I carefully looked her over taking in her cheerful attitude. She gave off a totally different vibe than the first time I had seen her.
"Yeah sure," I replied, unsure of how to act around her. "Everyone has a bad day once in a while." I smiled small and twisted a finger in my hair. “Thank you.”
She gave me a satisfied smile before leaning in and wrapping her arms around me. I instantly stiffened up feeling uncomfortable. "It's okay." She laughed, and something in her laugh told me that she was used to that reaction. "You will get used to me soon enough." She dropped her arms away from my stiff body and walked away with a small smile. "Follow me."
An hour later, I took on my first table, which happened to be an elderly couple that could barely move without my assistance. I was terrified of accidentally hurting them. However, they didn’t mind when I made a few mistakes and understood that it was my first day. I had to admit that I got lucky to get them. They helped to ease me in and relax me before taking on the busy day.
Three plates dropped, and six hours later, I somehow managed to make $68.38. It wasn’t the hundreds of dollars that I was used to but the business was a lot better than my last job. I had managed to make it through the whole day without some pervert trying to grope me. I could get used to that.
I leaned into the last dirty booth with a smile as I calmly washed off the table. The clock above me read 4:28 p.m. The hours at the diner were Sunday: seven o'clock a.m. to four o'clock p.m. and Monday-Saturday: 8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. It seemed reasonable enough for me. I could actually get back to my old sleeping habits or at least try.
Jace strolled over from out of nowhere, grabbing the towel from out of my hand. I jumped, unaware that he was even close by. He smiled sweetly before bending over and wiping off the table, taking over my job. "How was your first day," he questioned. "Did you do well on tips?"
I clumsily reached into my apron and pulled out my bundle of cash, hoping that he wouldn't laugh. I had no idea what a good waitress made. "I made around $69.00. Is that good?" I questioned.
Jace looked up and over at Stacy as she gathered up her things and headed for the door. "Thanks Stacy," he said smoothly. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”
Stacy shoved her keys into her mouth while juggling her belongings. She was quite talented. “Sure,” She mumbled. "Bye, guys."
Jace stood up, reaching out a hand. “Do you want help?”
Stacy nodded her head and pushed the door open with her foot. “Um…no. I got it.” She smiled and headed out the door.
Jace watched as Stacy disappeared before turning back to face me. “Stacy only made $63.00. You must have something special." He grinned and then motioned for me to follow him to the break room. He bent down, picking up a wrinkled up food order, and tossed it into the trash. "You did a wonderful job. I had a lot of regulars tell me how much they liked you," he said, tone professional. “I am very impressed.”
I felt my cheeks redden as I turned my head away in embarrassment. I reached out the hand with the money in it. "Here's some money for rent. I know that it's not much, but it's a start."
Jace placed his hands on mine and pushed the money away, his hands lingered for a moment before he pulled them away. "Nope," he said. "I don't want any of that. You don't owe anything until next month. I already paid rent this month." He walked over and turned off the light switches. Then he pointed toward the door and waited for me to follow.
I walked in silence not knowing how to thank him. All that my parents ever did was take from me. I wasn't use to someone giving. The feeling was...different.
He walked in front of me, holding the door open for me as I followed behind him. He locked the door, checking it twice before turning around and smiling. “I am starving.” He threw his keys in his pocket and reached for his car keys. “What shall we eat today? It’s ladies choice. I would think hard about this because you might not get this opportunity again," he teased.
I laughed softly as I followed him through the gravel and to his car. It was getting dark outside and the cool wind gave me the chills. “Well… let me think here. It sounds like a huge life decision,” I teased. “I haven’t eaten all day so I guess I should make it count.”
Jace smiled and stopped in front of the car. “What is your favorite food? What do you like," he questioned. "I know nothing
about you yet. All except for the fact that you like to sleep in your underwear," he grinned, obviously teasing me.
I felt my face flush when remembering thinking that I saw him while going to the bathroom in the middle of the night. It was dark and I couldn’t quite be sure if it was him or just my eyes playing tricks on me. Clearly, it wasn't just my eyes. I cleared my throat and jumped into the car. I waited for him to get in and shut the door. "Chicken," I mumbled, trying to change the subject. "I love chicken."
He gave me a cocky grin and then shifted the car into drive. "Great choice. We'll stop at the video store, grab a movie and then pick up some fried chicken," he said confidently. "We'll just have a chill night and I can get to know my new roommate."
I smiled at the thought of just having a normal night, with movies and food. Just two people hanging out. I’d never had a night with anyone that didn't involve sex, bars or dancing. I liked that idea.
"Sounds good, but I get to pick the movie," I said playfully.
"Okay, but nothing too girly. I'm a manly man," he said, nudging me in the side as we pulled into the video store.
What he didn’t know about me yet was that I didn’t have a sensitive side. Girly love movies would do nothing for someone like me.
After spending a good ten minutes searching for a movie, we ended up leaving the video store with an action movie. The man on the cover looked entertaining enough to catch my eye and really, I just wanted to get out of there. There were too many people watching us as if we were some kind of happy couple. It was creepy.
After arriving back to Jace’s house we sat down at the kitchen table, dished out the chicken, and mashed potatoes and started eating.
Jace looked over while taking a bite of his chicken and smiled as I played with my food. “So Avery, do you have any family close by?”
