by Sam Crescent
Thanks, Dwayne, for making me doubt everyone.
“Grace.”
“Is there anything you need help with? I’m feeling ready to kick this breakfast’s ass. I had such a good workout last night.”
“You work out at night? Is that safe?”
Chloe giggled. “I fucked those three men there, baby. That’s my way to work out, orgasm all the way.”
This wasn’t going to be awkward at all!
Chapter Two
Drake watched the young waitress as she moved around the room. He’d not seen her before, but from the sounds of it, she had only just come back from being away. There was sadness in her eyes that intrigued him. She was the only woman so far in his life that had ever tried to fake being happy. He’d never known it before, and it was kind of unusual to him to witness it. Most of the women he saw were always happy for some strange reason, and he didn’t know what to make of this woman.
It wasn’t an act.
He’d witnessed fear as well, which she tried her hardest to hide.
“See someone you like?” Pixie asked.
Turning toward Pixie, he gave him a pointed look. “Are you going to stop making excuses of buying women’s clothes, and ask her out?”
Suzy, a woman who worked at a clothing retail store, had caught Pixie’s eye. Since he first saw her, Pixie had used any excuse to go to the store, buying random pieces of crap just to get her attention.
“I’m not after a date.”
“You do realize you’ve got stalker written all over you, right? She could probably get a restraining order or something like that.”
“Fuck off, Drake. There’s nothing wrong with being thorough when chasing after the woman you want. Besides, I don’t want to date her. I want to fuck her.”
“Erm, coffee.”
Both of them turned to see Grace had returned with the coffeepot. There was a lovely blush to her fine features, and Drake found himself wanting to know more. He liked the sound of her voice. It was sweet, delicate, and the tones sent his cock into overdrive, wanting to get inside her. Fuck! He was getting a damn hard-on from a woman’s voice alone. He really needed to do something about the effect this woman was having on him.
Grabbing one of the cups that Teri always left out on their table, he held it for her.
“I take sugar as well, darling.”
Even as she poured the hot liquid, he noticed her hand didn’t shake. She was embarrassed, but it hadn’t taken over her entire body. He liked that.
She reached out, grabbing a white pot. “Here’s your sugar.” Her attention turned to Pixie. “Can I get you anything?”
“Just pour me some coffee, I’m good to serve myself.”
Grace nodded, doing what he wanted, and then leaving.
“Do you really think she’s your type?” Pixie asked. “You usually like them to be a little feisty.”
“No, you like them feisty.” He pointed at Cora. When James’s woman first visited the clubhouse a year ago, Pixie had tried to set it up so that he and James would share Cora. Once the sharing was done, Pixie would leave, and James would be the one to pick up the shattered mess his brother left behind. Cora had surprised them both. Not only had she told Pixie that she didn’t want anything to do with him, she’d then gone and fallen for James.
It had been a long time coming, a woman who preferred the scarred brother as opposed to the cute one with a bad ego. Pixie believed most women wanted to fuck him, so he didn’t really have any respect for them.
Drake was rooting for Suzy to keep Pixie away from her. It was about time the brother was taught a lesson that not all women wanted him.
“School is out in three weeks,” Cora said. “They’re doing their annual graduation fair like last time. Are you all coming?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” James said.
“Why the fuck do we have to go?” Leo asked.
“You’re part of the town now. It’s time you moved on from Stacey. Don’t think about her,” Cora said.
Speaking of, Drake sighed as he spotted Stacey walking into the diner with her man of the moment.
Great, Leo and Paul looked like they wanted to cause some serious damage. Drake already knew he’d be siding with his friends. When he’d first caught sight of Stacey, he knew she was going to be trouble.
“Cora, can we join you?” Stacey asked, smiling.
Okay, this is just taking it too far. He tensed up waiting for what Cora would say. James, their Prez, had asked them all to give Cora the benefit of the doubt when it came to their friend. Stacey was now rubbing shit in Leo and Paul’s face. She knew the two brothers wanted more, and yet, she had fucked them until Bill, the gym teacher had made a move.
