Breathe In (gxg)

Prologue

Absorbed in the conversation with her counterpart at the table, Marilyn was in the process of gesturing aimlessly as she often does when she barely heard a "Shit". She felt something cold fall into her lap afterward, leaving her gasping. Unexpectedly, a clumsy waitress spilled orange juice onto her white skirt, inciting the woman to spring from her seat.

"Jesus Christ," Paul muttered finally lifting his head from his iPad. He saw the mess; the juice even spilled onto their table to which he grabbed a few napkins and began to sap. The man knew the woman would curse the place down to the ground for the incident and when he stole a glimpse her way Marilyn stood with her mouth agape examining the damage to her clothes. The quiet girl observed her with fear in her eyes.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" The distraught waitress gushed, immediately stretching towards the woman in an attempt to wipe away some of the liquid so it wouldn't soak further into the white fabric. Marilyn pushed the girl's hand away and glared violently into her eyes, quickly noting how petrified and remorseful the poor child was.

"Stop, you're only making it worse." She informed quietly. She didn't want to raise an alarm despite there weren't many patrons in the establishment.

"I'm really sorry ma'am, I lost my balance and-"

Marilyn cuts her off,  "Listen, go grab me a wet towel or something before it gets worse, alright?" She instructed and the wavy-haired girl nods before scurrying off.

"You alright?"

Paul leaned in, placing a reassuring hand on his client's shoulder. She kept dabbing at the ruined garment but stopped to politely pull herself away from his touch.

"What the fuck does it look like?" She questioned in a strident voice. The man searched the diner at this point to check if anyone eavesdropped on their interaction but found that besides Marilyn and himself, there was a couple at the far corner of the diner who paid no mind to them.

Turning his attention back to the irritated woman, Paul locked eyes with her.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"It's closer to my office that's why," he answered.

"Yeah but still, it's not even that—" Marilyn's expression of her frustration for the shabby place was interrupted by the frantic waitress.

"Here," The girl said handing over a damp towel while squatting to the floor so she'd be able to help clean the woman's skirt.

"I am truly sorry ma'am. That thing caught me off guard. I know I shouldn't make excuses but I've been so out of today. It isn't even my shift. I was called in today because a coworker of mine has some family emergency." looking up at the passive face Avery's stomach churned at the solemnity she received. She felt like she was staring at a block of ice; the woman was cold and expressionless.

"I'm very sorry, words can't begin to describe ho-"

Marilyn placed a hand over hers to quell the vigorous motion of the rag rubbing against her clothes. She was pleasantly surprised when she finally stared at the waitress.

The girl's freckles and how they laid subtly against her nose and a small portion of her cheeks, caught her off guard. She was beautiful, and it was obvious she didn't know or care that she was. This girl made minimal efforts with her makeup, thus leaving mostly her naked beauty visible to others. For a moment Marilyn forgot about the incident but when she remembered what she was doing, she had no other option but to calmly subdue the nervous wreck of a human who honestly needed reassurance that spilling orange juice onto someone wasn't the end of the world.