The next day at work is much the same. Both Justin and Trey come in only earlier this time. Ethan comes in and I lead him back to the booth I gave him yesterday. Before he can sit though I let him know what's going on. "I don't know if you are going to want to stick around today. Apparently I am popular for being run ragged."
He chuckles, looking over my shoulder. "Trey giving you a hard time?"
"If it was just him I would be fine, but Justin keeps making me run around getting him everything under the sun. I swear if he thought I could get the sun then he would make me get it. I think they are both just trying to pick on me."
Ethan isn't buying it though. "I'll stay then at least you have an excuse for your breaks. We have a project or something. I'll come up with something. Give you a break."
"You are my best friend, you know that right?"
He laughs full heartedly. "Always friendzoned."
"I have too many suitors, how could you want to compete?" I joke. I know he has no interest in me.
"Yeah, well, let's try to get these two to back off." He winks at me and takes a seat. I bring him back a lemon lime soda and an order of fries. He smiles and places a few books on the table. "I got it, our senior project. We could say we are working on that. Make it extra complicated, then they will leave us alone."
"Thanks Ethan." He is the best friend a girl could have.
I start to step away from the table when I can see Justin waving me down. I grudgingly step over to his table. "What can I get for you?" I give my fakest smile ever.
"You can get me another server. I am finding you quite distracted by all your male friends." He emphasizes the last part. He sounds testy as hell.
"I'm sorry there are no other servers today. I can ask someone to temporarily assist you but they would not be able to give you the attention you require." Still a fake smile.
"Well, maybe then you should attend this table a bit more often." What the hell is his issue?
"What can I get for you?"
He waves me off. "I want fresh water."
I remove his glass from the table and retrieve a fresh one for him. Thankfully today is Sunday and I am working the morning shift which is usually slow. I set the water back on the table for him. He smirks at me. "I have a proposition for you."
"I'm sorry?" I'm confused again. Why would I listen to any proposition from him?
"I have a proposition. You spend your next break with me and I will not tell the manager that you were rude to a customer."
I hold my ground. "You are aware that my mother is the manager and owner right?"
His smirk doesn't waver. "You are aware then that your mother can't afford to lose business and I would make sure she could lose quite a bit."
I sigh. "What is it that you want?"
He dusts off his shirt, even though there is nothing there. "Meet me out back for your break. I just want to talk."
"This seems rather extreme to just get someone to talk to you." I want to be rude, but he is correct. My mom can't afford to lose out on business in a small town like this. So I sigh in defeat. "Alright. As long as you know I will kick your ass if you try to touch me."
"Temper, temper. I am sure you are going to listen to reason. Your break should be soon. Don't worry about the table. I will be back." He stands and leaves.
Justin is as much of a pain in the ass as Kelly is. I take a look around the diner and see the only two tables occupied are Trey's and Ethan's. I head to Trey's table. "Hey, I am getting ready to go on break, do you need anything before I do?"
He smiles at me. "Can you sit with me this time?"
"I have to run a quick errand, but if I have time, sure I'll sit with you for a minute, this is a quick break."
He looks disappointed but hopeful. "You aren't avoiding me are you?"
"No, I'm just busy when I am at work. You are my friend Trey, I would never avoid you." Ok, I'm half lying. I am avoiding him a bit, but only because he keeps trying to kiss me. I am not his girlfriend.
"I'll be waiting for you to come back." He winks at me.
Not even acknowledging that, I go to Ethan's table. "I have to step outside for a second, I'll be right back."
He nods and goes back to his books. He must have really come up with a senior project. I love how passionate he is about what he works on. That is why I decided to be his friend and I am glad I did. He is my best friend. He knows everything about me except that I am a wolf. It's funny that we got so close after just a week but it's easy with him.
I head to the back kitchen to let the other lady that is washing dishes know that I am taking a break and she needs to cover the front. She is scrolling through her phone. Really? Whatever it's not like it's super busy. "Katie. I am going on a break. Watch the front. The two tables out there are taken care of, you just need to watch for new customers. Oh, and there is a table with stuff on it, he just stepped out for a second and he is coming right back."
