( open ) may i take your order?

[elizabeth renee hitcher]

Inserting the last bobby pin in her hair, Elizabeth turned her head slightly from side to side as she examined herself in the mirror. Not a hair fell from its place. Biting her lower lip she began the real test: Elizabeth shook her head wildly around in a way reminiscent of the days she spent head banging in a mosh pit. A single strand fell in front of her eyes, but the rest remained securely fastened on the top of her head. With a small smile she brushed the strand from her eyes and skipped out of the bathroom to grab her things before she headed off to work.

Her new place was small--a one bedroom with a small bathroom and incredibly tiny living room that could only fit a loveseat. It was still more than she’d been accustomed to in the past, and it was hers, but she had to admit that her husband had spoiled her rotten. The house he’d gotten them had been two stories tall, more than enough for the two of them and comfortable for the children they’d planned to have in the future. Elizabeth was finding it a bit hard to adjust, but she was determined to do so and do it with a smile. She’d fallen apart when her first boyfriend left her. If she let the same thing happen again now she wasn’t sure if she would be able to forgive herself.

Reaching out she picked up her cell phone, checking it with hopeful anticipation. Her face fell when she saw that she had no missed calls during the duration she’d been sprucing herself up in the bathroom. Her eyes drifted down to her hand, eyeing the space where her wedding band had once been. She felt so naked without it. Feeling dejected she slid the phone into her pocket before grabbing her purse and heading out the door.

The diner wasn’t a bad place to work, but she wouldn’t necessarily call it a good place either. It was decent enough with the tips though to make her content being there while attending college. Though she held out hope that she’d eventually reconcile with her husband, the fact that his lawyer was talking to hers about alimony wasn’t sounding too optimistic.

Heading to the back, Elizabeth put her things away in her cubby before grabbing an apron off the shelf and clocking in. Snatching up her notepad and pen, she made her way to her assigned section. Pausing at the doors to the kitchen, she tucked the notepad underneath her chin as she tied the apron around her waist, forming a small bow in the back. Nearing the table she gave the customer a smile. “My name’s Elizabeth and I’ll be your waitress this evening,” she said warmly. A friendlier attitude usually meant better tips. “May I take your drink order now or do you need a little more time to think about it?”

[micah joel mcpherson]

Micah had been at the shop for a few days straight. MJ had finally agreed to let him have the day off so that he could come right back the following morning. It kind of sucked being the only two that really worked in the store. Sure they had friends who would help out, which is who was covering Micah that day, but the store wasn't making quite enough money to pay other people yet.

Micah had been out riding his bike with some friends when they decided that they were hungry. The closest place to eat from the dirt bike track was a little local diner. Micah had only eaten there once when he had taken a girl to her place then ended up skipping out before sleeping with her. This time, it was a group of about six guys or so. Micah was the oldest out of all of them but only by a year for the next oldest.

They walked in and took their seats a large booth in the corner of the diner. Even though they were slightly loud and obnoxious, they figured the corner would be the best place to sit. It was only a few minutes later that a red haired waitress came over to introduce herself as Elizabeth and ask for their drink orders. "Oh we're ready to order food already too," Micah responded and flashed a toothy grin at her.

The boys collectively had already decided on two large cheese pizzas so Micah ordered that from Elizabeth. One of the other boys spoke up once Micah finished. "And a side of your phone number,"

[/i] Ethan spoke and Micah shoved him with his elbow. The guys started busting out laughing and Micah simply stared at them. "Ignore these assholes. We'd all like beer for our drinks please," Micah told Elizabeth, looking to her again with a grin on his slightly dirty face.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[elizabeth renee hitcher]

“Ah, a guy who knows what he wants. Very nice,” Elizabeth commented as she began jotting down the orders on her ticket sheet. This was a good thing. The faster she took the orders, the quicker the food got out which meant that she could probably have another person sitting at the table in a relatively short amount of time. The thought brought a smile to her face. “And is there anything else I can get for you guys?” she wondered as she finished writing everything down. Her eyes moved around the booth to give all of them equal attention. “A side of wings might go good with that,” she suggested with a forward shrug of her shoulder. It was a part of her job to try and sell the extras; the boss often got onto those who didn’t at least try to offer.

Hearing the comment from one of the guys, Elizabeth’s smile faltered slightly as she stared in confusion. “Why would you want my-” she started to ask before it dawned on her. She was being hit on. Her face turned a shade of light pink and she scoffed slightly in amusement. Shaking her head she tried to keep from grinning, but there was a smile on her face nonetheless. It’d been so long since she’d actually been hit on. Then again she’d always worn her wedding ring up until just recently. It was flattering to say the least; she couldn’t deny that. But how the heck was she supposed to respond?

