𝐌𝐘 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐘 𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍 | 𝖩𝗈𝖻𝖾 𝖡𝖾𝗅𝗅𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗁𝖺𝗆

⁰⁷. 𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗉𝖺𝗇𝗒

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 𝖠𝖫𝖤𝖷 𝖵𝖠𝖫𝖤

I STARED AT my phone, my heart pounding in my chest. I couldn't believe what I was seeing—or actually, I could. Jobe had replied to my text.

I was standing in the back of the restaurant, leaning against the counter, trying to process it. I had spent two days working up the courage to send that message, convinced he'd either forgotten about me or decided it wasn't worth it. But here it was—his reply.

I glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then unlocked my phone again to reread the message. It wasn't even anything grand, but the fact that he had responded made my stomach flip.

"Of course😜"

"How's work?"

A small smile crept onto my face, but I quickly tried to suppress it. Layla would never let me hear the end of it if she caught me grinning like an idiot.

"Alex! Table five needs a refill!" Ethan's voice cut through my thoughts, jolting me back to reality.

"Got it!" I called back, shoving my phone into my apron pocket. I'd have to reply later—when I wasn't at risk of spilling someone's soda while daydreaming about him.

I pulled out my iPad, the grin still tugging at my lips. I probably looked weird, standing there smiling to myself like an idiot, but I didn't care.

For once, something exciting was happening outside of my usual routine. The weight of the tray in my hand and the chatter of the restaurant faded into the background as I thought about his text again.

I tapped at the screen, pretending to check orders, but really, I was replaying how casually confident his message sounded. It wasn't over the top, just enough to make my stomach flutter.

"Alex, what are you doing?" Ethan's voice snapped me back to the moment. He stood at the doorway, a smirk plastered on his face.

"Nothing," I replied quickly, clutching the iPad like it was my lifeline.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. You're standing there looking like you just won the lottery."

I rolled my eyes and brushed past him. "I don't have time for your nonsense today."

But as I walked back toward the dining area, the smile crept back onto my face.

"Alex!" I heard my name being called.

I turned around to see Eli, one of the younger workers about my age. "Hi, Eli—sorry, can't talk. Table five needs a refill," I said quickly, trying to keep my focus.

"Uh..." He hesitated, looking nervous. "You were about to go to table five with the water," he pointed out, holding the glass in his hand.

My eyes widened in realization. That would've been embarrassing. "Oh my goodness... thanks, Eli," I said, taking the water from his hands. Our hands brushed slightly as I grabbed it, and for a brief second, I thought I saw him hesitate.