Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

  “Hey … it’ll be okay,” Skylar cheered. She hated seeing Kayla upset.

  “I know. It’s just that we had our summer all planned out. We’re supposed to go to the beach and get tan.”

  “We can go out at night, and don’t forget, there are the weekends. Too much sun isn’t good for you anyway. Besides, you already know going to the beach is not my first choice for fun. I only go for you.”

  “That’s where the cute guys spend their summer, and you are grossly too positive,” Kayla teased. “Gross, gross, gross. But that is just another reason why I love you.”

  “You know I’m not like that all the time, right?”

  “Girl, I’ve seen your dark side and all that self-defense stuff from the classes your mom made you take. I bet you can do some major damage,” Kayla giggled, pulling Skylar in for a hug, leading her out of the dining room. “Maybe the hot cop will be there. They do eat, you know?”

  “I hope not. I don’t think I can breathe around him,” Skylar exaggerated.

  “Hmmm … maybe I can cuff the two of you together.”

  “Then I’ll definitely faint.”

  THREE

  Kelly’s Diner was always a fun place to be. It was small compared to most restaurants, but it was cozy and just big enough to accommodate the local customers. Inside, the tile floor was always squeaky clean. Toward the back were the restrooms and the kitchen, but the coolest part of the diner was the large opening where the chef could be seen cooking.

  It was shortly after the breakfast rush, and the aroma from the food still lingered. The diner was empty and quiet except for the soft music that filled the air with a welcoming ambiance.

  Being that this would be Skylar’s first job, she was overflowing with excitement and nervousness. Though her stomach constricted with anxiety, she could hardly wait. She would be making her own money, and that alone thrilled her tremendously.

  “Hello, Jack. Hello, Mona,” Kayla greeted. “This is my cousin, Skylar. You remember her, don’t ya?”

  “Hey, Kayla,” Jack said from the kitchen, holding up a spatula. “I may be old, but I have a good memory, especially when pretty girls are involved. Of course, I remember. Welcome back, Skylar.”

  “Hey, Jack,” Skylar replied, blushing.

  “Hello, Skylar,” Mona welcomed her warmly. She wore all pink and a white apron. Mona had lost some weight from what Skylar could remember, and had dyed her hair a lighter shade of blonde. But what she remembered most was Mona’s love of perfume. She smelled like honey mixed with wild flowers.

  “So what can I fix you ladies?” Mona asked cheerfully.

  “We’re not here to eat. We’re here to work,” Kayla moaned.

  “You mean you gotta hang out with the old folks today?” Jack chuckled. His pearl white hair was unlike any Skylar had seen on an old person before. It was the purest, prettiest color she had ever seen. Though she recalled Jack being around fifty, despite his white hair, he looked young for his age.

  “Speak for yourself,” Mona snapped playfully. “I’m very young. At least you girls get some relief from the heat. It’s all day air-conditioned here.”

  Kayla and Skylar giggled.

  “Well, I better show Skylar how to work the cash register, and then I’ll help Mona wait tables,” Kayla announced, tugging Skylar along with her.

  “Go right ahead,” Mona muttered, heading toward the table with a wet cloth in her hand. “Is it your first time behind a cash register, Skylar?”

  “First job ever,” Skylar said timidly, looking embarrassed.

  As Jack prepared the food for the lunch rush, Kayla showed Skylar how to work the register—what to do when they paid cash or with a credit card. After several practice rounds, Skylar was set.

  “Easy, right?” Kayla asked.

  “Yup. Got it,” Skylar replied enthusiastically. “Oh my God! This is so much fun. I love to punch in the keys. I could do this all day.”

  “You’re such a cute dork. Let’s see if your enthusiasm is still there at the end of the day.” Kayla shook her head, giggling. Then she went to the back and came out with white aprons and hair ties. “Here, put this on and tie your hair back. It’s my mom’s law.” She rolled her eyes.

  Skylar frowned in discontent, but she did as she was told. Looking at her attire, the long apron looked like a skirt on her, especially since she wore shorts. “Cute,” she commented sarcastically. Struggling to pull her hair back in a ponytail, she turned her back.

