I was ten when Dad died. It was an accident that took him from us. He was out hiking when he tripped over a root and plunged down Big Bradley Falls. After Dad passed, things got bad. Mom was pregnant with Jamie and had to take all kinds of odd jobs to keep the pot going. I was sixteen when Mom passed. Poor Jamie was only six and didn’t understand the finality of death. For months she asked where Mom was and when she would come back. Even though we lost our parents early in life, things weren’t all bad. Being poor didn’t matter as much. I’ve never been scared of doing an honest day’s job. I just want more for Jamie. I want to give her the world and that won’t happen as long as we’re stuck in that town. Even though Saluda is only three and a half hours away, it feels like I might as well be from another planet. The people back at Saluda are set in their ways. That’s not me. I crave more from life than the monotonous existence that small town has to offer. I want to experience everything life has to offer. I want to be independent. I want to travel. I want to live.
I place the glasses on the tray before taking the dirty dishes back to the kitchen. I studied my backside off to earn this free ride at UNC. The tips I make just about cover the rent. It’s not like I need much, anyway. I’m here to study so I can get my degree.
Only six months left and I’ll be finished. Then I’ll be able to find a good job. I’ll go back to Saluda to get Jamie and we’ll leave that town for good. That’s my three step plan. I don’t have time for anything else, let alone fooling around. Not that I’m Miss America with a line of guys going around the block, waiting to date her. Hell no, the opposite sex hardly notices me, which is perfectly fine by me. Besides, guys are all horny idiots. I’ve heard one of my roommates, Willow, once say, “Dicks rule, brains drool.”
I share an apartment with three hot girls, like sizzling off the charts hot. Leigh, Willow, and Evie just have to pout and the guys are all puddles of drool at their feet. They make it easy for me to go by unnoticed, which is a blessing. I might share an apartment with the girls, but we hardly know each other. I’m too busy to hang out with any of them. Come to think of it, sometimes an entire will week will pass by without me seeing Willow or Leigh. Evie is the only one I see every other day.
I walk back out and head over to the table the guys are seated at, noticing that more people have joined them. As I get to the table, I spot Evie. She’s glaring at the blonde that’s busy devouring one of the guy’s faces.
“Are you ready to order?” I ask in general.
Evie tears her eyes away from the couple. When she spots me, a pretty smile pulls at her lips. I wish I had her hair. Because of the natural curl in her ginger hair, she can just wash and go, leaving to air dry. I, on the other hand, have to blow dry my thick brown hair, or it will look like something m
ade a nest in it.
“Hey, sweets. Get me my usual, please,” she says. I quickly write down her order of six chicken nuggets. She’s addicted to the chicken nuggets we serve here.
“You know her?” One of the guys asks Evie while looking at me. He’s got dirty blonde hair with a five-o-clock shadow dusted over a strong jaw. He looks like he could be trouble.
“Yeah, Della’s one of my roomies.” She points at the two blonde guys she’s sitting between and starts to introduce the guys to me. “These two are Jaxson and Marcus.” Then she tips her chin at another guy that’s busy on his phone. “That’s Logan. Jaxson and Logan are twins.” She wags her eyebrows playfully. “Double the trouble.”
Seeing as they’re friends of Evie, I smile at them. It doesn’t really matter that she’s introducing me to her friends, it’s not like I’ll remember them tomorrow.
She glares at the black haired guy again. “That’s Rhett,” she practically spits his name out.
Hell, something must’ve gone bad between them.
Rhett shoves the blonde from his lap and licks his lips as his dark brown eyes wander over the length of me.
“Why haven’t we met you before?” he asks. “I’ve been at the apartment quite a few times but I’ve never seen you there. Trust me, I would remember a face like yours.”
I ignore his flirting and answer, “I’m either studying or here at work. I hardly see my roommates.”
“I bet you taste sweet,” he says, winking at me.
Now I see why Evie doesn’t like him. I can’t blame her at all. I scowl down at him before looking over the table again.
“Anyone want something from the kitchen? We’re closing in twenty.”
“I’d take one of you,” Rhett tries again.
“You’re wasting your time,” Evie snaps, irritated.
When he looks at Evie the smile drops from his face. Seconds tick by in silence before he looks back at me. “Are you a carpet muncher?”
“A what?” I frown at him, not in the mood for games. I’m tired and I still have an assignment I need to finish before I can even think of sleeping.
“Are you into pussies?”
What a jerk.
Probably thinks he’s God’s gift to women.
I take a deep breath so I don’t give him a piece of my mind. I need this job more than I need the satisfaction of telling him to go to hell.
“I’ll have a Dr Pepper, a cheeseburger, and fries,” Jaxson suddenly says. It sets off the others and I quickly write down all the orders. I give Jaxson a grateful smile before taking the order to the kitchen.
When I’m done handing the order over to the kitchen, I head out front to clear more tables. While I’m busy clearing the table next to the one Evie and her friends are seated at, Marcus says, “I bet you a hundred you can’t get her to spread her legs.”