Present day, April 14, 2015
As I stepped into work, I let out a long sigh. Today has been one of those days where nothing seems to work right. First, I slept in and missed yoga. After I burned my lunch, my car broke down on the side of the road. As a result, I had to walk the rest of the way to work. A five-minute late walk into the building after calling my roommate to collect the car. Being late made me look incompetent to my boss, so I hated it. I didn't think my terrible day would get better now that I was at work. Upon entering the employee locker room, I say hello and apologize for being late. On my way out of the room, I hug Suri tight. As I hurry, I ask, "How's it been?"
She smiles at me as she responds, "It really hasn't been at all busy today, to be honest, and I don't really see it picking up either." She grabs a plate that holds a slice of apple pie and places it in front of one of our regulars who was sitting at the bar.
During the time we worked together, we only really saw each other for about 30 minutes a day. However, we enjoyed our time together. To be able to take care of her baby girl, she works the day shift. I chose to work nights since I don't have a kid at home. Despite only seeing each other when our shifts overlap, we are able to keep things running smoothly because we both love our jobs and our amazing boss.
In an effort to shake off the horrible day I had, I put a huge fake smile on my face as I get down to work. I walk over to a handsome guy sitting alone at one of my tables and take a deep breath as I approach him. I'm there to take his order."Hello, Welcome to The River Walk. What can I offer you today?" I sing in my sweetest voice, stopping short as he smiles at me. I thought he looked familiar, but I couldn't place where I knew him. Suddenly, I felt myself wanting to get out. Despite this, I tried to ignore the feeling since I had a job to do.
It's nice to meet you. I'll have a tall glass of iced tea please," he smiled at me. His voice even sounded familiar, and I couldn't stop the shiver running down my spine as I walked away.
"Coming right up!"
As I walked away, I could feel him watching me. The feeling was familiar to me.I go to the beverage bar and start working on his order. Suri says, "Hey Mak, who's that good-looking guy? Do you know him? He's staring at you...".
Turning around, I glare at her. It was fun working with her and living with her. I appreciate how close we've stayed over the years. Especially after her mom died, and then my mom got in an accident a few years back. Actually, I wish I lived closer to my mom, but she lived with my older sister, so I knew she was okay. Upon moving to a nearby state after Suri got married, her small family became mine. Since I'm trying to save for a deposit, I live with her. It's fun being Aunt Mak to Suri and Jake's adorable daughter Breelynn.
"He looks familiar to me. Do you recognize him at all?" I ask her, glancing back at him. The guy was reading a newspaper. There was something different about that. Today, most people read on their tablets or smartphones, while others work on their laptops. Studying his features carefully. It was clear he was a handsome guy. Even that made my heart race since Suri always tried to hook me up with everyone.
"He looks familiar, but I can't place him right now," she says as she smiles at me. Before stepping back to me, she grabs her last order of the day. "Any interest?" she asks.
I rolled my eyes at her, she rolled hers back. I knew it would happen."I don't know. I'll get back to you later." I replied. Her constant attempts to hook me up told me she meant well. Even dating a guy took me a while, but I met Matteo and we've been dating steadily for 2 years. We were getting ready to move in together. Finally, we were ready to take this big step and start our lives together. Having talked about it for months, we both felt it was time. This was going to be a new chapter in our lives. Having adamantly denied him part of myself, I knew Matteo wanted proof that I wanted to be with him. I was still a virgin, and I wasn't giving it away to anyone. This is why he's trying to get me to move in with him.
"There's been talk between Matteo and me about taking it all the way. I'm nervous about it. "What if we sleep together, and he dumps me? " I ask, worried about what losing him would mean.
You've been together for two and a half years. Why would he think that?" she asked. As she and Jake got married, it was easy for her to think positive thoughts. They've been living together for a year too. Basically, we've been roommates since they got a great deal on their two-bedroom apartment close to work and offered me the second room to help pay the rent so they would have date money and money to save.
"I know what you're saying makes sense, but I'm just nervous," I replied.
"All right, I'm off to pick up Miss Bree. See you later, girl. Have a nice shift!" she says as she waves at me.
"Okay, thanks a lot, bye!" I reply as she leaves me alone to finish my shift. Shrugging it off, I pick up the glass of tea and walk back toward the handsome stranger. With a beaming smile on my face, I put a coaster on the table. Place the glass on top and slide the straw to the side. Then I glance back into the man's face and ask, "Are you sure I can't offer you our famous Steak and Fries platter? It's actually the special tonight." I give him a sincere smile.
"I'm sure. Just the iced tea, thanks," he replies.
As I turn around and head to the next customer, I start to feel uneasy.
As he clears his throat, I turn back to him. "You really don't recognize me, do you Makena?" he asks with a grin, putting the newspaper aside as he focuses on me.
"No... I'm sorry." I answer softly as he lets out a small chuckle and I stare back at him.
"It's fine Makena. We weren't exactly friends when we met, just a guy you spoke to a few times in high school," he says, and I study his features even more. Who was he?
Waiting for a second, I rolled my eyes and asked, "So... are you planning to tell me who you are?" I was curious.
He chuckles, "Well, that depends..."
"On what?" I scoff.
While gazing up at my face, he said, "Well... do you really want to know?".He seemed to be enjoying himself.
"Of course... I want to know." I replied, frustrated. But I didn't think I'd like his answer.
As if anticipating my thoughts, he said, "Okay, but you're not gonna like my answer. My name is Jess, but you know me as Jesse." I felt a sense of dread wash over me as he said, "Jesse Campbell from high school!" This is because I immediately flashed back to my first altercation with him when he showed up at my house banging on my door after threatening to kill me. I never thought I'd see him again.
As I studied his face, I stood frozen, too stunned to move. I never imagined he'd be as handsome as he is now. His deep brown eyes, dark blonde hair, high cheekbones that popped a little more, and square jaw accentuated his handsome features. It looked like he was built underneath his tight shirt, and my heart skipped a beat as he hugged me tight like we were long-lost friends.I narrowed my eyes at him after he released me. Upon realizing who he was, I had to keep my cool and smile back.
Wow, it's been a while. How have you been?" I ask through a fake smile. Waitressing has taught me how to fake a smile.
"Well, I've been doing pretty well. I run two successful companies that make decent money, so yeah, I've been doing pretty well. How about you? Do you have a boyfriend? " he asks, sounding completely serious in his inquiry; implying that he really cared about the answer.
Trying to calm my heart, I swallow some air. "Maybe," I say avoiding his next question.
"Maybe? Makena, it's a yes or no question!" he growled. He still knew how to get me riled up.
"Fine," I say, rolling my eyes and looking at him. I reply, "Yes, I have a boyfriend. I am not looking for anything at the moment, in fact, we were considering moving in together." He looks taken aback, but quickly recovers and says, "I understand. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable." He takes a step back and smiles.
"It's all right," I say, trying to reassure him."I really appreciate your respect for our relationship." He nods in understanding, then turns and takes his seat again."It was nice seeing you again, Jesse," I say with a nod.
"You're right, it was great to see you again," he says.
As I smile back at him, I say, "Yes, it was." before slowly walking away from him and moving to my next table. There was a nice family of three, and the little one was getting restless.
I noticed he hadn't moved from his spot while I was working. During the next four hours, he either read the paper or talked on his phone. I refilled his glass three times, offering him food each time, and each time he turned me down. It didn't feel right to have him there. It was time for him to leave and I never wanted to see him again.