"More coffee, sir?"
He looked up at the girl standing next to him, jug in hand, lips slightly parted. He nodded slowly. "Please."
He watched as she leant forwards, the neckline of her shirt-dress falling forwards to reveal a glimpse of white cotton bra. His eyes raked up towards her face, the full lips, the freckles across her nose, the brown curls that fell around her face. God, she was cute. He had already noted the name scrawled across the badge on her chest. Jessica: happy to help.
"Jessica, isn't it?" She looked up at him, surprised. "I know you probably get this all the time, but I was wondering if I could take you out sometime?" She blushed furiously.
"I... we... we're not really supposed to. Sorry." She straightened up, smoothing down her skirt with her free hand. He smiled.
"No, that's cool. Understandable." She almost returned his smile, he noticed -- her lips quirked a little at any rate. He watched her walk back to the counter in the middle of the cafΓ© and took a sip of his coffee. The swish of her skirt and those legs... He imagined sliding a hand up her skirt, over her sweet little arse. Jesus. The things he could do to her.
He drank his coffee slowly, and signalled to another waitress to bring him the bill. He watched Jessica ring it through the till, watched her bend and scrawl something across the receipt. She walked across to his table and presented the bill with a barely perceptible nod. He unfolded the paper, noted the figure, and then something else at the bottom -- in what had to be Jessica's handwriting, the words "I finish at 6. Pick me up?"
His hands shook slightly as he counted out coins to cover his lunch. He dropped them neatly into the little silver tray, and carefully folded the bill into his pocket. As he left he nodded over to the waitresses behind the counter. "Thanks, ladies. See you later."
**
Six o'clock and he was sitting in his car in the cafΓ© car park, waiting for Jessica to emerge. He felt oddly nervous. He hadn't had a date -- hell, even a real conversation with an attractive girl -- in way too long. He doubted he'd ever had one with someone as attractive as Jessica.
The cafΓ© door swung open and she appeared, a hooded jacket pulled over her uniform, looking around her anxiously. He stepped out of the car to signal to her. She ran across and came to a stop just in front of him, slightly out of breath.
"Hi." He looked down at her. If he'd been nervous, he had nothing on Jessica -- she was almost shaking. And had he realised before how little she was? He wasn't exactly a big guy, but she was tiny. He towered over her.
"Jessica. Hi." She smiled.
"I don't even know your name."
"Does it matter?" She laughed.
"Well, no. I suppose not."
"Have a seat?" He gestured to the passenger side of the car. She nodded and went to get in as he slid back into the driver's seat. "How was the rest of your shift?"
"Okay. I suppose. I'd rather not talk about work."
"What would you rather talk about?" She glanced shyly at him.
"I don't know. You. How old are you?"
"Twenty-seven. How old are you?"
"Eighteen. Last week."
"Do you have a boyfriend?"