“That’s not appropriate, Stacey. I suggest you find a table elsewhere,” Cora said, surprising him.
There had been a few argued points over the last few months among the brothers because of the friendship between Cora and Stacey.
Leo and Paul had fallen hard for the woman.
“What? Seriously? You’re not over that shit yet?” Stacey asked, glaring at both men in question.
Cora stood up, and Drake simply watched.
“Regardless of it they’re over you or not, you knew how they felt. You knew they were trying to encourage you to have more with them, to prove to you they could be what you needed. Instead of taking what they had to offer, you waited until fuck-face there was ready to give you the time of day.” Cora sneered at Bill. “Misty stop fucking you?”
Bill started to sputter, going red in the face.
“Yeah, I thought so as well. You’re still my friend, but I’m part of this club now, Stacey, and you could have been part of that.” Cora shrugged. “You picked the wrong guy.”
Cora sat down, and Drake watched as Stacey released Bill’s hand. She nodded at Cora, and then moved toward the next available table. Grace was at their table within moments, but it looked like Stacey was about to tear him apart.
Drake turned to look at Leo and Paul. They both wore shocked expressions.
“What?” Cora asked as all eyes turned toward her. “You’re my family, and even though I’d like Stacey to sit with us, I don’t agree with what she did. Besides, it’s about time she knew Misty was fucking her man.”
“Misty sure gets around,” Leo said.
“Don’t even think about it. I’ll kill that bitch if she ever comes to the club because one of you assholes have invited her. She’s a bitch, and I don’t like her.”
James laughed. “Don’t worry about it. Misty is not getting near the club. If the boys want to fuck that whore, they can visit her. From what I hear, there would be a long queue to get to her.”
Misty had nearly ruined a marriage between Thomas Redman the local builder, who happened to be friends with the club, and Sharon, the principal of the high school. Thomas hadn’t cheated on his wife, but Misty had been spreading rumors, feeding into Sharon’s insecurities.
“Here is your order,” Grace said, placing down their food.
When she came in close he was sure he smelled strawberries. She left them only to come back seconds later with another set of plates. “Enjoy your breakfast.” Another small, forced smile, and then she was gone.
Chloe, the giggling club whore, who also happened to be a nice woman, came toward the table. “She’s doing great, don’t you think?”
He liked Chloe. She was a real sweetheart and a natural submissive. There had been a time when she had stopped being with Richard, the dark lawyer who visited the club as she felt she was falling in love. What Drake felt really sad over was the fact she had admitted to him that she didn’t feel good enough for Richard.
“He’s a big time lawyer, you know? He wouldn’t even look twice at me.”
At the time he’d not said anything. Chloe was one of those women that it was easier to listen to than to console. She twisted words up to suit her, and he noticed there were times she suffered with insecurity. The brothers all adored her. He k
new he spoke for all of them when he felt protective of the young woman.
No one would ever hurt their girl, no one.
“Yeah, no freaking out.”
“She’s not even shaking either. Not very talkative though, but she stares at lot that makes you believe she’s listening. Make sense?” Chloe asked.
“Perfect sense,” Pixie said, who was staring out of the window.
Wow, this was a day for women who were turning brothers’ worlds upside down. Suzy was entering the diner. She didn’t stop, but she offered them a smile, moving toward the counter near the kitchen, taking a seat. It was the place where people who were alone sat.
Pixie’s gaze was on her, and Drake smiled, winking at Chloe, who giggled once again.
****
So far, so good. The morning was going great, and she wasn’t freaking out even with the Dirty Fuckers in the diner. Teri was encouraging her, along with Chloe. They were lovely women, and she knew that she was going to enjoy working here, if she got the job. Teri was going to make a decision at the end of the day. Grace was stressed as she really wanted the job.
When someone sat at the main counter, she moved behind, and was shocked to discover one of her old friends, Suzy, sitting there.
