"Neva'!" she says, a twinkle in her brown eyes as she flips her blond hair out of her face.
Shari hands me a slice of cake. "Eat up. The customers can wait."
As if on cue, someone from the bar raises his voice, complaining about the service. "What’s taking so damn long? What are you all doing back there, twiddling your thumbs?"
Shari's face hardens as she storms out to give that customer a piece of her mind. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize we were married in a past life."
It's a line she uses a lot. Sometimes it works, shifting the mood into happy. When it doesn't, the customer is kicked out, blacklisted from the best diner in Portland. Their loss.
This time it works. The customer apologizes, Shari is gracious, and all is well in the world of The Roxy.
I love it here. It's my family. My second home. I've lived alone with my mother my whole life. My father died when I was a toddler and we have no other relatives. Death, disease, life... has stolen them all. It's only here, at The Roxy, that I have any real family to call my own, outside of my mother.
I finish my cake and check in to see which tables I have. I'm ready.
The night is long, but fun. We have our regulars, the guy who almost never speaks, wears the same thing every day, but always leaves a nice tip and is kind to us all, the drag queen who likes to flirt with our cook, those coming off their shifts at other bars, who are too sober and properly dressed to be out drinking all night... I greet them by name, serve them what they love most, sass them just enough to make them feel like family, like this is their place too, because it is.
But when he walks in, it's like time stands still. He's not a regular. He's never been here before. I don't know how I know this, but I know he's here for me. And my hands shake when I walk up to him, sitting in a booth alone, not looking at his menu. He has hair dark as night and eyes like the moon and sea. His skin is pale and perfect and he looks as if he's been carved from marble. He wears a tailored suit too perfect to be purchased off the rack. We get all kinds at The Roxy, but not his kind. He has no kind.
And he makes me nervous.
"What can I get you?" I ask, my tongue tripping over itself.
He looks up at me and smiles. "Are you on the menu?"
***
This is not the first time I've been hit on at The Roxy. It's a regular occurrence. They flirt, I flirt, or I sass, depending on my mood. What I don't do, what I never do, is stutter.
Until now.
I literally stutter. My armpits are sweating, my head feels hot and I might have a sudden fever. I also might vomit. What is wrong with me? Is Insta-flu a thing? Because if it is, I've clearly contracted it.
He looks amused. "Are you all right?" His voice is rich and he's got the sexiest accent, something of a cross between British and South African. He holds up his glass of water to me, his long slender fingers so perfectly manicured. "Drink."
I take the glass, and our hands touch. A chill runs through my body and I nearly drop the glass. What am I doing? I can't drink a customer's water. I put it back on the table. "I'm fine. Just... hot."
"Indeed," he says, his lips in a smirk, eyes twinkling.
"Have you... uh... decided on your... what you want?" Shut up, Ari. You sound like an idiot.
He grins, a dimple forming on his chin. "What do you recommend?"
"Depends," I say, slowing my breathing so I don't pass out. "Are you in the mood for savory or sweet?"
Everything I say suddenly feels like a double entendre with this man.
"Surprise me." He hands me his menu and tugs at the cuff of his suit.
"You don't look like a man who usually likes surprises," I say, studying him more closely as I regain my composure.
He raises a perfectly formed eyebrow at me. "Really? What kind of man do I look like?"
"A proud man who likes control."
There's a flash of surprise on his face, before his mask falls back into place. How do I know that's a mask? How do I know these things about him? I have no idea. I'm pretty intuitive about people, but I leave the fortune telling to Es's boyfriend, Pete. He's got the gift, or so everyone says. I've always been too chicken to have him read me.
Unlike this man before me, I like surprises. Life is too bleak without them.
"The way you dress," I say.
He raises an eyebrow.
"You wear an expensively tailored Italian suit into a diner. Your nails are manicured. Your skin is well-cared for. Everything about how you present yourself screams control. Precision. There's nothing that indicates you like spontaneity or surprises."
He doesn't reply, just stares into my eyes for far too long. I look around for an escape from his penetrative gaze. My eyes fall to the table, to his elegant hands. His jacket cuff is pulled up, exposing a strange kind of scar or tattoo on his wrist. "Does that mean something special?" I ask, pointing to it.
He looks down, and quickly pulls his jacket to cover it. "Just a birthmark."
I flush and look away. "I'll just... find something for you to eat." I rush off, and hide in the back until I can slow my wild heart.
Es rushes by, hands full of plates, but she pauses when she sees me. "What's the matter with you, darlin'? You're not coming down with that flu that's going around, are you? Vomit is not a good look on me."
I shake my head. "I'm not sick. Just... flustered. I don't know. It's weird. I'm fine."