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"Working sounds good," I replied, shoving the remainder of my sandwich in my mouth, quickly chewing and swallowing. They watched as I stood up and dusted the crumbs off my clothes. "What?" Iasked.
"Do you want aride?"
I thought about it. If I went with one of them, then there was no way I'd have another run in with Grayson's mom. Then again, I didn't think she'd come for me again twice in the same day. But I shrugged anyway and accepted the offer. "Sure, when does the shiftstart?"
"Six," Bellamyanswered.
I glanced at the clock and decided I had just enough time for a shower and some play time with Cleo—if she still wanted to see me after I almost crushed her to death. "Alright," I said, heading for the door. "Meet you in the foyer at five-thirty."
* * *
It feltstrange to be back in Alex's Diner. So much had happened since I had last walked between the old countertop and the sticky booths of the place that had been a pillar in my life for several years. A part of me felt like I had stepped back into the shoes of the old Harlow—the person I had been before the guys had come into my life. Yet, another part of me knew that I was foreverchanged.
"Looking good, lil mama," Carl, the cook said as I passed through the kitchen. "Ain’t seen you here in a hotminute."
I smiled as I tied my apron around my waist and reached for an order pad that had been left on the wait station. Soft music played from Carl's radio, the noise combining with the low hum of silverware scraping against plates and people talking out in the front diningarea.
"Yeah," I replied, propping my hip on the metal table against the wall. "It has been awhile."
"Alex said you were coming in today," hecommented.
"Is hehere?"
Carl looked up from the fryer and shook his head. "Nah. Boss got a call and had to leave. It's why he called you in—usually he’d just take care of the shift himself. You always were one of hisbest."
I grinned, pleased by the compliment. "Thanks," Isaid.
Carl hummed and nodded as he flipped up orders, depositing them on plates and in baskets as he yanked down tickets at an unreasonably fast pace. This place hadn't changed at all. After a moment contemplating the strange feeling of nostalgia, I shook my head and headed out into the diningarea.
"You're up," Lana—one of Alex's new hires—said as she passed me. "Your section got a few tables while you were back here gettingready."
"Thanks," I said, cutting behind the counter and heading for the booths in the back. I greeted an older couple, fetching them coffee and soups before heading back for the young family that had come in afterthem.
And so it went like that, for several hours. I fell back into the routine with the ease of riding a bike. I forgot how mind-numbing waitressing could be. It was nice when the customers were polite and cheerful, annoying when they weren’t, but the work itself wasn’t all that thought provoking. I could let myself sink into the movements without really thinking. The sun had set far below the horizon and the dinner crowd had died down. I was wiping down the last of my tables as Lana brought out orders to the two people left sitting in her section when the front dooropened.
"Welcome to—" I started, turning towards thedoor.
"Hey, LittleBit."
I felt a grin overtake my face as I broke off my welcome. Cocking my hip out, I propped the menus in my arms on my side and looked him over. Fresh mud caked his shoes and his shirt was darker around his neck as if he had sweat right through the fabric. I shook my head. "Take a seat at the counter. I'll get some sweet tea," Isaid.
Knix nodded and moved past me, his hand coming up to brush my shoulder. Hot tingles raced over my skin where he hadtouched.
Dropping the menus off in their stand, I headed for the back and poured the last of the sweet tea into a glass of ice. "Seems like we're back where we started, huh?" I commented as I set it down in front ofhim.
Knix's crystalline gaze revealed his amusement as he chuckled. He clasped the glass in his hand and raised it up, chugging down the liquid. My lips parted as I stared at the column of his throat, watching the muscles tense and loosen as he swallowed. It was a moment before I realized he had downed half theglass.
"You know that was the last of the sweet tea," I said with a grin. "If you want more, you'll half to wait a moment before I can make some and even then, it'll take a few minutes to cool down if you don’t want it watered down withice."
Knix drank until it was all gone anyway, setting the glass back down on the counter with a heavy sigh of relief. "That's alright," he said. "I can drink water. I just needed something for mythroat."
I took his glass away, dumping it in the sink behind the counter and refilling it with ice and water. "Long day?" Iasked.
He nodded as I set the glass back down in front ofhim.
“What were you up to?” Iasked.
He inhaled and stretched his arms out as if loosening sore muscles. “Working at one of the sites today. Building a new Library out in Whitesville,” heanswered.
