Once Mine

T H R E E: Snaking Tattoos

It has been a week since Lexi came home and we only hung out twice. The Cafe has been busier than ever with teenagers coming in constantly.

I tied my apron and put on my Converse and headed for the door.

"Hey, Katie?" Liam called from the living room, still in his PJ shorts.

"What's up?" I grabbed my purse and leaned against the door frame.

"Adam's hosting his annual bonfire party thing on the beach to kick off summer and everyone's gonna be there. Will I see you there?"

I studied the doormat and thought of last year's bonfire. I could never forget it. Liam got so drunk after the party, he almost kissed me when we got home. I could remember everything, He started leaning in when I accidentally laid on the car horn and it woke him up. That night kept me up for almost 3 weeks until I gave up and decided to forget it.

"Yeah, I'll drive over after my shift," I grabbed my keys and entered the hot sun of California.

I drove slowly due to the busy streets and hundreds of stands along the roads. At a red-light, I quickly reached into my purse and pulled out my lipstick. I looked at my reflection in the flip-down mirror and slapped on an enthusiastic and confident face as I swiped a cherry red onto my lips.

Once I reached the Cafe there was already a line of energetic teens waiting in a line that stretched over to the next two stores. This actually isn't as bad as most weekends.

I pushed through the employee door and hung my jacket.

"Katie! Snap, snap, Thursday rush has already started!" Marc juggled three trays and menus in his arms.

I sighed and pulled my hair up. Quickly dodging the busy waiters I sneaked into a storage room and closed it behind me. I rummaged through a couple of shelves and found a can of beer in the back corner of a shelf.

Thank god. I drowned down half of the beer I stored yesterday, knowing it would be a hectic day.

I snuck out the room and headed for the hostess area.

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About an hour had past and I seated and answered the phone about ninety times.

"Katie? We need you to start covering for Jane, can you order that one table of four? I also need you to sneak me a damn beer after this, I'm about done," Marc asks desperately while holding six checks.

I nodded and headed over to the table. Midway, I saw four teenage boys about my age shooting straw wrappers at each other.

I cursed under my breath and plastered a fake smile on my tired face.

"Hey gu-" I almost gasped when I saw a pair of green colored eyes smirk at me. He had that kind of face that stops you in your tracks, I guess he's used to that. He had a strong jaw and a mysterious gaze. His dimples made my heart almost stop.

"What's up?" the group became silent when he smirked at me. I realized I was staring at him for a little too long and cleared my throat.

"Hey, I, um, I'm Katie, your waitress," I could feel the blood rushing up to my face.

He ran his fingers through his perfectly messy brown hair and looked at the menu.

"I'll just take a BLT sub and a basket of fries," he sets down his menu.

"Okay, thank you," I reached over to get his menu and I felt his eyes on me.

"The rest of us will just each take two baskets of fries please," another guy spoke and collected the menus from them.