Ocean State of Mind

Meeting Ricky

I groaned as I felt the early morning sun shine through the windows and heard the birds chirping. I turned over in my bed, taking a glance at my alarm before I shut my eyes again. That was until I realized it was already 7am. Shit.

I got up quickly and got dressed, running into the kitchen, "hey babe!" Ej said. "Oh, hey!" I said giving him a quick kiss. "I have to go to work, I'm already late!" I said putting my shoes on. "Sounds good. I'm gonna stop by at noon since that's during my lunch break. I have a surprise for you!" He said. "Alright, see you later!" I said and with that I ran out and drove as quickly as I could down to the cafe. I parked my car and ran into the cafe. I saw it was empty besides a few other employees. I went over to Lynne while pulling my hair into a ponytail. "I am so sorry I'm late! I was up really late unpacking since I was by myself, but I promise it won't happen ever again!" I exclaimed.

Lynne just laughed and placed her hands on my shoulders, "Nina, sweetheart, breathe! It's fine! Now, go grab a notepad and begin to take some orders. It's gonna get busy, but just tell me if you need a break" Lynne said with a smile before she walked into the kitchen. I grabbed one and walked over to an older gentleman that I had seen walk in and seat himself only minutes before. As the day dragged on, I kept going back and forth from customers to the kitchen yelling out orders.

The cafe has been bustling for a while due to the morning breakfast rush, and I was quickly becoming exhausted. I almost dropped a tray on the way back from the kitchen, but luckily another staff member... I think her name is Lily, caught it. "Oh my god, I'm sorry! You're a lifesaver!" I said, smiling towards the girl. She chuckled and nodded at me. "Is this your first day, Nina?" Lily asked me. "How do you know my name?" I asked as I set the tray down on the counter. "The same way everyone figures out your name" she told me, pointing at my name tag. I laughed nervously, "Right... I totally knew that! I was just making sure that you were paying attention" I said before adding, "also, everyone calls me Nini."

Lily laughed and said "so have you checked out any of those surfers yet? Man, would I like a piece of them." She said looking out the window as we waited for our food. I laughed and raised an eyebrow at the blonde girl, but she just looked at me as she shrugged her shoulders. "What? You can't deny that surfers are attractive." She said.

"I have a boyfriend so I try to limit my looking." I told her, truthfully. She smirked. "You still can't deny that they're not naturally attractive. Anyways, where is he from?" She asked me.

"He's from Salt Lake like me, but we moved here because of his new job. I won't lie... I feel like I'm a little out of my element." I said, sighing. "Are the boys in Salt Lake attractive? I mean, you probably get a lot of snowboarders and skiers."

That question almost made me spit out my water.

"Uh, I guess? Like I said, though, I don't really pay anyone else that kind of attention. If I'm being honest, though, I think you'd find more of the hikers attractive." I said after I cleared my throat. She bummed in response and looked back out towards the water. "If the guys in Utah are good looking, then I think your mind will be blown as soon as you officially get an up close visual of the surfers from California." Lily said smiling at me before she walked away.

I looked back over at the waves crashing on the shore from the ocean before I heard the bell ding, signaling my order was up. I continued with running around giving customers their food and carrying large trays above my head. When noon came, I went into the bathroom and changed into a pair of white shorts along with a pink tank top and put my hair in a bun. I walked out and saw Gina putting her belongings under the counter.

"Gina, hey!" I waved, walking up to her. "Hey, girl! I met your boyfriend!" She said. "Wait what?" I asked before Gina pointed across the street where Ej was waiting with some sandwiches.