Maya got in around eight o'clock. If she was late, the short-order cook didn't say anything about it. Instead, Cody watched her smooth out her uniform before sliding into her apron. She was reaching around to tie the back when she looked up to find Cody watching her. Busted.
She shot him a mock disapproving look before turning away from him and holding out the apron straps. "Do you mind?" If he was going to stand and watch her, he might as well help.
Cody walked up behind her and tied her apron quietly. Maya thought he probably wasn't on the level right now. Despite being one of the best and easily most reliable short-order cook at the diner, everyone knew about his flask. To his credit, Cody managed himself well, never falling into drunken territory but never really rising to the height of sobriety either. Maya thought it might be whiskey tonight. Maybe if she played her cards right, he'd share.
When he finished, Maya turned to him and said, "thanks," in that haughty tone she reserved only for him. Cody didn't say anything, just gave her a lazy salute, and with that, their beginning shift routine was complete.
Thursday evenings weren't exactly the pinnacle of excitement at the diner, but Maya liked them because she got out of the house and around other people. She didn't want to admit that she was lonely. When she thought about how much time she spent alone watching Netflix or doom-scrolling on socials, it made her tired, as if all of her life were being zapped out of her.
Her family was only three counties over. Maya could drive to see them if she really wanted to, but with gas as high as it is, she reckoned it was best not to go too far. Plus, it was always the same thing: "How ya' doing? Do you have a boyfriend? When are you gonna get us some grandbabies?" The same blah-blah-blah she rather not hear.
Cody placed a steaming dish of eggs, bacon, and toast on the counter and rang the bell. "Order up!" Maya fetched the order, pausing to catch him smirking at her through the server window. She'd known about his crush on her, but for the life of her, Maya could figure out why. She wasn't a great beauty. She wasn't model thin, nor did she have the bust most guys drooled over. She was mostly dark hair and glasses, more akin to small-town Velma than the glam of big-city Daphne.
She liked him well enough but wasn't sure she like-liked him. But on the whole, Maya thought he was alright. Cody eye-fucked her, sure, but he kept his hands to himself, and when they did talk, He didn't try to steer the conversation in a dirty direction, although he had his moments. She enjoyed their back-and-forth banter, and he always made her bacon a little bit crispy, just the way she liked. Even though she couldn't understand why he liked her, She really liked the attention and companionship from him.
She brought the steaming plate of breakfast food to the woman sitting at the far booth writing in her notebook. She was a regular, but for the life of her, Maya couldn't remember her name. She thought it was something soft that started with a vowel. Alice or Ashley, maybe? Whatever. The woman looked up and smiled before mouthing 'thank you' and turning back to her notebook.
Maya returned to the server window, where Cody was leaning on the other side and looking out at their only patron.
"I Wonder what she's writing about?" Maya asked.
"Erotica," Cody answered, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Okay, you're in horny jail for the rest of the night."
He looked at her and laughed. "No, I'm serious. I was working with Marlene one night, and she chanced a peeked at her notebook while Amy was in the bathroom."
Amy, her name is Amy.
"Really?" She turned towards the window, leaned on one elbow, and looked at him, clearly interested.
"Yeah, she said it's pretty raw but decent stuff."
"Any what does Marlene know about erotica?"
Cody thought about this for a moment, then shrugged. "Dunno," he answered. "I guess more than she lets on." His smirk reemerged, and he gave Maya an amused look. "And what do you know about erotica?"
She felt a slight flicker of heat touch her cheeks and was mentally kicking herself in the butt for walking smack into this turnaround. "N-Nothing." She said, hoping it would sound like an awkward admission rather than the lily-white lie it was.
"Sure, sure, sure," Cody said. The ease of his dismissal made Maya blush harder. "You probably know all about smut."
"Smut and erotica aren't the same things. They're like..." But Maya's words dissolved her mouth as she saw the satisfied look on Cody's face.
"I Thought you didn't know anything about it?" And for the second time in nearly twenty seconds, Maya was mentally kicking herself in the butt for walking face-first into a question she should have seen coming.
She spent the next couple of minutes fighting her embarrassment. She should have just admitted that she read erotica from time to time, but instead, she left her big girl pants at home today. Had it been anyone else, she would have just come clean. It had to be Cody, didn't it?
