Thanks for all the reviews! Almost SOA Day! Who else is excited/terrified? I know I'm both. As for the question on the other story, read this one first. I'll be going back and changing sometimes later on when I get to the seasons. Big thanks to KupKakes for beta-ing the chapter as always! I do not own anything in this chapter, besides Savannah, everything else belongs to their rightful owners.
Chapter 10
#%$^$^&%
Tonight was one of the busier of nights for the dinner. Even the Perelli's were on the floor working, and Savannah felt bad. She and Missy, the other girl waitressing, couldn't keep up with all the orders. Even Juice was taking a crack at waiting tables. He liked helping out more when he could, she noticed. It was least he could do since he was a good twenty five minutes late. She'd saw him pull up in that same little red car . . .
She was pulled from her thoughts suddenly when a pair of hands were on her hips, grasping her bones through the thin material of her uniform. She gasped in surprise, looking over her shoulder to see Juice slipping behind her, flashing her that damn grin of his. "Sorry, didn't want to knock you over." He apologized quickly before slipping by and hurrying into the kitchen.
The whole night had consisted of little moments like that. Just little brushes, little touches, as they slipped by each other. She'd get a whiff of his cologne and her mind would go back to what happened between her and her hand in the shower. She wanted to be mad at him for being late, for what she saw this morning in class, but that damn shower had screwed her up.
"Hey, baby, why don't you come take our order?" A guy from one of the tables called out.
Looking over, she found it was group of guys, none much older, if they even were older, than her. Rolling her eyes, she went over and got ready to write down their orders. "Hi, I'm Savannah, and I'll be your waitress tonight. Can I start you off with some drinks?" She said quickly, having the speech down pat by now.
The boys were obnoxious, but nothing she couldn't handle. Writing down the drinks and appetizers they wanted, she tucked the pencil behind her ear and turned the leave. When she felt the hand on her ass, she tried her best to ignore it. She couldn't hit the customers. The Perelli's were cool and sweet, but not that cool.
Clenching her fists, she looked over her shoulder and forced a smile before heading to the counter. "Fucking creeps." She muttered under her breath as she got to the counter. Leaning against it, she reached over and handed Mary, the waitress who tended behind the counter, her order of onion rings.
#$%^%&*^*
By the time Savannah's break came around, she couldn't be happier. Her feet were aching, and her hand was cramping. At least the crowd was starting to die down some. She was starting to get a headache, so to escape the noise, she hid herself away in the storage room. It was too cold to sit outside. She wondered if it would snow soon.
Snow was something she'd never seen before besides on the news and in pictures. Living in Cali, she'd never actually had the opportunity. As silly as it was, she couldn't wait. She had talked to Skylar once about it, and the blonde was dreading the winter to come. She hated the snow with a passion. Savannah had . . . shaking her head, she didn't want to think about Skylar.
The girl she thought was her best friend, had betrayed her trust. Juice, granted wasn't her boyfriend or anything close, was still off limits to her. Out of all the boys she could have chosen to spend her night with, it was the only one Savannah had an interest in. She knew Sky wasn't the only one at fault, a certain Puerto Rican she worked with was too, but he wasn't her best friend. No, that had been Skylar.
Looking at the paper in her hands, her thoughts of Skylar and Juice faded. It was her check, a real check from her first real job. She felt proud of herself. She'd worked for this on her own, and it wasn't just being given to her. Opening it, she felt a grin spread across her face when she saw a decent amount of money printed on the check. She could actually go out, pay for her own food and clothes. She didn't need her ma and Clay paying for it.
"So this is where you go hide."
Looking up, she saw Juice standing in front of her. He had a similar piece of paper in his hand and a bag she recognized from the kitchen. Mrs. P had made him something to eat again, no doubt sending him back here to eat it since there was no room out there. "Uh, yeah. It's too cold outside." She explained.
She was still thrown by her little . . . fantasy of Juice in the shower. She'd never done something like that before. She wasn't sure what scared her more; the fact she'd had a dirty thought about Juice, or that it'd been about Juice in the first place. Clearing her throat, she so did not need to be thinking about this with him right there. Not when he was within arm's reach with that damn tight shirt on . . . .
Juice glanced at the check in her hands and couldn't help but be a little bitter. He knew she was rich girl, that her mommy and daddy paid for her housing and probably her tools too. "So what you gonna spend it on first? Clothes, or alcohol? Maybe you and Skylar will go out for a night in the city." He said, nodding to her check.
He didn't have that. He had to actually work to get by. He was still paying off payments for his tools, and that alone was killing him. It was hard enough to get a warm bed just for the night, and he was both physically and mentally exhausted.
Savannah didn't know what to say to that. Yeah, her money was for extra stuff, but he made it sound like a bad thing. She wasn't even sure with this bitterness had come from.
"You see this one?" He asked, holding up his own check for her to see. "This . . . this is going to actual important stuff. Food, gas, maybe even a payment for my tools. Not all of us have mommy and daddy to pay for that." He went on.
Savannah could see this was a sore subject for him. This wasn't the goofball she'd just been in class with this morning. This was the side of Juice she'd barely seen. The one that worried and Mrs. P wanted to take care of. Granted, she understood where he was coming from, but she sure as hell didn't appreciate that he was taking it out on her.
