maybe I'll add to this, maybe I'll keep it as is. here's the full fic I posted a teaser of last week & I'm incredibly proud of how it came out. It's one of the sweetest, most decadent things I've written in a long time 🫢
The day had started out like any other- handling the dinner rush with as much sanity as possible, catching my breath as the evening trickled down to fewer and fewer customers, and finally my favorite part of the night shift: that beautiful lull from around 10 p.m. onwards, where there was hardly a soul in sight, and the few night owls that remained became good company for the remainder of my shift. Quite a few of the late-night crowd were regulars, most of whom I knew on a first-name basis and whose presence brightened up my night at the sight of a friendly face. I was clearing up the table after one such regular had left when I heard the bell attached to the door ding as it opened.
"Welcome in, take a seat wherever you like and I'll be with you in just a sec!," I cheerfully greeted, without even bothering to look up. I grabbed my full tray and quickly turned to get it to the kitchen, bumping into the customer who'd just walked in. In my haste to keep the dishes from falling off the tray, I performed a maneuver that only succeeded in sending me crashing down to the floor along with the tray.
"I'm so sorry," we both began in unison, then broke into laughter when we realized we were in sync. I glanced up at him, and he was bending down to help me pick up the scattered dishes. Thankfully, since most of the restaurant's dishware was heavy-duty plastic, there wasn't any broken glass- but it was still quite a mess.
"I'm sorry if I scared you," he continued as we hurriedly grabbed plates and cups from the floor. He was quite handsome, with wide eyes peeking out from glasses that were far too big for his face, all framed by long, sandy blonde hair.
"No, it's okay! I don't know why I got spooked," I nervously giggled. There was one fork left on the ground, and we both reached for it at once, grasping each other's hand for a brief moment. We made eye contact, then both quickly removed our hands, and he let me grab the fork. I stood up and brushed off my skirt.
"Please, make yourself comfortable," I added. "I'll grab you a menu once I get these back to the boys in the kitchen."
"Thank you, ma'am," he bashfully replied, bowing his head and sitting down at the nearest clean table.
As he got settled in, and I took a few steps away from him, it dawned on me that I'd never seen him before- which wasn't unheard of for the night crowd, but still somewhat rare. Secretly, I hoped he'd become a regular.
I handed the tray off to the kitchen staff, and scurried out of the kitchen, grabbing a menu on my way over to the stranger's table.
"I'll give you a couple minutes to look this over," I breathlessly began. "As you can tell, we're pretty swamped," I added with a shaky chuckle, glancing around at the near-empty diner.
"I'll be sure to flag you down when the rush is over." He grinned at me, and my heart skipped a beat.
"In the meantime, can I get you something to drink?"
"Just a water for now, thank you."
I headed behind the counter and filled his cup with ice, then pressed the WATER button and glanced up. His long, sandy bangs were hovering over his face as he studied the menu. He looked oh so delicate, but still handsome. I quickly realized that I was staring when I felt ice cold water pouring onto my hand from his overflowing cup, and scrambled to take my finger off the button and dry my hand. Thankfully, he hadn't seen me fumbling yet again.
I regained my composure and brought the water over to him.
"So," I set the glass down on the table. "What brings you here?"
"I just got out of work," he bashfully responded, looking down at the table and giving his soft, sandy bangs a shake. "I'm a musician, I was at the recording studio all night."
"That's fantastic... I'd love to hear your work sometime."
"I'd love for anyone to hear it at all... I'm small potatoes, so to speak." He let out a nervous chuckle.
"Everyone starts out that way. I'm hoping you don't stay that way." I gave him a reassuring smile.
"Everyone told me I wouldn't stay five two, but here we are." He gave me a smirk, flashing his dimples that made my knees weak.
"Five two?" I was too damn distracted by the dimples. He stood up, and I realized for the first time that he was eye to eye with me. Eye to... beautiful, deep, chocolatey eye...
"You didn't notice?" He burst into laughter, bringing me back to planet earth.
"No!" I laughed, too. "Maybe I was just a bit distracted, but I never particularly notice people's height. You know how it is from this view- most everyone is taller than us, it doesn't particularly matter how much."
"You're right about that." He sat back down again, and I briefly felt my heart flutter in disappointment of no longer having his face as close to my own.
A voice came from behind me, and I almost jumped out of my skin. One of the other diners had approached me.
"Pardon me, but I think I'm ready for the check," he continued.
"Oh, of course! I'm so sorry, I'll have it right over!" I snapped back into customer service mode, and quickly turned back to my intriguing stranger. "I'll be back to take care of you in just a moment, okay?"
"Sounds perfect." He nodded, giving me a split second of those sweet, perfect dimples.