She managed to distract herself by wondering what Amy was really writing about. Not that she didn't trust Marlene's word, but if it was erotica, why come to a Diner at night to write about it?
After She'd overcome her spat of embarrassment, Maya returned to the server window and asked Cody, "Why do you think she does it hear?"
He was scrapping one side of the grill clean with a spatula. "Maybe the thrill of it." He said, then added, "Some people like doing naughty stuff in public."
Maybe, but Maya doubted it. Writing in public wasn't the same as doing something naughty. However, she kept this opinion to herself. She didn't want Cody asking her any more questions. If he did, the dark-haired waitress was certain she'd be the one sent to horny jail.
"Yeah," she agreed. "I guess."
He looked over his shoulder at her and asked, "Have you ever done something like that?"
The question she was hoping to avoid. It seemed like no matter what, Maya was fated to reveal some sordid deed to Cody. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
"Maybe." She said, still fighting it. "What about you?"
He paused for a moment, thought about it, then tossed the spatula aside and turned to her. "You can't tell anyone." He said, lowering his voice. Maya stepped closer, eager to hear whatever mischief Cody would divulge. If it was juicy enough, maybe she could use it to get some booze out of him. Cody would probably give it to her anyway, but what was the harm in a flirty little exchange?
"Yeah, okay."
Cody licked his lips and looked over to Amy. When he was sure she wasn't listening in, he turned back to Maya, and she saw excitement there as if he wanted to share, so very different from her.
"Back around when I first started, I was fooling around with one of the waitresses." She'd expected some sort of brag, the way guys do, but Maya didn't hear the brazen tone of a man boasting. Cody spoke it as if it simply happened.
He nodded to the back corner, opposite the fire exit, and Maya knew why. I was where she and most of the other staff stood when they wanted to check their phones - a place far out of sight from the sitting area.
"We went outback, and we were fooling around. I had my hand in her panties, and she kept moanin' really loud. I had to cover her mouth to keep her from making noise before she finally gushed all over my hands." Cody chuckled to himself as the memory played behind his eyes. "It was a beautiful mess."
Questions formed in Maya's mind quicker than bread turned to toast. Who was this mysterious waitress? When had they done this? And lastly, was he into that sort of thing?
"That's it?" She said, hoping she sounded unimpressed. Meanwhile, it was like a broken faucet between her thighs. "Is that even considered public behind the building?"
"Wow, you're really being an asshole tonight." He said flatly, and she wondered if she pushed too hard. She wasn't trying to be annoying or snooty, just put up a mask of someone who wasn't increasingly horny. "And what have you done? Ms. smut and erotica are different." Figures he's still holding on to that.
She smiled, mentally prepared for this turnaround. There was an opportunity here, a chance to make her Thursday night a little more interesting instead of dancing the same old dance. She just needed to bait him a little more, then-pow! Hook, line, and sinker.
"What do you think?" She asked. When Cody rolled his eyes and didn't answer, she let out a dry little laugh. "What could I do?" Maya watched the question sink in before moving on. "You have anything to drink tonight?"
"Maybe," He answered.
"Then maybe..." She ambled closer to him and let her hand graze his arm. "Maybe I'll slip out of my panties for-" Maya paused in thought, then said, "ten minutes or so."
"Half-hour," Cody argued. "A half-hour without your panties or being rude, then maybe I'll share."
Maya thought about it. She'd barely notice a half-hour going by with a couple of swigs of booze running inside her. Plus, the thought of their devious little deal turned her on. How could she refuse?
She nodded once. "Deal!" Then, like two old men, they shook on it.
Maya locked the bathroom door, then went to the basin and looked at herself in the dingy bathroom mirror. She'd never done anything like this before, and she felt giddy. She was also nervous.
"What was the big deal?" She asked herself. "No one's gonna know." Then she remembered that Cody would know.
She emerged from the bathroom with her panties balled into a tight wad. Maya held them behind her as she peeked into the dining area. "You still doing alright, honey?" She asked Amy, who was scribbling in her notepad. The woman looked up and gave Maya a smile before nodding. "Alright," Maya said with her polite waitress smile. "You just let me know if you need anything, okay?" Amy nodded again and then went back to writing, and Maya retreated back into the kitchen.
