As I waited at the counter, I was given a rare opportunity for quiet observation without a million thoughts running through my mind. As dinner time drew closer, more people filtered through the doors. Some were single regulars who took up space in Joanna's section. Others were families of three or four, with kids hanging from their parents'arms.
"Hey there." The deep, reverberating tone that sounded almost musical had me turning my head to a pair of familiar blue eyes. The giant from the night before slid onto a bar stool next tome.
"Hi." Ismiled.
"Taking a break, Little Bit?" I tilted my head at the pet name, shrugging. Some southern guys simply liked referring to every girl they met as something sweet orcute.
"Sort of," I hedged as Alex re-entered from the back with a plate holding an overstuffed sandwich and a pile of steaming fries. My mouth wateredimmediately.
"Ahhh, waiting on food then," Knix determined as Alex set the plate down in front ofme.
I nodded, reaching for a handful of fries. I shoved them in my mouth before he could ask another question and he laughed. The heat and saltiness of the food was enough to wake me up a bit and energize me. My fragile nerves were a thing of thepast.
"Haven't seen you 'round here much, Knix." Alex's friendly comment had me tilting my head to watch their exchange while I ate. "Where have you beenhiding?"
"I was actually here last night withMarv."
Thinking of Marv reminded me of that morning; how abrupt and irrationally upset he had been. Normal people weren't like that – they didn't really care about strangers or aboutme.
Not wanting to eavesdrop, I tuned Alex and Knix's friendly banter out. Soon enough my food was gone, my stomach full and happilysilenced.
"He said something about running into Little Bit, here," I heard inadvertently and paused as I wiped my mouth on a napkin. I tipped my head in their direction, and brushed strands of my hair out of my face. "–said he saw her dodging traffic early this morning." Alex's gaze found mine. He grinned. I could tell he didn't believe it for asecond.
"I would never play in traffic," Isaid.
Alex's sharp eyes watchedus.
"That's not what Marv said," Knix contended. "He told me you nearly gave him a heartattack."
I slid off my stool. "Well, I'm obviously fine, and I won't be dodging cars anymore. Ipromise."
I turned and strode through the back, wiping down and washing the dishes I had used before putting them in their respective places. As soon as I reentered the dining area, a large table of rowdy football players from my school came bustling in. They looked around and spotted my empty section, then took it upon themselves to pull three tables together to suit them all.Joanna's lips pinched down as she watched them sit. I could tell she was torn between wanting to take the table because they were all fairly good-looking guys, or not because they likely wouldn't tip very well for the amount of work they would be. I tied my apron around my waist and headed in theirdirection.
"What can I get you guys to drink?" I asked, pulling out a notepad andpen.
The guy who had initiated the table setup raised a fist for the group to quiet. It was surprising that the rest of his rather loud group actually listened, their roar lowering from yelling across the table to talking normally. They were still loud – so many voices talking at once – but no longerdeafening.
"I'll get a sweet tea," he said before bending his head to the rest. Coke. Sweet Tea. Sweet Tea. Water. Water. Water. Water. Lemonade. I nodded after each drink order to let them know I had written it down, though they could plainly see as I hastily scribbled over mynotepad.
"Alright, I'll be right back withthat."
I spun on my heels as a low whistle rose above the murmurs. I heard an embarrassed groan from the boy who seemed to be calling the shots and my eyes met Knix’s as his head lifted, inclining in my direction. Heat flared once again over my cheeks, this time with a rush of angry embarrassment. I glanced at Alex and flinched as he paused behind the counter, his shoulders tensing. I took a breath before continuing towards the sodafountain.
"Come on guys," someone choked out, "don't." It was a quieter voice, not the same as the group'sleader.
Instead, the guy who sat at the head of the table tilted his head and glanced at me from the corner of hiseyes.
I tempered my reaction and decided to ignore the strangled hiss and the following chuckles from the others, pretending as though I hadn't heard the whistle at all. Alex smiled in approval as I passed him even though his shoulders remained stiff. I punched in their drink orders and grabbed Joanna as she finished folding the pile of napkins in the corner of the kitchen near the non-refrigeratedcondiments.
"Would you mind helping me take out the drinks?" I asked. I was always hesitant to ask other servers for help, but with my current streak of poor luck – Mom's episode, late to work, rowdy party – I really didn't feel like accidentally dumping tea over someone'slap.
She sighed heavily. "Fine, but only because those guys arecute."
I pursed my lips, but didn't argue. Joanna followed me out, holding her tray of drinks, and stood behind me. She waited for me to hand out the drinks from my tray before I was able to point to where each of the drinks on her tray belonged. Joanna dipped low and placed each drink on the table in front of the guys, presenting her rounded chest for their perusal. Many eyes followed her as she traipsed around the table, coming to a stop next tome.
"Do you need anything else, Honey?" she asked, sweetly. I closed my eyes, refusing to let them roll as I took a deepbreath.
"No, I'm good, Joanna. Thank you." She frowned slightly, but tilted her head towards thetable.