“Suzy?” Grace said.
“Oh my God, Grace, I heard you were back in town, but I didn’t actually know it was true.”
Leaning across the counter, Grace wrapped an arm around her old friend. Through college they had both lost touch.
Grace’s parents hadn’t liked Suzy as she’d been from the wrong side of the tracks.
“How are you?” Grace asked, getting in there first.
“I’m doing great. I’m working at the mall.” She mentioned a clothing outlet that Grace recognized. “I’m not living at the trailer anymore. I make my own living, and I have this small two bedroom apartment. What about you?”
“Not a lot to talk about.”
“What are you doing back in Greater Falls? I thought you were going to be some hotshot business owner.”
Grace smiled. “Things didn’t exactly turn out the way that I hoped.”
“Where are you staying? I’d love for us to do lunch or dinner, or something. I know you don’t like drinking, but I can cook for us.”
Grace told Suzy where she was living, in a rundown apartment building, which was the only place she could afford when she first got into town. The last couple of months she had tried to get different jobs, but Greater Falls didn’t have many applications so she’d been traveling to the city in the hope of finding a good paying job.
Nothing had come through. A lot of employers didn’t like to take a college dropout. She wondered if Dwayne knew she would have struggled to get work, which was why he made her drop out.
“No, I’m not having that. I’ve got a spare room, and you can come and stay with me,” Suzy said.
“What? No, you don’t have to do that.”
Suzy placed her hand on top of hers. “Don’t even think of turning it down. I won’t have it. You were the only girl in high school who wasn’t hung up on where I lived, and I’m going to show you the same courtesy. We were always friends, Grace.”
“I wasn’t your friend to get something out of you, Suzy.”
“You can pay rent. Come on, it’s a good apartment, in a good area, and there’s some security as well. It’s safe. I wanted safe after years of living in a trailer. Come on, let me do this for you. You were always nice to me.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Please,” Suzy said. “We were friends, and to me nothing has changed.”
“It has been eight years. How do you know I’m not some addict?”
“This is you, and if you were, the diner wouldn’t have hired you. Teri, she’s not stupid about that kind of thing. Please, we can catch up.”
Grace couldn’t think of another excuse to give her friend, so she agreed. “Sure, why not?”
“I’m working ‘til seven tonight. How about I pick you up at your old apartment? Be packed and ready.”
“Sure. It sounds like fun.”
Moving toward the kitchen, she saw Teri was waiting with a plate. “Suzy called ahead to say that she would be at the diner today. She usually orders out breakfast, and I don’t mind taking it to her.”
“Okay.”
“I’m glad you’ve taken her up on her offer. It makes no sense fighting your friends.” Teri gave her a wink.
The women around her were determined to draw her out of the shell she’d created to protect herself. Putting a plate in front of Suzy, Grace nodded. “Thank you for letting me move in with you. I look forward to it.”
“Yay, roommates.” Suzy clapped her hands.
“I’m hoping I get the job here though.”
“It’s okay if you don’t. I can wait for the money.” Suzy picked up her fork. “I’ve got work today.”
Leaving her friend, Grace spent the rest of the morning until lunchtime going between the tables. Chloe did the same, and they didn’t get a lull until around two in the afternoon. The Dirty Fuckers came and went without any trouble.
Teri put a plate of chicken, biscuits, and gravy in front of her. “Eat.”
“Oh, okay.” She reached into her pocket ready to pay, but Teri held her hand up. “I’m not taking your money, honey. Eat.”
Sitting down, she cut up the chicken and took a bite. The meat was so succulent and flavorful. The gravy was so tasty that it made her mouth water for more.
“Teri is one hell of a cook,” Chloe said, taking a seat beside her. Teri came out with two more plates.
Chloe had a large burger, fries, and coleslaw. Teri had the same. They sat and ate.
“So, what’s your story?” Chloe asked.
“What?”
“You’re an old local, and now you’re back. You don’t look happy half the time. What gives?” Chloe asked.
