Coming Back to You ✔

7. June - Two Years Ago

"Well, well who is that you're texting?"

Sophia glared at May before slamming her locker door closed. "I have worked way too many twelve-hour shifts this weekend to deal with that right now," she shot back.

But May just shook her head. "That smile you had on your face right now was way too big given the amount of twelve-hour shifts you worked this weekend," she argued.

May was right, although Sophia hadn't noticed the smile on her face until her friend had mentioned it.

"Are you ever actually going to see him again?" May asked.

Sophia shrugged, her stomach twisting slightly. "I don't know," she said, trying to sound nonchalant. "We haven't had time, lately. We both have such busy schedules."

"Uh-huh."

"Which doesn't exactly bode well for anything other than a texting relationship," Sophia argued. "We'd never see each other."

"First off, look at you, admitting you might want something more," May teased. "And second of all," she hurriedly continued as Sophia's lips pursed in annoyance, "it's not like people's schedules can't change."

"I'll see you later, May," Sophia said pointedly. She swung her bag over her shoulder and stalked out of the changing room.

The Memorial Day holiday weekend had come and gone, and quite frankly, Sophia was exhausted. She had been mostly working the night shifts, so now as she headed out into the parking lot, it was just past seven in the morning.

Her stomach growled. "Alright, breakfast it is," she mumbled to herself.

More often than not, Sophia found herself unable to head home directly after her shift and crash. Her mind buzzed, especially now with the chaos of the holiday weekend, and her adrenalin ran higher than usual. There was nothing like fresh orange juice and pancakes to help calm her thoughts.

She was a regular at a small diner off of Santa Monica Boulevard, and even though it wasn't super close to the beach, the food made up for the lack of location. In fact, being farther away from tourists meant that there was always a table available, and Sophia could eat relatively undisturbed.

"Usual table?" the hostess asked when Sophia walked in.

Sophia gave her a tired smile but nodded. "That would be great."

The hostess, Ruby, as Sophia had learned after her many visits, led Sophia back through the diner to a small table in the back corner. "Pancakes?" she asked.

"Yes, please."

Sophia sank into her seat, the scent of bacon and coffee and the sound of sizzling grease already permeating her senses and coaxing her into sleep. She liked sitting in the back because it let her watch the people coming in and out, but today she sat with her head propped up on her hand, her eyes staring at the grooves and graffiti on the table. She was just so damn tired.

Her eyelids began to fall as she shoved pancakes into her mouth. The first couple of times she came here she had been concerned about getting home safely, but she came to realize that the sugar rush hit her just as she got back on the road, and she would crash about half an hour after reaching her apartment.

"So, it seems we both have a preference for back corner tables."

Sophia's eyes shot open and her heart rate and adrenalin spiked. Butterflies the size of blue whales teleported into her stomach as she looked up into Dean's tired, but smiling face.