Dream Phantom

Chapter Sixteen

He sat quietly in the corner of the diner, watching the customers enjoying their lunchtime meals. The clanging of forks hitting the plates, cups banging against the tables, and incessant chatter dulled the throbbing pounding in his head. He needed coffee.

"Hi there. I'm Dani and I'll be your waitress today. May I take your order?"

He looked up at the petite brunette who had her pen poised above a small notepad. She looked tired but a smile was plastered against her face.

"I'll take some coffee," he answered. "Black."

"Anything else?"

He shook his head, "Not yet."

Her eyes looked him over and at the sketch pad that was in front of him. Her eyes, which had looked weary moments before, now held a spark of interest. She pointed at them with her pen, "Did you draw these?"

They were sketches of customers that had just come in, the staff, and even the décor. He shrugged, "I like to doodle a bit when I'm bored."

"Those don't look like doodles," Dani said. "They're really well done. I wish I had half your talent."

"Do you draw as well?"

"Sometimes," she admitted.

"I actually opened up a new shop. It's called the Easy Easel. I teach a few classes if you're interested."

"Really?"

He pulled out a flyer from the messenger bag that he had propped up against the wall, "If you want, you can look it up online. It's fairly new. It's just me and my partner running it. We both love art and are fairly new to the area."

Dani took the flyer and nodded, "I'll do that. I've been meaning to take some sort of classes. I need to keep myself busy these days."

"We'd love to have you. Just stop on by whenever you have a chance," he smiled.

"I better get you that coffee. By the way, what's your name?"

"Omar. Omar Price."

~~~

"It's already late," Roberto whines. "All the lunchtime specials are probably over."

"I told you we should've met earlier," Jax reminded him. "It was you who wanted to get all dolled up as if we're going on some date together."

"You're buying me a meal. Isn't that a date?" Roberto joked. "Just for that, I'm not putting out."

"I hope not."

It was almost six when they entered King's Diner. Delores spotted them and waved them to a table. She grinned at Roberto, "If you aren't a sight for sore eyes, I don't know what is."

"I'm a sight for all eyes," Roberto quipped.

"I heard you were on some sort of mid-life crisis," Delores crossed her arms. "You're too old for that."

"It wasn't that," Roberto denied.

"Well whatever it was, I hope you're back now. You don't know how much Jax missed you."

Roberto rolled his eyes and Jax chuckled, "Just stop it, Delores. It won't do you any good. He's convinced I like my new partner better."

"Impossible," Delores huffed. "I don't like her by the way. She stares at you as if she wants to eat you up."

"Are you sure you're not mistaking her with yourself?" Roberto asked the older waitress.

"I can look because I know better than to touch. Dani would never forgive me if I stole her husband."