Boundaries

Chapter 3

The laughter stopped abruptly with my interruption. You could tell from their body posture that whatever they had been doing previously had left a triumphant buzz in its wake, it must have been troublesome for the unfortunate recipient. Here's hoping I won't be the next target of the groups mischievous scheming.

As I inhaled to steady my frayed nerves I realized something, at this close proximity I could smell them. The strange yet familiar scent of smoke, earth and something I couldn't quiet place. It was rich and spread through my muscles like honey making me relax unconsciously, the deceptively sweet aroma hid a much darker fragrance that penetrated my wary mind. Closing my eyes for the briefest of moments as my body gravitated towards the table. I was brought out of my revere as a throat cleared to my right. I watched doe eyed as the icy blue irises of the platinum blond assessed my bristled figure, I could only imagen the state I was in after such an embarrassing slip in manner. My skin was flushed with embarrassment, I could feel the heat spreading up my neck and over my cheeks. He however seemed pleased with my laps in mental stability, a subtle smirk ghosted his stony features before he motioned to his buddies.

"What'll it be boys?"

Working up the few fragments of courage I had left scattered in my brain cells I put my coffee jug down and slipped out the note pad stashed in my apron.

The tanned skin of the biker in the corner caught my attention with a small gesture of his hand "Works burger and fries," A man of little words but his voice was strong and left no room for augment. His brown orbs swallowed me whole and I could feel myself sinking deeper as I desperately tried to pull my gaze away.

"Yo baby, I'll take you and your friend to go," caught off guard my eyes finally darted away and for a fleeting moment landed on the rock star blond with untamed hair, his friend beside him gave a sharp elbow to the ribs making him hunch over onto the table. A young man with boyish features stifled a snort behind his closed fist at his buddie's expense, in fact they were all now grinning like lunatics. It set me on edge, as I looked over my shoulder to the counter and spotted Bree blatantly glaring at me.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and sent her a kind smile before bringing my attention back to the current problem. I could fix things with her later, no one wanted to make enemies on the first day of employment. My smile strained tight as the rock star straightened up with a grin.

"I'm sorry sir, but you can only order from the menu."

"Chill babe, I'm just messing with ya," he put his hands up in defence causing another chorus of laughter.

It was hard forcing my fingers to work properly let alone making polite eye contact with my current customers, but I wrote down the first order and followed it up with three identical orders. On my way back to the kitchen the persistent womanizer shouted loud enough for the entire diner to hear, "Babe, when do you get off work?"

Stepping behind the counter felt like was a huge relief but my body wanted to collapse from the monumental stress those men had unknowingly weighed down on me. I tried to keep myself busy for the next 15 minutes, but I could feel an intense heat on the back of my head as four sets of curious eyes watched my every move, the tingling feeling spread throughout my limbs and I was becoming increasingly anxious. Their order would be up soon and I would be expected to bring it over. I really don't want to do this, I thought as I scrubbed down a table that was furthest from the bikers.

"Order up!" the chef in the kitchen shouted, my head shot to the pass through but to my surprise Bree was already gathering the plates of food, it would be rude to take over, right? Taking a deep breath in anticipation I attempted to peek over the booths unnoticed to see her progress with the guys. Thankfully they took the food without any qualms.

A wave of gratitude washed over me as I made my way over to the other waitress to thank her, but before I could even get behind the counter the mischievously youthful face of the sandy blond with the curls popped into my vision. He plonked himself down on a stool at the bench next to me, smirking lips were intently nibbling on the tip of his thumb in a seemingly bad habit.

"Feels like you're trying to avoid us Emily," his brown eyes were enchanting, but It was like he was trying to dissect me similar to a science experiment, prodding and poking until he pulled out all of my deepest secrets.

"Not at all sir, I was busy cleaning and didn't want you to be inconvenienced by the wait."

Damn these name tags, they caused more trouble than they were worth. A strange fuzzy feeling crawled through my brain as the young man absorbed my words. Why was he staring at me like that, I felt uncomfortable in my own skin as my heart picked up its pace.

I could tell the exact moment he found what he was searching for. It turned my blood cold. A glimmer of recognition flashed through his iris's as they dilated. Fingers pulled away from his now full-blown smile, "You're new here right? Only arrived a few days ago?"

I couldn't speak as my mind wandered off into the safety of silence. My head nodded in agreement even though I didn't want to tell him the truth. How could he have known? This group was far worse then I originally thought and now they seemed to have taken an unwelcome interest in me. What should I do! Bitting my lip nervously I decided that I had to get out of this situation or I might combust on the spot.

"I'm sorry but I..arr... I have to get back to work" I rushed out in an almost incomprehensible murmur.

He caught my wrist as I began to flee and pulled me back, ice cold sparks erupted under his fingers as he kept me there. It wasn't rough, but his hold was firm and caused me to stumble slightly.

"You should come for a ride, let us show you around," his beaming face never faulted as I tugged gingerly.

"There's a nice place overlooking the lighthouse, it's magical at night. I bet you'd love it."

I shook my head slowly afraid to make any sudden movements with him so close. He released me sluggishly and my eyes followed his hands up to his mouth where his tongue darted out to moisten his pale lips.

"Come on, what's life without a little risk?" his fingers were back at his mouth again hiding a devious smirk.

"No thanks," I whispered.

Before I had time to comprehend the severity of the situation my feet had high tailed it out of there. Sliding down to the floor I hid in the food storage room for the next 30 minutes as my hyperventilating lungs calmed down. I was going to need a new job if those men were regular patrons here.

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