Page 26 of Lucky Mother Pucker

Chapter 11

Leo

When we walk into the Mile High Diner, it’s loud and crowded, which is typical after a Hollis U hockey game.

We only have to wait a couple of minutes before a table opens up. Nick, Poppy, Travis, Anna, Blake, Briar, and I sit down at a big table in the center of the diner.

One of the table runners drops off glasses of water for us while we look at the menus.

“Hey, guys. What else can I get you to drink besides water?”

I look up and see Lucy standing at our table. Damn, she looks exhausted. Blue-ish circles rest under her eyes. Her smile is strained and forced. And her eyes are a little red too.

“You okay?” I ask.

She frowns. “Excuse me?”

“You look a little tired.” The whole table looks at me. And that’s when I realize how shitty that sounds.

Lucy rolls her eyes at me as she pulls a small notepad and pen from her apron. “Wow. I didn’t expect to be told that I look like shit during my shift. Thanks a lot,” she says sarcastically.

Blake, who’s sitting next to me, elbows me. Nick mouths, “What the fuck?” at me before turning to Lucy.

“We’re sorry about him,” he says. “We’re trying to teach him manners, but it’s not sticking,” he jokes.

She waves a hand and offers a small smile. “It’s fine. Do you guys want anything other than water?”

Everyone orders milkshakes. Lucy turns to me. “What about you, charmer? You want a milkshake too?”

I shake my head. “No, I’m fine with water,” I say, feeling like an asshole. Especially after the way we ended things the last time I was here, and she waited on me. The way her face softened when she thanked me for the tip, and we finally exchanged names.

But now she’s pissed at me again, and it’s my fault. Again.

She takes all of our food orders and gathers our menus.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything,” I say to her.

She rolls her eyes.

“You can spit in his food if you want,” Nick says. “He totally deserves it.”

Poppy nudges him. Lucy lets out a small laugh. “I’ll think about it,” she says before walking off.

“Dude, what the hell?” Travis says to me.

“Yeah, first you get the poor girl fired from her barista job, then you basically tell her she looks like crap?” Blake says.

Briar, Poppy, and Anna all look at me.

“Wait, you got our waitress fired from her other job?” Anna says.

I close my eyes and huff out a breath. Shit.

I tell them what happened at the coffee shop, then how I ran into her at the diner.

“I came here the other day. She was my server, and I apologized to her again and left her a big tip,” I say. “It felt like things were okay.”

“Well, you messed up real good with that comment about how tired she looks,” Anna says. Briar and Poppy nod along.