Page 5 of Reviving Kendall

His dark-haired friend says, “It’s true. He hasn’t shut up about it since Friday night.”

This reminds me of the money burning a hole in my back pocket. I take out the two hundred-dollar bills plus the fifty from the ticket and drop them on the table, “That’s because I don’t have a phone. Like I told you before.”

“Damn, Teagan. Guess you heard that,” the other blonde across the table says.

Teagan growls, “Shut the fuck up, Goose. We’re not finished here. Are we Kendall?”

Damn myself for giving him my name the other night and damn Teagan for making it sound so fucking sexy rolling off his tongue.

Guilty anger spikes through my chest, “What the fuck is wrong with you? You can’t just charity case someone two hundred bucks to get into their pants. I’m not a fucking hooker!”

I regret the words as soon as they leave my lips, especially since there’s a couple sitting close enough to overhear and are now staring. Teagan sits open mouthed staring at me as Goose and the other blonde look anywhere but at us. It’s the other set of eyes that throw me off. Dark blue ones framed by a pair of glasses. His look says he’s halfway impressed with the bug under the microscope.

It’s awkward for about thirty seconds before keeping my voice down, I say, “I’m sorry. But I’m not taking your money and you’re not sitting in my section tonight. Becca will be with you shortly.” At that I walk away leaving Teagan’s jaw still on the floor.

I find my way outside to the smoker’s spot behind the restaurant. The cold helps clear my head. It’s at least ten minutes before Charles finds me, “You ok, Kendall?”

I broke about every serving rule in less than five minutes. There’s no way he’s not out here to fire me. Fuck, I really need this job. Best to start groveling now, “I’m really sorry, Charles. I shouldn’t have said those things.”

He holds his hand up to stop me, “I asked if you were ok.”

I nod, and he says, “Good. Now listen, I’ve known you for a very long time and I know you’ve been through some real shit in your life. There’s no way in hell you would react like that if it wasn’t warranted.”

I go to say something, and he holds up his hand again, “I don’t even want to know. No matter how regular the customer, I trust you.”

Tears threaten to spill over, but I yank them back in, “So, you’re not going to fire me?”

He laughs, “Not tonight, but I do want you to head on home. Theresa and Becca can finish up closing.”

I nod and follow him back inside. When I pass Theresa, she pulls me into a sympathetic hug. Returning it, I then pull on my coat. Now I just have to make it through the dining room. If I’m lucky, they’ll already be gone.

They aren’t, per my luck and I feel their stares burning holes into me. Once I’m outside, I take a deep breath of cold air. For once, I’m thankful for the long walk home, even as I have to avoid the Dicks pumping gas at the Shell. Not the smartest plan, but I stick to the shadows a little more just in case they drive by.

Headlights flash and a car slows down next to me. Just fucking lovely. I don’t want Derrik at my back, so I turn to face the almost stopped car. Low and behold, it’s not the dick squad.

“Kendall?” Teagan says from an open window. “Look, I’m really sorry about the way things happened. I was a jerk and I get that.”

His apology is sincere, but I’m still frustrated and I’m getting cold from standing still, “What do you want?”

“Well,” he says hesitating like he is weighing his words before saying them, “Do you want a ride home?”

Biting back my automatic sarcastic retort, I say, “No thanks.”

He looks at me like I’m crazy, “Are you sure? It’s pretty fucking cold out here.” The nice brown haired one punches him in the arm. “Sorry, I mean, it’s cold out.”

Shaking my head, I open my mouth and a horn blares as a car zooms by. I have about half a second to realize that someone chucked something out the window. I can’t help the yelp that comes out as the cup makes contact with my chest and explodes all over me.

Teagan and Goose, who was riding shotgun, are out of the car and over to me before the cup even hits the ground. I fight tears as I try to wipe the sticky mess off.

“Are you ok?” Teagan asks as Goose at the same time says, “Hell.”

“What the actual fuck was that?” a deep voice asks. I glance up to see the other two from the car standing close. The voice belongs to glasses.

“You’re still here?” Goose asks him.

His eyes move toward the disappearing taillights and then back to me, “I thought about going after them, but I’m not leaving you here.”

I know that he’s talking to them, but it almost feels like he’s talking to me. Possibly wishful thinking on my part. Either way, my insides do a flip, “I’ll be fine really. It was just the Derrik Dicks.”

---