Can I Borrow Your Pen?
The car pulled to a gentle stop as I applied the break. The quaint little restaurant looked like the perfect place to work as a waitress. It didn't look like it got too busy but I guess the people here are nice so they'll tip good. I mean, I'm only as lazy as the next, I don't mind hard work. But if I could find a job that didn't work me like a dog and still paid me enough to live off, I wasn't going to complain. I made sure to turn on the parking break before I killed the engine and exited the car. My converse scraped on the pavement as my feet moved up onto the sidewalk and into the glass door. I walked up to the counter of the bar and got the attention of the woman working.
"Can I help you?" She asked politely.
"Do you have any job openings?" I replied back with a question. She smiled and nodded.
"As a matter of fact, we do." I smiled happily, letting my happiness show. "I'll get you an application." Before I could thank her, she has already hurrying behind a door to get my application. I looked to my left as I took a seat on a stool. There was a man sitting one stool down from me. His dirty blonde hair fell long around his face as he took a sip out of his cup. And his back and arms told me he looked very impressive underneath his tight blue shirt. A blush nearly rose to my cheeks thinking about it. He was very handsome, but like I said, he was a man. Too old for a high school girl to drool over. So I turned my attention back ahead of me just in time for the lady to come back with an application and a pen.
"Thank you. " I said, expressing my gratitude.
"No problem, just fill it out and give it back to me and I'll make sure, personally, the manager gets back to you." She smiled. I nodded and went to grab the paper and pen and began filling out the application.
Last Name: Anderson First Name: Emilia
Not long into the process of writing my information out, the guy next to me tapped on my shoulder. "Excuse me." He said. I looked up at him, smiling gently to cover my nerves. "It wouldn't be a trouble for me to use that pen really quick would it?" I shook my head as I handed the pen to him, careful not to make contact with his fingers.
"Not at all." He smiled and used the pen to write his signature on the receipt for his food.
"You filling out an application?" He questioned, handing the pen back to me. I accepted it while I nodded in response to his question. "Well, if you get the job, don't forget to give me a pen if you want me to sign the receipt." I giggled as I watched him gather his things to leave.
"Of course not." He gave me another smile as he left to walk out of the restaurant. A small sigh left my lips as I returned to filling the application out.
I finished, not five minutes later and handed the paper back to the nice lady behind the counter, bidding her good afternoon as I did so. I checked the clock on my cell phone; 3:57 pm. Too early to go home, but no friends to call.
What a dilemma.
I decided to take a walk around the town. Seeing as I didn't know the area very well and doing some sight-seeing wouldn't hurt. As long as I was back to my car by 4:40 pm.
My feet carried me down the sidewalk and past a few stores that seemed interesting. I would have stopped had I brought money. But, since to me, the idea of window shopping made me wanna bang a brick against my skull repeatedly, I kept walking and enjoying the fresh air. The colors of the trees were a rich green color and the sun shone through them to create a beautiful green filter. It took everything in me not to stop and look at them all day.
The sound of basketballs being dribbled on asphalt made me turn my attention to the right. I saw a bunch of boys playing basketball, some shirtless some wearing flimsy tanks or t-shirts. Making me assume that this was some kind of shirts vs skins type thing. I stopped momentarily to admire the view of the impressively built teenagers and young adults and thank my lucky starts for the route I chose. But, quickly took it back as I caught the eyes of one of the players, making me immediately look away and continue my walk. But, I didn't have time to be embarrassed. Because he was jogging up to me, shirtless and all.
"Hey you're the girl from the Grill right?" I looked up, really seeing him. And indeed, he was the handsome man that sat one stool down from me and asked to borrow my pen. I swallowed, attempting to push down the nerves so I seem confident to this guy.
"Um, yeah. That's me." He smiled, pushing his hair back from his face. I couldn't help but look at his impressive stature. And by look I mean gawk.
"Are you following me?" He joked. I let a breathy laugh escape my mouth as I moved my weight from my left hip to my right.
"No, don't flatter yourself." I said, giving him a squinty smile caused by the rays of the sun. "I barely even recognized you with your shirt off anyways." He laughed.
