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“I wonder who that is.” Jeff pulled out a ringing cell phone.
“Oh no, that’s the work phone.” Eugene frowned.
“I better take this.”
Eugene scowled as he listened to Jeff’s end of the conversation. Clarissa took the natural break in the conversation as an opportunity to check on the book club table. They’d finished their pot of coffee and wanted another round.
Walking back and forth, she kept her back rigid and eyes forward, ignoring the table of men. She felt them watching her. Not all of them, but rather the blonde one. He’d become fixated with her, angling his chair so he could see her no matter where she went in the diner. A shudder crept over her skin. His gaze was violating, if not predatory. It made her want to run home and take a shower.
Customers had hit on her before, but this felt obsessive, if not possessive. She tried not to think about it too hard. If it got worse, she’d ask Donna to pull their license plate from the security cameras out front and call the cops.
Back at the counter, Jeff had hung up his phone.
“Everything alright?” she asked.
“Our only waitress is sick,” Jeff said. “One is on vacation, and the other just had a baby last week and isn’t up on her feet yet.”
“Don’t bother her with our problems,” Eugene scolded.
“Who’s left to run the bar?” she asked.
“Us,” Jeff said.
“But we can manage,” Eugene cut in. “We’ve done it before, and we can do it again.”
“We did it in our thirties, not our sixties on a busy night,” Jeff said. “Clarissa, would you consider—”
“Don’t.”
“Hush. Clarissa, would you consider helping us out for a few hours tonight? It wouldn’t be for a full shift, and we’d pay you double.”
“Oh, I’m not sure, I haven’t bartended before,” she said, though the offer of double pay was enticing.
“You wouldn’t be mixing, Eugene and I would make all the drinks, we would just need you to run orders.”
“What time?” she asked.
“Six to eleven work for you?” Jeff asked.
“Of course, if your aunt needs you home tonight, we completely understand,” Eugene said.
“I get off soon. I can go home and check on her, feed her dinner, then be back here by six. If something happens, I’ll call you.”
“You are a lifesaver! Eugene, give her a tip for our waffles,” Jeff said.
“I ain’t paid the bill yet.”
“I don’t care, she just saved our asses, give her a tip.”
“It’s alright, don’t worry about it, I’m happy to help out,” she said.
“Order up!” Adam leaned out the window over heaping plates of burgers, eggs, bacon, and sausage. Meat charred enough on the outside it let off faint swirls of steam, but rare enough to be oozing juices onto the plates. “You need help with this one?”
“No, I’ll just take two trips. But hey,” she whispered to him, “you mind hanging out by the window? These guys were acting a bit rough earlier.”
His forehead creased and he nodded. Clarissa loaded up her tray with half the orders, careful to take the ones for the men sitting furthest from the blonde man first. On her second trip, she couldn’t avoid him. Saving his plate for last, she set it down, then took a step back, intending to pull her hand away as fast as possible. He seized it.
Blue eyes fixed on her. His hand felt like fire on her already bruised skin.