I cashed out the (thankfully very patient) customer, took a quick scan around the diner to make sure there weren't any other customers I'd forgotten about, and eagerly made my way back to my new friend.
"Is there anything I can get for you?," I nervously began.
"I think I'll go with an order of French toast sticks. And could you make it to go? Unfortunately I've got to be up early for my day job."
My heart sunk. It wasn't just some excuse to leave... was it?
"You got it," I absentmindedly replied, scribbling down his order.
The next morning, with my head still spinning with regret, I attempted to get at least a few tasks taken care of on my day off. The first on my docket was to grab a few groceries- never a daunting task, as I usually ate at least one meal at the diner, but nevertheless an annoying errand that I couldn't avoid. I made a beeline for the items I remembered I needed, dodging what felt like half the city clogging up the aisles. Finally, my basket full and my mind overwhelmed, I picked a random checkout lane and waited. The person who was cashing out left, and as our line moved forward, my heart skipped a beat. There was my mystery man from the diner, bagging groceries for customers.
I gazed at him, partly in shock, and analyzed him. He looked utterly adorable in his uniform, an apron over a collared button-up shirt, with his sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and his hair flowed and shimmered as he moved in a perfect rhythm from item to item. My turn couldn't come soon enough! I came to my senses and blinked a couple times, realizing that the person in front of me was finishing up. I politely greeted the cashier, then leaned on the countertop behind the cashier to face my friend from the diner.
"Funny meeting you here," I nervously began, trying to sound cool-headed.
He jumped slightly and looked up, locking eyes with me.
"Oh- hello again!," he nervously began. "I didn't get your name last night..."
"Heather. It was great meeting you... Paul?" I gave a nod in his direction as I read his name tag. "I'm guessing this is your day job?"
"Gotta pay the bills while I'm waiting for my big break."
"That's how I ended up at the diner, you know. I'm an aspiring singer myself."
"How come you never mentioned it?"
"I wanted to know more about you." I gave him a smile.
"Well, now it's my turn to-"
"Ma'am, your total is $32.98," the cashier interrupted, turning to face me.
"Oh! Thank you." I let out a nervous laugh and dug around in my purse, handing him some cash. After receiving my change, I grabbed my bag and turned to Paul.
"It was really great running into you again," I whispered.
He met my gaze with a warm smile.
"Same here. I have to get back to it before I get yelled at, but... I'll see you around?"
"Of course." I grinned, then scampered out the door and into my car. I sunk into my seat, tossing the back onto the passenger's seat with a sigh. My head and my heart were both heavily pounding- why didn't I get his number? Why didn't he ask for mine? Was I reading too much into his words?
These questions, and more, were hurled at my poor, sweet roommate the moment I got in the door. I relayed the entire conversation to her as I frenetically put my groceries away, scrambling back and forth throughout the kitchen.
"Emma, I fucked it up, I had a second chance and I blew it-"
"Heather! You have the perfect excuse to run into him again, you'll have as many chances as you want if you're desperate enough," she responded with a chuckle.
"I know, I just... I don't wanna be weird about it.”
"I can't see you being normal about it."
"Oh, just take me out back and put me out of my misery. It's better than humiliating myself for a third time."
"How about I come with you next time? I'll make it less weird for you. And if it goes sideways, we'll go see a movie and get drinks and forget about the whole thing."
"You're the best." I hugged her. "It's gonna be on my mind til then, though."
"I know. I wouldn't expect any different from you."
The rest of my day went by painfully slow, as I replayed every moment in my head. Thankfully, the next day, work temporarily took my mind off the situation. That is... until, deep into my night shift, a familiar face walked in the door. I froze in place, locking eyes with him.
"Paul," I began, hoping my voice wasn't shaking as much as my hands surely were.
He gave me a gentle smile, and my heart skipped a beat.
"Hello again," he replied, sounding as nervous as I felt.
"Please, make yourself comfortable!"
He sat down at the same booth he'd been at the night I met him. I brought a menu over to him, and handed it over as I grabbed my pen and notepad.
"Is there anything I can get for you?" I fiddled with my pen, trying not to stare at him.
"Maybe in a few minutes. Really, I just wanted to see if we could just... I don't know, sit and talk for awhile. I like your company."
He looked up and gave me the most gentle smile I'd ever been on the receiving end of. I sat across from him, and started scribbling away on my notepad.
"Before anything else, I've been meaning to give you this," I responded, tearing off the sheet of paper with my phone number hastily scrawled across it.
He took the paper and smiled, then tucked it away in his wallet.
"Do you mind if I borrow your pen?"
"Certainly, go right ahead."
