Buzzing alerted Olivia that her phone was receiving a call, but she was unable to answer as she entered an order into one of the computers near the kitchen. The smell of seafood floated to her nose and made her stomach grumble. The restaurant had low lighting for ambiance, but that didn't bother Olivia because most of her tables were outside on the patio anyway. Pictures of scuba divers and deep sea adventures lined the walls along with paintings of mermaids that reminded her more of Sirens, and fish nets and hooks hung from the ceiling. The place was a little cheesy, but she enjoyed working there and the uniform, white shorts and a black tee shirt with Angel's Fish written on the chest, was comfortable. Not to mention, she worked there with Gaby so she had someone to keep her company.
"Olivia, you've been sat," a coworker announced as Olivia poked her head around the corner of the hall that led from the kitchen to where the customers enjoyed their food . As she nodded, she could hear the clang of a bartender dropping a glass and giggled, wondering if she could properly guess who it was. "Which table and how many people?" As she finished entering the orders for another table, she went to grab menus from a cabinet. "Just a man at table 43. He said he was by himself." With that, the coworker walked away to take care of his own customers. Olivia took a menu and headed outside toward the table where a man sat with his back toward her.
"Hello, my name is Olivia," she greeted as she came into view, "and I'll be taking care of you this morning." The man looked up at her. He was older, maybe his early thirties. Blonde hair, neatly trimmed, not too short, and blue eyes that squinted as he smiled. "Nice to meet you, Olivia, I'm Spencer." His eyes roamed down her body, but quickly made their way back to her face before he smiled again, this time wider. She stopped herself from rolling her eyes at him.
She had come to realize that men her own age actually had more respect for her than older men did, but unfortunately older men were her usual customers.
She laid the menu down in front of him and, after getting his drink order, she suggested some of her "favorite" dishes. She recited the same list with every table, unless she had regulars who knew what they wanted. He flipped through the menu with leisure, taking his time as he scanned the many items. It annoyed her because as he did this he would occasionally steal a glance at her, but she was sure that he thought he was being slick about it.
"What did you say you enjoyed most?" His voice was soft and his expression was kind, making her forgive him for being slow to decide, but he still made her feel slightly uncomfortable. "The Caesar salad with grilled shrimp on top is really yummy, I like to eat it when I get off." Spencer smirked at that, but Olivia wasn't sure why. "Okay, I'll take that, but have the shrimp blackened, please."
Retrieving the menu, she headed back toward the computer she used earlier. Her phone buzzed again, but shorter this time. Text message. Making sure no one was looking, she pulled her phone out to glance at the name and her eyes widened. Nathan, the man from the club, had messaged her. The missed call also read his name. Her curiosity was piqued so she quickly made her way to the bathroom where she could use her phone without getting caught.
"Hello Olivia," the message read, "This is Nathan. You might not remember me because we met briefly. I tried to call you, but I assume you're busy. I was wondering if you had time for coffee later this afternoon."
Her cheeks quickly heated with a blush and she had to contain her excitement. It had been almost a week since she met him and had been very close to forgetting about him; she had already assumed he would forget about her. She wanted to reply immediately but she was afraid to come off as desperate. Instead, she put her phone back in her apron, and walked back to the computer to enter the food for the man outside.
While she waited for the food for her previous table to be ready, Olivia heard another clang from the bar followed by the sound of her friend cursing. She headed toward the noise to see Gaby kneeling behind the bar, picking up broken glass. "Twice in one day?" Olivia asked, leaning against the door with a grin. "Hey, Jessica broke the other one," Gaby pointed a finger at a red head flirting with a customer on the other side of the bar. Jessica gave Gaby the slightest shrug before returning to dazzle the customer before her with the sight of her cleavage as she leaned forward on the bar. Olivia was actually jealous because she knew Jessica always left with bigger tips. Unfortunately, she didn't have a body as curvaceous as Jessica's.
"Gaby, you know Jeff is going to kill you if you break anything else," Olivia peeked the around the corner back toward the kitchen to check if her tables' food was ready yet. "It's not my fault that our managers buy the cheapest quality glasses. Maybe if we had something sturdier...." Gaby threw away the remaining pieces of glass before wiping her hands on her shirt. "Or you could stop dropping things," Olivia yelled over her shoulder as she headed toward the food placed on the counter where servers normally wait. They had made both of her tables' food at once, so she had to be really quick to let nothing get cold.
Rushing the food outside, she used an empty table to set the trays down as she placed the first table's food down and checked on her customers. It was just an old couple that didn't need much looking after now that they had their food. As she brought the remaining food to the man, Spencer, he looked at her with that same smile.
"Thank you, sweetheart," he said, and placed a hand on her back as she set his food in front of him, making her flinch a little.
As politely as she could she removed herself from his reach. "Is there anything else I can get you?" She asked him, no longer wanting to be near him. She was technically supposed to let a manager know if a customer touched her, but honestly would have felt bad if she had gotten someone kicked out. She would have felt even worse if that "busted" customer wanted to yell at her for it, so unless she felt really violated, she let it go. Being touched didn't even happen often, anyway,.
***
After her shift ended,Olivia walked toward the small café in downtown Tampa feeling very anxious. She had responded to Nathan as soon as her tables were empty and they agreed on a time and place. Once she was out of work she drove home to change into casual jean shorts and a white chiffon blouse with a Peter Pan collar. On her feet she wore simple black ballet flats. She brushed out her hair until it sat, soft and shining, on her shoulder. She added a light pink balm to her lips.
She could see him waiting for her in front of the café and wondered if she was late, but a glance at her phone told her she was perfectly on time. He was leaning against the window with his hands in his pocket, reminding her of when she first saw him, but this time he was in a business suit with the tie loose and his jacket hanging on his arm. What did he do that needed a suit? His hair was also combed back into a professional style. When he noticed she was there he turned to grin at her. She blushed again and found herself staring at their feet once she got close.
"It's nice to see you in the light," he told her which made her look up at him, an eyebrow raised.
"Oh, I meant it's nice to see you more clearly.
You look lovely," He ran a hand through his hair, clearly nervous but less than her.
She smiled shyly at him which seemed to calm him. "It's nice to see you, too," She told him. Nathan opened the door to the café and stepped aside so that she could enter first, waving a hand inside. She walked in, but quickly turned to face him. She wasn't sure what to say. Just a week ago she had met this stranger and let him fondle her while they made out, but now in the light of day, she couldn't get herself to speak.
"What kind of coffee do you like?" He asked her as they stepped into the short line leading to the counter. "Oh, I like anything that's really sweet. Maybe a lot of chocolate," She looked toward the menu sitting on the wall behind the counter for a drink describing her taste.
"My younger brother enjoys his coffee the same way," Nathan told her, also looking at the menu.
"You have a younger brother?" She turned her head toward him, but kept her body forward.
"Yes, he just turned 18."
"Oh, very nice."
"You should thank him," Suddenly Nathan's voice was close to her ear, just as it had been that night. "W-why?"
