My life wasn't a fairy tale. When I turned fourteen, my grandma died, and things became tough. Vincent and I were sent to an orphanage home. When Vincent came of age, he had to leave the orphanage, with a promise that he would come back for me. True to his word, he returned after two years.
When I turned eighteen, Vincent left to join the force. I had to fend for myself, working two shifts just to make ends meet.
Now that I'm twenty-two and on the verge of completing my business degree, to add to the mix, my brother is halfway across the country, doing God knows what. I can barely recall the last time I saw him.
Luckily for me, the day wasn't as bad as my life. It had gone better than I had imagined. Working as a waitress wasn't an easy job; there are times you get yelled at by shitty customers for absolutely nothing. They just want to exercise their power over you, wanting you to feel intimidated, like you amount to nothing.
Kat's shift ended two hours ago. She had to go visit her sick mother at the hospital. I should be with her, but I couldn't, since I was stuck with Miss Two-Face's bitch shift.
I sighed, my gaze fixed on the large clock hanging on the wall near the window. My eyes followed the seconds hand, wishing I had the power to make time go faster. It was 6pm—only two hours left until we closed for the day—but it felt like an eternity. Don't get me wrong, I love working here, but I couldn't wait to get out of this damn uniform.
The door pulled open, and a man stepped in. He stood at about 6′1, muscular, with sandy brown hair and olive skin—undeniably attractive. Dressed in a white T-shirt and a brown suit that matched his suit pants, along with brown leather pointed shoes, he exuded effortless style. He paused for a moment, his right hand tucked into his front pocket, scanning the room for an empty table.
He stepped towards the empty table by the window side and sat down, gazing out the window to take in the view of the beautiful sunset.
I think he felt the intensity of my gaze burning a hole in his back, because he suddenly glanced back and caught me staring. Then, he flashed me a smile. A million-dollar smile.
I quickly looked away, grabbing a wipe to clean out the empty table.
"Val, could you handle the gentleman's order? I need to take a quick bathroom break," Melissa requested.
Seriously? First, my ruined uniform, then Eleanor giving me an extra shift, and now I have to take the order of a man who caught me gawking at him. Ugh! I must have really committed a grave sin today.
"Sure," I replied, dropping the wipe on the table and dusting my hands on my skirt. I then grabbed a pen and notepad before making my way over to his table.
I approached the gentleman, noticing how he had his right elbow on the table, holding the menu in his right hand, his bottom lip between his teeth, and his right foot perched over his left. With a discreet glance, I focused on his left hand, searching for a wedding band to indicate his marital status.
I let out a sigh of relief as I noticed he didn't have a wedding band on, although he did have several fashionable rings adorning his fingers.
"Hi! Welcome to George's Café, what can I get for you?" I greeted with a smile.
He takes his eyes off the menu and looks up at me, releasing his bottom lip which glistens from being between his teeth earlier. He leans back in his chair.
Tilting my head slightly, peering down at him, I examined his eyes closely. His eyes were blue, ice blue, like the color of the sky after a rainy day.
His eyes swept over me, cataloging every aspect of my appearance ''I checked the menu twice, and you weren't there. Mind if I order you anyway? " His question came out in a raspy voice, thick with an accent.
My guess is either Italian or Mexican
"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not on the menu. However, I'm here to assist you with whatever you need. What can I help you with?" I replied with a chuckle, my tone light but tinged with a hint of caution.
"What if I have a specific craving that's not catered to on the menu?" He smirked.
With a sultry smile curving my lips, I braced my hand on his chair and leaned forward, meeting his gaze as I ran my tongue over my bottom lip. "If it's not listed on the menu, it's not up for grabs " I said in a husky voice.
"Well, aren't you a tease?" He chuckled. "No harm in trying, right?" He winked. " Coffee, black."
I smiled, turned on my heels to grab a cup of coffee, as my thoughts drifted to why anyone would need coffee by this time.
I returned back to the table with his cup of coffee.
He wasn't putting on his suit anymore, his shirt's sleeves were folded, revealing his tat. He had a tattoo that crept up his wrist and ran under the sleeve of his shirt.
"Curious to have a look?" He smirked.
I tore my gaze from his arm and met his eyes. I was completely oblivious to the fact that he had been quietly watching me while I admired his tattoo.
" What?" I blinked.
" In case you missed it, I'm offering to reveal it," he smirked, provocatively twirling his fingers around his shirt button. "Just say the word," he said, undoing the first two buttons, exposing a hint of his toned chest, his fingers provocatively lingering on the third button.
"You know you want to, tell him to remove it," a voice egged on.
My head jerks around, scanning the area, searching for the source of the voice. It came from a young lady, about the age of 17, redhead, she has a two piece dress on, sitting by the corner, two table away from us.
"I'm practically itching to tear it off," she whispers, her voice dripping with seduction, with a mischievous wink, she slides her middle finger into her mouth, savoring the sensation as she sucks on it slowly, her gaze locked on him with an undeniable allure.
Despite the inner voice urging me to scream "yes" and shamelessly ogle his toned abs, I declined, fully aware that if Eleanor caught wind of it, my job would be as good as gone, and that's the last thing I need right now.
Especially now, as I navigate my third year in university, scrimping and saving every dime to ensure I graduate with a degree in business administration.
Securing this job wasn't a walk in the park.
Instead, I plastered on a smile and asked, "Is there anything else you'd like me to get for you?"
"Your loss, principessa,"( princess) he winked, his eyes gliding over her body. "Unless you're now on the menu, then it's nothing for now."
"Enjoy your coffee," I replied with a polite smile, then turned around and made my way back to the counter.
I couldn't help but steal a glance at him once or twice while I was busy attending to other customers who stepped in. I observed him intently as he fervently tapped away on his phone, his jaw clenched and brow furrowed in concentration as he absorbed the contents of the screen.
This wasn't like me. I wasn't the type to secretly admire a guy, to the point of watching him sip his coffee and desperately wishing I could be that coffee.
I can't recall the last time I found a guy attractive, and believe me, I'm surrounded by them. Kat and Mel are always trying to set me up with their boyfriend's friends, but none of them pique my interest.
I've only just gotten out of a toxic relationship, and I have no intention of jumping into another one anytime soon.
Melissa's whispered words caught me off guard. "If you're going to talk to him, then just go for it. Stop eyeing him like you're undressing him from across the room," she said, her tone both direct and teasing.
"Shit, girl," I yelped, my hand instinctively going to my chest as I tried to calm my racing heart. "You startled me. When did you get here?"
"Like five minutes ago," she shrugged casually. "You would've noticed if you weren't busy checking out that hunk over there with your eyes," she added, giving me a playful wink.
"Uh, what? I wasn't doing that," I stammered, feeling my cheeks flush with embarrassment.
"Of course not, you were just looking at him like you want a piece of him," she teased, rolling her eyes. She then casually picked up a grape from the tray and popped it into her mouth.
"Melissa, I don't know what you're talking about," I said defensively, crossing my arms underneath my cleavage.
"Uh-huh, sure, I totally believe you,"she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Melissa."
"Melissa," she mimicked, flashing a sly grin. "Got to go." With that, she strode over to the door. "And try not to rip off his shirt," she winked teasingly before sauntering out.
"Whatever," I chuckled, turning around to check out the guy, but to my surprise, he wasn't there anymore.
Wait a minute. When did he leave? I didn't even get his name.