Beast Beloved

Chapter Five

"Cameron doesn't seem to have a problem with it"

Eli snorted. "I can't really picture him being with someone bigger than him, he's too ..." he trailed off, not quite able to find the word for it.

"I know what you mean" Sinclair continued on, "I did date him for an entire two weeks. He's the one who needs to be in charge."

"Exactly"

"I'm surprised you know that after two days"

"It's fairly obvious" Eli looked around as Sinclair pulled the car into a small parking lot. The building had a large neon sign above the door saying simply 'The Diner'. Eli could glimpse red leather through the windows, and rustic wooden counters on the far wall.

"Original, I know" Sinclair got out of the car. "My mom and dad drove around to every diner they knew and then copied the design. It's been thirty years and the place hasn't changed a bit" She sounded annoyed as she spoke.

"You think it should change?" Eli questioned as they approached the entrance.

"There's nothing wrong with the food or the service, but yes." Sinclair gave the place a disapproving glance as she walked through it. "It's too old. It needs a modern design, something lively something-"

"Here we go again" The woman behind the counter groaned. She was older, and her grey hair was tied up into a tight bun. Eli could tell at a glance she was Sinclair's mother, they had the same brown eyes, and curved lips. "I swear you bring people here just to rail about the decorating. It's called vintage honey, and we aren't swapping it out for those cold greys you want to bring in"

"It's not grey it's blue." Sinclair shot back, "And not that horrible gaudy blue you were looking at either." She sat at the booth in the corner with a huff and snatched a menu off the table.

Eli slid the other one out with a cautious glance at her. "You don't know what food your family's diner serves?"

"Of course I do" Sinclair scowled into the menu, using the paper to hide her face.

Eli nodded to himself and looked over contents. It was the standard food for a diner, though the desert menu held a lot more choice than he'd seen before. "Banoffee pie?"

"Biscuit base, banana and toffee middle and cream top." Sinclair explained shortly.

"Sounds good" Eli hummed.

Sinclair raised her hand to her mom. Eli's jolted from his relaxed attitude, and a shot of embarrassment made his cheeks heat up. "I didn't bring any money with me"

Sinclair looked at him like he was an idiot. "It's my diner, we're not paying"

"Hi there" Sinclair's mom extended her hand, "I'm Charlotte, you must be Eli."

He shook her hand, and she sat down next to them. Sinclair scoffed and immediately stood up. "I'll just help myself then"

Charlotte ignored her. "Sinclair tells me your looking for a job"

"I was hoping to find a place I could work weekends" Eli lapsed into conversation with her. It didn't feel like an interview. Especially when she started talking about why she opened the place, and then started showing baby pictures of Sinclair. "She was so cute back then"

Sinclair loudly placed two plates on the table. "I'm much cuter now" She stated boldly. "She practically shoved the cake into Eli's mouth with how pushy she was about taking attention away from the toddler staring up at them from the phone's screen.

Charlotte just smiled at the display before standing up. "How does ten on Saturday sound?"

"That's perfect" Eli answered quickly.