back. I rolled my eyes.
"Keefe, I have other people to attend to. Seriously. I'll… come raid your fridge or something tomorrow. I promise." I said, in an effort to get him to order. His lips twitched.
"That's supposed to convince me to order? Seriously?" He asked incredulously. "You really need to work on your people skills. You know that?" I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked my hip. "Okay, fine." Keefe said, finally giving in. "Just pasta with sauce please." I smiled.
"No drink?" I asked. He shrugged.
"Surprise me." I gave him a little smile before I slipped away to get his food. I decided on Coke for his drink. You couldn't go wrong with a classic, right? Right before I was about to leave the kitchen to give him his food, Jason came up to me with a weird smile.
"Is that Keefe Sencen?" He asked with raised eyebrows.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. That's him. Why?" I asked, turning to face him. He shrugged.
"Oh, no reason. You two seemed rather at ease with each other." He pointed out with a suggestive look.
"We go to the same college. I met him yesterday." I explained, not sure I liked what he was implying. There was no way that I was going to deal with Jason shipping us like Biana was. One friend who was overly obsessed with my love life was more than enough for me.
"And...?" He asked. I gave him a blank look. What did that even mean?
"And what?" I asked after a few seconds of silence. He gave me an exasperated look, and I responded with a shrug.
"And what do you think of him?" Jason asked, sounding just a little bit too eager for my likings.
"He's nice. Funny. Got an ego bigger than Earth itself, but not in a bad way. Pretty much the opposite of his parents." Jason smiled goofily. "And you better not go shipping us like Biana. I don't think I could deal with someone else who wants to decide who I marry." I added. Jason cocked his head at me, a smile twitching over his lips.
"Biana already ships you? Well, you're hopeless. Biana seems to have a sixth sense for these things. You two are going to get married." Jason sounded way to giddy. I groaned.
"I'm going to go give him his food now." I announced, leaving before Jason could start up again. Why had I decided it was a good idea to introduce him to Biana? He was the type to join her in her shipping, and I did not find it amusing. Okay, maybe it was a little funny to see a man his age act like a fangirl, but that was not the point!
"Finally! How long does it take to prepare pasta?" Keefe exclaimed dramatically when I got to his table.
"I was gone for five minutes." I deadpanned. He gave me that infuriating trademark smirk of his.
"And they were the worst five minutes of my life." Keefe remarked as he took a sip of the drink. "Hmm… Coke, right? Good choice." I felt a light blush coat my cheeks.
"It was a lucky guess." I mumbled, tugging out a loose eyelash. He opened his mouth to respond, but a high pitched squeal cut him off.
"Sopie! Sopie!" I spun around just in time to see Harmony (Jason's daughter) hurtling towards me at a speed that was way too fast for a three-year-old.
"Oof!" I cried as she jumped into me in an attempt to give me a hug, which made me stumble backwards into Keefe's table, spilling his coke and tumbling down until Keefe managed to reach out an arm and catch me at the last minute.
"We really need to stop making a habit out of this." He noted, smirking as I rolled my eyes, and stood up, all the while desperately trying to calm down my blush.
Minnie saved me from having to answer by wrapping her arms around my legs in a hug. "Sopie!" She she used to have trouble pronouncing my name, so she just said 'Sopie', and she hasn't stopped. It's kind of cute.
"Hey Harmony!" I said, picking her up and spinning her around, making her giggle herself silly.
Harmony was the perfect mix of her parents, with Jason's big, chocolate brown eyes, and darker skin, and Julie's small figure and light brown hair that fell just past her shoulders in soft waves. She was way prettier than any three year old had the right to look. "What are you doing here, sweetheart?" I cooed.
"Mommy said you were gonna be here! I miss you!" She said when I put her down. I smiled at her. She had taken a quick liking to me when I had become her babysitter. And I loved her like a sister. An adorable sister.
"Harmony? Harmony Jones, don't go running off like that!" Juile said, walking over to us. "You could get hurt."
Julie was more than a little overprotective over Harmony, but I knew that she was only like that because she didn't want to lose her like she did her first child when she had a miscarriage. She reminded my of my adoptive mother Edilean when they first got me. After losing her first daughter she must've been scared she would lost me too.
Harmony looked up at Julie, giving her the cutest puppy dog eyes i had ever seen. "I'm sorry mommy. But I haven't seen Sopie in…" She trailed off, counting on her fingers. "624 days!" Me and Julie shared a look.
"I don't think that's quite right." Julie said with a smile. "You saw her just last month, remember?" Harmony scrunched up her face in concentration.
"I did?" Julie laughed and ruffled her hair gently, before pulling me into a hug.
"Sophie, it's good to see you. Harmony is right about one thing. It's been too long. You should come over for dinner or something." I smiled as I hugged back, and then pulled away.
"What's that?!" Harmony asked, point to the spot on the floor that Keefe's coke had spilled when I knocked into him.
I sighed. "Something I have to clean up. I'll be right back. Should I let Jason know you're here?" Julie nodded politely as Harmony went "Daddy!"
I turned to Keefe, who was watching the scene play out with a smile. "I'm sorry about the coke." I said sheepishly.
"Ahh, no problem. Besides, now I get a free refill, right?" He winked at me. As if on cue, I blushed.
"You would've gotten a free refill anyway. We do those here, you know." He shrugged.
"Actually, I didn't. This is my first time here, and I only came because one stellar waitress works here. And she just so happens to be waiting at my table, which is a bit of a bonus." He winked dramatically, and I fought the blush as hard as I could, but I was still sure that I was the color of a fire truck.
