Mia had been working for a couple hours when Lorelei approached her and asked if she was comfortable working cash with her since it was so busy.
As it was approaching 4, the evening rush was flowing in and Mia had to spend her time inside and out of the kitchen to compensate for low staff.
Although her new position made her extremely uncomfortable, she tried to suck it up since she didn't want to disappoint anyone.
"Hello what can I get you today?" She asked quietly.
"Sorry, could you speak up?"
Mia looked up and her small figure seemed to shrink even more at the annoyed face of the girl in front of her.
The black-haired teen was chewing her gum obnoxiously loud and glared at Mia when she didn't repeat herself in a louder volume.
She rolled her eyes and placed her hand on her hip before giving her order.
"Get me a small, iced coffee and a double chocolate fudge brownie."
Mia nodded and made an effort to speak more confidently when she told the impatient teen her total.
"That'll be $6.58"
A handful of quarters and coins were dumped on the counter and Mia's hands shook with anxiety as she counted them.
"Your order will be ready in..."
The girl had left to join her group of friends, the lot of them laughing and giggling while glancing back at a quivering Mia.
Mia clenched her hands into fists and welcomed the pain of her fingernails digging into the soft skin of her palms.
Blinking slowly, she forced a smile on her face to welcome the next customer, determined to break out of her shell and be more confident in herself this time around.
Finally, the crowd began to dwindle down and Mia was freed from her torture at the front counter.
After only a moment of being in the backroom, she heard a familiar voice. "Hey Mia, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out after our shift."
Mia let out a breath when she heard the familiar voice and her mood instantly improved at the proposal.
She never had a girlfriend before, and Lorelei was always really nice to her.
She smiled to herself and wiped under her eyes again before responding.
"Ya, that sounds great Lori, just give me a second to clean up in here."
"Great! Meet me at the front when you're ready."
When the footsteps quieted until they were no longer audible, Mia closed the fridge and rested herself against it.
The silence that surrounded her was the perfect trap. Seemingly comforting, yet it allowed her mind to wander and think when she wanted to do anything but that at the moment.
Immediately, she busied herself with cleaning up the back room. It was messier than usual due to the nature of the day's events.
Mia finished up an hour later, huffing as she turned off the tap after washing her last bowl.
Her ringtone sounded and she shuffled over to take the call.
"Hello?" She spoke absently, not paying attention to the ID.
"Hey, pretty girl"
Mia almost hummed in delight at the sound of his voice. The endearing nickname wasn't helping her case.
"Hey, Damien" She responded. Her cheeks were rosy and strained as she smiled despite the man not even being there.
"I just wanted to make sure you're still good to be picked up in ten minutes."
Mia bit her lip and spoke. "Actually, my friend Lorelei and I were going to hang out after work. Maybe you could pick me up then?"
"That's fine baby have fun. Text me when you're done, and I'll come get you."
"Alright." She murmured with a timid smile timidly.
"Okay. See you later "
"Bye" Mia ended before hanging up.
"Oh my gosh you guys are so cute!"
Mia jumped and placed a hand over her chest at the intrusion, her heart almost stopping in fright.
"Lorelei you scared me half to death, how long have you been standing there?"
The tall brunette shrugged half-heartedly and walked over to the shorter blonde.
"Long enough." She grabbed a handful of Mia's hair and examined the ends.
"I couldn't help but listen to your conversation. Was that the same guy who came in a while ago? Cause, damn that guy is hot."
Mia opened her mouth to reply but was cut off.
"Is he like your boyfriend or something? Just asking out of curiosity" Lorelei spoke with a Cheshire smile on her face.
Mia blushed, a bit taken aback by Lorelei's overwhelming personality.
"Um, ya we've been dating for a bit"
Lorelei's grin became strained and she quickly changed the subject.
"We should probably get going. I was thinking we could go catch a movie? There's this new theatre open and the seats are supposed to be super comfy. I heard they even recline."
Mia tilted her head, confused at the sudden change in topic and her mind reeled as she tried to keep up with the extroverted woman.
When they arrived at the movie theatre, Lorelei bought a small Dasani water, while Mia got a large popcorn, a blue slushie and a pack of skittles.
The taller girl eyed Mia's choice of food skeptically and Mia flushed in embarrassment when she noticed the significant difference between their purchases.
Mia had never had a problem with her body before. She wasn't stick thin, but she wasn't overly plump either. She had a fairly flat stomach with largish hips and thick thighs to accommodate.
The slight pudge on her stomach never bothered her before but as she followed her friend inside the dark room, she couldn't help but frown as she looked at Lorelei's taller but more slender frame.
~
The movie had ended in a blur and Mia could barely process her friend's words as they left.
"That movie was so good! I was surprised that Rosie decided to leave her husband for John though. I would never leave my man if he was loaded, you would have to be a complete idiot to do that." Lorelei chuckled to herself in amusement, finding humour in her own words.
Mia laughed half-heartedly, while desperately searching for the familiar car that carried the man who washed all her sorrows away.
As if someone was listening from above, a black Range Rover pulled up to the curb and Mia could almost cry in relief.
Her day had been extremely overwhelming, and she didn't know how to deal with all the emotions she was feeling. Insecurities and criticism were gnawing at her brain and she felt as if she could implode.
A tall figure exited the vehicle, and he removed his black ray bans to reveal blue eyes that held no emotion except when directed at her.
Mia hurried over towards him and clutched at the fabric of his grey suit.
"I missed you." She mumbled into his chest. She was completely and utterly emotionally exhausted.
"Woah, is everything okay?" He questioned in concern, while running his hands down her arms.
After getting no response he looked up, making eye contact with the tall brunette that was looking on longingly.
She snapped out of her daze when blue eyes met her own and she quickly fixed her top and smiled shyly.
"What happened." He asked while pressing Mia into his side.
Lorelei furrowed her brows in confusion.
"What do you mean? Nothing happened, we went to the movies" A small laugh closed off her sentence and her eyes flickered between the couple in a small flash of jealousy.
"Thank you for a fun night Lorelei, I'll see you at work tomorrow." Mia interrupted before Damien could say anything more.
She took his hand and pulled him in the direction of his car. With each step she could feel herself falling apart a little more and by the time she reached the black vehicle, her legs were shaking beneath her weight.
"Mia, baby tell me what's wrong. What has you so upset?"
Damien pulled her into the car and sat her on his lap. She fidgeted nervously before a few tears escaped.
"What's wrong with me?" Her voice cracked as she spoke.
Damien's eyes widened at her saddened state and he furrowed his brows at her question.
"There's absolutely nothing wrong with you. You're my perfect girl. Why would you even say that?"
"I-I was on the cash register today and I could barely use my voice." She muttered angrily. "I just get so nervous and I-I've never done it before. Gosh, Damien it was so embarrassing."
She sighed heavily and wiped at her cheeks before speaking again.
"I don't know, it's dumb but I want to make more friends and maybe do my job without feeling like a complete idiot."
Mia bit her lip, hesitant about talking about her physical insecurities with him.
"And...and ya."
Damien repositioned Mia so that she was straddling his lap, facing him.
He wiped her tears with his thumb and pressed a soft kiss against her pouty lips.
"Baby, I know how badly you want to make friends; trust me I do. But you can't be so hard on yourself. You're doing the best you can and right now that's good enough. I hate to see you like this."
He grabbed both of her hands and squeezed them tightly before continuing.
"I know it must be hard to feel this way, but I don't ever want to see you put yourself down like this again. Okay? "
"Okay" Mia agreed after a moment.