Chapter Three

"So, how come two of my closest friends know who you are, but I haven't ever met you before?" the man asked as Jazz stepped into the kitchen.

Jazz shrugged. "Beats me."

"How do you know Letty and Leon?" he asked. Jazz watched as he bent over and reached into the fridge. His shirt rose a little bit and exposed some muscles in his back. She couldn't help but lick her lips.

"I met Letty the day after I bought Neptune's and Leon is a childhood friend of mine."

The man nodded. "You owned Neptune's?"

"For close to two years."

"That's funny, because I don't remember seeing you the many times I visited the place."

Jazz smiled. "I looked slightly different then. My hair was shorter and always up in a ponytail, plus my clothes covered a bit more."

The man laughed. "I like you. You're funny."

"Well, I'm glad you do," Jazz replied with a smile.

"So tell me, Jazz," the man said slowly. The sound of her name coming from his mouth sent chills down her spine. It was feeling she could get used to. "Where did you come from?"

Jazz's smile slowly diminished. Her past was something that she didn't exactly like to talk about.

"I lived in Oklahoma for a bit..."

The man nodded and noticed that she was a little hesitant about sharing this bit of information. He made a mental note to not inquire about her past until he knew a little more about it. 'Will have to get Jesse to run a profile on her,' he thought.

Sonja sighed nervously as she opened up the shop. It had been open for a little less than a month and with the help of Letty, it was becoming quite popular.

By noon, the place was in full swing. The parking lot was full and the chefs were busy making lunch orders. Sonja herself had to waitress due to the amount of people in the restaurant.

"Table four needs someone," Cindy said

Cindy was a waitress that Sonja absolutely adored. She was around 17-years-old and did whatever you asked her too. Sonja smiled and said that she would take the table.

As Sonja walked over to the table, her heartbeat sped up. Sitting at the table was an extremely good-looking guy. She felt as if her heart had been stolen from her.

As she wiped her sweaty palms on her pants, she cleared her throat.

"Hi, my name is Sonja and I'll be your waitress for the day. What can I get you to drink?"

The man smiled and looked over the menu. "Um, I'll take a Corona."

Sonja nodded and jotted down his order on a note pad that she had grabbed from her apron. "Do you want to order food now or do you want to wait?"

The man seemed to ponder the question for a bit. "I'll order in a minute."

Sonja nodded and stuck her notepad back in her apron. "I'll go get that for ya."

"Woah," a friend of Sonja's said as she entered the kitchen. "I'd like to lick him up with chocolate pudding."

Sonja rolled her eyes. "You always say that, Tiff."

"What can I say?" Tiff asked as she handed a chef an order sheet.

"What can you say? How about nothing, because I know the second you do there will be something wrong with him."

Tiff made a mock-hurt look. "What do you mean?" she asked with a laugh.

"What do I mean? Do you remember the last guy you tried to hook me up with? He rode a unicycle to work."

Tiff shrugged. "He was built though."

"But he rode a unicycle."

"So, you need to open up your mind. Not everyone likes cars."

"Tiff, he was going to pick me up for a date in the unicycle. I don't know how, but he was."

Tiff busted out laughing. "Oh, I'm sorry girl."

Sonja rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. But now you know what I'm talking about. So don't say anything about him."

Tiff smirked and got her order from the chef.

"Broaden your horizons, sweet cheeks," she said before walking out into the restaurant.

Sonja shook her head. She loved Tiff like a sister and didn't know what she would do without her. Sonja walked over to where the drinks were located and grabbed a Corona. She walked slowly out to table four and sat the drink down.

"Can I take your order now?" Sonja asked as she took her notepad out.

"Yeah, I'll take a hamburger."

Sonja wrote his order down and put her notepad up.

"It'll be out in a couple of minutes." Sonja turned to walk off, but stop when the man called her name. Chills went down her spines.

The man smiled at her and extended his hand. "My name is..."

"You in here Jazz?" Letty said as she entered the kitchen.

Jazz woke up from her daydream and looked around. He had walked out.

'Oh my God, he must think I'm a loser for just standing here,' she thought.

"Whatca doing in here by yourself?" Letty asked as she grabbed a Corona from the fridge.

"Just standing here," Jazz replied.

"Ah, well come out here. I want to introduce you to the team."

Jazz followed Letty out of the kitchen and toward a big group of people. She assumed that everyone in it lived at the house.

"Guys this is my friend Sonja or Jazz, whichever you prefer. Jazz, this is Mia, Brian, Dom, Vince, Jesse, and you all ready know Leon."

Jazz said hello to them all and locked eyes with the man. There was a look of recognition in his eyes. A small smile crossed his features.

'He knows who I am now!' she screamed internally. She was extremely happy.

"So what do you do for a living?" Mia asked, snapping Jazz out of her daydreams.

"Well, I owned Neptune's for a little while, but right now I'm part owner of a store called Cheer This, which specializes in cheerleading material.'"

"That sounds pretty cool," Mia said with a smile.

By this time, everyone except Mia, Letty, and Leon had wandered of.

"You get a lot of business?" Leon asked.

Jazz nodded. "We're located in almost every state and on the web. My partner and I are trying to open a store in London as well."

"Who's your partner?" Letty asked.

"It's a close friend of mine by the name of Tiff. She worked with me for a little while at Neptune's, but left to open Cheer This. Then when I closed down Neptune's she offered me a job."

"Sounds like you guys have got it made," Mia replied.

"It's something I've always wanted to door. I cheered for a little while in high school and have been addicted ever since."

Leon laughed. "Yeah I remember seeing your cute little butt in that cheerleading outfit. It frequented my dreams for weeks."

Jazz laughed as well as the rest of the group.

"So how do you guys know each other exactly?" Mia asked.

Leon wrapped an arm around Jazz's shoulders. "We've known each other since I was thirteen and I believe he was fifeteen. Both of our mom's were beauticians. They introduced us and since then we've been as thick as thieves ever since."

"You two ever date?" Letty asked.

Jazz laughed. "Us? Date?"

"You must be crazy," Leon said with a smirk. "Why would go out with someone like her?"

A look of mock hurt crossed Jazz's features. "That was real low."

Leon looked over at Jazz. "Aw, I was just joking. I didn't mean it, Jazz."

Jazz couldn't stop from smiling. "You are so gullible," she said poking him in the side.

Leon rolled his eyes. "Should have known," he said with a small smile.