  “Remember, you offered to work here.” Kayla reminded her, dragging out her last word. Laughing, she walked toward the back just as the door chimed.

  “Welcome back to Kelly’s Diner, boys,” Mona greeted, leading the guests to their table.

  After Skylar’s hair was neatly tied, she turned to see the incoming customers and froze. Sure, her cousin had joked about it, but never in her wildest dreams did she imagine she’d see him here. Mortified, her eyes shot down to the buttons on the register. She didn’t want to face him again after he had scolded her. Stay calm. No big deal. Cops eat lunch too, but of all the places, why did he have to eat here?

  Skylar reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone to text Kayla, who was still in the storage room. First day on the job and I’m texting. She shook her head. This was not professional, but it was her aunt’s diner after all. Keeping an eye out for customers, she placed her phone under the counter to hide it.

  He’s here!

  Who?

  The cop.

  You mean the hot cop?

  Yes!

  I’m coming right out!

  Skylar glanced toward his table. Her eyes flashed downward when his eyes met hers. As blood rushed to her face, she hoped he wouldn’t recognize her. He didn’t smile or acknowledge her, not that she should care. He was on duty when they met, so maybe he didn’t remember her. Cops probably pull over so many people on a daily basis. What was another face to him?

  Kayla burst out the door and then slowed her pace. Since Mona was already attending to them, she went behind the counter to observe, but pretended to be busy wiping an invisible mess. Feeling the vibration from her cell phone, Skylar pulled it out from her back pocket and read the text from Kayla.

  Both are hot. Which one?

  The one with the black T-shirt.

  What? Both are wearing black.

  Sorry. Only had eyes on my cop.

  Which one? I get the other one. lol!

  He didn’t notice me.

  I’ll make him notice.

  No!

  Mona took the order and gave it to Kayla, and then Kayla gave it to Jack. After the sandwiches were made, instead of passing the plates to Mona, she took them herself, since Mona was attending to other customers that had just walked in.

  “Hello … are you guys new to our diner?” Kayla asked with the most polite voice that she could conjure up, while placing their lunches in front of them.

  “No, we’ve been here a few times, but I’ve never seen you before,” the cop’s friend answered, seemingly taken in by her charm.

  “My mom owns this place. I help out once in a while. My name is Kayla.” She pointed to the nametag pinned on her shirt. “And my cousin over there … .” She pointed to Skylar. “Her name is Skylar.” The guy’s eyes glanced in the direction she pointed, but not the cop’s.

  Skylar let out a small smile and looked away.

  “So, what are your names?” Kayla inquired.

  “My name is Nicholas … Nick. And my brother’s name is Mason.”

  Mason? Skylar was eavesdropping on their conversation. She was sure she’d read his nametag correctly, and it read “Officer Doug.” Frazzled, she brushed it off. There was no choice. Clearly, his name was Mason. His brother Nick even confirmed it. Besides, in her opinion, the name Mason suited him better.

  “We’re having a party at the beach tomorrow night. Want to come?”

  Kayla’s face beamed brighter than the sun. “Sure, but can I bring my cousin?”<
br />
  “Of course. You can bring whomever you like, as long as it’s not your boyfriend.”

  “You’re in luck. I don’t have one right at this moment. So … when and where?”

  “Meet at Point Beach at nine, and don’t come too late. Look for the bonfire. Our group will be the only ones there. You don’t need to bring anything. Just yourselves and a bathing suit if you want to swim, or maybe don’t bring one and go skinny-dipping instead.” He winked.

  Kayla laughed the kind of laugh only Skylar could understand. It was a combination of a flirtatious and a nervous laugh. Then Kayla focused her eyes on Mason since she hadn’t heard a peep from him. He gave her a short grin when she did.

  “Well, I’ll leave you two alone so you can eat. If you need anything else let me know.”

  Skylar saw her cousin flirting easily with the guys, and she knew if she could, Kayla would be floating in midair at that moment. Skylar wished she could flirt with boys like Kayla, but ever since she’d broken up with her ex-boyfriend, she’d lost her confidence.