My whole body stiffened, hand shaking, as I fought to keep in control. No one had ever asked me about my family and I wasn’t prepared to talk about them. “No,” I blurted. “I mean…I haven’t seen them in over a year.” My gaze set down on my plate of food as I spooned my mashed potatoes. Why is he doing this?
The room stayed silent as Jace studied me with a serious face. I was trying hard to keep my eyes away from his, but I found it to be impossible. Finally, he pushed his food away clearing his throat. “How old are you, Avery?” he questioned, in all seriousness.
I looked up, nose flared, as I fought to hold back the tears. I didn't want to talk about my life and it angered me. “I just turned nineteen last month.” I shoved a bite of potatoes in my mouth and slowly chewed. “Why? Why do you need to ask me these questions?”
Jace looked surprised as he tilted his head in thought. “I just want to know about you. This is me getting to know you,” he paused. “Or at least trying.”
I bit my bottom lip and averted my eyes away from his stare. His eyes were making me want to surrender and tell him more than what I wanted to. “Well I just don’t like too many questions.”
Jace took a few bites of his chicken before leaning in next to me and smiling. “So, you have a fake I.D?” he questioned amused.
I looked up and nodded my head, happy to change the mood. "Yup!" The room went silent again. "What about you, Jace? How old are you? You own a diner and have a great house. You really have yourself together."
"I just turned twenty three a few months ago. The diner was my fathers before he ran off." His smile faded as he looked up at me and leaned back in his seat. "Why haven't you seen your parents in so long? Where are-"
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I stammered, thinking that I was already in the clear, when clearly I wasn't.
Jace swallowed hard and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well do you have anyone close by? Like maybe a friend or a boyfriend?”
I looked away, eyes watering, as I dropped my fork. “No.” I swallowed hard forcing back the lump in my throat. “I’ve never had a boyfriend and I don’t have any friends.” I instantly felt stupid for telling him things so personal about myself. I felt weak. “I think that I’m just going to head to bed.” I stood up and pushed my chair away. “Thank you for dinner.”
A look of hurt crossed Jace’s face as he jumped up from his seat and reached for my hand. His grip was firm. He pulled me in for a hug but I backed away from his pull. “Avery,” he whispered. “It’s okay to talk about things.”
I let out a deep breath and relaxed into his strong arms, burying my face into his chest like a child crying to their father. Feeling his moist shirt against my cheek made me feel silly. I felt like a silly child that had lost. It made me angry. I didn’t understand why I was allowing myself to let this happen.
He gently rubbed the back of my head and then ran a finger along my cheek. “There, do you feel better?” He pulled away from me looking me in the eye. “It’s okay to cry. The
strong ones always do.” Somehow I doubted that.
I let out a half sob, half laugh when realizing that I did feel a bit better than before. He didn't know much, but he knew more about me than anyone else did. It was a start. "Yes. Thank you," I whispered. “I actually do feel a bit better.”
Jace smiled and brushed the hair from out of my face. “Good, now let’s go watch this movie.” He stared me in the eye for a moment before he walked away and started cleaning up our dinner mess. He wrapped up the chicken box before throwing the plates into the double sink.
I stood there hesitating shortly before reaching for a plate and deciding to help him. “Here, let me help.”
Jace grabbed the plate from out of my hand, brushing his thumb over mine. “No. I can take care of this. You can go and set up the movie.”
I pulled my hand away and turned away from him, feeling bad for letting him do all the work by himself, but thankful at the same time. “Okay, sure.”
I made my way into the living room and over to the coffee table. I stared down at the movie before reaching down and taking it out of the case. If I really thought about it, it would be my first time watching a movie with a man. As cheesy as that sounded, it was true.
My hand slightly shook as I attempted to shove the movie into the player. I kept missing the opening
. Shit. Relax.
I pushed the movie in and smoothed out my shirt before taking a seat on the loveseat.
A few minutes later Jace plopped down next to me scaring me out of my thoughts. He eyed me curiously, as I kept readjusting myself. “Are you okay?” He laughed as I ran my hands over my jeans, wiping the sweat off.
I looked up at the TV, running a hand through my hair. "Sorry," I mumbled. "I'm fine." Really, I wasn't. I couldn't seem to get comfortable being so close to him.
He smiled at me and turned on the TV. "Are you feeling uncomfortable?" He grabbed my shoulder and gently pulled me against his body. It made my stomach flip. "You can lean against me for support. I'm pretty comfortable." He rested his head next to mine and placed his lips next to my ear. "I don't bite," he whispered.
I let out a nervous laugh relaxing my muscles as I fought to stay calm. Just breathe. It’s not that bad. "Thanks," I whispered back. "Thanks for everything."
He glanced down at me and brushed the hair out of my face. "Don't worry about it." He smiled comfortably.
He started the movie and we both sat there in a comfortable silence. It felt nice for once just to relax and not have to talk.
The rhythm of Jace’s heartbeat against my back helped to make me feel more at ease, although, my body was screaming for me to get up and run. A small part of me just didn’t want to. Therefore, I didn’t.
Chapter 5
I woke up in the middle of the night uncomfortable and in a daze. That was when I realized that I was still on the couch and wrapped up in Jace’s arms.
My heart stopped and suddenly I felt dizzy. I gently wiggled my way out of his grip, attempting to get away without waking him. I was almost in the clear when suddenly; Jace gripped me tighter and bent in pressing his lips against my neck. His lips were soft and gentle causing my breath to catch in my throat.