Layla
Seeing Ashton almost made me gasp. What the hell is he doing here? He just stared up at me. I saw the moment he went from surprise to amusement.
“Layla,” he said, my name rolling off his tongue. I couldn’t keep myself from liking how he said my name. He made it seem fancier or somehow sexier. All I could picture was us in bed together the night before. Not wanting to seem unprofessional since he had company, I decided to ignore him.
“Hi, I’ll be your waitress. Anything I can start you off with?” I said, looking down at my pad not wanting to make eye contact with Ashton.
“Layla.” He said my name again.
“Yes, what can I get you?” I asked, trying to ignore him. I could feel the other guy’s gaze on me, and my cheeks flamed a pink color.
“You can’t ignore me forever, Layla,” Ashton said, and I could hear the smirk in his voice. Well, I’m going to try.
“What can I start you guys with?” I repeated. I heard a snort of laughter and looked up. The guy sitting with Ashton smiled at me and shook his head.
“Can I get another one?” the blonde guy asked, shaking his empty glass.
“Of course, what is it?” I asked.
“Vodka and tonic.”
“And you?” I asked Ashton, daring a glance at him.
“Whiskey,” Ashton said, looking at me. His bright blue eyes seemed to freeze me on the spot. He just stared at me until I felt my cheeks turn even redder.
“O-okay,” I finally stuttered and looked away. I turned and made my way to the bar to get their drinks.
Layla, ignore him and don’t let him get to you, I told myself as I waited for Ted, the bartender, to get the drinks. For some stupid reason, he just seemed to make my knees go weak. You just like him because he saved you and he took care of you. Don’t think about him and just serve him; then he’ll be out if your life forever. Grabbing the drinks, I headed back to the table. You can do this, Layla. You can do this, I chanted to myself. My legs were almost shaky as I walked back to the table with their drinks. I didn’t know why I was nervous, but I couldn’t seem to calm myself down. Maybe it was because I thought I would never see Ashton again and that I now know he was a millionaire and self-proclaimed womanizer, but who knew.
“Here you go,” I said, putting the drinks down for them. “You guys ready to order?” I asked, trying to steady my voice. Thankfully, it came out stronger than I thought. You can do this, Layla. You are not weak.
“Yes, I’ll have the blackened salmon with asparagus,” the blonde guy said, smiling at me while handing me his menu. The guy was super cute. His blonde hair was short but it seemed to fit him, and his blue eyes stared back at me almost with a twinkle. He may have been slightly older than me, maybe seven years, but he didn’t look too bad.
“Okay,” I said, smiling back. There was one perk to working here: there were plenty of cute guys. “And you?”
“I’ll have the shrimp stir fry,” Ashton said. He handed me his menu but made sure his hand touched mine and lingered. Taking a deep breath, I forced a smile on my face.
“I’ll get that in for you,” I said then hurried and turned around. I ignored how my skin tingled at his touch, and dropped the order off at the kitchen and made my way around to my other tables. The whole time I kept telling myself, Just do your job. Ignore him and just serve him his food like the lower-class person you are. After I said that, I frowned at myself. Great, Layla, make yourself feel worse than you already are. But it’s true. Shaking my head at myself, I went back to Ashton’s table to see if they needed anything.
I straightened my skirt unconsciously. I could see Ashton was laughing at something the other man said because his wide shoulders shook. From here, I could hear Ashton’s laugh and I instantly wanted to hear it again. It was a deep laugh; if only I were in front of him admiring the smile that was probably on his face. The guy across from him had a smile on his face and laughed as well. I cleared my throat as I stood by the side of the table, not wanting to scare them nor interrupt their conversation.
“Hi. You guys need anything?” I asked.
“Can I get a refill?” the blonde guy asked again. I smiled and nodded. I looked over at Ashton, but he shook his head. Turning, I went and got the refill. Just as I was heading to take it back, I heard the bell ring for Ashton’s order. Glad, I hurried back to the table and dropped off the drink. They seemed to ignore me and looked to be in deep, serious conversation. I made my way back to the kitchen and grabbed both of their dishes. Balancing the two in my hands, I weaved around tables and to the deck.
“Okay, here you go. Here is the blackened salmon with asparagus,” I said, holding Ashton’s plate in one hand and setting the blonde guy’s down in front of him. “And here is the shrimp stir fry.” I sat his down and wiped my hands on my apron. “Need anything else?” I asked.
“No, I think we are good. Thank you, Layla,” Ashton said, his voice deep and smooth like honey. I smiled and left to my other tables. It was kind of weird having Ashton see me like this. He probably thought I was low class and now regretted helping me.
I went back and forth between tables and the kitchen constantly. The restaurant was getting busier and louder. I already handed Ashton and the guy their bills before going to help my other tables. With my tables content for the next little bit, I made my way back outside to see if Ashton was done. When I walked out there, I found no one. Both chairs were pushed in and empty plates littered the table. Their bills were on the edge of the table. For some reason, a wave of sadness crashed over me. Ashton left without saying anything to me. Why would he, Layla? You’re nothing but trash to him anyways. Clenching my jaw, I picked up their bills and opened each of them.
Instantly, my eyes widened. They both left a big tip, and by big I meant one hundred dollars from each. Wow! That was a lot; that more than I sometimes got on most nights. I was even lucky to just get twenty bucks when someone was feeling generous or when the holidays came around. Shocked, I made my way back inside I put the one hundred-dollar bills in my pocket. I spent the rest of the night going from table to table, to the bar, and to the kitchen. Finally, five o’clock came and I could leave. I waved bye to everyone and grabbed my stuff, ready to get the hell out of here. As I stepped out of the door, I breathed in the semi-clean air. The air smelled like the ocean, fresh and salty. The sun was still up, and I was glad it was still a combination of summer and early fall. It wasn’t cold or too hot, just perfect outside. Just glad to be done with work, I walked to the curb ready to hail a taxi. Just as I was putting up my hand to get a taxi, a car horn sounded right by me scaring the shit out of me.
Jumping, I turned around and saw a black limo idling on the curb. What the—I stared at the car as fear slowly crept into me. Who is in the car? When an unknown car pulls up near you, you know it isn’t for a good reason. And last night had me jumpier than usual. I narrowed my eyes trying to not look scared. The door opened and out stepped none other than Ashton Miller.