She felt a tad bit of relief when the one guy told her to brush it off and ignore it. That seemed to be the easiest thing to do. “Beer,” she repeated, adding that to the list. Making idle conversation she said, “Looks like you boys have had some fun today. You're covered in dirt." She grinned at them before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a clean handkerchief. Elizabeth placed it on the edge of the table.

“Here,” she said. “You guys can fight over it.” She was only teasing with what she said next. The last thing she wanted to do was go out with anyone. But she didn’t mind a little harmless flirting. Giving them a wink, she said, “I’ll give my number to whoever has it when I come back with your drinks.” Giving the pad a hard tap with her pen, Elizabeth spun on her heel back to the kitchen to turn in the ticket. It was a little fun, she had to admit, though she didn’t have any intentions of giving any of them her real number.

[micah joel mcpherson]

When Elizabeth offered hot wings as a side order before Ethan piped up, Josh said yes to the hot wings with extra hot sauce. After Ethan had said his comment, Micah saw that Elizabeth had blushed. Micah wasn't normally into red haired girls but Elizabeth was cute. And being a waitress meant she was quick on her feet. Maybe a dance date would be a good idea for her.

Micah's thoughts were snapped back into reality when a handkerchief ended up on the end of the table. Almost immediately, the rest of the boys started grabbing at it. Hearing Elizabeth's comment, Micah wondered if she was really wanting to get one of the guys in bed or if she was just playing. After walking away, Micah quickly nabbed the handkerchief and put it in his back pocket. "No one's taking her but me. Got it?" he asked and made the face of "if-you-mess-with-me-right-now-I'll-kick-your-ass."

The boys all ended up talking in small conversations about riding and girls and what they were doing for the rest of summer. Micah had been wanting to take a vacation with his sister so that they could both get a break but he knew that wouldn't happen. The male's face became solemn as he waited patiently for the food to arrive at their table.

[elizabeth renee hitcher]

It seemed like as soon as she got back to the kitchen the place started to fill up and become more hectic. Then again the reason could have also been due to the fact that someone had called in sick and she was now covering twice the tables she was supposed to until they found a replacement to come in. Either way Elizabeth was suddenly swarmed. While she went back to the table to deliver the group their drinks, she wasn’t able to linger for long and follow up on the offer she’d previously made.

They were finally able to call someone in, but it’d still been forty five minutes before she’d been able to get the food out to her first table as one of the cooks had messed up their order the first time. “Sorry for the long wait,” she apologized with a wince. There wasn’t really anything she could say that would be a good excuse, so she didn’t even try to explain. Elizabeth’s eyes drifted to the table and noticed two empty pitchers. What had looked to be a promising table at first now seemed to be falling short. She wasn’t going to fool herself into thinking she’d be getting a good tip from them anymore. They should have been in and out within forty five minutes--not just now getting their food.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, grabbing the pitchers and going to refill them as quickly as possible. Her eyes scanned the room to make sure that she wasn’t as far behind on the other tables before she remembered that table one had also ordered hot wings. “Damn it,” she cursed to herself. Now she really wasn’t expecting a tip from them.

[micah joel mcpherson]

Micah watched as Elizabeth hurried around the restaurant. He knew that usually a few pizzas took a little longer but it was taking a bit too long. The boys were getting very hungry. They had all already finished off the two pitchers of beer that Elizabeth had brought over.

She soon came over with the two pizzas. As soon as the trays were on the table, the twelves hands began grabbing at the slices. A few "ouch"'s escaped their lips because of the freshness of the pizza and Micah just laughed at them all. He was going to wait for the pizza to cool down a bit.

Elizabeth came back over, looking very frazzled, to quickly pick up the pitchers, telling the boys that she'd be getting them more. Micah nodded but couldn't respond because she had walked away too quickly. He wanted to tell her that he had the handkerchief and that he didn't want her number. He figured that because of how crowded the diner had gotten, he'd have to wait.

The boys must have noticed that Micah was watching Elizabeth because soon enough, Ethan elbowed Micah. "You better get her in bed tonight MJ," he said and then Josh piped in. "Hand over the handkerchief ma'am. She's mine now,"

[/i] he told Micah and held out his hand. To which Micah promptly smacked his hand with his own. It was so loud that an older couple a few tables away, looked over and stared. "That's all you're gonna be getting for a while," Micah responded with a sly grin on his face.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[elizabeth renee hitcher]

She put the fresh pitchers of beer on a tray along with fresh wings, with extra sauce, before heading back out to the table. Halfway across the diner she could hear the loud table of men talking and talking about her no less. She navigated through the tables, weaving back and forth, until she reached her destination. When she heard the loud smack against the guy’s hand she jumped slightly. Still she managed to keep the tray steady. Sitting it down on the edge of the table, she began to unload it.