  She had felt things had been moving too fast, but what was fast to her was not fast to other girls her age. She had given him everything … well, almost everything—not her virginity, thank God. So, when he broke her heart, it broke all of her. Kayla had never liked him and told her many times that he wasn’t good enough for her, but what did that mean, anyway? He was her first boyfriend, and for her, he was good enough.

  After Skylar rang up a bill, she got bored standing behind the register. To keep herself busy, she turned to wipe off the counter behind her. She twitched when the sound of someone clearing his throat startled her.

  “Umm … hi. Sorry, how can I help you?” she said, turning to see something black. She looked up. When she saw who it was, she froze, and wanted to hide.

  “I’d like to pay our bill.” His tone was low and soft as he handed the slip to her. The same, sexy tone went straight to her stomach, causing a tingling sensation.

  “Sure, of course.” She paused while looking at the screen. Feeling the weight of his stare, she suddenly forgot what to do as warmth flushed her face. What do I push first? Finally, it all came back to her. “That’ll be twenty dollars and twenty-five cents.”

  When he handed her the exact change, his hand brushed against hers. She gasped inwardly from the mere touch of his skin. Then a millisecond later, she jerked back from the shock he had just given her, sending electricity down her spine. “Ouch.” Startled, she looked right at him.

  Flinching the same way as her, he frowned looking baffled and then annoyed. “I’m sorry,” he murmured under his breath, and curled in his fingers to make a fist.

  “That’s okay,” she accepted and lit a small, quick grin. After all, it was an accident, though she couldn’t understand how it had happened. The diner had tile floors, not carpet, and it wasn’t windy. It was the hottest month of the summer, but what did she know about things like static electricity, anyway?

  From the corner of her eye, she saw Nick stand and look their way, zeroing in on their conversation. He grinned slyly, and then sat back down. Did he find Mason shocking me amusing?

  She contemplated whether to thank him for letting her go instead of giving her a ticket, since she still had no idea why she was pulled over, so she thought she’d ask before her shyness got the best of her. “I wanted to thank you for letting me go when you pulled me over. I mean, thank you for not giving me a ticket. It was nice of you. Though I still don’t know what I did.” She didn’t know if she should have said the latter part.

  Mason gave her the strangest look, as if she had just told him she was from outer space. He leaned in, making her pulse race. “You...remember me?” His words were slow and soft, almost mumbling, as if he didn’t want others to hear. He even jogged his hand, gesturing to lower her voice as he looked over his shoulder to his brother.

  “Yes, of course,” she said flatly, but when he prolonged his stunned expression, she thought twice. Puzzled, she asked, “Shouldn’t I? You pulled me over and looked inside my trunk as if I was a thief, hiding something. I mean … look at me. Do I look like a thief to you?” She couldn’t believe she had found the courage to say those things to him. Mason being out of uniform looked a lot less intimidating. It was easier to speak up to him.

  Mason gave a quick smile, seemingly amused, but shortly after, he looked distressed. Without eye contact, he spoke nonchalantly. “You must have the wrong guy. I didn’t pull you over. If you’d like, you can pretend that I did.” Then he walked out the door without his brother.

  What did he just say? Skylar seethed with anger, if possible, fire would’ve blazed from her body. What nerve. What a jerk. Her eyes stayed rooted to the door he walked out of.

  Recalling last night, she was almost certain his name was Doug, not Mason. Skylar began to wonder if she was losing her mind. Was it mistaken identity? It couldn’t be. The voice, the face, the body, the same pull he held over her by his mere presence—everything was the same. So why did he make her feel like an idiot? What a disappointment.

  “See you tomorrow,” Nick waved to Skylar on his way out, chuckling as if he was in on some private joke only he and his brother knew about.

  Nick was built similarly to Mason, with nicely toned muscles in all the right places, but his hair was a lighter shade, and he was apparently a lot nicer. Other than a slight resemblance, Skylar would have never guessed they were brothers.

