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15
Mare
Icracked my neck and leaned around the extra wide kitchen entryway, checking my section for customers. Nothing. Sighing, I turned around and fiddled with the apron tied around my waist, undoing it and retying it. Sundays were always slow until they weren’t. There were long stretches of hours with nothing to do and then a hoard of people—usually local churchgoers—would filter in for about two or three hours before it all dropped off again. My nails found the edge of a steel table next to the array of fountain drinks and began tapping.
The lack of something to focus on led my thoughts right back to Ian, Jensen, and Archer. They’d paid my rent, and for the first time in months, I felt the burden of adult responsibilities—the weight of just surviving day to day, paycheck to paycheck—lift from my shoulders. They hadn’t called though. I’d honestly expected one of them to come barging into my apartment after that little show I’d put on last night … or was it early this morning? Shaking my head, I dislodged the random tangent and focused on my original train of thought. I still hadn’t heard a peep from them. I wondered, briefly, if they were trying to make me sweat after the way I’d teased them.
My nails stopped their staccato rhythm, and my fingers curled around the metal prep table. I was almost tempted to beg off for the day, but I didn’t expect the guys would continue to pay my rent when they found out there was no way I was going to just drop everything to go back to the way things were. Sure, they’d been more attentive than the average guy I’d dated back in high school and college—opening the occasional door, making sure I made it inside the dorm safely before leaving, but we’d only known each other for five months. Long enough to form this crazy passionate bond or whatever it was that we had but not long enough to truly know what kind of partners they’d be. They could spout all they wanted about protecting me and taking care of me, but there hadn’t been enough time to truly see that happen and I couldn’t count on their generosity forever.Trust them to keep me safe? Maybe. Trust them to keep paying my rent so I wouldn’t wind up homeless? A girl’s gotta have her own back on that one.As much as I wanted that, as much as I was glad to see them here—as much as I’d fucking missed them and their hands on me—they couldn’t stay. It was far too dangerous.
No, I’d never introduced them to my father. Even before everything had gone down, my father and I hadn’t been close, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t known what I was doing away from him. He could very well know about the guys. He could’ve been keeping tabs on them. By coming back to me, they might have very well painted a bright red target on their backs. I hadn’t spent the past five years running and hiding from the man to protect them only for them to waltz back into my life and ruin all of my good intentions.How the hell am I going to get them to go away?I knew Jensen had a gun, and god knew I’d seen Ian practice some tricks with his knife, but how would they hold up against cold blooded killers like my father and his men?
No one is going to die because of me.
“Mary.” I grimaced when I heard someone call for me. Mary fucking Peterson was polite. She was a good waitress. A girl who hustled to make a living. She had no future and most definitely no fucking past. Mary Peterson was a lie. I hated her, and I hadn’t even realized how much until Ian and the guys had reminded me of who I’d used to be.America. “Mary!”
The sharp, irritated sound of Charlotte’s voice had me sighing. I turned towards her and plastered on a fake smile. “Hey, whats up?”
“One of your regulars is here, just seated him at table eleven,” she said before turning and striding away.
“Thanks,” I muttered, though she was already out of hearing distance. Suppressing an eyeroll, I grabbed my notepad and tucked it into my apron as I glanced through the dining room and found Ben perusing the menu. Before I even headed over, I pulled a fresh glass from under the counter and filled it with ice, sweet tea, and two lemon slices, the way he ordered it every time he was here.
At first, I had been creeped out when he had come to my section three times in a row over the course of a month, but now all I came to expect from him was nothing but a nice tip, some friendly small talk, and respect. Hopefully, he’d set the precedent for how this shift would go. The rest of the dining room was empty as I moved towards him; only the restaurant's music filled the space as I weaved through the tables.
“Good afternoon, Mary,” Ben greeted. His baritone voice was warm but quiet as he looked up from the menu.
“Hey Ben, how’s it going? Here’s your tea to get you started,” I rattled off, placing his glass down and pulling out my notebook.
“Thank you! You’re so considerate. I’m surprised you even remembered.”
I chuckled. “I always remember you,” I said kindly. Ben seemed like a nice guy, just a bit lonely. He was always eating by himself, so I made sure to pay a little extra attention to him.
“It’s been going, you know how it is.” A smile appeared on his tanned face, his chestnut eyes lighting up as he looked at me.
“That I do,” I agreed with a nod. “What’s it going to be today? One of your usuals or something different?”
“I think I’m going to branch out,” he replied with a decisive nod. When he was done ordering, I gave him a quick smile and headed back towards the kitchen. A large boisterous crowd came in as I was ringing up his ticket for the kitchen staff, and I couldn’t stop the small mental plea that Charlotte would seat them in her section.
No such luck, it seemed. I sighed, eyeing the group of seven with a frown. Damn it. I couldn’t get one day, could I? Armed with another smile, I went about my normal routine as I approached the new table—seated directly next to Charlotte’s barren section. I didn’t even bother to glance her way when she passed by and said, “Good luck.” Mary Peterson didn’t hit anyone, but America Perelli certainly wanted to. I grabbed drinks, rang up appetizers, and ran back to the kitchen to get to work.
Sweat beaded against my temple as I hustled through the dining room, carrying out everything in batches. After several minutes. I managed to make my way back to Ben’s table to drop off a salad and new drink.
“Not very helpful, is she?” he asked with a frown, glancing towards Charlotte who was too busy flirting with the bartender to do anything else.Doesn’t she have a boyfriend?I wondered.Ugh. Does it even matter?
Instead of saying what I really thought, I gave Ben a shrug and a smile. “I’m sure she’s just on break. She’ll help when she’s back on the clock,” I lied. “The rest of your food should be out in just a bit.”
As I turned to head back to the kitchen, I froze. Standing directly in front of the abandoned hostess stand were Ian, Jensen, and Archer. Jensen’s head lifted, and he caught my eye, sending a wink and a smile. Archer followed his gaze and offered me a small smile as well. Ian simply stared, his eyes wickedly intense as they focused on my shocked face.
What. The. Actual. Fuck.
Before I could meet them at the hostess stand and demand to know what the fuck they thought they were doing, Charlotte appeared. I watched as she twirled her hair around her finger, grabbed a few menus, and motioned them over to her section. I watched with narrowed eyes as my chest tightened and a lead weight began to build within my stomach.
Grinding my teeth, I went to the kitchen to input the order I still had clutched in my hand all while telling myself that there would be no use losing my job just because I couldn’t keep my focus. Still, I couldn’t help but think about how Charlotte had nearly lit her ass on fire to get to them as soon as they’d walked in when before she couldn’t have been bothered to help clear off a few tables. The jealousy pulsed inside me, a red hot poker flaring within my chest, and I found my feet moving on their own accord. Charlotte had already moved away to fix their drinks, so when I came storming up and slapped my palms down at the end of their table, there wasn’t a coworker to witness the violence in my expression.
“Whatare you doing here?” I hissed under my breath, keeping a smile on my face despite my venomous tone so that anyone watching wouldn’t suspect.
“Aww, Mar—Mary,” Archer corrected and then grinned, “that’s no way to greet your boyfriends, now is it?”
“Are you serious right now?” I balked. “And when did we decide on that relationship status?”
