Page 10 of For the Lover in You
"I would like to apologize for my behavior earlier. It's been a rough day, but no excuses. Justin had let me know that this round is on us. Can I get you all started with some apps?"
The other two gentlemen looked at me with soft smiles. The one who wore gold glasses spoke up first.
"I'm Vance. You said your name was Mila, right?"
I smiled softly at his ability to remember my name. "Yeah."
"Nice to meet you, Mila. You'll be seeing us here often, so we might as well get acquainted, right?"
I nodded, still smiling, appreciative of him not being a dick after everything that happened.
"Let me get the ten-count lemon pepper wings with blue cheese."
I wrote his order and put a V beside it to remember that the order was specifically for him. The next guy who gave off an intimidating vibe spoke next.
"I'm Owen. Let me get the six-piece buffalo wings with ranch. I don't fuck with all that blue cheese shit this nigga be on. Um... the buffalo shrimp and a side of fries. Then add a round of shots of tequila for the table."
I quickly jotted his order, placing an O beside it. "Got it. Thank you."
I took deep breaths before I had to take the last order. My heartbeat increased, and I wasn't sure if it were because I didn't know how he would speak to me or because I couldn't avoid how attractive he was. Out of the three, he was the most handsome. He had a clean look, but I could tell he was about business. The low-cut Caesar with the waves was perfect. The semi-full beard surrounding his full blush-colored lips added to his mature look. He had almond- colored skin without a blemish in sight. He looked like he didn't get his hands dirty and would rather pay someone else to do it. His aura screamed money, but there was no telling how he got it. I cleared my voice and looked at him.
"And for you?" I asked.
"Just the steak nachos."
He didn't even look at me. He turned his attention to the TV screen and sipped on his beer.
"Just the nachos?" I repeated.
He nodded and kept his eyes on the TV. His coldness didn't bother me. It was expected. We didn't start off on the right foot, so I didn't expect him to treat me like gold. I repeated their orders before heading to put them into the kitchen. I checked on my other tables and stepped outside to get some fresh air while I waited for the food to be prepared.
I reached for my phone, checking my notifications. KJ was staying with Chasity's mom while I worked. She had been a big help since I moved to the area. She didn't hesitate to help me with KJ while I figured everything out. It also worked out because Chasity had two kids around KJ's age who kept him occupied.
The door opened behind me, and Chasity walked out.
"You good?" she asked.
"Yeah." She handed me a drink.
"I snuck this from behind the bar. I felt you needed something stiff. I dropped your drinks off at the table."
"Thanks, Chas."
We stood there in silence as I chugged the contents. The drink helped relieve some of the stress, but the pain was still there. I felt myself tear up as I thought about how my life went from sugar to shit so fast. It had to be a world record of how quickly things fell apart. I was serving in a restaurant, staying in a hotel, and barely knew if I was going to make enough money for gas and groceries.
"Cousin, it's going to get better. I promise. If anybody knows about starting over, it's me."
"I need a fucking miracle. I never imagined my life would be like this. My goal was to stay married, die married, and have more kids, but Kyle ruined that for me. I was content in my life. I've done nothing wrong to anyone. So why is life karma beating me down so hard?"
A lonely tear fell down my face.
Chasity wrapped me in a hug. "Don't look at it like that. Sometimes we must go through a storm to get to happiness. It will get better for you."
A part of me wanted to believe everything that Chasity said, but after everything, there wasn't an ounce of hope in my body.
"Let me get back in here. I'm sure their food is about ready."
I left Chasity outside as I made my way to the kitchen to grab the food and headed back to the table. I placed their orders in front of them.