She nods and puts her phone away. I proceed to the back door. As soon as I step out I feel a pair of arms wrap around my body as the door shuts and a hand covers my mouth. "Now, be a good girl and listen."
I am scared, but not that scared. He surprised me, doesn't mean I can't fight back. I should have known though. That just talk crap. He planned to attack me. Right now I am calculating what is the best course of action. I stand still, letting him let his guard down.
"Good girl. I want you to go on a date with me."
I am trying to hold it together, but seriously this is how he asks out a girl? He has issues. I shake my head, because I can't talk with his hand over my mouth. "That is not the answer that is going to get you out of this. I have been very nice to you, threw in charm and yet, you still reject me. Why?" He lets go of my mouth a little.
"Did it ever occur to you that I might be interested in someone else?" I try to shake his hand the rest of the way off my face but he grips my chin.
"What? One of those douches inside?"
"No, his name is Gray." I feel his body stiffen beside mine. "Now will you let me go and take the rejection. It's not like there are no other girls that you couldn't harass."
His arm around my waist tightens and pulls my body closer to his. "One date. It isn't going to hurt anything. Gray doesn't even have to know about it."
"But I would know about it and it would be a betrayal in my eyes."
He chuckles behind me. "Then tell him. Maybe it will make the asshole make a move."
"I'm not going to tell him because there is not going to be a date. You can't just force a person to go on a date with you."
"I am not forcing you, just asking very aggressively. Besides if you say no then I will have to file a complaint. Maybe some business will be lost for your family. I would hate for that to happen." He lets go of my jaw, but brushes his fingers along my cheek.
I have had enough of his crap. I stomp on his foot and elbow him in the gut. I am done. He loosened his grip and I got free. "File a complaint and I will file one with the police department for sexual harassment." I pushed past him back into the restaurant. I don't hesitate to think about what I just did, I just march through the kitchen. I take a seat across from Ethan, more flustered than I should be.
Before I can utter a word Trey is right next to me. "What happened?" The concern etching his face is comforting.
"Just dealing with some unpleasantness."
Trey puts his arm over my shoulder. "You can tell me, maybe I can deal with it."
"I already dealt with it, but thanks." I turn my attention to Ethan. "So, senior project, let's hear your ideas."
Ethan lights up and starts talking about a literary comparison between today's authors and authors of the past. Basically we are going to try to contact authors to get interviews of their writing techniques and how they get in their zones. It sounds good. "So, who do you think we should try to get a hold of?" I ask as I look over his notes.
"Well, that is going to be hard. Some that I know that are a little easier to get a hold of are ones that are lower paid ones. But we really want to try to get a hold of the more popular ones. That is going to take some research and some work. Are you up for it?"
"Sure, it sounds fun. Are we allowed to work together on the senior project though?"
He shrugs. "There is no rule against it. We will work on the proposal today and submit it. As long as they approve it then we can get started."
"Well, alright, let's do this."
Trey chuckles. "You two are so funny. You get so excited over books."
I look at him and chuckle. "Oh, yeah, what is your senior project on?"
He looks away. "I kind of haven't thought of one yet."
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
I look over my shoulder and see Justin glaring at me. Go ahead and glare buddy, I am not going to date you.
I sigh. "I better get back to work. You want more fries?" I ask Ethan.
He nods his head, still engrossed in his notes. I look at Trey. "Do you need anything?"
He cups my cheek. "A kiss would be nice. You haven't let me kiss you in over twenty-four hours."
I take his hand and pull back a little. "I don't think we should do that anymore."
He looks at me puzzled. "Why? Did I do something wrong?"
"No, it's just. I don't think I am ready to date anyone and kissing is sort of a dating thing. So, I am saying let's stop doing that right now. I am just trying to get used to things around here. Can we take some time?"
He nods, he looks hurt, but understanding. "Alright. I can give you some time. Under one condition." He smiles at the last part. "Consider going to the dance with me."
I sigh. "I will consider it."
"That's all I ask." He smiles and lets me up from the booth.