This story is going somewhere... I promise. lol
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Basil was waiting at the door for us to arrive. Leora gave him a nod and squeezed past him to the door.
"Hey."
"Hey, what's up?" What is he doing here? And how long has he been here?
"You want to go for a walk with me?" He motioned towards the water. Where? In the freakin' ocean? He must have seen the quizzical look on my face. "On the beach." He smirked.
"Only if you tell me what the hell is going on with you." I was just going to be blunt with him. The mixed signals are giving me a headache and games are for children. He looked at me blankly. Like I was the one with the problems. "What was that the other day!" I practically shouted.
"I'll talk while we're walking." Taking my hand the same as he did last time we headed towards the beach.
"Are you mad at me?" He asked softly.
"No, just confused. One minute you like me the next minute you can't get away from me quick enough." His grip on my hand got tighter.
"Yeah, about that... I'm sorry for the way I acted." We stopped walking. "I think we should just be friends."
"Friends?" Well damn. I couldn't' believe it! This is the second time he has left me feeling stupid. The only reason I didn't storm off is because I didn't want to look childish.
"It's complicated. But I like talking to you. We have fun together right? Why change that?" Putting his hands around my waist he pulled me in for a hug. "Is that ok?" He whispered in my ear.
"Sure." I muttered. I don't want to just be friends. I was sure we had a connection. He didn't feel the same way, to him I was just friend material. Not a girlfriend and not even worthy enough to be a potential fuck buddy. I could still change his mind. I could make him want me. ~*~*~*~
I made my way back to the house. Getting there I discovered I was completely alone. It was an odd feeling, I felt like I should wait outside or something. So I did, just out of respect. I took a seat in the chair out front and pulled out my phone. Might as well call Sean.
"You killed Marsellus!" I yelled in the phone. I didn't even bother to say hello.
"Who the hell is Marsellus? I ain't kill nobody!" He yelled back.
"Marsellus! My fish!"
"Oh! Ha, that fish had a name?" Wow, what a dick.
"This is the part where you apologize asshole."
"Yeah well I flushed him, he was starting to smell. I bought you a new one though. You can name him Marsellus II or better yet you can call him Jules." I had to thank him for that even though I wouldn't need a new one if he hadn't killed him.
"You homesick yet?" Sean knew me too well. I missed my family but mostly him. Of all the other people that would put me down he always helped me keep my head up. Always telling me I could do better.
"Yeah. I miss you guys a lot. Plus I could really go for some American food right now." A cheese burger and curly fries sound delicious right now.
"You must not have seen the Ramen noodles I shoved in your suitcase before you left." My face lit up! I couldn't have been happier. Screw respect, I'm going in the house and making some freakin' noodles. With Sean still on the phone I made my way in the house with the key Galen had given me and started making Ramen.
"How's Marvin?" At fifteen years old Marvin was my favorite little brother. We adopted him just 3 years ago. He was a small fifteen and was constantly being picked on but I had his back.
"Chris and the boys were giving him a hard time. But I got them in check. Don't worry the kid is fine." I always worried about Marvin. He was fragile and I didn't want the other kids getting in this head. Yeah I know, I can't protect him forever. "Luis is on some other shit though, you should try to talk to him." Luis was the trouble maker. We were hoping it was just a phase but now it looks pretty permanent.
"There's no talking to that kid. He is going to do whatever he wants when he wants. I'm tired of trying." It's an awful thing to say. You should never give up on a child but hell it's not my job, I'm his sister not his mother.
"Well Meko and Sam said they miss you. And we sent you a package but I don't know when it's going to get there so be looking out for it."
~*~*~*~*~*~
That Ramen hit the spot! I lay on the couch to close my eyes just for a minute and next thing I know it morning. I must be getting old, Ramen never had that effect on me before. Sitting up I noticed Galen and Basil at the table eating breakfast. How long have they been there? Seriously someone could have woke me up, this couch was uncomfortable.
"Morning sweetheart" Galen said softly.
"Good morning" I yawned and stretched. I know my hair was a mess of curls but I was too tired to care. Basil gave me a nod since his mouth was full of food.
"You should go get ready. You start your first day at the café in an hour." Galen informed me. "Basil is going to walk you there, so hurry up." That meant I had to look cute. I was going to change Basils' mind about me. Leora was still sleeping so I tip-toed through her room to grab a change of clothes and headed for a quick shower.
The walk to the café was mostly silent. We made small talk while Basil kept squeezing my hand and stealing glances at me. Now, riddle me this: if we are just friends then why are we holding hands? Friends don't hold hands! Although I can't say I don't like it. I want to just cut my brain off and stop overanalyzing things. When we arrived outside the café I gave him a smile and tried to make a dash for the door. My attempt was foiled when Basil pulled me back in for a hug.
"I can walk you home when you're done."
"Uh, no that's ok. But I'll see you later alright?" I just wanted to be away from him. He keeps giving me the wrong impression.
The café was empty when I walked in. I wasn't sure where to go so I just made my way to the kitchen area. There were pots and pans everywhere and immediately I started washing them. Why not now? They'd have to get washed sometime today and I'd probably be the one assigned to do it. I started scrubbing a giant pot that looked like it had been soaking overnight, the grit came off with ease. I felt the warmth of two arms wrapping around me. I freaked out and started swinging hoping to hit whatever was touching me.
"Whoa calm down tiger!" Andrew held his arms up protecting his face.
"Shit, sorry! Don't sneak up on me like that!" He almost gave me a heart attack. Scanning him up and down I was staring at him as if this were the first time I'd seen him. His shirtless body was quite a sight. The Greek Gods were probably jealous of me just for getting a look.
"Leo didn't tell me you would be working here." Andrew jumped up on the counter next to me.
"Well I am. So what should I start doing?" I scanned the room trying to find something to look at other than his body.
"Hmm..." He smirked. "You can be a waiter. The customers like to see a pretty face." He winked and handed me an apron. This was going to be a long day.
My shift didn't go too bad. The people were friendly enough and my only problem was the language barrier that seemed to come up every other table. You know when you get the feeling people are talking about you? I had that feeling all day long! Eyes were watching me constantly and I couldn't tell if it was a good or bad thing. But other than that it was a typical waitress job, it was something I was good at. Andrew spent most of his time laughing and joking with the customers. When the place finally cleared out I started washing tables. Andrew came over and placed a green dry erase marker on the table.
"You have to write down how you felt about your 1st day in one sentence or the comment you heard the most from the customers. It's like tradition." He pointed towards the white board in the back of the kitchen. I read the random writing on the board.
'Those shorts make you look fat' 'He said this would be easy' 'I'm pretty sure there's gum in my hair' 'My mom made me get this job' 'Can I get your number?' 'You guys were lucky to have me'
'I'm not even fuck buddy potential' is what I wanted to write but it was clearly inappropriate. I picked up the marker, found a small spot in the corner of the board and wrote 'I get to do this everyday?'. The sarcasm didn't transfer well.
"At least 3 times a week." Andrew gave me a look. I walked back to the tables I was previously cleaning.
"So, on your first day here I've had six people come up and ask me if you had a boyfriend." Andrew sat his ass on the table I had just cleaned.
"Really?" That kind of caught me off guard.
