elusive | h.s

chapter 3

Harry

"Behind! Fuck, watch where you're going!"

I was feeling irritable today and I was taking it out on my coworkers, shamelessly. I was a chef at a fine dining restaurant, 'The Hive.' I didn't own the place or anything, but I was a damn good chef, and the owners even let me add some of my own ideas onto the menu.

I loved being a chef, I was good at it too. Cooking had always been something I enjoyed, so getting paid for it was like a dream come true. I hated working in a kitchen, though. I couldn't stand half of the people back here. They were all kids right out of high school, here just for the money. Which is fine, until they do whatever they want, whenever they want, and fuck up my shit. Sure, the money was great, but that's not why I was here.

I had worked at other restaurants before, but none as nice as 'The Hive.' The menu was mostly pasta and seafood entrees, with some others here and there. I heard the waiters make crazy good tips, but still not as much as I make. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Needing a break from the shit in the kitchen, I took this time to go out to the bar and visit Aaron. He was the main bartender here, and we've grown quite close over the last few years. He was definitely my best mate.

"Fuck, I think I need a drink tonight." My shift was almost over, as was Aaron's. We often would hangout after work, usually finding a bar to spend some time at.

"Yeah, man, I hear you. My shit got rocked tonight. And of course I had no help. Not that I need it, but still. Would've been nice." Aaron was a good bartender. The ladies loved him, as he was easy on the eyes. Charming, too. Everyone here loved him, it was hard not to.

"What are you thinking, then? Mike's?" Mike's was a bar not too far away from The Hive. It was probably our favorite, especially with it being so close.

"Sounds good, I'm almost done cleaning the bar, I'll wait for you, just come out here when you're done in the kitchen."

I took that as my cue to go back and finish cleaning my station, so we could head out for the rest of the night.

Twenty minutes later and we were walking to Mike's. I only lived about two blocks down from the restaurant I worked at, which means about three blocks from Mike's. I loved living in Philly, everything was walking distance, didn't even need a car. Though, I still had one. Just didn't get much use out of her.

"I forgot to tell you, mystery girl has a boyfriend." I told Aaron as we still had a block to go. He knew all about Olive, except that she was called Olive.

"And her name is Olive." I added. I told him about her, once I realized that I'd be seeing her often at the cafe. He said I was stupid for not asking her out. Guess I'm not stupid, after all.

"Damn. I was rooting for you two."

"Fuck off." I laughed, knowing he was being a bit dramatic. There was nothing to root for, we were strangers and she had a boyfriend.

"Does that mean you talked to her, though? That's good, right? Maybe you can be friends and then she'll leave her boyfriend for you."

"Doubt it. But yeah. Or I guess she talked to me, actually. She had nowhere else to sit, all the tables were occupied." I don't think I would have approached her, to be honest. Not if she didn't make the first move.

"You know who you could call though." Aaron replied, playfully hitting my shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." He was talking about Lottie. Lottie was a girl that I'd hang out with sometimes when we were both horny. It wasn't anything romantic but she was a good fuck. Aaron seems to think that she wants more, but I really don't think she does. She knows what our relationship is and she's fine with it.