Standing up, she brushed herself off and fixed her skirt. The last thing she needed was to accidentally flash him. She wasn't going to sit there and let him berate her just because her parents wanted to help her out.
"Look, I get it. You have it bad, but that's no reason to rip me a new one. Yeah, my ma and step dad help out, but getting this job? It was so I didn't have to rely on them, dumbass. So before you start running your mouth, you should know what you're talking about." She snapped, pushing past him to leave.
The guilt set in as he grabbed her wrist. He hadn't meant to snap at her. He was just upset he didn't get as much as he'd hoped. He was hoping to get more so he could pay Mel back for the tires. He didn't like having that debt over his head. With this though, he'd barely have enough for gas and the payment coming up for his tools. "I'm sorry, y-you didn't deserve that. Here, Mrs. P made her brownies." He offered, motioning to the bag in his hand.
Hesitation was clear in her eyes. She wasn't sure if she wanted to pull her hand back and keep walking or accept the offer. Mrs. P made those for him for a reason. She took care of Juice, and Savannah didn't want to step on any toes. "I don't know, JC. She made those for you." She knew it was a lame excuse, but it was all she had.
He just shook his head, she wasn't getting out of this that easily. He was tired of her giving him the cold shoulder since the Skylar thing. He'd fucked the girl, it didn't mean anything, and she obviously had no problem watching him with the blonde earlier. Fuck, he couldn't think about that. It just made him think of the shower he'd had at Mel's, and him getting a hard-on now would do no one a favor.
Tugging on her hand, he got her attention back. "Just split the brownie with me. I won't tell Mrs. P. Pinky swear." He teased.
She looked at him as if she didn't believe him. Reluctantly, she sighed and nodded. She gave in, and he couldn't be happier. Sitting on the floor together, Juice broke the brownie in two and gave her the bigger piece.
"Thanks." She said, smiling weakly as she took it from him. The two shared a smile before eating their pieces of brownie in peace.
It was a start.
! #$$%
As the night went on, Savannah felt like she was getting the biggest migraine of her life. She'd never realized how annoying people could be, but she was gonna suffer through it. It wouldn't be work if she was having fun. Besides, this was practice for working at the garage. She'd seen her fair share of annoying customers there too.
She was bringing the order for the table of jerks. Juice was in the middle of cleaning up one of the tables a couple down from where she was. He was getting tired of the guys at that table just as much as she was. They had taken up wolf-whistling when Savannah or Missy passed by the table and he was getting sick of it. If they pulled anything else, he was gonna escort them out himself, and that wouldn't end well.
Savannah was handling the rush nicely though. He knew she was at her limit, but she kept on smiling and doing her job. Even now when one of the assholes was checking her out while she was handing out all the plates. To make it worse, one of the other fuckers had the balls to look down her shirt shamelessly. Yeah, he definitely wouldn't mind showing these assholes the door out of here.
"Touch me again and that hand comes off, darlin'." He heard Savannah growl.
Looking up, he saw that the moronic asshole number one had his hand firmly placed on her upper back thigh, just below her ass. That was all he needed to see. Gritting his teeth, he put down the tub of dishes, and stalked over there. "We got a problem here, man?" He said through clenched teeth, pushing the creep's hand off and stepping between him and Savannah.
Savannah stood there in shock, not knowing what to do as she watched the exchange. The creep who grabbed her stood up, standing face to face with Juice. He didn't even blink, Juice stood tall and fierce. He could be scary when he wanted to be, she guessed. The dumbass looked between them before seemingly deciding it wasn't worth it. "Nah, man. It's cool. We were just leavin'. Bitch ain't worth it." He grumbled, throwing her a nasty look over Juice's shoulder.
Juice surprised her as he suddenly grabbed the guy's shirt threateningly. "You wanna try that again? I think there was an apology in there somewhere for her putting up with you and your dumbass friends."
Her expression of surprise, turned to a smug little grin when she saw Juice had spooked this kid. Nodding his head frantically, Juice let him go as they waited for the apology. Looking past him, Savannah noticed the other three taking care of the bill. "Hey, I'd hope you're leaving her a good tip. Deserves it after you creeps." Juice cut in before looking at the fourth. "Sorry, you were saying? I didn't quite hear that apology yet."
Clearing his throat, the guy looked over his shoulder to get a look at her. Savannah wasn't sure if she was blushing in embarrassment or flustered because Juice was doing this for her. She cleared her throat, raising her brow as if daring him to tell her to fuck off instead. "I'm sorry for touching you." He said through gritted teeth.
Juice simply chuckled before flinching forward to scare them. "Now get out." He snarled.
And just like that, they were out and Savannah had a feeling her night was just going to get better from there. Juice waited until they were gone before going over and collecting the money on it. "How much was the meal?" He asked back. Grabbing the right little folder, she opened it and showed him. Counting the cash, he handed her forty of it. "I'll pick up the last ten of it. You deserve that after that." He said, giving her one of his dazzling smiles.
