saved me from another lengthy session of wallowing in misery was the alarm on my phone going off. My head cleared a little and I remembered why I'd set it so early.
I climbed out of bed and swayed on my feet for a moment. Warring sensations filled my body and made me dizzy. Arousal clung to me from the dream, the memory of Joe's hands on me. But the anguish of missing him shot through it like a dagger.
"Shake it off," I ordered myself, bumping into the bed and then the door frame as I lumbered into the bathroom like a drunk bear.
The shower helped drown out the thoughts screaming in my head and I remembered I was supposed to be happy. It was a big day and I'd been looking forward to it for months.
I got dressed and ate breakfast and was finally starting to get excited when my phone rang. For a second I couldn't breathe until I saw it was Kelly.
"Hey," I said. "What are you doing up so early?"
"I'm not," she replied blearily. "Just going to bed. We still on for this afternoon?"
"Of course. You sound terrible, friend. Want me to call you when I leave work to make sure you're up?"
"Yes, please. I'm skipping my morning class."
I tried not to laugh. She sounded half asleep already. "I'll expect details when I see you later."
"Uh huh. Love ya. Bye."
"Bye."
I hung up and scrounged around for my keys.
The brief walk to work was uneventful. The weather was strangely mild for January and tons of people were strolling around like they had nowhere to go. I was still adjusting to working the day shift at the diner and being around so many people at once.
I opened the door and the familiar smell of fried everything assaulted me. I pushed my way through the line of hungry customers waiting for tables or a spot at the counter and made my way to the back.
The din of the full restaurant still unsettled me as I shoved my purse in my locker and grabbed my apron. While I was happy for the owner, the new popularity of the place kind of bummed me out in a weird way. I missed the quiet nights of just me and Darrell, with maybe one customer nursing coffee for hours while we listened to the crappy radio and chatted about nothing.
I glanced at myself in the mirror, clocked in, and went out through the kitchen.
"Good morning," I called out to the two cooks. They waved spatulas and went right back to work.
I was grabbing my order pad when Sarah, the diner's manager, appeared in front of me.
"Oh, how nice of you to join us, Melissa."
I smiled widely. "Good morning to you too. And for the record, I'm exactly on time."
"Yes," she sniffed. "I suppose doing the bare minimum is sufficient for you."
Refusing to take the bait, I waved the other waitress on duty over to get an update on everything. Nothing was ever good enough for Sarah and I'd long since given up trying to please her. It didn't make any sense that her father owned the place but she was the hard-ass about everything. Life's too short to stress out that much, and I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of getting as irritated as she always was.
One nice thing about busy days at the diner was Sarah couldn't catch me long enough to pick on me. Id' thought things might improve when I came back, but they were worse. And even when the diner got a great mention from the lead singer of a famous rock band in no small part due to me, and the crowds returned, she still treated me like a lazy bum, no matter how hard I worked. She made some noises about disloyalty because of the weeks I'd taken off to tour with Joe's band, but I knew it was just an excuse to continue to be a mega bitch.
I sighed again, missing my nights with Darrell. But switching shifts had freed me up for something important and I had to keep reminding myself it was worth it. Or, I hoped it would be.
The morning passed quickly and before I knew it the smell of burgers was wafting from the kitchen and it was time for me to go. Shocked at how fast the six hours had gone by, I closed out and headed home to get in my
I climbed out of bed and swayed on my feet for a moment. Warring sensations filled my body and made me dizzy. Arousal clung to me from the dream, the memory of Joe's hands on me. But the anguish of missing him shot through it like a dagger.
"Shake it off," I ordered myself, bumping into the bed and then the door frame as I lumbered into the bathroom like a drunk bear.
The shower helped drown out the thoughts screaming in my head and I remembered I was supposed to be happy. It was a big day and I'd been looking forward to it for months.
I got dressed and ate breakfast and was finally starting to get excited when my phone rang. For a second I couldn't breathe until I saw it was Kelly.
"Hey," I said. "What are you doing up so early?"
"I'm not," she replied blearily. "Just going to bed. We still on for this afternoon?"
"Of course. You sound terrible, friend. Want me to call you when I leave work to make sure you're up?"
"Yes, please. I'm skipping my morning class."
I tried not to laugh. She sounded half asleep already. "I'll expect details when I see you later."
"Uh huh. Love ya. Bye."
"Bye."
I hung up and scrounged around for my keys.
The brief walk to work was uneventful. The weather was strangely mild for January and tons of people were strolling around like they had nowhere to go. I was still adjusting to working the day shift at the diner and being around so many people at once.
I opened the door and the familiar smell of fried everything assaulted me. I pushed my way through the line of hungry customers waiting for tables or a spot at the counter and made my way to the back.
The din of the full restaurant still unsettled me as I shoved my purse in my locker and grabbed my apron. While I was happy for the owner, the new popularity of the place kind of bummed me out in a weird way. I missed the quiet nights of just me and Darrell, with maybe one customer nursing coffee for hours while we listened to the crappy radio and chatted about nothing.
I glanced at myself in the mirror, clocked in, and went out through the kitchen.
"Good morning," I called out to the two cooks. They waved spatulas and went right back to work.
I was grabbing my order pad when Sarah, the diner's manager, appeared in front of me.
"Oh, how nice of you to join us, Melissa."
I smiled widely. "Good morning to you too. And for the record, I'm exactly on time."
"Yes," she sniffed. "I suppose doing the bare minimum is sufficient for you."
Refusing to take the bait, I waved the other waitress on duty over to get an update on everything. Nothing was ever good enough for Sarah and I'd long since given up trying to please her. It didn't make any sense that her father owned the place but she was the hard-ass about everything. Life's too short to stress out that much, and I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of getting as irritated as she always was.
One nice thing about busy days at the diner was Sarah couldn't catch me long enough to pick on me. Id' thought things might improve when I came back, but they were worse. And even when the diner got a great mention from the lead singer of a famous rock band in no small part due to me, and the crowds returned, she still treated me like a lazy bum, no matter how hard I worked. She made some noises about disloyalty because of the weeks I'd taken off to tour with Joe's band, but I knew it was just an excuse to continue to be a mega bitch.
I sighed again, missing my nights with Darrell. But switching shifts had freed me up for something important and I had to keep reminding myself it was worth it. Or, I hoped it would be.
The morning passed quickly and before I knew it the smell of burgers was wafting from the kitchen and it was time for me to go. Shocked at how fast the six hours had gone by, I closed out and headed home to get in my
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