The last customers of the day were waiting to get served.
Terry stood behind his register, fingers slipping nervously as he tried to keep up with the demand. Next to him, Keira worked fast and elegantly, her shiny bob whipping around each time she turned to grab the burgers and drinks. It was how she always operated, by staying nice and relaxed. The slender brown fingers would grab the tray and hand it over to the meanest customer, beaming. "Thank you for coming today, sir."
The way her back arched down her big booty was irresistible. Every time she turned to grab something, other guys in line or sitting at the tables ogled her with the same thirst Terry did.
"Hey!" The next person in line was scowling at him. "How much longer am I going to have to wait here for?"
As Keira finished with her line, she glanced over and said, "Please, come over to me as well."
Four out of the six went over to her, yet by the time she was done with them Terry still struggled to finish off his last order. The middle-aged woman in front of him drummed her fingers over the counter impatiently. Keira took note and came over, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Why don't you let me take over, hun? You've had enough for one day."
It was humiliating that inexperienced personnel with less than a month under their belt were outdoing him after almost three years on the job. Not only was he not improving, but Terry felt that the added anxiety of wanting to outperform them got him doing worse over time.
The warmth of Keira's hand passed through him like a panacea. "T-Thanks," he stammered, stepping away from the counter.
Keira finished the last order, refilled the drink of some kid, then glanced over at the door to make sure the sign said it was closed. "Stressful day, am I right?"
God, but she was so beautiful. The geometric bob framed a gently-sloped face with glossy full lips and enough eyeshadow that the only visible thing with her eyes was the reflected light. Keira considered herself a goth and looked the part out of uniform. To think that people judged her ugly because of that, or because of her dark skin... what savages.
"I'm glad this day is over," he whispered.
Keira giggled in agreement and checked her phone, the long black nails tapping audibly against the screen. "Damn. That concert's about to start soon. What a shame."
"Concert?"
"Oh, the The Long March is performing. Didn't you hear?"
Truth be told, Terry knew nothing about modern music, and he definitely never heard of any band by that name. Not that his ignorance meant anything. The only music he knew intimately was the boomer stuff his father always forced him to hear and stuff from JRPGs. "I guess not."
A beringed fist teasingly punched his shoulder. "You should totally go!"
The gemstones in the rings actually hurt him, though Terry tried not to show it. "Are you going?"
Keira sipped some coke, then brought a hand up to her mouth to cover up a tiny burp. She shook her head. "I can't afford it right now."
"How much is it?"
"I guess like seventeen?"
"That's not that much."
"Nope, but I'm broke until my next paycheck. Oh well."
What an opportunity this was! Terry desperately wished he could give it to her. Hell, he would've paid for the both of them. Sadly, he was never given any money of his own, since his father believed his son deserved none so long as he lived under his roof and worked at the fast food dump that was supposed to be his inheritance. Any purchase required the old man's permission.
"Have you tried asking my dad to pay you in advance?"
Keira made a face. "Oh no! I'd never do that."
"Come on! Why not? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
"It's just weird to ask for cash this early. I just started! What would he think of me?"
"Let me go talk to him," Terry offered. "Okay?" He could see that customers were starting to vacate. Only that middle-aged woman was left, hounding down the last of her fries. He needed to make it quick.
Keira blushed and smiled warmly, dimples forming in her cheeks. "Okay, you win. Try. Thank you so much."
The old man sat at the desk of his windowless back room doing some paperwork, beads of sweat shining bright as they slowly coursed down his balding head. "What do you want?" The pencil made a harsh scratch over the paper.
Terry explained the situation, trying to make the case as best as possible that Keira deserved a favor. As he spoke, his father lifted his head and pursed his lips. "You're saying you want to go with her?"
The other employees knocked on the door in passing and announced their departure for the night. His father pushed himself away from the desk and rose with a labored groan. The sweat-stained shirt stretched over his rolls of fat as he lumbered out of the room and made his way to the front. Terry followed after him in a doglike fashion, too afraid to ask what he meant to do.
The greasy old fucker got in front of Keira. "My son tells me you want to see a concert tonight."
Confronted in this way, Keira gulped nervously and let out a little giggle. "Oh, I mean... It's not a big deal, boss..." She glanced over at Terry, struggling to find the words. "I just..."
The old man held up a silencing palm. He pulled a wad of cash out of his pocket and went through it. Both Terry and Keira stared at his sausage fingers as they passed over the five hundred bills and till he finally came over a single hundred. He plucked it out, forced the wad back, then stuck a finger in the goth's face. "When you came here with that raccoon make-up, I only hired you because we needed someone. But you turned out to be the best person we've had here in ages. This isn't a payment in advance - consider it a well-deserved bonus."
The whole time, Terry worried that his father might insult Keira to the point that she wept and quit like so many others did before her. What came as a shock was how his father's hand slipped the bill into Keira's back pocket, by moving his palm confidently across her ass.
Keira said nothing, so he took his time, placing it in deep, allowing the full length of his fingers to cup her round cheek. Then he gave her ass a playful smack. "You're one hell of an employee."
Was this it? Was she going to cry?
Keira grinned, the white teeth flashing. "Thank you, sir. I try. So, Terry, will you come to the concert?"
The old man stared at him judgingly, and it was enough to knock the breath out of him. "I'd like to, but..."
"Terry needs me to drive him home."
Struggling to find a solution to the awkward moment, Keira pulled out the bill and stretched it straight. "Why don't we all go? My treat. With a hundred, we could all get front-row VIP tickets."
Terry expected his father to shoot that down too, but the fatso wrinkled his nose thoughtfully. "I guess we could try."
Terry sat in the back of the car looking out at the dark wet streets as they waited for Keira to return. They brought her home so she could change for the concert, and almost twenty minutes passed since she had gone up. The old man rocked against the front seat, impatiently switching from one song to another.
"This Keira sure is something..." he was saying.