She didn't know what to say. This wasn't the same guy who had been flirting with her since the beginning of the year. Of course, as long as she'd worked here, he was like someone else. She didn't know to explain it. He was just . . . different. Leaning forward, she pressed her lips against his cheek, lingering for a moment longer than she probably should have. "Thanks, JC." She said quietly, giving him a small smile as she pulled away.
Juice looked stunned, not knowing what just happened. Savannah had kissed him, granted on the cheek, but he's take what he could get. Clearing his throat, he picked his jaw up from the floor and spoke up before she left. "Hey, uh, I'll walk you home tonight. Mrs. Perelli would feel better if you didn't go alone." He said, slightly lying on half of it. More like he'd feel better if she didn't go alone.
Savannah looked hesitant for a moment, but nodded anyways. She knew it was a good idea, regardless of the reason she didn't want to. It was stupid, and this time she was just blocking the little voice out. "Um, sure, JC. That sounds nice. Thanks." She said before leaving to grab another one of her orders.
Juice watched her go with surprised look on his face. It quickly turned into a big goofy grin that spread across his face. She'd said yes? She said yes! Things were looking good again for them.
It was a step in the right direction, that was for sure.
$% #%$^
Somehow, it'd gotten colder since Savannah got to work. Pulling her jacket tighter around her small body, she regretted not packing a change of clothes. Glancing over, she saw that Juice wasn't doing any better. He had a thermal on, but his jacket was crap for this cold. Mrs. P had checked them both, wrapping them up tightly before they left.
Juice had kept his promise of walking her home, and she couldn't be happier. She didn't mind the company walking. Especially so late at night. Mrs. P was another who seemed to love this idea. Savannah just wasn't sure if it was because she liked her and Juice or because she didn't have to worry about Savannah getting home alright. Especially since it was a rough city.
That woman loved taking care of Juice, she wouldn't put it past her to try match making too. The question was, did she like that idea? Her and Juice? That was . . . that was insane. At best, she and Juice were just friends. The brownie moment and his standing up for her, those were just friend things. Maybe.
The two walked in silence, neither knowing what to say to break the ice. Juice had wanted this to be when he finally broke through her walls a little, but the fact he wasn't talking wasn't helping with that task. He couldn't make any progress if he wasn't speaking. Since when did he not know what to say? He usually never knew when to shut up.
Looking over at her, he noticed her shivering. Do something, you big idiot! He scolded himself, wishing he could smack himself. Clearing his throat, he slipped off his jacket and put it on her shoulders. He knew it wouldn't make that much of a difference, but it was the least he could do with what he had.
Savannah looked surprised at the gesture. Slipping her arms into the sleeves, she zipped up the jacket and gave him a small smile. "Thanks, but now you're gonna freeze." She pointed out the obvious.
He shrugged, not really caring. He was use to the cold. He knew this was nothing to how it was gonna be when it snowed. He'd have to figure out how to pull that off when the time came, he knew he'd mostly die if he slept in his car during a snow storm.
"Don't mention it. Don't need the princess getting sick. I think the teach would kill me if I got his star pupil sick." He chuckled, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Besides, something tells me I've had more cold weather experience than you."
She managed a small smile, knowing he wasn't far off. Their teacher seemed to like praising her for her good work. He liked Juice too, so it was the two of them who got the most positive feedback. The other guys in the class didn't like that much, especially since she was a girl. Class was not the most welcoming place for her. Juice was good at keeping the peace though.
Savannah could see her building coming into sight now. They were almost there, and that meant their walk was almost done. Feeling disappointed, she surprised even herself. Why was she disappointed? Usually she couldn't wait to get away from Juice. "I'm working late again on Thursday. Maybe . . . maybe, you know, you'd be up to walking me home again?" She asked tentatively.
She knew she'd have to do it then, or else she would have over thought it and second guessed herself. Juice looked surprised, wondering if he'd had heard her wrong. There was no way he'd heard her right. But, she was waiting for an answer. She wanted him to walk her home again. He couldn't jump on it, he'd come off too eager. If he waited too long though, she'd take it back. He had to play this off just right.
Coming up to her building, he leaned against the door while she looked for her key. She was still waiting for an answer from him. "I don't see why not? Don't want anything to happen to you on the way home. Mrs. P might have my neck if something happened to one of her girls." He chuckled, trying to play it off as if he was no big deal.
Giggling, she got the door unlocked and looked off. "Please, Mrs. P couldn't punish you if she wanted to. She adores her little Juan." She teased.
He felt his face heat up at the name. Mrs. Perelli hated his nickname and never used it. Savannah couldn't be anymore wrong if she tried though. That woman would have no problem scolding him, let alone hitting him with her broom if he stepped out of line. It wouldn't be the first time.
"You'd be surprised." He chuckled.
Pausing for a moment, she seemed to debate something over in her head. Whatever it was, she seemed to settle it as she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "Thanks for walking me home, JC. I'll see you tomorrow in class."
Juice touched his cheek as she slipped inside and headed to the elevator. He couldn't seem to move his feet. He was frozen. That was twice tonight that Savannah had kissed him. If walking her home got him this far, he was definitely willing to keep doing it.