“Beer and wings,” she replied as she picked each item up and placed it down. Her eyes moved towards the man who’d given the order in the first place. It was the same person that the other guy had been speaking rather loudly to and the one she assumed had ended up with her kerchief. “So you got it, huh?” she asked. Elizabeth picked up the tray and tucked it underneath her arm. Things had cooled off a bit now and she was able to spend more than just a few seconds talking.

Taking out her notepad she flipped it open and wrote her first name in elegant cursive. Holding it out in front of her she couldn’t help but admire her own penmanship, a rare occasion that she could read her own chicken scratch. “A deal’s a deal,” she said as she began to write the number on the paper.

[micah joel mcpherson]

When Elizabeth came back over and announced that she had more beer and the hot wings, some of the guys hooted in playfulness. Micah shook his head at them then turned his attention back to Elizabeth when she guessed that he had the handkerchief. "You must be psychic," he said with a soft chuckle.

Ethan once again opened his big mouth. "If she is then she'll be able to see how hard you suck in bed!"

[/i] he shouted a little too loudly. The older couple across the way turned their attention then started to not so quietly comment about how rude Micah's table was.

Micah very obviously turned to stare at Ethan. "Shut the hell up, you idiot!" he said and smacked Ethan on the back of the head. Micah turned back around once again to look at Elizabeth just as she started writing her number down on the paper. Now, Micah was a smart guy and had gotten plenty of fake numbers from girls.

Rather than wait for her to hand him a possible fake phone number, Micah spoke up as the guys stuffed their faces, causing them to not be able to respond. "Instead of your number, I'd like to take you out later," he offered and flashed a big grin that showed his perfectly white teeth. "When do you get off of work?" he asked and just continued to look at her.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[elizabeth renee hitcher]

With wide eyes Elizabeth looked around the room. Quite a few people were looking over at the table now, including many of her co-workers. She lowered her head in embarrassment, trying to keep a forced smile on her face and finding it incredibly difficult. Now all of her co-workers probably thought she was trying to hook up with this guy. Suddenly she felt dirty; it wasn’t a new feeling, but it wasn’t ever one that she particularly liked.

She finished writing the number down and ripped the paper off the pad, extending it out to him. He seemed a bit preoccupied with the guy who’d practically been shouting about his sex life though. Glancing back over her shoulder she kept an eye out for her boss, half expecting for the man to storm out of the back and cut these guys off. Then again, she wouldn‘t have blamed him if he had. Had she been a customer, she had to admit, she might have found their actions a bit uncomfortable as well.

As soon as he said he didn’t want her number she withdrew her hand quickly and crumpled it. She wasn’t going to argue if he wasn’t interested, but what he’d asked next was unexpected. Elizabeth raised her eyebrow wondering if he was actually serious. “Later?” she asked. “As in later tonight?” Sure enough that’s what he meant as he proceeded to ask when she got off work.

Considering she’d just clocked in she still had a while to go until her shift ended. “Eight hours,” she replied slowly. Her lips suddenly felt dry and she ran her tongue over them while trying to determine how to best handle the situation. Maybe she should have just admitted that she wasn't ready yet.

“If you want to wait eight hours until I get off work then I’ll go out with you tonight,” Elizabeth finally told him. Of course she didn’t actually think he’d go through with it, so she felt rather comfortable making the offer.

[micah joel mcpherson]

Micah nodded when she asked if he meant later that night. He watched as she told him that she got off of work in eight hours. Eight hours was a long time to wait around for a girl. It was too bad she couldn't just skip out. That's what Micah would have done if he was in her shoes. Though, when she started to lick her lips to keep them from drying up, Micah was instantly turned on. Red haired girls were not his type but Elizabeth was doing all the right things, even if she didn't realize she was.

Micah quickly turned to look at Ethan who was happily stuffing his face. The male then turned his attention back to Elizabeth. "I'll pick you up in eight hours then. I'll be outside in a black Toyota Camry," he told her then grinned at her. "I'll wait outside the car just in case you don't see it," the male spoke. Ethan must have finished chewing because he piped in again. "Just like when you go to find his penis. You probably won't find it in the dark,"

[/i] Ethan said and the other guys almost choked on their food from laughter. Micah narrowed his eyes then turned to look at Ethan. "Except you can't even find Ethan's in the light because he doesn't have one," Micah said and heard the usual "oohs" from the guys that signaled a burn had just been made.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]