♡ ink ♡ lrh ♡

♡ three ♡

♡ ♡ ♡ t h r e e ♡ ♡ ♡

♡ ♡ ♡ g e m m a ♡ ♡ ♡

When I woke up, Luke was gone. But I didn't mind because I'm not very good at talking to boys, and the confidence I had last night from the alcohol last was long gone. In his place, there was a crumpled dollar bill with words scrawled across in sharpie: 'you shook me all night long' it said, with his number tacked down at the bottom. I smiled. It was a nice sentiment, and I even put his number in my contacts. But then I tossed the dollar in my desk drawer, and never texted him.

The following days, to say the least, were extremely uneventful. I had three days off from work, and only left the apartment to buy cigarettes and fastfood. I left my phone on do not disturb, cuddled up on my couch, and binged Worst Cooks in America, wishing I could learn how to cook from someone as hot as Bobby Flay.

I didn't want to answer my texts or calls. I wasn't really ready to share my night with Magnolia. I had a great time with Luke, but I did things for him and said things to him that I wasn't prepared to talk about. Not that I was embarrassed or ashamed, but I knew she'd judge me, and I didn't want to hear about how different it was compared to what she was used to.

In all honesty, I just didn't want to talk to anyone during my days off. I just wanted to spend my time alone and allow my thoughts to be consumed by the tattooed stranger. I could still smell him on my sheets and I can still feel the cold metal of his lip ring on my skin. And thinking of him made me long for him to come back. I wanted to feel the way he made me feel again. It made me a little less lonely.

I used to feel the bliss of being a little less lonely at the expense of a guy. With Alec, the first guy I dated after moving to LA. He was kind, funny, and paid for everything because I was broke. I was absolutely head over heels for him—he was all I had before I met Magnolia, and I spent every waking hour with him. He even got me the job at the diner considering he's the grandson of the owner. Everything was perfect, we were planning to move in together. Then he cheated on me.

It's been a year and a half, and I haven't so much as talked to a boy since Alec—let alone slept with one. I forgot how adoring it felt to be held after sex. I forgot how adoring it felt to be with a man in general. Everything about Saturday night was rattling in my head, and I couldn't stop it. But I didn't want to. I wanted to keep it to myself for just a little bit longer. Just until I had to go back to reality.

Like always, though, my short break off reality had to end. And right now, I was having a cigarette and walking to Pop's Diner. I thought about texting Luke, but I had no idea what to say. Hey, it's Gemma from last weekend. We had sex and you probably don't remember me, but you totally rocked my world. Wanna do it again sometime? I've never been one to say bold things, and I don't even know if I wanted to do it again or not. Without the alcohol, I'd be a shy and insecure mess.

I was already fifteen minutes late, and I didn't care because I wanted to finish my cigarette. I was standing at the back door, watching through the window as my coworker, Tim, flipped a burger. Poor Tim was the night cook and, like Rocky and I, was typically stuck in the diner from 8pm to 3am. He was a grouchy 36 year old who sat alone in the kitchen all night while Rocky and I sat in a booth and chatted away.

I was lucky in terms of my boss. He was old, and only came around in the mornings. And though he expected us to clean in our spare time, he knew that no one ever did. But that didn't stop me from tolerating the idea of working. I'll often get bored and decide to clean, but I knew that I don't have the patience to do absolutely anything tonight. I was much too tired.