Thanks to YellyBelly for reviewing, your comments were very much appreciated. Here's Chapter 9.
Marissa and Seth pulled into the parking lot of a small café, the first one they saw as they entered L.A.
"Are you sure about this place?" Seth asked weary of Marissa hasty choice.
"If it sells pancakes and coffee, then it'll do." She said, rubbing her stomach.
Seth and Marissa got out of the car and headed towards the café.
"Okay," Seth added, nudging Marissa in the shoulder, "But if I die from food poisoning, I'm coming back to haunt you."
Marissa smiled "That's fine with me. You wouldn't be a very scary ghost."
Seth smiled as he held the door open for Marissa, his expression soon changing when he entered the café. "Ok, it's not too late to change your mind now that you've seen the inside of this place."
"It's antique-y, I know, but it doesn't matter coz they sell pancakes which is good enough for me."
A waitress walked towards the pair, making no attempt to smile. "Can I help you?"
"Yeah," Marissa answered "We'll both have the pancakes and a cup of coffee."
"Is that it?" the waitress said, with a sigh.
"Yeah thanks. We'll just be sitting over there." Marissa said, pointing to a booth by the window.
When they sat down at the table, Seth and Marissa both let out a small laugh.
"Wow, she loves her job, doesn't she?" Seth said, sarcasm lining his voice.
"I know. The warmth flowing from her was…overwhelming." Marissa said, the same tone apparent in her voice.
They both took a few moments to give the place a once-over.
"Look." Marissa said, pointing her finger towards an old fashioned jukebox, hidden in the corner.
"You wanna see what songs they have?" Seth enquired.
"Totally."
Seth and Marissa both got up and walked towards the jukebox. It was covered in dust and looked like it hadn't been touched in years. Seth grabbed a napkin from a nearby table and wiped the glass. As they looked through the selection of songs they noticed that it was filled with all 80's rock ballads.
"So what song takes your fancy?" Seth said, taking a quarter from his pocket.
Marissa stood silent for a minute deliberating over which song to choose.
"I'll think I go for 734." She said after a minute.
Seth fed the machine the quarter and entered the number. A few seconds later, Marissa's choice began playing quietly.
Seth gave Marissa a surprised look. "I never took you for a Bon Jovi fan." He said.
"I'm not" She replied. "Just this song. It's a classic."
"Alright. If you say so."
Once the opening chords finished and the verse started, Marissa softly began singing along.
"Tommy used to work on the docks, unions been on strike, he's down on his luck it's tough."
To Seth's surprise she started dancing, as though the music was taking over her body. Unlike Newport, Marissa seemed to have a freed confidence, as though L.A. gave her the release she needed. Amazing and awed by her ability to do not care about what she was doing, and where she was doing it, Seth slowly joined in.
"She said we've gotta hold on to what we've got. It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not." Their volume was getting louder and louder, making the waitress turn toward the commotion. They looked at each other and just enjoyed the moment. "We've got each other, and that's a lot for love, we'll give it a shot." As the chorus came, they were now both singing at the top of their voices. "Oh-oh, we're half way there. Oh-oh living on a prayer. Take my hand and we'll make it I swear. Oh-oh living on a prayer."
At the end of the chorus, they both stopped singing and laughed loud and hard, the laughter lasting the rest of the song.
It took a while before their laughter slowly subsided, and as it did, they retained eye contact. As the smiles that had occupied their faces for the last few minutes faded, a more intense look took over. The tension between them was unlike anything they had felt before. They moved closer and closer to each other, pushed by an unexplainable force. Seth reached out offering Marissa his hand, which to the pair's surprise, she accepted. As Seth pulled her closer, they both felt what was coming, and neither felt uncomfortable at the thought. It felt strangely right.
Their gaze was suddenly broken by the sound of a loud cough. It was the waitress with their order. Seth and Marissa slowly made their way to the table, their hands remaining intertwined and, for the remainder of the meal, sat in silence.