candy man ▰ zjm

iii.

"You're wrong but you're so much fun." You Can Be The Boss - Lana Del Rey

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I slumped against the faded yellow painted walls, clicking my pen and stuffing the small notepad into my apron pocket. It was almost time for my shift to end, and the diner was half dead today. Truly I could've clocked out early, but I enjoy getting my full pay rather than have some of it cut off for me skipping.

So I decided to tough it out and stay the extra minutes.

It had been three days since I last spoke to Mr. Malik, or Candy Man. I didn't exactly know what to call him or what he preferred to be called. I hadn't spent all the money he gave me, mostly paid bills and put the rest into my bank account. I never really knew what exactly to spend money on since I never had that much of it.

A part of me was hoping to see him again, but the other part was wondering why I even bothered meeting him in the first place. I didn't even know why I was still interested in him, what would he see in me anyways? I work in a slow paced diner and sing crappy songs on the weekend.

There wasn't much to like.

I could hear the bells ring and mentally groaned as I pushed myself from the wall. Slowly, I made my way back into the main area and walked up to the counter. There was nobody there, or at least I didn't see them. Customers usually had to wait for someone to seat them before walking off. There was even a sign that said it in big bold letters.

"Lana, baby, over here!"

My heart sped up, my mouth going dry as I turned to see him sitting in at booth near the corner. He seemed to have come alone and that made me even more nervous.

"Jesus, Lana! Get over there and take his order." Nick, my co-worker, shouted from the back, "Some of us want to close up shop and go home, you know."

I nodded and slowly walked over to him, my notepad slipping from my grasp and falling to the floor. My fingers fumbled with gripping the stupid thing as I bent over to pick it up. There was the high pitched noise of somebody wolf-whistling when I bent down. My cheeks immediately flushed a deep crimson.

"What can I get you, sir?" I tried avoiding eye contact the best I could, clicking my pen as a distraction.

He chuckled and licked his lips, leaning onto his elbows. "I don't want anything but to chat with you."

"I can't, I'm working."

"Your shift ends in ten minutes and this place is dead as fuck." He glanced at me with cold eyes, "It won't hurt for you to talk with me."

"How do you know when my shift ends?"

"Just sit will you?"

Hesitantly, I slid into the seat across from him, crossing my legs under the table. My skirt was bunched up and I shivered as my skin touched the cold seat. There was a silence before he cleared his throat to catch my attention.

"Do you remember what I said about getting what I wanted?" I nodded and he continued, "Well, look, how about I take you out? Nice dinner with good wine, the works. We could get to know each other better."