Baron

He didn’t look around at his surroundings like most businessmen do. The confidence in which he carries himself is a turn on all by itself. I was standing behind the counter drooling over him for a minute, before I remembered men like him do not look at girls like me. At least not for longer than it takes for them to cheat on their wives, knock us up, and leave us single moms struggling for the rest of our lives. After talking some sense into myself, I go back to doing my job. Only when I return, I am told his table would be my final table for the night.

“Great.” Is my sarcastic answer to my boss.

I figured it would be a quick order and then I would be off for the night. Wrong! Well, not entirely wrong. The order-taking is quick. The rude fat guy he’s with only wanted the most expensive things on the menu and wasted no time in ordering both of them. The woman sitting next to him, with the incredibly annoying voice, ordered the most worthless thing on the menu. She must be watching her figure, I am sure.

I wonder if she is his girlfriend. What could he possibly see in her? It’s obvious she is one of those women who barely eat and then… Stop it, Francesca. It’s none of your business. I chastise myself as I round the corner of the block Esther lives on.

The truth is, I am more than a little jealous and still reeling from the kiss he laid on me in the hallway of the restaurant. My lips are still tingling. I can’t help but raise my hand to them, trying to capture the moment once more. Before I know it, I am putting my key in the lock of Esther’s door.

“It’s about time you got home. You must have walked. Did you walk?” She asks me, her hands on her hips with a motherly scowl on her face. I shake my head smiling at her.

“I did. If you must know, I had a lot on my mind.” I mumble under my breath as I’m walking into the room. I should have known she misses nothing.

“Oh? Do tell. What happened?” She sits crossed legged on my bed waiting for me to spill my guts. I try to ignore her by walking around the room changing into my house clothes. My body is still buzzing with the feelings he set off in me.

“Helloooo. I’m waiting.” I giggle, shaking my head at her impatience.

I should have known that she wouldn’t let it go. I turn to look at her and paste a fake scowl on my face. She, in turn, lifts her eyebrow at me, and I cannot help but crack up laughing. I love this damn girl.

I moved here almost two years ago, as a foreign exchange student, to finish high school in a new country. Originally, I am from Quebec, Canada. The exchange family I lived with was wonderful. However, when my year was up, like anyone, they expected me to go back.

In theory, I was supposed to. But go back to what? My parents died the year before in a car crash. The boarding school I was attending gave me the chance to go somewhere different and I took it. I was eager to get away from the memories that were causing me pain and I had no one to go back home too.

For that matter I had no one here either, but at least it was new. The best thing about the year I spent here as a foreign exchange student, is meeting Esther. She and her family are amazing. They weren't the family I was originally staying with, but they welcomed me with open arms as much as they could. We became the best of friends.

I got a couple of scholarships to go to college which allowed me to get an extension on my student visa. However, said scholarships didn’t cover the whole year. So, I got a job and finished out the first half of the year at the restaurant I am working in right now. Next, I found a small studio apartment to live in and then began my new life. The plan was to save enough money to start college this fall. Especially since my visa is basically no good without being in school.

Esther is the one constant in my life. For a while it seemed as if everything was going as good as can be expected. That was until the day the landlord sold the building without telling any of the tenants. Needless to say, I am now homeless. Well, I was for about a minute. The moment Esther found out, she made me move in and the rest is history.

“Some guy kissed me today,” I say really fast, not bothering to look at her. I already know the expression on her face.