Scarlett Promises

03

    
       June was late. She had stayed up last night reading the Legend series, ironically, that she had burrowed from the local library a few blocks away. Thus, she had slept through her blaring alarm and was now running incredibly late to her morning shift, which was due to start in less then ten minutes. She gracelessly stepped out of the steaming shower, water dripping onto the tiled floor, and, with great difficulty, combed through her mess of hair before throwing on a fresh set of clothes.

      While she was on her way to the kitchen, she ran past the mountain-high stack of overdue bills that she still hasn't paid. They served as a bitter reminder of the unlucky cards she had been dealt all her life. She quicky pushed that thought aside. Not now.

      She arrived at the diner in the very nick of time and managed to get by without having a dreadful interaction with her manager, Steve, a meticulous man in his fifties with a receeding hairline and a tendency to hover over his employees' shoulders. That was the last thing she needed to add as a cherry on top of her wonderful morning. She briskly set down her things and put on the horrid apron before readying herself for long, grueling hours filled with fake smiles and feigned enthusiasm.

      While June was going back and forth like a ping pong ball, serving ansty, impatient customers their food, she caught sight of a man about her age hunched over at a table, hands on his head, staring frustratedly at his expensive laptop as if it was the sole cause of all the world's problems. She couldn't see him very well from the angle he was sitting in, but as she stole subtle, discreet glances towards him, she noted his dark, ebony hair, his muscular yet lean body and as he raked his fingers through his locks, she glimpsed his tattooed arms peeking out of his fitted shirt sleeves. She discerned that he must've practiced a type of sport by his broad, rugged shoulders and fit figure. June watched attentively as he reached out to take a sip of his second cup of coffee only to find it completely empty. He leaned back in his seat and let out another defeated sigh.

      Realizing that she was staring at him for more than what was deemed acceptable, she swiftly turned back to resume her work, only to be faced with a smiling Vera who was staring at June amusedly, brown eyes twinkling. Vera didn't need to say anything to reveal her thoughts; her expression said it all. June pointedly ignored her as she raced to take more orders.

      It was an hour later when she saw him again. She had just come out of the bathroom, which she retired to only when there was a lull in customers, and turned the corner when she spotted him leaning against the wall with a shiny phone pressed against his ear as he chatted animatedly to whoever was on the other line. Quickly, she tried to slither away unnoticed, but apparently June hadn't made her exit promptly enough because he turned around at the sound of her tentative footsteps.

      He stared at her with his sharp, inquisitive grey eyes while still holding the phone up to his ear. Up close, June realized how striking he looks. With his toned figure, chiseled features and unintentionally messy hair, there was no denying that the man was attractive. His stormy grey eyes stood out against his lightly tanned skin and enhanced their captivity.

      Under his keen, heavy gaze, June felt self-conscious of her every movement. She could feel her cheeks starting to heat up and prayed that her skin was dark enough to obscure any evidence of her blush. Feeling uncertain, she started to fiddle with her septum piercing, a nervous habit she had developed earlier on that she couldn't seem shake off, and shifted from one foot to the other while tugging on the frayed, long sleeves of her red sweater. June couldn't remember the last time she acted like this. She was acting like a naive schoolgirl with a crush. Get it together, she scolded herself.

      "Yeah, of course. Okay. I'll see you later," she heard him say before hanging up the phone and tucking it into the back pocket of his dark jeans.