The Bet

Chapter 13 - Why did the Cafe have to be Empty?

Amy felt someone’s eyes on her as she looked to her left. Two boys and three girls were watching them and her smile quickly fell. They were talking about her and Chris, and from the looks of it, they were starting a rumour that was bound to be spread.

Amy tried to shrug it off as she let her hair fall around her face, hoping that they wouldn’t recognise her if they hadn’t already. Chris hadn’t noticed as he looked back up at her, yanking her head back from her panicky thoughts.

“What are you doing after school today?” he asked. The halls had cleared out completely, and the group that had been talking about them were heading towards the exit, giving spiked glances back at Amy. She bit her lip harder, trying to concentrate on Chris rather than curiously prodding at what they might have been saying.

She looked back at Chris with an apologetic smile, “I have work,” she said, watching his grin slip from his face. “But what about after that?” she added. Amy didn’t know why but she really wanted to see the corners of his lips quirk in a smile again.

Chris nodded like a child who’d just been promised ice cream. “Okay,” he said, a cocky smirk appearing to cover it just as quickly as it had come, “Dinner and a movie. If you choose a scary one, we can cuddle.”

Amy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, pushing out from between him and the wall. “Ha ha,” she said sarcastically. She checked her watch, and saw that she had to be at work in twenty minutes. “I have to go. See you at 7 o’clock?”

Chris tugged at her hand and led her to his car and opened the door for her, “I’ll drive you there.”

***

Amy pulled the strings on her apron around her and stood in front of the cash register, preparing herself to mindlessly serve customer after customer. No one was here yet but that was normal. Other than the odd shopper, people tended to only show up into half way into her shift.

She threw on her usual smile anyways though, feeling her cheeks become pink as she blushed in thought. It seemed that every time she came here, memories of Chris asking her to kiss him filled her mind. On some level, she wished she hadn’t been such an individual and refused. His soft lips looked so edible and delicious. She wished she could have them now.

“Hello,” she began, not missing a beat, “How may I help you, sir?”

The boy – she now realized – was wearing a baseball cap that covered most of his face. Amy thought she recognized him which wasn’t unusual since her work place was so close to her school. Other than families, this little cafe was also used for by her peers as a place to hang out.

The mysterious stranger shook out his dirty blond hair and placed both hands on the edge of the table that separated them. He felt dangerous. The boy looked up at her suddenly, his blue eyes directly meeting hers. Amy realized who it was a second too late as he grabbed the back of her neck and yanked it down so that they were a sliver apart over the counter.

“I saw your car in my driveway the other day,” he said haughtily. His sweet smelling breathe tickled her skin and she tried to wrench herself back. Amy was getting really uncomfortable and scared.