  Giving a forced smile to Nick, she turned to see Kayla practically tackling her. She wore a huge grin, trying to contain her excitement, knowing there were customers around. “Oh my God! Your cop was gorgeous, but so was his brother. Did Mason ask you out? It seemed like you two were hitting it off.”

  Skylar didn’t want to burst Kayla’s bubble. “No, I guess I was wrong. He’s not the cop.”

  “Oh.”

  Skylar wanted to say she was as puzzled as Kayla seemed to be from the look she had just given her, but she kept it to herself.

  Kayla brushed it off. “Well … looks like we have dates tomorrow night.”

  “You mean YOU have a date tomorrow night. I don’t feel like going to a party with a bunch of strangers.”

  “But Nick asked both of us to come. Come on, please? Just go this once and see what happens. For me? Pleeeeze?”

  “You know how much I don’t like the water.”

  “It will be dark so you won’t be able to see it. Besides, you don’t have to swim. We don’t usually swim when we go to the beach,” Kayla tried to reason.

  “True.” Skylar pursed her lips. She could never say no to her cousin. They hardly spent time together, except during the summer and holidays, and those times were special to her. It wasn’t worth the argument. Maybe he wouldn’t be there. If he was, she would just ignore him and give him the cold shoulder—like he’d just done to her.

  “Yeah, I’ll go with ya.” She suddenly became anxious to see him, just so she could give him a piece of her mind, maybe even a piece of her fist, though she wasn’t prone to violence.

  “Whoo hoo!” Kayla shouted. “I’m so glad Mom made us work today.”

  “Girls,” Mona scolded, gesturing to keep their voices down. Then she walked over to Kayla. “Too bad I can’t go with ya. Those boys were hot.”

  “You couldn’t go even if you were young. You’d scare them.” Jack chuckled at his own joke.

  “Watch it, Jack, or I’ll show you something to be scared of,” Mona retorted.

  “What do you mean? You already did by looking at me.” Jack busted out with laughter.

  More customers entered the diner, interrupting their teasing and joking.

  FOUR

  It was a beautiful Sunday morning. The cloudless sky was nothing but an endless turquoise blanket hovering over the Earth. Since the heat was unbearable, with the temperature reaching over a hundred, the girls decided to head to the local mall. Sunday was their official day off from work, so they were ecstatic just to hang out.

  Whe
n Skylar opened the main entrance door and stepped inside, the cool draft from the air conditioner blasted through her. The scorching sun had been beating down on them from the parking lot to the door, so any cool air would have been a relief. Since it was noon, they decided to have lunch before a fun filled day of shopping.

  At the food court, there were too many places to choose from. The combined aromas from the variety of food confused Skylar as to what she wanted to eat. Finally, she opted for Mexican—two tacos, rice, and beans, while Kayla chose Chinese food. The two of them sat at the only empty table available, at the back end of the food court. Noting how crowded it was, Skylar guessed everyone had the same thought—go to the mall to escape the heat.

  While taking a bite of her taco, Skylar looked around. She couldn’t help but steal a glance at a couple of guys sitting at a table nearby who kept looking her way. Unsure if they were looking at someone behind her, she turned, but there was nothing there but the wall. If they thought she was cute, that would be a compliment, but if they were looking for some other reason … well, she didn’t care to know anyhow.

  One of the guys had dirty blond, shoulder length hair. His friend’s dark brown hair was slicked back, exposing his forehead. They were both good-looking so she didn’t mind too much, but when they acted suspicious—whispering, glancing at her and then whispering again—it gave her the creeps, so she turned away. If only she could hear what they were saying.

  “So are you sure Mason wasn’t the cop?” Kayla asked, taking a sip of her drink. “I mean … you were so positive it was him.”

  “I don’t know. It was dark. It doesn’t matter,” Skylar muttered, although she was almost positive that it was him. She tried to recall that night, but after Mason’s rude comment, the thoughts turned the hot cop into an ugly cop, and the excitement of seeing him again was no longer there.

  “You’re okay with going to the beach tonight, right?” Kayla asked hesitantly. “Because if you feel uncomfortable about it, especially being around people we don’t know, I don’t want you to do something on account of me. We can go see a movie instead, or just hang out at home.”