THE PICTURE OF YOU -rafe cameron-

068; day three continuation

By five o'clock the restaurant at the island club had began to fill up, thus prompting the boss to move Myra from her comfort zone. She bitterly left the front desk to go and tie a apron around her waist, now taking up orders to write them down on a notepad and serving drinks in the dimly lit large room. Time had passed incredibly slow by the front desk, but it was as if every second had turned into an eternity in the restaurant. It was a given, Myra didn't enjoy this place. It was loud and crowded and filled with unpleasant kooks. The kids were loud and spoiled, the teenagers were obnoxious and the grown ups were snarky. Her cheeks would hurt from all the fake smiling she had to do and her head felt as if it might explode at any given second.

Her older brother had stopped by the front desk around three o'clock, Kiara by his side. JJ had been frantic, as he often was, but seemed relieved to see his sister alive and well sitting behind the front desk. JJ had questioned where she had been all night, with Kiara laying a comforting hand upon his shoulder to ease him a little. Myra had lied, which she is great at, and told him that she had spent the night at the island club. It was a simple lie, something that she had picked up from the man in the yellow vest that had stopped her and Rafe as the roads were closing down. The one that had called her Rafe's girlfriend. It had sent shivers down her spine, making her feel good, but it wasn't anything she ever planned on telling the kook boy. He didn't do girlfriends, she knew that well enough.

Myra sighed as she walked over to the bar, putting a large order of drinks in. The bartender that worked tonight was the very same one who always offered her a drink, despite her being grossly underage. He didn't care. "It's good to see you in here again Maybank" he teased as he tapped up a pint of beer. "Don't say that" she groaned, leaning her elbows on the edge of the bar, "I hate it in here". The bartender laughed as he placed the beer onto a tray, now tapping up another. "Ah come on, this place must be so much better than your boring front desk" he went on, placing the second pint of beer onto the black plastic tray. "I actually happen to like my boring front desk" Myra mumbled, glancing at the older boy. "Whatever you say" he chuckled, now beginning to mix a drink, "I like it in here, there's never a dull moment". Myra soon left with the tray and then spent another hour serving drinks and appetizers before she turned around to head back to the bar, slipping behind it to grab a glass of water. The bartender offered her some kind of drink, which she declined. The hot room and the loud chatter and clinking was already making her feel dizzy and nauseous, she definitely didn't need to add any alcohol on top of that. She turned her back to the restaurant, quickly tapping up some water in a tall glass. She lifted it to her lips to gulp down a few mouthfuls, minding her own business, as she heard a familiar voice speak. It was low and a little off, breaking through the noise in the room.

"Hey man, can I have a vodka soda with some lemon?"

Myra turned around so quickly that she almost spilled the water over herself. She stabilized herself, pressing the soles of her shoes down onto the sticky floor with force. "Rafe?" she asked, seeing the tall and handsome kook boy sitting at the bar. He seemed surprised to see her, his eyes wide. She hadn't been by the front desk as he returned the keys to the golf cart, but he had just assumed that she had finished her shift and left with her older brother. "Myra?" he called out, now staring at her. She gulped down some of her water before she set the glass down, dragging her feet over towards him. The bar desk separated them, but she was close enough to get a good look at him. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "Working" Myra answered quickly as she put the palms of her hands down onto the surface of the bar desk, leaning in closer, "what about you?". "Relaxing" Rafe spoke, blinking his blue eyes. They were significantly less blue than usual, Myra thought. Perhaps it was the dim light of the restaurant? Or perhaps something else. "I'm assuming your round of golf went well then?" she asked as the bartender placed a glass down in front of Rafe. "Well?" the tall kook boy asked with a cocky chuckle. Myra eyed him as he grabbed his drink, downing a mouthful of the clear liquid. "Hah, let's just say... Top and Kelce have nothing on me" Rafe then added. It made Myra raise her eyebrows slightly. "You won?" she asked, still a little confused. Rafe leaned forward, putting his drink down. "I won, yes" he clarified, seemingly very pleased with himself. "Congratulations" Myra hummed, leaning in a little further, "this is how you celebrate?". Rafe nodded once, his lips pushed together in a cocky way. He lifted his glass once more, saluting to the pouge girl before he took a sip. He held the drink in his hands as Myra inspected him. Something felt off about him. It wasn't anything new, just a little different compared to earlier. "Where's your friends?" Myra asked, gazing around, "sour losers?". Rafe laughed again, this time a little louder. He seemed so carefree, like her snarky comment had been the funniest thing he had heard all day. "Something like that" Rafe shrugged, taking a big gulp of his drink. Myra scrunched her nose up slightly, eyeing Rafe again. "Hey, slow down" she urged, reaching out to brush her fingertips along his wrist, "a celebratory drink is supposed to be enjoyed, right?". Rafe scoffed lowly, taking another big gulp as to provoke Myra. "Believe me, I'm enjoying this" he urged, eyeing her as he downed the last of his drink. Myra sighed, rolling her eyes as he dunked the glass down on the bar top with a thud. He was being quite reckless. "Hey" Rafe then called out to the bartender, catching his attention, "I'll have another one, a double"