33 Forks Lesbian Story

Me or Her?

Chapter 2: Me or Her 8:00PM

Jordan looked out over the restaurant, and the waves of emotion and intent were almost mind-numbing. Jordan's eyes watered and her body tensed at the onslaught of emotional energy. Normally, she was in her comfort zone, in the heart of the kitchen, letting the food draw her complete focus and attention. This felt alien and dangerous and scary. Her heart tripped with anxiety as she considered the onslaught she would endure that night.

An hour into service she discovered that, despite her personal discomfort, she was glad she was helping Sergio. They were very busy and working at capacity. Chef Ray's team meeting seemed to have intensified Sergio's anxiety. A capable expediter and "front of the house man," he was on edge enough that anyone who knew him could see he was nervous, let alone someone who could taste his emotions.

Jordan was working closely with him and tasted in him not just stress and tension, but Sergio was unusually preoccupied by what tasted like sorrow. A deep and personal sorrow, it tasted heavy and dull. At one point, Sergio was so distracted Jordan looked over and saw him staring into space with his hand on a hot plate, seemingly unaware of what he was in the middle of expediting.

"Sergio!" Jordan addressed him discreetly, but in a sharp tone. "Pull it together. Let me help you, what's going on?"

The flustered man stumbled over his words. "I'm ... sorry ... it's good ... I got it now!" He turned away from Jordan to reassess and gain composure. Again intense waves of flavor passed over Jordan's "pallette." She rocked on her heels slightly, confusion, sorrow, panic all taking emotional space from her. Her body jolted with a shot of physical pain. Jordan's eyes rolled slightly, she brow furrowed. She didn't understand what she tasted in the man, she didn't understand the intensity.

"Sergio, we have a little lull. It would really help me out if you would go take a quick five minutes and touch base with the bar. I wasn't able to step away earlier and they have some newer servers in that station." Jordan added with a quick smile, "Please?"

Sergio looked at Jordan, and she was certain he didn't take the request at face value. Sergio was a hard worker whose energy shouted "pride" and "stubbornness." Most people knew this because they were not things he tried to hide, but Jordan saw it in a depth and manner that no one else did. Sergio hesitated only a moment. "Okay, but just to make sure we're all on the same page. I'll cover for you." The tastes of relief, gratitude, embarrassment flooded the space.

As he walked away on his newfound mission, Jordan returned her attention to the diners. "Reaching out," she dipped her head to see through to the diners and braced herself for the onslaught of emotional tastes and waves of energy. She was not surprised by the initial findings. Immediately, Jordan tasted: lust, apathy, excitement, love, loneliness, regret, anxiety, anger, and resentment. All the flavors rolled over her in varying intensities for varying lengths of time. These were the strongest of emotional reads. Others were there too, but they were more subtle and harder to identify in the deluge of emotion.

Jordan took a deep breath and tried to concentrate. She began to open herself up to her capacity and to taste the waves and nature of the emotions as they emanated from tables with groups and couples alike. If she were to focus, she could probably break down a table in a matter of moments.

As Jordan scanned the restaurant, she tasted a few emotions presenting together. Their pairing drew Jordan's attention. Excitement, maybe exhilaration, it tasted like fun. Like something sweet and tangy, fresh. Anticipation, joy, and guilt. It tasted like a surprise. Like breaking through the top of a rich, decadent creme brulee, and Jordan knew that wasn't on the menu for the evening.

She focused on the area, peering into the space, opening up. Jordan paused for a moment because the distance and crowd made tasting the emotions a little more challenging. The tastes of the emotions from the area on the whole had a lighter, clean flavor. The emotions weren't especially strong, but they were uniquely genuine and uncluttered.