charisma

i told you, the food here sucks!

Lo and fucking behold, there they were. Stunned and dazed, I made my way over, pretending I wasn't shocked or caught off guard by this at all. Oh no. Not me. I was great, goddammit! I distracted myself as I went by refilling glasses, stalled by taking orders. Why was I so scared to go talk to them? Everyone had been so nice last night. Taking a deep breath, I strode over, damn near brandishing my now-empty coffee pot at them. All four had dark, shaggy hair and dark brown eyes. I recognized Gene and Peter- they'd both had their makeup off when I'd met them. As for the two other men-- "(_____)!!" came Ace Frehley's voice. Without makeup, he had very soft features, but the same straight black-brown hair and cheery, smiley demeanor. Which meant the curly haired man with a smattering of stubble and pronounced cheekbones was Paul. I looked to Gene, pleading an explanation. He smirked. What an absolute shocker, I thought. Wait... Ha. Wrong member.  "Morning, sunshine." My face burned. 

I'm too tired for flirting, I thought. Okay. Okay. OKAY. Be professional. You're at work, I told myself. "O-okay," I stuttered. "Anything... catch your eye on the menu?" It'll be your funeral, I added in my head. "Thanks, dear, but we already ate," Paul said with a smile. THEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!! I yelled in my head. Still, I kept calm. I leaned in to whisper, so the other tables wouldn't hear me. The I thought that maybe Gene had told them what I'd said about the food. That right there is a good friend. I thought to myself. The food really was horrible. It tasted like plastic with a side of preservatives and pesticide sauce. "Honestly, that was smart of you guys. The food here isn't great." I leaned in to whisper that last bit, but sprang back, as Liddy appeared out of nowhere. "(_____), you're taking care of these gentleman?" she said with a devilish grin. Curiosity had killed the cat. Her eyes darted over to Gene and then back to me. "That one?" They asked, silently. I noticed Ace sitting up a little straighter, gazing curiously at my friend. "Yep, thanks, Liddy!" I said, winking back. "So..." I said, as Liddy walked off, "Just staying for a cup of coffee, then?" They glanced at one another and nodded. "I'll be back in a pinch," I smiled, holding up the empty pot. In less than a minute, I was back with more coffee and four mugs. 

I circled the table setting a cup down in front of each man. When I got to Gene, he looked up at me a fire dancing in his eyes. "I have nice hair, huh?" he drawled. I froze. Oh my God, Liddy, that little-- I was going to kill her. "Yeah, one of the other girls came over to seat us. Said she knew you," Ace said. "Mhm..." I mumbled, praying Liddy hadn't revealed too much. "What... um, what did she tell you?" "Well, Gene was asking for you so she asked if he was 'that stranger from last night' you told her about, and then she said he had to be because you said he had pretty hair." "Oh God..." I whispered, wishing I wasn't holding a pot of coffee so I could cover my face. "Hey, you know, you aren't wrong," Paul said kindly. I smiled a bit at this. "(______), you wouldn't mind sending your friend back over here? She's a riot," Ace laughed. "I'll see what I can do," I deadpanned.

I flitted around the restaurant, waiting on tables and glancing back every so often at the band. Every time my eyes wandered over, Gene's were staring right back at me. And every time, he made sure to make eye contact. Soon, I was back at table 5, pouring Peter more coffee. He put a hand on my arm and whispered, "Did he behave on that drive?" I glanced up to see Gene glowering across the table. I couldn't blame him. If this weren't work, I'd probably have let out a string of words that'd make a sailor blush. "Yes," I snapped at the Catman. "And he was lovely to talk to. Don't set the bar so low." He whistled, softly, amused. "Excuse him," Paul said, shooting him a look. "He's hungover." He snapped his gaze back to me, grinning encouragingly. Paul was a pretty nice, smiley guy. He'd smiled a lot last night, too. Across the table, Peter was unfazed. "He must really like you then," he said with a wink. Gene's ears had turned pink and he was looking away. I excused myself after that, not ready to deal with this when I still had a full day of work ahead of me.