County Falls

Chapter 8: Ain't too Proud to Beg

I woke up the next day alone in my bed. Jase rarely spent the whole night at my house and when he did, he would sleep on the living room couch or on the floor by my bed. I checked my phone on the side table for the time. 10am and four messages to reply to.

Lauren: call me! I need to know everything!

Me: I just woke up. Call you in a bit

Jase: you drool in your sleep

I laughed at his text and sent him a barrage of curse words.

Mom: sorry I missed you. Cant wait to hear about last night!

Me: can't wait to tell you. love you mom. have a good day!

Aidan: pick you up for work? Be ready by 3.

Damn, I almost forgot that I was working the night shift at the diner. It was my first weekend shift and I was dreading the amount of business that would come in. I ate breakfast, called my mom, and talked to her for a while. Then called Lauren to repeat my story. By the time I was done and she had asked every question imaginable, it was time to get ready for work

Aidan was punctual as always and fired off questions which I was not expecting from him. I was unaware that he cared enough to know the details of my date.

"So you kissed him?"

"I can't tell you that! Besides a lady never kisses and tells."

"Doesn't matter anyways, I already know you did." I shot him a death glare which urged him to continue. "I was with Lauren when you called. I could tell from the amount of squealing that you kissed him."

"I'm going to kill her."

"It wasn't her fault. I just happen to be there."

"Well, since we're asking all of these personal questions, why don't you tell me what is going on between you and Lauren?"

Aidan pulled up to the diner and turned off the engine.

"Nothing is going on. We're friends."

"Friends who make out?" He looked at me suspiciously. "Of course she told me."

"Figures. The first time it happened, we both just got bored of studying. It felt like a better way to pass the time. The second time happened because we were drunk. It didn't mean anything. Sometimes a kiss is just a kiss."

"Does Lauren know how you feel?

"Trust me Kai, Lauren doesn't like me and even if she did, I don't like her."

"Why not?" I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I prefer brunettes."

***

Work went well until the dinner rush. Aidan quickly caught on that I was overwhelmed by the crowds, so he sent me to the front to host. Sitting customers was a hundred times easier than taking their orders and serving their food. I gained a new appreciation that night for those who worked in the food industry. Being on your feet all day, dealing with rude customers and then cleaning up after them was a lot to take. Thankfully by around 9pm, the amount of guests coming in started to die down so I went back to serving.

"Hey Kai!" Marie, the other waitress, called me over to the side. "Do you mind taking table eight? Im going on my break."

"No problem" I said to her. I knew I wouldn't be seeing her for a while. According to each of my coworkers, she was notorious for taking extra long smoke breaks. I walked over to take the orders when I saw a smiling Justin staring at me from table eight. I almost turned around to grab someone else to do it but I kept my composure and approached the booth.