one night // andre burakovsky ✓

CHAPTER 29

Tom had booked a reservation for 4 at the Captain's Grill one Thursday night. The Thursday that Bella was working. He told Andre, Nate, and Jakub that it was to celebrate how well they had been playing lately. All agreed that it'd be a good idea.

They drove in two separate cars to keep things simple, Tom and Andre, and Jakub and Nate. Jakub and Nate were already waiting at the crowded restaurant, so Tom and Andre were quick. When they arrived, Nate said they were forced to wait, which might take hours. However, Tom assured them that he had it covered.

Tom squeezed through the crowd to the front of the line, where he recognized the same girl he talked to just days before. "Hey." he greeted her.

"Hello again." she chuckled. The name on her name tag read Maggie.

"I made a reservation for 4. Under Wilson." he tells her. Maggie reads through the list, nodding when she sees Tom's name.

"Sure, no problem." she says. "Your girlfriend's working today."

Tom pauses for a second, having forgotten that he called Bella his girlfriend. "Yeah." he nods. "I was wondering if there'd be a spot for my friends and I in her section?"

Maggie read through another list, this time on the computer. "She's in the back. I have a table for four, but it's technically reserved for somebody down the list..." she trails off, and Tom once again has to use his charm.

"But is this somebody throwing Bella a surprise party?... I really don't think so..." Tom says, and Maggie laughs.

"Okay, I'll get you guys seated there. Just give me a few minutes." she said, and Tom nodded gratefully. He waved over his friends, who squeezed through the crowd to get to the front.

"What was that about?" Andre asked.

"Nothing, I just got us a table." Tom said, and all three looked surprised.

"Wow," Nate chuckles, as when he'd tried before, he was denied.

"Follow me." Maggie reappears, gesturing to Tom. She brings the four to a table in the back which was more secluded from the rest of the crowded restaurant. Tom slid in the booth, followed by Andre, and Nate and Jakub sat across from them. A hockey game was playing on the screen above their table, the Penguins versus the Blue Jackets.

"Let me know if you need anything else." Maggie tells the table, and Tom nods as she disappears.

"Great spot." Jakub comments, looking up to watch the game.

"Yeah, nice going Wilson." Nate high fives him from across the table.

Bella was standing across the room, checking the staff computer. She was just assigned a new table, which she was about to go greet. She didn't look up at who was sitting there until she was finished talking.

"Hi guys, I'm Bella, I'll be your server for the night." she said, her sentence trailing off near the end as she saw who exactly she was serving. Both Andre's and her jaw dropped at the same time.

"Yikes." Jakub muttered, shooting a look at Tom.

"Um, can I, um, start you off with any drinks?" she asked, for some reason feeling nervous. Andre was sitting in the seat right in front of her, but she turned to look at Nate first.

"At least you're professional." Tom muttered under his breath, but Bella shot him a look.

"Yeah, I'll have some hard alcohol." Andre said, finally making eye contact with Bella. She nearly smiled, breaking their sight line immediately.

Nate chuckled. "We'll just all have a glass of beer." he told Bella. She nodded, gulping nervously as she walked off.

Andre turned to Tom, hopeless. "What the hell just happened?" he asked, eyes wide.