Same Time {s.m}

4

Mackenzie

"see! told you i always win," i wink at jeff and take his $5. he scoffed and leaned back in his chair, observing the couple.

"in my defence, they do look very similar. they could easily be related," he said with his arms in the air. i narrowed my eyes at them and shrugged.

"that's true," i respond. the time is 11:23; 37 minutes until we close. i turn to the radio and turn it up a little after hearing the familiar tune of Arctic Monkeys playing.

"what's this song?" jeff asks as he starts to wipe down the counter.

"mardy bum, arctic monkeys," i respond. he looks at me with confusion and turns his head to the side.

"what?" he asks.

"mardy bum," i say with a small shrug. he furrows his eyebrows and chuckled.

"what does that mean?" he asks me. i then realise that he's from new york, so he probably hasn't heard the term before.

"mardy, as in..." i think of how to explain the word. "grumpy?" i say, more as a question than a statement. he smiles and nods before placing the clean dishes on the counter.

"you and your british phrases." he says with a small laugh. i laugh with him as the bell above the door rings. we both look up to see shawn shivering from the cold.

"what are you doing here so late?" i ask him as i offer him a brownie. he gladly takes it and sits down at the counter.

"what? i can't say hello to my two favourite people?" he asks innocently before averting his gaze to jeff. jeff subtly nods and has a smirk plastered on his face.

"what are you two up to?" i ask, narrowing my eyes at the two. they both clear their throats before shaking their heads.

"nothing," they both snap. this whole thing feels familiar.

"right, well there's only 30 minutes until we close so you can't be here long." i tell shawn.

"you're kicking me out already?" he asks as i make my way over to the couple that are just about to leave. i thank them both and take their plates to the sink.

"no, you still have half an hour. make use of it," i remark. he chuckles and finishes his brownie before asking for a glass of water.

"kenzie, get the kid some water." jeff tells me. i raise my eyebrows at him but go get him some anyway.

i place the glass in front of shawn and he thanks me, downing it in only a few sips.

"so, how's you and..." jeff trails off.

"lydia." shawn finishes and jeff nods. "yeah, we're great. she's great," he says with a small smile.

i'm happy for him, he's finally found his dream girl. his smile widens slightly anytime her name is mentioned, and his eyes light up at the sight of her. he's happy. she's happy. i'm happy.

so why am i faking my smile right now?

———
short update but you guys seemed to like this book so i decided to get back into updating it :)
also i didn't mention in the other chapters but kenzie is british because i'm british and it's just easier for me