"Glad my disguise works then." He said jokingly. A small laugh left my lips as I pulled at the hem of my shirt, trying to cover the possibly exposed skin above my shorts.
"Who wouldn't be?" I responded. He shrugged, adjusting the strings of his shorts. "So what exactly is this?" I asked, gesturing to the basketball court a few feet away. He glanced back quickly and then looked back at me.
"Just a pickup game that most of the high school guys play in. I played in it sometimes when I was in high school. Thought I'd stop by and play a few games." I nodded, looking around at all the guys dribbling and shooting baskets. "Currently it's shirts verses skins." He said, confirming my previous assumption.
"I thought so," I muttered, pushing a strand of my brown hair behind my ear and trying to block the sun from invading my irises. He just nodded and looked back at the court, giving me the hint that he wanted to get back, but didn't want to be rude. "Look, I have to get back home. But, it was nice meeting you..."
"Jason." He replied, holding his hand out to shake. I grasped it in mine softly and smiled at him, looking at his eyes.
"Nice meeting you Jason. I'm Emma." He nodded, his eyes danced below my shirt to the sliver of skin that was exposed above my shorts.
"Nice meeting you Emma." I smiled and nodded, releasing his hand to continue on my path down the sidewalk. His hand was warm, obviously from having been playing basketball before talking to me. The image of his shirtless torso was imprinted on the inside of my eyelids and the itch to run my fingers through his hair was prominent. But, I successfully kept my hormones in check as I turned away from the court.
"Mike, it's me, still wondering where you are." I heard a distressed female voice say as I was making my way back to the path that should eventually lead me to my car. It was a girl, I didn't know anything about her or even her name, but judging by her attire, this basketball court was not her afterschool hangout. "Kay, um, I'm at the park. I'm trying to give you your keys so pick up." Frustration practically radiated off her as she hung up her phone. And, before I could even swerve out of the way, she turned and walked right into me. When I looked at her face I realized that she was the raven haired girl from my first period. "Oh, I'm sorry." She said, clearly in some kind of bad mood, may it be confusion, irritation, or anger, caused by this Mike person.
Or maybe I was just being nosy.
"It's fine." I assured, rubbing my hands on my shorts. She paused a moment, assessing me. Probably recognizing me from somewhere before but not quite remembering where exactly.
"Do I know you from somewhere? You seem vaguely familiar." She said, almost to her self rather than to me. I let my head bob as I straightened my shirt and tugged it down a little, feeling the breeze roll under the fabric and give me a small chill.
"Yeah, I'm the new girl in you're English class." I admitted. I was about a second away from saving her and myself the embarrassment of her not remembering me and me actually remembering her. But, I wasn't a good liar, it actually gave me anxiety just thinking about lying to someone who I was going to see the next day at school.
"Oh, right sorry." She shook her head, finally jogging her memory. "Emilia right? Emilia Anderson?" I nodded my head at her, almost impressed that she not only remembered my first name but my last also. Although, I couldn't say as much for myself.
"Yup, that's me. But you can call me Emma. Actually I insist you call me Emma." I said, making us both laugh shortly. But it kind of faded awkwardly since I didn't know how to continue since I clearly didn't know her name. But luckily, she realized that and decided to introduce herself.
"I'm Aria-" She was about to finish when her eyes cut to behind me, then they practically became slits filled with rage and exasperation. "I'm sorry but I have to go, I'll see you at school Emilia- I mean Emma." And before I could say something like 'Yeah see you later,' or 'Goodbye,' she was whipping around me and yelling at a boy sitting on a bench, sweating and antsy to get back in the game. Probably this Mike character previously mentioned. "Mike! Hey! Mike!" Yup, and that's the culprit. I didn't stick around to hear the rest of the conversation, finally making it out of the park and onto the sidewalk.
The front door opened and shut in one swift motion. The curtain over the windows next to it blowing in the breeze it caused. I kicked my shoes off and threw my keys on the steps, telling myself to pick them up later. My hair immediately went up into a ponytail as I went into the bathroom by the stairs to adjust it to my liking and use the bathroom.