He grabbed the nearest napkin and wrote down his own. I couldn't help noticing we had another thing in common.
"You're left handed." I let out a nervous giggle, and he slid the napkin and pen toward me.
"I sure am. As if I needed another thing to struggle with growing up." He sighed.
"I dunno... I think you turned out just right." I looked at him, and he looked up, locking eyes with me.
"You don't think I'm pathetic?"
"Heavens, no. No more or less pathetic than I am. We're just normal people, busting our asses to try to make a living doing extraordinary things."
"That's a great way to look at it." He smiled, and I tried to keep my composure- completely failing as a nervous giggle escaped my lips.
"Are you alright?," he added.
"Yes, I'm fine," I lied, looking back down at the table.
"Good. And if you don't mind, I would like to stay and have dinner this time."
I had to have been blushing- my cheeks were too hot for it to not be showing.
"Whatever you like, just say the word and I'll happily help you." And I do mean whatever, I silently added.
I was too enveloped in my own mind to realize, but he had been focused on me, as much as I'd been on him.
"Why do they throw you on the night shift?," he mused. "Someone like you would be fantastic during the day. I bet the other waitresses don't want to work the same shift, 'cause you'd get all the tips for how pretty you are."
My heart stopped, and I looked up at him again. He, too, was flushed with nerves.
"I like the night crowd. I get to meet real interesting people... like you." My hand crept across the table, my fingers gently grazing his. He cautiously took my hand, very gently and lightly. I got the sense that he hadn't expected me to reciprocate anything.
"I don't know how interesting I am." He let out the shakiest chuckle I'd ever heard escape his lips.
"You must be. You've been on my mind a lot these past few days." My heart was rapidly throbbing at the base of my throat- if I took any more risks, I felt I'd be likely to vomit it right up.
"You have, too. The only reason I haven't asked you on a date yet is because I keep delaying the inevitable."
"Rejection? You?" I shook my head, my mind suddenly clearing enough to realize: the feeling was mutual. Everything I was nervous about, I didn't need to keep worrying about. "Paul." I squeezed his hand and leaned closer to him. "I'm afraid you're wrong. You're going to get that date after all."
His eyes darted back and forth, still fixated on the table, then met my own gaze.
"Paul!" I giggled and pulled his hand up to my throat. "Do you feel my pulse?"
He paused for a moment, analyzing it.
"You feel awfully nervous."
"Do I?" He pulled my hand toward his own neck. He was very warm, and sure enough- his heart was going a mile a minute.
"Very much so." I grinned. "I don't see what you have to be nervous about. There's something about you that's just... special."
"What do you mean by special? I get that a lot, and not in a good way."
"I hope you won't think I'm being too forward."
"You couldn't be too forward with me. I've already been forward enough."
"You're absolutely sure?"
I leaned across the table and kissed him- oh, those soft, tender lips! They were even more perfect than I'd imagined. He quickly reciprocated, pulling me in for more- an invitation I gladly accepted.
After a moment that had stopped time itself, I slowly sat back into my seat, catching my breath.
"That... kind of special," I gasped.
"I think the same about you."
I grinned, taking in every detail of his perfect face once more.
"I'm still not convinced I'm not having an incredibly vivid hallucination," I giggled. I stood up and took the seat next to him. He scooched inwards a bit, giving me room to sit with him.
"Same, here." He gingerly put his arm around me, as though he expected me to change my mind at any moment.
"I've only got an hour left of my shift," I continued.
"I'm off today," he added.
"Would you like to come home with me? My roommate should be at work til at least six."
"If I'm dreaming... don't wake me up, okay?"
"Ditto." I winked at him, and I'm certain both of our hearts fluttered in unison.
Emma entered the apartment, as quietly as possible, so as to not wake me. Unlike most early mornings after our night shifts, however, the apartment wasn't silent- she heard faint noises coming from my room.
"Heather?" She crept toward the hall. "Are you up?"
Seeing that my door was open, just a crack, she gave it a gentle push and opened it more. Paul turned around to greet her, perched on my lap, with his silky blonde hair a complete mess.
"Hello," he awkwardly began.
"Your friend from the diner, I presume?," she chuckled.
"The very same!," I responded, practically cackling with joy. I sat up and cradled his head, stroking his incredibly soft hair. "Isn't he just the cutest thing you ever did see?" I planted a kiss on his lips.
"He sure is a cutie. I'll leave you two alone," she grinned, gently shutting the door behind her.
"Sorry about that," I began. "Now that she knows what we're up to, she'll give us plenty of privacy. She's great about that."
"Wanna bet I can rip that waitress uniform off with my teeth?," he sighed, taking a nibble on my ear.
"Only one way to find out."
