Rev (Fast Lane #1)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Journey

Odette came out of the kitchen with a scowl on her face. She wrung her hands out on the apron that covered up the shorts she had on and I watched a bead of sweat trickle down her temple. I was perched up against the dessert case, leaning on my elbows when she let out a frustrated huff of air.

"Ugh, he drives me insane! One of these days I'm going to take Bentley's bat and beat the living hell out of him." I didn't have to ask to know that the "him" she was referring to was Bentley's brother. I'd only been around him for about five minutes and he already made me want to smack him in the head with a frying pan. He was the type of guy who thought he could charm anyone with his good looks alone. He thought he was better than most people and it pissed me off to no end. I knew all of those types of people because I'd grown up around the posh and entitled, and Wilder Peyton reeked of it all.

"Is he always that cocky or was today just one of those days?" I asked her, genuinely curious.

"Every time he comes in here he makes suggestive comments at me or is just flat out rude. It's been that way ever since I started working here and I don't know why, but I really don't care. Two can play at that game and I don't play fair." Dex's voice rang out from the back, calling us to come pick up more food. I really hoped he took his time with the sexy trio's order because I needed a moment to regain control of my quick breathing and rapid heartbeat.

Standing there and having so many pairs of eyes on me was intimidating, especially if they were Tristan Hayes' eyes. They were a rich, warm brown color that made me want to melt into the floor. When I'd been sneaking glances at him I hadn't expected him to glance back, but he had. He'd held my gaze for what felt like an endless amount of minutes, but had only been a few seconds. The way his full lips had curled up into a challenging smile had had my blood flowing warmer and faster to different places in my body. It had to be a crime for a man to be that hot.

"They look awful dirty. What do they do?" I asked Odette as we set a plate full of greasy burgers and fries down in front of a family of four sitting in a booth. The little girl in the highchair gave me a toothless grin and clapped her hands as I peered down, giving her a soft smile. She giggled and I made a mental note to buy her treat before they left because she was too cute.

"They're mechanics. They work down at Bentley's uncle's repair shop. If there was one thing those boys loved more than women, it would be cars. I may not be too fond of them, but I won't deny that they have some pretty rides."

"Why do they come here in the middle of the night looking for refuge?"

"Because they're idiots who have a death wish or a desire to be locked up behind bars for a certain amount of years." This time it was my pretty employer who answered my question. She glanced up at the table and shook her head before letting out a painful sigh. I exchanged looks with Odette who just put her hands on her hips and cocked them to the side.

"Wilder, Chase, and Tristan are only about three things in life: cars, women, and street racing. Bentley's café is their hideout when the cops get called." That made sense. They worked in a car shop and street raced.

"I keep telling them that one day they're either going to get caught and be arrested, or I'm going to have to identify their bodies in the morgue, but do they listen?" Bentley snorted. "Hell no."

"Odette! Journey! Your to-go orders are ready!" Odette pushed through the swinging door of the kitchen and I quickly followed after Dex called us back. We grabbed the plastic containers full of food and brought them out to the front to bag up. Odette took a permanent marker and wrote the guys' names down on the paper sacks. I laughed quietly to myself as I watched her write "asshole" in all caps on what I was guessing was Wilder's order. Bentley beckoned the three men over and I peered up from my lowered lashes at the group that walked gracefully to the register. My breath caught in my throat when Tristan's eyes locked on mine for what felt like the dozenth time today.

"I wrote your names on them, but I'm not quite sure why I wrote on Wilder's. It's not like he can read it any way." Chase and Tristan snickered at Odette's amusing jab at the pretty blonde male that mouthed "fuck you" at her to keep the other guests from hearing his foul mouth.

"Never gonna happen, blondie." Odette gave him a tight, sarcastic smile and sauntered off to check on her other customers.

"Thanks for the grub and enjoy your day, gorgeous." Chase winked at Bentley and she gave him a kind smile.

"Your welcome, hon." He handed over a fifty dollar bill for his ten dollar meal and motioned for Bentley to keep the change and divide it amongst the three of us. He turned to me and winked again before moving aside for Wilder to pay his sister.

"I'm coming back by after work. I need to talk to you about something." His tone was serious and low as he dug out his debit card and handed over three ten dollar bills to stick in the tip jar in front of the register. Bentley nodded and then reached across the counter to give him a quick hug. Finally, it was Tristan's turn. He paid for his meal in exact change, but slid over forty dollars.

"That's for all three of you. I know it's less than I normally would give, but I'll make it up to you, I promise, B." She waved him off and just told him to keep an eye on her brother. He laughed and I gasped as I let the warm silkiness of it engulf me. He really was too pretty for his own good and it was bad that it was affecting me in this way. I wanted to kick myself for reacting to it at all.

"See you around, Green." His eyes lingered on me as he walked away with the other two. He finally looked away when he got midway to the door. The table full of teenage girls that I'd served earlier giggled as all three boys shot them some smiles, a wink, and a deep "ladies" before the bell above the door frame dinged with their exit. Bentley put Tristan's cash in the register and then wrote herself a small note reminding herself to divide up Tristan's and Chase's money before we left.

"Do they always tip that much?" I asked incredulously. I knew that Bentley had to see them often because they seemed to hang out in a pack and one of them was her brother, but that was quite a bit of money we'd just made. I'd probably just been tipped around thirty-five or thirty-six dollars and that was more than I made in a day. Bentley paid us a manageable and generous amount, but anyone who has ever waited tables knew that most of our money came from tips. Thirty dollars was like a thousand to us.

"Yeah, sometimes more. It just depends how much they've made working at the shop that day. Judging by what they just gave us, it's a slow day at Clay's."

"Odette said that they worked for your uncle." She nodded and then went back to helping customers, pausing every few minutes to keep our conversation up.

"Yep. My Uncle Clay is a good man. I love him and so do those boys. If it wasn't for him I don't know where they'd be. Well, Wilder may be okay, but probably not." Her tone grew sad when she said that. I didn't know about Bentley's childhood or her past, but I knew the look of pain when I saw it. I'd lived with it for most of my life. Leaving on that note, I made my rounds and kept serving customers until closing. By the end of the day, my feet were killing me and my thoughts were being haunted by a pair of brown eyes.