Working in a restaurant isn't for the faint of heart. It is grueling and hot, long hours and late nights. When you aren't overheating in the kitchen then you are shivering in the walk-in refrigerator, sweat freezing to your skin as you search for what you need.
My name is Roland, and it wasn't until I was in my early 20's that I realized all of the caveats that the lifestyle of restaurant life had to offer. Im 5' 10" tall, lanky, with hair long enough to curl around my ears. I have a few piercings, most in my ears but also my nipples, and a couple tattoos. I also tend to be a touch on the pasty side. You see, I had always been a very career driven individual, nothing being a good enough excuse not to go to work. I had been in a few relationships throughout my teens, but had been in a dry spell for the last few years when I started working my way up in one of the local restaurants. It started as a part time gig but like all things that go somewhere I hit it off with the right people and soon it became full time. The people were fairly normal, for the scene anyways. It was fairly modern, not the old school up-tight screaming chef with sub par food, we had a team of individuals that really cared about their craft and wanted to excel.
That may sound like the dream for our employer but trust me when I say, it was really the dream of us in the kitchen. Let me explain further because Im sure you are already nodding your head along.
When a place such as this, has a team such as we did, it means that EVERYONE wants to work with you. Especially waitstaff. We had people lining up to work for us, everyone from the age of 18-50. But through all the throngs that passed through our doors I was oblivious. I just kept the grind going, working and wading through the days.
One week I was wrapping up on a Wednesday evening, getting ready to go down and see my family out of state. I had finished cleaning and was calling in the orders when I overheard a conversation behind me. It wasn't a private one mind you, so I listened idly as I waited to place my order on the phone. The manager was talking to one of our waitresses whose car was currently in the shop. She was telling him how she lived with her grandparents and she hated waking them up so late in the evening to come and get her. As I was getting off the phone I heard her say that she felt like a disappointment for still living with them, let alone having to depend on them for a ride to and from work while her car was being worked on.
This was a feeling I was all to familiar with because I had felt the same way when still living with my own family a few years ago. Before I even knew what was coming out of my mouth I was standing up offering a ride to whomever was behind me. I knew they were female but I was not prepared for who I saw when I turned around. It was one of our newer waitresses, she was maybe 19 years old. Slim at the waist, with a large chest, larger than should have really fit on her petite frame. Her hair was straight, almost black, with eyes so blue and deep it would have been a pleasure to get lost in them. Sadee was certainly easy on the eyes, and had a maturity about her that other girls her age just didn't exude. This was the first time I had ever really stopped to take her in and it was awkward to say the least.
She was obviously the type of girl that knew she was attractive. The type that knew just what to wear to be ogled in all the ways she wanted. She seemed extremely pleased to have my attention though. This made me uneasy. I wasn't aware of how attractive I was back then, simply thinking honestly that I was an average person doing average things in life. Little did I know how that was going to change with this simple gesture of kindness.
I smiled awkwardly when I finished my pronouncement, waiting to be laughed at, now that I had seen just who I was talking to. Before she could reply the manager patted me on the back as if to say "your problem now" and walked away leaving the two of us alone.
Sadee smiled at me then, the tip of her tongue sticking out slightly between her perfect teeth. Unlike when I was on the phone her voice took on this lilting quality that had me mesmerized and weak in the knees with every word. "Thanks so much! Oh, thats just so perfect! I really didn't want to have to wake them again tonight."
"Not a problem at all" I stated back, trying to remain as cool as I could though that felt like an impossibility. "I have a few things to finish up, when Im done Ill come and find you"
By the end of my sentence I felt a small bit of my confidence coming back to me. A fraction of what I had the last time I had talked a girl but it was a start.
While I busied myself with the rest of what I needed to do Sadee beamed at me again and walked out front, no doubt to fraternize with the rest of the lingering staff. I made my way to the back where I kept a small bag and changed, my apron had kept my pants clean tonight as it wasn't busy but I needed some deodorant and a fresh shirt. My car also needed a quick tidy so I ran outside to clean things up real quick.
When I got to my car it only took me a few moments to discard the few disheveled items on my passenger seat and make it presentable for the dark ride home. There were a couple of books that were promptly shuffled to the floor of the back seat, a couple of empty cans in the cup holder that I tossed in the dumpster that I parked near, and a sweatshirt that quickly got rolled up and shoved all the way in the back. There was no way I was going to let this stunning girl see how disheveled things were in here in a daily basis.
As calmly as I could manage I walked back inside, trying to will some of my confidence back from the days when I had more female attention. I decided on my way in that a quick night cap would probably steel my nerves enough to make it through the conversation on the ride home.
Leaning up against the bar, the far side from where Sadee and her fellow female coworkers were huddled talking quietly and giggling profusely, I asked Linda the bar tender for an old fashioned. Waiting for her to concoct the drink, I tried my best to make it seem as though I wasn't trying as hard I as I could to make out what the girls were talking about at the other end of the bar. They all, with the exception of Sadee to my chagrin, kept taking furtive glances in my direction. Seemingly sizing me up in a way that I had never noticed them doing before. It was as nerve racking as it was exhilarating.
Before I had managed to determine the depth of their conversation my cocktail had arrived. Sipping it slowly I savored the way the alcohol coated first my lips, then my tongue, and most of all how it warmed my insides and instantly made me relax a little. I got lost in my drink a little bit, thinking about the possibilities of the events about to unfold. My mind wandered with wanton abandon, diving this way and then that, trying to figure out the likelihood of all the different scenarios I could come up with in my head.
It was during this little day dream that I felt a hand on my back. It was small, and light, brushing my skin through my shirt in an alarmingly exhilarating manor. Sadee felt me tighten and in her lilting tone stripped my defenses away saying "Just me, the girls are getting ready to leave now so I figured I would come and sit with you while you finished your drink." With a smile she added, "Will you be ready to go when you are finished?"
I nodded yes while nursing another sip of my drink hoping beyond hope that she would sit down and take her hand off me. It was too hard to think straight with her touching me and I still needed to be able to drive us both home. To my relief she did take a seat, though not exactly the way I expected. Rather than facing forwards in the seat and turning to talk to me Sadee decided to sit off the side of the stool, her bare knees brushing my leg the whole time she got comfortable. Once she was settled however there was no change. She remained there, leaving our bodies touching, and thinking quickly I decided to throw back my drink and leave.
In my haste, the single large ice cube that had been my confidant while I swirled the beverage, decided to hit me in the face, resulting in me promptly wearing the rest of it down my front.
With a laugh that was as embarrassing as it was delightful Sadee grabbed a few bar naps and started blotting the front of my shirt. Before I could begin to protest, she had her hand over the pile of soggy napkins in my lap, continuing to blot the remnants of the drink I had spilled. I quickly began to become aroused and stopped her from her conquest. I profusely apologized and made my way up from the bar to go and dry off real quick in the bathroom.