Chapter 3

*Clara Moore*

At the start of the weekend, the diner was definitely busy. Soft murmurs were followed by booming laughter. Loud clutters of porcelain plates filled my ears as I glided from table to table, helping any customer that might've needed some service. I made my way to the kitchen and winked at Dawn as I passed her table, balancing a few dirty dishes on my forearms, ready to dump it into the basin. Dawn insisted that she wanted to wait until my shift ended so that we could have the whole weekend to ourselves. "Lara, could you please stay a few minutes after your shift? I just need to discuss a few things." I turned away from the sink and moved my eyes to meet Mr. Olly's brown ones. My brows furrowed, my mind reeling at what he possibly needed to talk about.

"Uhm, yeah, sure Mr. Olly."

"Great, it's nothing too serious so-"

The bell chimed at the entrance of the diner, interrupting whatever he was about to say. It echoed faintly throughout the kitchen and Mr. Olsen sighed, nodding. My lips formed into an apologetic smile as I shuffled past him to help the new customer that had just arrived.

"Hello, my name is Clara and I'll be your waitress for tonight. Please follow me to where you'll be seated," Without looking at the customers in front of me, I grabbed some menus from a table at the entrance and led them to their table. They slid into a booth seated across each other and they looked down at the menus I placed before them.

"What can I get for you?" I asked, finally lifting my head to see who I was helping. I wish I didn't.

"Clark," I nodded, as I squared my shoulders and hardened my gaze.

"Come on Clara, you know that's no way to treat your best friend," Clark said and placed his elbows on the table. He rested his chin against his fists while his lips tugged into a teasing grin. Clark had sandy brown hair with piercing green eyes so that when you gazed into them you just felt uncomfortable. To say the least, he was attractive but his lack of personality made him unpleasant-looking.

"You are not my best friend. You're not even a friend. What do you want Clark?"

"Well, I for one, would love a coffee. Three sugars and milk , thank you." Clark smiled at his friend and shifted back into his seat. "And Grayson here..." He gestured to his friend and my gaze fixated on his face. He studied the menu with his eyebrows pinched together and looked up to meet my eyes. He was handsome. Really handsome. "I'll just take a water," he said, his voice low and his eyes unusual, yet familiar. Do I know him?

I narrowed my eyes only slightly and with a slight nod, I turned around and walked away. After giving them their orders, I went to Dawn's table to refill her coffee. It was basically just a reason to talk to her without appearing too negligent to the rest of the customers.

"Dude, that guy with Clark is hot, like super hot," Dawn exclaimed excitedly. She was practically bouncing in her seat. I nodded in agreement. "But he's probably just as big of an asshole as Clark," I shrugged my shoulders as I said this. It sounded rude since I didn't really know the guy but it was probably true.

Dawn studies me. "You guys used to be real close. What happened?" Again, I shrugged my shoulders. "Nothing important, don't worry about it," I said to her, trying to sound bored, but she knew me better than that. She knew it was important. Her smile only slipped for a second before it appeared again.

"Well, I have an idea," she said and the mischievous glint in her blue hues told me it was something I was not going to be fond of. I gave her a small smile and rolled my eyes. She was always so dramatic. "And what is your lovely idea?" I asked as I humored her anyway.

"I am going to blackmail you now," she warned before she continued. "Oh, you can choose by the way. You can either ask the hot guy to join your birthday present or you're going to kiss and make up with Clark. Either way, I'm dragging your ass over there if you say no."

I laughed incredulously with big round eyes. "You can't be serious, D."

"Oh, I'm deadly serious," she said, her face neutral but I could see the excitement lurking behind her irises. "Do I at least have a deadline?" I asked. "I haven't even had the chance to mentally prepare myself yet."

"You have until the end of your shift."

I sighed. "Deal."

It was a few hours later but Clark and his attractive friend hadn't left yet, disappointingly I might add. I felt on edge that Clark was here, at my place of work, at my place of sanctuary. He didn't have the right to torment me like this, not after everything. And it made me nervous that I had to ask Grayson on a date and I didn't even want to.

It was nearing the last hour before closing time and the diner's customers lessened with every passing minute. My eyes drifted back to Clark's table like it did frequently throughout the night and it was immediately met with Grayson's darker shades. His jet black hair was short on the sides and longer top. His cheekbones prominent and his nose slightly crooked. My guess was that it had been broken before. His lips were full. Definitely kissable.

At the thought, I looked away, my hands sweaty as I busied myself with a piece of paper I found in one of the drawers at the check-out counter where I was seated.

I lazily skimmed the paper clutched in my hand and my breathing stopped as a painful lump formed in my throat. I realized that this was what Mr. Olsen wanted to talk about. I was going to lose my job. My home. And Mr. Olsen was going to lose this diner he had given everything for.