"Emma?! Is-"
"Yes Karen, it's me!" I cut her off as I exited the bathroom and walked into the kitchen. She gave me look over her shoulder while she stirred the pot that still sat on the stove. Except it was emitting an intoxicating aroma that nearly made my knees buckle.
"I was going to ask if your father was home yet but if you're going to be sassy then I won't even ask now." I rolled my eyes and hopped up onto the granite countertop glancing at the microwave to see it was a few minutes past five.
That's weird.
Dad gets off at four thirty, picks up Ave from day care, and is home by five. I mean, yeah we're in a different town now and timing will be different, but this town is smaller. So he should be home sooner than that. Unless Ave is having one of her meltdowns in the parking lot. She has those a lot. Especially after we move. But, Karen didn't seem worried, so she probably knew something I didn't and didn't bother telling me.
My relationship with Karen can be summed up by no other word than complicated.
She came into my life when I was ten as my dad's too-soon-after-mom girlfriend. But, too soon for me was four years and my dad was tired of being miserable by himself. So of course I didn't like her one bit. I can actually honestly say that I hated her for the first year she was around. In my mind, she was trying to replace my mom, and no one can replace her. Still can't. Karen tried to be apart of my life, I know she did. She tried so hard to be my friend. Because honestly, she didn't try to be my mom, she wouldn't have dared. She knew no one was going to be as amazing to me as my mom, and she didn't try to be. She offered makeovers and girls nights every weekend until I was twelve. And that was around the time I realized that she wasn't going anywhere no matter what I did. My dad really loved her, and after I stopped looking at her through my grumpy little kid eyes, I realized that she loved my dad too. And after I got over my sour feelings and lingering grief, I stopped being so bitter. These days she's more like a sister than a mom, but that doesn't mean it's all sleepovers and borrowing each other's clothes. Fighting like sisters comes with the title too. And sometimes she makes me want to rip my hair out, like I probably do to her too. But at least now with Ave around Karen doesn't channel all her frustrations on me and dad. Because damn can that women yell.
"Dinner should be done in a few minutes do you think you could set the table?" I sighed and nodded, grabbing a stack of plates from the china cabinet to take into the dining room.
"Why isn't dad home yet?" Karen looked at me over her shoulder, like she always does when she's cooking.
"He said he needed to pick up some things from the hardware store after work." She responded, looking back at her soup on the stove. "Like paint for your room." She mumbled. I almost dropped the plates, the $120 each plates, that Karen got from her great-grandmother. Come to think of it, I don't even know why I grabbed these plates. I should probably put them away before Karen realizes that I'm even touching them.
"Did you just say paint for my room?" I asked while I zoomed back into the kitchen. Karen giggled, turning the burner on low and shifting to look directly at me.
"That I did." It looked like she was going to have an aneurism trying to hold back her smile. "Your dad and I thought that it would be a good idea to let you paint your room that color you wanted."
"Blondi blue?!" I almost leaped across the island and tackled her, but I settled with walking around it and hugging her. She laughed and hugged me back. I have never been allowed to paint my bedroom. Ever. And them letting me, and letting me pick the color. I was beyond grateful. "Thank you, thank you, Thank you so much!"
"You're welcome," Karen pushed me gently out of the hug. "Now go set the table."
Dad came home soon after that with Ave, and my paint. We ate and cleared the table and talked about my uneventful day. Although Karen didn't think associating with two good looking guys and receiving free wine and cheese was uneventful. And she made sure to get a full, on point description of them both. But, I didn't care to mention that Jason was shirtless the second time I saw him while my dad was in the room though.
After dinner, dad said he would let me start painting on Saturday when my unpacking was done and I didn't have school. So, I quickly scrambled to my room after I was dismissed, grabbing my keys on the way up, and closed my bedroom door behind me. I had unpacking to get done, and lots of it.
A/N
Oops I lied I decided to put the chapter up today. I think my set update day will be Sunday. So look around for a chapter update on Sundays. I hope you guys enjoyed it. And I know it seems like I just kind of faded out so I could end it, but these were intended to be two different chapters, they just seemed too short, so I combined them. Reviews are appreciated.
A special thank you to Liz for reviewing and an apology to ForeverYoursTruly19 for spelling your name wrong on the last chapter.
Thank you. xoxo
