the diner - harry styles (short story)

3

riley stared at the man. there was nothing she had to do and no customers to serve, she only had half an hour left of her shift anyway. 
"i uh," she smiled, "yeah sure," she shrugged as she walked back over to the booth and sat down across from him, he smiled slightly up at her. she awkwardly looked away, what had compelled her to sit with a man she never even knew? did her father treat her nothing about stranger danger? she knew that if her father found out about this she would be in big trouble, but the delicious scent of the cheeseburger kept her seated. from the corner of her eye she saw the man pick up the burger in both hands and take a hearty bite out of it, she peered up at him and tried to hide a laugh as he looked up at her, sauce spilling out of the corner of his mouth. 
"this is really good," he mumbled, she hardly understood him, it sounded like "mish ish mreally moob" her grin only became wider as she let out a few laughs, he laughed with her. 
"you've got a bit of," she gestured to the corner of her mouth and he quickly placed the burger down and wiped his mouth with the napkin. she swore she saw him blush.  
"do you want some?" he asked, pushing the plate into the middle, riley quickly shook her head, 
"oh god no," she hesitated, a disgusted look casting over her features, he stared at her, eyebrows furrowed and eyes squinted, "i've seen what it's like back there," she gestured towards the kitchen, "there's no way in hell i'm eating anything that comes out of there. rubbish everywhere, the goddamned chef doesn't clean up after himself. the same spatula for every burger, so gross." the man's face paled and a sickly look cast over his features, she had never seen anyone so repulsed. "oh my god, i'm kidding," she laughed as she grabbed a few fries off of his plate, he let out a few laughs to, 
"i almost threw up," 
"damn it," she sighed, her mouth full of salty fries, "i should have kept it going. that would have been hilarious," the man laughed softly before taking another bite out of his burger. riley kept sneakily taking fries off of his plate, she would have been lying if she were to say that she hadn't already eaten the fries off of someone's plate once they left today. she was ashamed. deeply ashamed. 
"riley," he spoke, she was confused,
"what?" 
"your name," he gestured to her badge on her dress, "riley," 
"oh," she smiled softly, "yeah." he continued to look at her, she stared at him too, it was unbelievably awkward. riley wished, so deeply in that moment, that she knew how to converse. "what's yours?" she spat out after a few moments, he shook his head before handling a few fries into his mouth, "you don't have one?" she asked, mildly confused, he shook his head again. 
"what do you think my name is?" he asked once his mouth was empty, 
"frederick," riley said immediately, his eyes widened and eyebrows lifted, "oh my god," she gasped, "did i get it right?" the man said nothing as he took another bite out of his burger, riley's mouth watered slightly, "i can't believe i got it right on the first go," he let her bask in her success for a few moments before speaking again, 
"you really think i look like a frederick?" he laughed, riley stared at him, 
"yeah," she stated, "you have the hair for it," 
"the hair for a frederick?" 
"yeah, you know," she struggled to find her words, "the, uh, whole, brown, messy, brown hair look," he stared at her, and the longer he stared the deeper his dimple appeared, "you know," his slim smile soon turned into a large one as he flashed his white teeth and let out a few loud laughs, 
"no, i don't know," the man's hands quickly reached for the large cup and he took a long sip of the milkshake, riley could only dream to imagine the heaven his taste buds were experiencing right now. he slumped back into his chair and placed the cup onto the table with a quiet thud, his head leant back against the top of the chair and he closed his eyes, "that," he spoke, "is the best thing i have ever tasted," riley smiled, 
"right!" she exclaimed, "it's so good!" without thinking riley extended her arm across the table and pulled the milkshake towards her. she placed her lips around the straw and waited for the blissfully thick drink to erupt into her mouth, the sharp mint began flowing across her tongue in a cold chill. she closed her eyes for a few moments before opening them and seeing the man staring at her from across the table, a soft smile spread across his lips, "oh my god," embarrassment spilled over her, did she really just drink this man's milkshake? "i am so sorry," she exclaimed as she quickly pushed the cold glass back over to him, he laughed slightly, 
"it's only fair that you get to experience this too. i'd feel rather guilty if i was the only one enjoying this milkshake," 
"look," she said, "i'm not going to lie to you, mainly because we just met and we have a blank page and i don't want to tarnish it already,"she spoke breathlessly, "but i've had two milkshakes today," a small blush crawled over her cheeks, he chuckled slightly, 
"completely understandable," he smiled as he grabbed a few fries.