wanderlust | m.m.

ten.

"excuse me miss. this is a civilized establishment, not some strip club."

i was at work. having finished drying off a glass, i was reaching up to place it on the top shelf. i could feel the hem of my shirt rise a little as i did so. watson was here because it was 2:00 in the afternoon and he had nothing better to do. i rolled my eyes at his words. "oh would you shut up," i groaned.

"shut up?" he scoffed. "i thought the whole reason i was here was so that you could talk to me."

"okay, well don't give me a hard time for doing my job."

"okay, well get a longer shirt," watson teased.

"says the guy who does his best to get me in the most revealing outfits every time we go out somewhere," i said, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

watson waved his hand dismissively. "that's different. i'm trying to get you laid when we go out. you don't drink, so it's the only other way to get you to relax."

i rolled my eyes again. "i don't need to relax."

"i beg to differ," he retorted, but i ignored him, my attention being drawn to my phone. it had gone off, notifying me of a new text message. i pulled it out of the back pocket of my jeans and leaning my elbows on the surface of the bar, held it in front of me. i smiled when i read the name attached to the message. watson poked my arm. "who is it?"

"mat."

"what does he want?" watson asked curiously.

i shrugged. i hadn't opened the message yet. "i dunno." then, with watson pestering me to do so, i clicked on the notification.

mat: hey. you busy? can i come scoop?

luci: at work :/ i get off at 6 tho

mat: i'll be at your place around 6:30 if that's ok

luci: ok. where are we going?

mat: hiking. it's nice out today and i'm bored

i looked up at watson then. he was watching with curious eyes. "we're going hiking," i informed him.

"what? today?"

"mhm," i confirmed. "after i get off."

watson frowned. "i wanna go hiking," he pouted. "ask him if i can go." when i gave him a look and told him he was acting like a child, he said he didn't care and that he wanted to go. so, i asked mat if watson could join us. it didn't take long for him to answer.

mat: oh um yeah i guess

when i told watson, he seemed pleased. he didn't hang around much longer though. he ordered a meal to carry out, then was on his way. the next four hours went by at an agonizing pace. work always dragged on during the early afternoon hours, but today was worse than usual considering i was looking forward to something. the last couple of hours of my shift weren't too bad, though. i was providing a couple beers to the waiters to take back to tables and serving a couple of drinks at the bar. as the time neared 6, the restaurant was starting to get busier, and i kept my eye on the clock. when my replacement got there to relieve me of my shift, i wished him good luck with the rush, and was on my way.

i made it home faster than i was expecting, somehow being able to avoid the beginnings of rush hour traffic. just as i finished swapping out my work clothes for leggings and a cropped tee, i heard a knock at the door. "coming," i called, pulling my hair up into a pony tail as i walked over to the door.

it was watson. i let him in and he immediately sat on the couch. after i had slipped on my sneakers and tied mat's hoodie around my waist, i joined him. "so, do you know where we're going?" he asked.