“Forgive her, she doesn’t have a filter. She doesn’t know when to shut the fuck up.” Teri gave the other woman a pointed look.
“What? I’m only asking a question.”
“You ever thought that it’s private?”
“Why the fuck would it be private?” Chloe asked. “We’re all girls here.”
“It takes time to build up that kind of trust.”
Grace looked from one woman to the other, then back again.
“Fine, I like you, Grace,” Chloe said.
“Thanks, I think.”
Chloe nodded, and the smile was back on her face. “Did you see Stacey snapping at Bill?”
“I sure did. She looked like she was going to throttle him. Teaches her though. Misty is a whore. I won’t let her in here.”
Grace listened to the two women as they talked, actually, gossiped more than talked. The two women were really close, and she was envious of their confidence.
“That was delicious,” she said.
“Good, food is free here.” Teri winked at her, and took the dishes.
The rest of the day went by without much event. Grace worked the whole day only taking a few breaks when Teri sent her off. She liked working as it helped to keep her mind occupied. The last thing she wanted to do was think about Dwayne, and how stupid she had been.
At the end of the day, the diner was still open, and she learned it would be open until around midnight. Teri left the kitchen after Daniel made his appearance. The boy was tall and muscular. She understood why he wanted to prospect for the club.
Sitting down, Teri handed her a coffee.
“You’re always giving me food and drink,” Grace said, smiling.
“It’s a habit. I love cooking and taking care of people.” Teri sat down. “Right, you’ve got the job.”
“I have? Thank you.”
Teri held her hand up. “I’ve got to work over a schedule. I expect you to have fun while you work here.”
“Fun?”
“Yes. This may be a diner, but it’s not your everyday diner. I want this to be a
place for families to come and leave with a smile. I know you’re a waitress, and that’s supposed to be a shitty job, but I don’t allow that. This is my diner. Dirty Fuckers give me total control over this place. I pay my waitresses good money, and I expect good service.”
Grace frowned. “Did I do something wrong?”
“You were the perfect waitress. The biggest problem, I didn’t see you having fun. Smile a little, Grace. Relax, no one here is going to hurt you.”
Looking down into the dark brown liquid of her coffee, she sighed. “My ex, he did a number on me.”
“I figured as much. You’re not ready to talk about it, and I get that. Allow this job to be a place where you find yourself.” Teri patted her hands. “I expect you here bright and early tomorrow. Make it seven, okay?”
“Sure.”
She turned to find Suzy entering the diner.
“I’ll leave you to your friend.”
Teri and Suzy shared a hug, and then her friend sat in front of her. “Well, is it good news or bad?”
“It’s good.” She told Suzy about what Teri had instructed her.
Suzy chuckled. “Teri’s amazing. You’ll love her. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Grace finished her coffee, licking her lips. Even the coffee at the diner was delicious. No wonder Teri wanted everything different.
The food was great, the drinks, too, and Teri wanted the atmosphere to be the same as well. She could handle that.
Fuck you, Dwayne, I’m going to move on and be happy.
Chapter Three
Three weeks later
“So, how is the new girl coping?” Drake asked. He was at the back of the kitchen where he was helping Teri load up stuff she wanted for the annual summer fair.
“I knew it. I knew you liked her. I figured there had to be a reason for you coming by more often.” Teri smiled, pointing her finger at his chest.
“I always come here.”
“Ever since I employed Grace, you’ve been coming in twice a day, and you checked out the schedule. I saw you doing it in my office on the first week. Don’t lie.”
He didn’t say anything, placing down the large, foil-wrapped baking dish. It was still warm, and the scents coming from it were amazing. The first week that Grace had been employed he’d watched her change. She’d gone from being this sad, reserved woman to smiling, and chatting with the customers, even the Dirty Fuckers. He wasn’t stupid, and knew that Teri had told her to be more outgoing. She had a standard that she demanded from all of her employees. It was what made her different from many other diners.