A university student's greatest happiness was the holidays.
Carnival in particular.
It was practically a whole week without having to go to class. And if you were clever, you could get a few tasks done ahead of time so that the holiday was worry-free.
These were the measures Jake had taken, as he intended to finish his shift at the restaurant and sit down for a drink with his friends. But to his misfortune, the restaurant was busier than expected, delaying the end of his shift.
— More beer for table 8!
— I'm coming!
— Waiter!
— Heey, master!
Jake meandered through the restaurant dodging people until he reached the table that had called him. He took out his notepad and pen and immediately wrote down the customer's order. And so he dodged people again to get to the counter where he would pass the order through the small kitchen window.
He barely had time to catch his breath as bottles of beer appeared on his tray, forcing the alpha to go to table eight and hand over the order.
The restaurant was so full that the ventilation system was barely able to disperse so many different aromas. It was lucky that he had taken his pills before his shift, otherwise he would have been in a lot of trouble. However, that wasn't exactly what was bothering him.
At the back of the restaurant, with a few tables close together, his team was happily drinking and eating.
Oh, how envious!
Jake wanted to be with them!
He spent the whole day training Guilherme with the others. And while the guys went home to get ready for some fun, Jake was getting ready for work.
Come to think of it...
Jake looked round the table again without finding the familiar faces. Would those two be coming? Guilherme was likely, as he was one of the team's newcomers, but what about Nathaniel? Would he come?
— Stop dreaming and take those fries to table 17, big boy.
— You're the boss — Jake was about to take his order when Jaqueline put some more plates on the table — What's that?
— It's from the next table, the order's ready.
— What if I got the orders wrong, boss?
— Then don't, big boy.
Growling, the boy ignored his boss's mocking laughter and walked back through the restaurant carrying the orders. Putting a smile on his face and being polite, he delivered each order correctly.
— Here's your portion of fries.
— Thank you.
He only had to turn to the next table to hand over the two plates of snacks and remove the empty glasses, mentally writing down the order for more drinks. Jake rushed around the restaurant to serve the customers without having time to breathe properly.
He liked working like that, it made the hours fly by and earned him good money. Besides, when the restaurant filled up, it was like a workout to balance the heavy tray while dodging customers.
He didn't want to brag, but he was a great waiter!
As he was delivering an order near the door, Jake saw two people enter the restaurant. He could hardly contain his surprise at seeing Nathaniel right behind Guilherme, wearing his usual sweatshirt and hoodie.
— You've really come... — He let it slip.
— Are we late, Jake?
— Ha! You'd think so, there's no time to start and no time to finish, learn that soon kid — joked the alpha, then turned to the masked boy — Hey Nathaniel, I'm glad you could make it!
Nathaniel stared at him for a moment, then lowered his eyes to the restaurant uniform. For a moment Jake felt ashamed. Had he tied his apron wrong round his waist? Or buttoned the wrong uniform shirt?
— Ah, Jake works here as a waiter — Guilherme hastened to explain — That's why we managed to find a place even on holiday.
— I see.
— I'll show you to your table.
Wow, he still hadn't gotten used to that look on the masked man's face. Did Jake really feel nervous about this? It wasn't the first time he'd stared at him so intensely, but as it was a bit difficult to try and interpret that look, the alpha felt wary.
He was dressed, right? He wasn't naked... Right, right, enough of this rubbish.
The two newcomers were led to a table at the back of the restaurant. As soon as they saw Guilherme arrive, the boys from the team made a mess and welcomed him with open arms. However, when they saw Nathaniel right behind them, the excitement died down immediately.
The situation was rather embarrassing.
It seems that the rumours about Nathaniel were common knowledge at the university.
Guilherme grabbed the tall boy's arm and smiled at the others.
— Ah, this is Nathaniel, he came with me. Jake said it was okay to bring him along, I hope you don't mind.
All eyes were on Jake, who gave a friendly, innocent smile.
— Our team is super cool, the more people we can drink with the better, right?
Jake's smile made him look like innocence itself, but in the next instant he seemed threatening to the boys on the team. As if to say "act natural or I'll end your race".
Hearing a snort, Matheus got up from his chair and pulled up two others that were at the end of the table, right next to him.
— Sit down, everyone. Ignore these bunch of louts. If they do anything, I'll just have to make them do 40 laps of the court, won't I, coach?
— You're the captain, do what you want.
Surely the coach's response was enough to restore good humour to the table, as the players decided to start complaining about the harsh punishment.
Well done, they survived the first impact.
That masked man was a good person, since he had helped Jake the other day. So, whenever he could, he would return the favour to make him feel comfortable.
Taking advantage of the gap, Jake lightly touched Nathaniel's shoulder and pointed to the corner of the table.
— I chose this table thinking you'd come. With your back to the rest of the restaurant and these thugs next to you, no-one will notice if you take your mask off.
Nathaniel turned to the alpha in surprise.
— Why...
— Hey, waiter!
— Make yourself at home, call me if you need anything.
Unable to hear a reply, Jake just patted the boy on the shoulder and had to get back to work. He hoped Nathaniel would feel comfortable enough to at least eat well. If he was there to keep Guilherme company, he also deserved a warm welcome.
He just hoped that no one would talk rubbish to him.
But, unfortunately, the poor alpha didn't even have time to make sure that everything went well. Another group of people had arrived. Jake recognised their uniform immediately when he saw the eagle emblem on their chest.
It was Rapoxia's rival volleyball team.
It was precisely the team his cousin played for.
Apparently, he wasn't with that small group.
Whenever they met, the teams teased each other. The rivalry was well known among volleyball fans, who looked forward to the exciting matches between them. Jake didn't deny that when he played with them in his first year, it was fun to tease them with every point he scored.
But of course it all stayed on the court, he never teased it. Sporting rivalry was one thing, but being a nuisance in everyday life was another. Jake would never cross that line.
Unfortunately, he couldn't say the same for his team-mates.
Glancing over his shoulder, the alpha sighed with relief that no one from Rapoxia had noticed his rivals.
For God's sake, let there be no fighting in the restaurant.
His salary depended on peace.