In Between Times (Complete Novel, Mastered May 12th, 2022)

CHAPTER THREE

AMELIA:

My eyes leave my phone when I hear the bell ring. I see Beatrice Sawyer, one of the other waitresses, as she stumbles through the entrance doors.

"Hey, brat. Where is everyone?" Beatrice asks in a groggy tone.

I flare my nostrils as the word brat comes out of her mouth.

"Uh, I don't know why there are no customers here at the moment, but Jane and Parrish are in the secondary kitchen. Parrish is the new handyman," I reply with a forced smile.

"Hmm — handyman, huh? I'm gonna go take a look," Beatrice replies, as she walks off adjusting her blonde wig.

Beatrice looks about fifty years old, but she dresses like she is a twenty-something year-old hooker outside of work. I've seen her out of uniform once, and I cringed so hard I had to turn away from her.

If it weren't for the uniforms Jane made us wear, she would probably show up half-naked. She never fails at making guys feel uncomfortable, so I suddenly feel bad for Parrish.

I roll my eyes at the back of Beatrice's head as she grabs a cup to fill it with Jane's tea. We're not supposed to drink it, but we do anyway. Sometimes it's funny when Jane gets pissed off.

I turn my attention back to my cell phone to pull up the text Lina sent me. I read it again, and then press the reply button.

ME:

I love u dumbass. Go ahead and have ur way w/ him. There's a new handyman @ the Chickery. He's sexy. IDK what to do about it.

I start twiddling my thumbs. I get in and out of my seat pacing, then standing, then sitting again. I am so jumbled up in thoughts, I just can't sit still. Work is so boring when no customers are here. It feels like my life is slowly disintegrating. I wait for Lina to text me back for about two minutes before my screen lights up, and says new message.

LINA:

U think someone's sexy? LOL! Kiss his face. Ask him to adjust u w/ his wrench. Just for once, PLEASE? Guys are so much more fun when u TOUCH. I know u want to touch. So touch. xoxo

I exhale loudly, and then let out a soft laugh.

I push myself out of my seat, and then walk towards the secondary kitchen. When I slump my way towards the doorframe, I see Parrish standing without a shirt on. I try my best not to be impressed by the amazing definition of his muscles.

Seeing him shirtless, and standing under the lighting in the kitchen — I know now that he is definitely the hottest guy I've ever seen. So hot, in fact, if I opened my mouth, drool would definitely become a waterfall coming out of it.

I stick with the darkest place, which is just outside of the secondary kitchen. Unlike Parrish, I have flaws. Dark eye circles are one of them.

"I am so sorry about your shirt," Beatrice gushes. "It was an honest mistake," she continues, while twirling a piece of her wig hair.

"Don't worry about it," Parrish says, while gesturing his hands in forgiveness.

"Hey, guys. What happened?" I butt in; even though it is obvious Beatrice is making a fool out of herself.

"Hey, Amelia," Parrish says, as he looks over to acknowledge me. He grins at me. I smile in return. It looked like he flexed a little when he said my name. Weird.

"I spilt my tea all over this young man's shirt. Jane is going to get him a spare from the closet." Beatrice places a hand on her hip, and juts it out a little — like that would make her look more attractive, or something.