"Oh, shut up, would you?" I mumbled, trying to slow my racing heart. Why was my heart racing so fast? "And I'd better go fill the coke and get Jason. I'll be right back." I promised with a small smile before fleeing the scene.
I rushed over to the 'employees only' section, and then headed over to the soda machine, grabbing a new cup for Keefe and filling it with Coke. Then I went and poked my head into Jason's office, which was a small, cramped room with a desk and computer in the corner, and several bookshelves on the opposite wall, mostly full of cookbooks. "Hey, Jason?" He perked up from his computer, where he was probably monitoring income or sales or whatever. When he saw that it was me, he smiled.
"What is it Sophie?" Jason asked, his dark brown eyes curious as he ran a hand through his already unruly hair, messing it up even more.
"Harmony and Minnie are here." His face brightened at the mention of his daughter and wife. I knew that he didn't get to see them as often as he would like. He was the boss of the restaurant, and he worked very hard. Plus, Julie had a job as a tutor that started right before he got off of work, so they were struggling to spend time together as a family. Little visits like there were the highlights of his day. "Just letting you know, they're by table C1. The one Keefe was at." I explained.
"Can you tell them I'll be right over? I just have some business to wrap up here, and then I'll be there asap." I nodded and smiled politely before slipping out of the room and started back towards the table.
Everyone in my other tables had left, so I grabbed the money that they had left for the food, and threw it in the chash register, pocketing the tip, which was the normal amount.
When I got to the table where Minnie and Julie were waiting, Jason still hadn't arrived, but Keefe seemed to be keeping Minnie entertained by making silly faces at her. Whenever he made a new face, she would laugh and clap her hands. The scene made me smile. Keefe seemed to be good around kids.
"Jason's on his way. He should be here any second now. He just had a little bit of business to wrap up." I informed Julie, who was watching Keefe and her daughter with a smile.
"Thank you Sophie." I wasn't sure what to say after that (I had always been awkward in social situations) So I just went over to Keefe and handed him his Coke with a smile.
"Here you go." He grinned at me. He opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut of my Harmony.
"Daddy!" She squealed, running over to where Jason was coming towards us and leaping into his outstretched arms.
"Hey Sweetheart. I missed you." He said, kissing her forehead with a smile. And she gave him the most heart melting grin.
"I missed you too! Oh! I made you something. Mommy, where is it?!" Julie smiled and reached into her pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper. When She handed it to Jason and He opened it, it was a drawing of their family, and it was just about the cutest thing I had ever seen. Jason Grinned when he saw it
"It's beautiful, Carebear. You could be an artist when you grow up!" Minnie looked so proud of herself with the praise.
"Well, isn't this just about the cutest thing ever?" Keefe asked from behind me. I smiled and turned to face him. "It looks like not even Foster is immune to the cuteness of a little girl. Though, I suppose she really is sweet." I nodded.
"She is. I babysit her sometimes, and she loves to do all kinds of arts and crafts. Although, when we finish, I'm usually finding glitter in my hair for weeks on end." Keefe laughed at that, and I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks when he did.
"Hey, I made Foster blush! That should be turned into a game. Though, it'd probably be way to easy, given that you blush at anything. Still, I bet it would be fun." Right on cue, I felt my cheeks warm up more than they already were. "Yep. I would be the champion." I rolled my eyes, but laughed anyway.
"Sure you would. But don't you have more productive things to do with your time then just try to make me blush? You could be… I don't know. Helping to end world hunger or something." Keefe raised an eyebrow.
"Ending world hunger? And how would I go about doing that?"
"Okay, fine. You could be studying for your classes. You know, to ensure that you can get a job." I said with an eyeroll. Keefe pouted.
"But studying is boring! Making you blush is where it's at." He was impossible.
"Hey, Sophie, your shift is almost over. Go get changed!" Jason said. "I'll find someone to finish up with this table." Jason said, still holding Harmony in his arms, though she appeared to have fallen asleep.
"No need. I'm done anyway. Besides, No other waiter or waitress could ever compare to Foster." I pulled my hair around my face in an attempt to hide my blush, but I still saw the wink Keefe gave me, Jason's knowing smile, and the curious look from Julie.
"Okay, I'll just come to pick up the money once I'm done." I said, slipping away.
"I'll see you later Foster!" Keefe shouted at me, and I smiled to myself. Somehow, I was sure that it wouldn't be long until we bumped into each other again. Though, if I got any say in it, we would not be literally crashing into each other again. How many times had that happened so far? Two, three times?
I got to the 'employees only' section, quickly slipping out of the uniform and back into my normal clothes. I was one of the last waitresses, maybe because the restaurant closed in about 5 minutes.
When I was done, I went out to collect the bill and the dishes. I slipped the bill into my pocket, planning to deal with it later as I dropped of the plate and cup at this sink in the kitchen.
Right before I left, I stopped by the cash register to turn in the money from Keefe's food. When I opened the bill, a stack of cash fell into my hand. A stack that was way too big for pasta and a coke. I furrowed my brows. Did he accidently pay to much? That was the only logical explanation I could think of.
My eyes scanned over the bill, and it looked normal. It should've only cost him a little more than $10. So why was there so much money?
I scanned it over a second time when my eyes caught onto something. What the… My jaw nearly hit the floor as I read it a second and third time to make sure that my eyes weren't playing tricks on me.
But no, there, in the bold letters was the word: Tip:. And there, in Keefe's sloppy handwriting was the number 150. As in 150 dollars.
Did Keefe Sencen just give me a tip of 150 dollars? I stared at the money in my hands. There was no way that he was doing this just to flirt elaborately, right? And, if that was the case-Which it totally wasn't!-There was no way on Earth that it was working… Right?
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