Sprinkle of Life

Chapter 6

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I finished getting ready and convinced Joey to drop me off at Roger’s Pizzeria. Once he and I got there, we sat in the parking lot kissing some more. We broke apart when I realized I was going to be late. I reluctantly pulled away from him and made my way inside the restaurant.

I got my keys out of my bag and unlocked the doors. I was opening today with Carl and working until five this afternoon. I wiped down the counter and opened up all the blinds as I got the restaurant ready for customers. Carl started making food and the smell of cheese and marina sauce filled the air.

“Mhmm, you’d think I’d hate the smell of pizza after all the time I spend here,” I moaned as I walked into the kitchen with Carl. “It smells so good in here!”

“You’re lucky you came here before your mom got home, Herbie,” he said, pushing a lock of hair away from my neck. “You’ve got a hickey on the side of your neck that’s the size of a small country.”

I picked up one of the pizza pans sitting on the counter and used it to look at my neck. There was a red mark right underneath my ear. I didn’t even remember Joey sucking on my neck, but I guess he did.

“Put a spoon in the freezer for a couple of minutes and press it against the hickey. It should go away,” Carl said as he kneaded more crust. “Make sure you use a lot of pressure.”

I knew my jaw was hanging open as I stared at him. “Why do you know how to do that?”

“I’m not as much of loser as you seem to think,” he winked before grabbing an oven mitt and grabbing the pizza out of the oven. “The spoon thing will make it go away within an hour.”

I nodded slowly before sticking a spoon in the freezer. I finished making everything look like it always did when we opened before going back and grabbing the spoon. I pressed it against my neck and left it there for a while hoping that it would make the hickey go away. The last thing I wanted was for the customers, especially the ones I went to church with sometimes, to see me with it.

I picked up the napkin dispenser and saw that the hickey was all but gone now. It was just a red place on my neck, but I could say that I’d just rubbed my neck too hard. I was going to kick Joey’s butt whenever I got off of work.

I heard the bell above the door ring and saw Spencer walking in with Tyler and Craig. I raised a brow but walked over to their table anyway. I smiled at them and waited until they looked up at me to speak.

“Hey, I’m Sage and I’m going to be your server today. Can I start you all off with something to drink?” I asked, using my fake smile that I always used when I waited tables. “Is this all on one bill or…?”

“Yeah, lunch is on me today,” Tyler smiled, winking at me. “I’ll have whatever’s on tap, babe.”

“So you’re going to be drinking coke,” I said, writing it down before turning to the other two. “What can I get you all?”

Spencer was smiling when he said, “I’ll have the same.”

“I want a water,” Craig said, laughing at Tyler’s face. “Excuse the asshole, please don’t spit on our food.”

I shrugged and replied, “It’s not the worst that I get during a day. I’ll be right back with all of your drinks.”

I walked over to the drink machine behind the counter. I made all of their drinks and put them on a tray before heading back over to the table. I sighed before turning my lips back up into a smile and giving the drinks to each of them.

“Are you guys ready to order?” I asked, grabbing my notepad out of the pocket of my apron and clicking my pen.

“A large pepperoni pizza with extra cheese and garlic butter with an order of breadsticks and marinara sauce,” Craig ordered. “Like I said, please don’t spit in our food because Tyler’s an asshole.”

I rolled my eyes but flashed Craig a real smile. “I’ll do my best, but I make no promises about Carl. He’s temperamental.”

I went back to the kitchen and handed Carl the ticket. He groaned before going to make the pizza, he really didn’t like his job. I didn’t really understand why he kept coming back every day, but I guess he had his reasons.

I served the guys their food before sitting down and leaning back against the wall. I was really sleepy for some reason, even though I didn’t really stay up too late last night. I guess my mind was racing so much that I didn’t sleep too solidly.

“I didn’t mean for Briana to text you last night. She was just hanging out with us and I accidently let it slip that I thought you were pretty. I don’t want you to think that I’m some creep or something,” Spencer said, making me jump. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay, I guess I didn’t get as much sleep as I wanted to last night,” I smiled, sitting back up straight. “It’s okay, I wasn’t really creeped out. I didn’t respond to her because I was otherwise engaged.”

I didn’t want to tell him that I was hooking up with Joey. I didn’t know how to even put into words what we were doing last night. Well, I mean, we were making out and having a lot of fun, but it wasn’t a relationship thing. I didn’t even know if I wanted it to be a relationship. Relationships ended badly, but friendships stayed pretty solid usually...

“I would like to take you out on a date,” he said, drawing my attention back to him. “I think we could have a lot of fun together, Sage.”

Spencer was cute and Joey wasn’t my boyfriend so I figured I could go out with him.

“Yeah, that sounds great. I’m sure Briana gave you my number so text me later,” I said as the bell rang again. “I’ve got to go do my job. I can’t wait for our date.”

I looked up and saw that it was Joey, Brigit, and Melanie that had come in. I said goodbye to Craig, Spencer, and Tyler before heading over to take their orders. I tried to make it look like I hadn’t just accepted a date with another guy when I smiled at Joey and his family.

“Hey Carl, I need a half gluten free cheese and half pepperoni pizza. I’m going to grab their drinks,” I smiled at them and waved before filling up their glasses.

I sat the cups of pop onto a tray and made my way over to them. I sat their drinks in front of them before taking the empty seat between Bridgit and Joey. I saw that the guys were still in the restaurant and Spencer was staring over at us. I tried to ignore them and focus back in on the others.

Eventually the guys left and I saw Spencer wink at me. I bit my bottom lip and looked back over at Joey and the others. I saw Joey’s face fall a little bit and I knew he’d seen Spencer’s wink. I heard Carl ring the bell signaling the pizza was done so I rushed over to the kitchen.

“You’re being a little harlot,” he said, handing me the tray of pizza. “You can’t just make out with someone one second and then agree to go out with another someone else the next. It’s not fair, Herbie.”

I sighed and sat down on the chair sitting by the stove. “Relationships don’t last, and I want to be close to Joey. I’m afraid that if we get together it’ll ruin our friendship. With Spencer, I don’t have to worry about that. I don’t care if I lose him or not.”

I walked back out to their table and gave them their pizza. I excused myself and started cleaning up the other table. I saw that Tyler had left his number on a napkin and they’d left me a ten dollar tip. Oh wow, that was the biggest tip that I’d ever been given in my entire life.

“Okay, so I guess I figured out how Spencer got you to go out with him.”