(Author Message: I would just like to take a chance to thank you for reading this story, and my other stories, and for the kind reviews, I have received for them. I had a really bad day on Monday and the only thing that cheered me up and got me through it, were the emails of people following/favouring/reviewing my stories. So thank you, for helping me get through a really bad day.)
As she had predicted, when she got back to Grannies last night, Ruby had more or less pinned her into a booth and made Belle tell her every little detail of her encounter with Mr Gold. They giggled at the details of the kiss and laughed at Albert and Emma interrupting them. After going to bed, Belle had laid awake smiling like a Cheshire cat, fantasying about his lips and hands. Just thinking about where his hands had touched her, his lips on her own, made her skin tingle in anticipation of more.
Stacking some plates into the industrial dishwasher, Belle hummed to herself with a wide smile on her face, dreaming of what would happen when she met him later in his shop. As she pushed the tray of plates and cutlery into the dishwasher, she glanced over her shoulder through the serving hatch into the dining area. She spotted Albert and Emma in a booth near the entrance to Grannies, huddled together beside each other, chatting and laughing about nonsense. Belle wiped her hands down the front of her apron, whilst she left the kitchen to cross the diner to her young friends. They were oblivious as she stood next to them.
"Hey, you two!" Belle greeted them, drawing their attention to her.
Albert smiled. "Hey Belle."
"Hi" Emma chided, playing with Albert's hand on top of the table.
"Has anyone took your order yet?" Belle asked as she reached into the front of her apron for her notepad and pen.
"No, not yet." Albert shook his head at her. "We were waiting for…"
Belle did not hear the last of his sentence, when she sensed someone was standing behind her, his spicy, citrus aftershave engulfed her. "Hello, Miss French."
Turning slightly to face him, Belle's breathe hitched when she realised how close he stood behind her. He smiled at her and stepped pass her to take the empty seat at the booth. Mr Gold looked very pleased with himself, taking the menu that was on the table in front of Albert and Emma. Belle could not help herself and watched him peruse the menu, while he undid the buttons to his suit jacket, parting it to his sides. How she wished, she could help him get out of the rest of his clothes…
"Belle?" Emma said, frowning up at Belle.
"Sorry," Belle blushed with embarrassment and held her notepad and pen ready. "What can I get you, Emma?"
"Can I get the chicken salad with a side order of fries?" Emma asked looking up expectantly at Belle.
"Course, you can. Do you want a drink as well?" Belle questioned, her eyes moving between her notepad and Mr Gold.
"Coke, please." Emma responded and nudged Albert beside her, who was looking at something on his phone.
Albert looked confused for a second before gazing up at Belle. "Cheeseburger and fries, with a banana milkshake."
"And, for you, Mr Gold? What would you like?" Belle asked as she wrote down Albert's order.
When she looked up to meet his gaze, Belle's toes curled up at seeing the naughty grin on his face. "Well, Miss French, there's quite a few things I would like."
"Okay, so what would you like to eat?" She tried to narrow his choices.
"Hmm…" His eyes travelled down her body before he turned his gaze back to the menu in his hands. "BLT and coffee, please."
He held the menu out for her take from him, smiling cheekily at her. Her skin felt hot as she wrote down his order and took the menu from him, and quickly escaped to the safety of the kitchen. She handed the slip to one of the boys in the kitchen and leant against one of the counters, her hand touching the hot skin of her neck. Slyly Belle snuck a glance through the serving hatch, watching the three of them in the booth, while Emma and Albert chatted happily to Mr Gold.
Gathering herself together, Belle exited the kitchen to go behind the counter to prepare their drinks. She was grateful that her back was to them, hiding him from sight. Heavily Belle sighed at the blender as she made Albert's milkshake. Ruby slipped by behind Belle, but stopped at hearing Belle's sigh.
"What's up with you?" Ruby asked leaning around Belle to see her face.
Belle indicated over her shoulder with a nod of her head. "He's here."
"Who is?" Ruby turned her head to look over the diner. "Oh, he's here!"
"Shush!" Belle quickly glanced over her shoulder, checking to see if anyone had heard Ruby.
"Do you want me to take over their table?" Ruby asked sincerely, her hand touching Belle's shoulder.
Belle shook her head at her friend. "No, no. It's okay."
She placed Albert's milkshake on the tray beside the other drinks and collected the tray to take over to their table. As she handed out their drinks, each one thanked her in turn until she placed Mr Gold's coffee down in front of him. Whether he did it on purpose or not, Mr Gold reached for his coffee at the same time Belle placed it down, his fingers hauntingly traced over the top of her fingers. Her gaze shot up from the cup to his face, her hand lingered around the cup, eager for his fingers to remain over hers.
"Thank you, Miss French." Mr Gold purred at her.
"No… No problem." Belle stuttered as she removed her hand from his cup and hugged the tray to her chest as she walked away from their table. Almost running to the protection behind the counter, Belle bumped into Ruby, who was making someone a hot chocolate and made her spill some hot water on the counter.
"You need to take their table." Belle told Ruby urgently.
Ruby frowned at Belle, whilst she cleaned up the mess on the counter. "You said it was okay a minute ago."
"Ruby, if you don't take their table, I'm going to jump him!" Belle leaned in closer to Ruby, her voice a low whisper.
"Really?" Ruby implored taking a step away from Belle. "Shall I get you some beer bottles, so you can relieve your tension on their labels?"
"Shut up and help me!" Belle pleaded, swatting her friend with the tray she had been hugging.
"Okay, okay." Ruby relented and held up her hands in surrender. Belle closed her eyes and let out a sigh, thankful for Ruby. Opening her eyes, Belle went into the kitchen, hiding out in the back until they had their lunch and left. She watched from the kitchen and saw Mr Gold's disappointment when he realised that Ruby had took over serving them. He had glanced round, trying to spot her, but was well hidden in her hiding spot. When they finally left, Belle had come back out into the diner and thanked Ruby by squeezing her friend's arm.