Chapter 21: Chapter Twenty

It's short and badly written. Please forgive me :(

Thanks to ameticia for the banner!

----------------------------

“Are you kidding? You have a way better butt than me.”

I shake my head at Ava, who’s staring down at me from her seat on the countertop incredulously. “Maybe so, but you’ve got the bigger boobs. Boobs over butt, any day.”

For any other person, this probably wouldn’t be a normal conversation, let alone something they’d be willing to discuss in public. Well, you know, if you can count the almost-empty restaurant as public. However, for Ava and I, conversing about one another’s best assets is just one of the ways we try to pass the time on a tedious Thursday afternoon shift.

Needless to say, at four in the afternoon, there’s not much demand for heavy platefuls of burgers and fries or sundaes the height of a small child. That’s probably the main reason why our only customers are the slightly (and by slightly, I mean very) overweight couple chomping onion rings by the window, and the pregnant woman at table seven who seems to be eating not only for two, but as if she’s got an entire town in her uterus. Business usually picks up after five, but until then, Ava and I have no choice but to find our own means of entertainment.

Hence the whole “your butt is way better than mine” discussion.

Ava folds her arms over her chest. “They’re not even big!”

“Bigger than mine,” I say. “At least you can actually fill out something more than a training bra.”

An amused smile creeps onto her face. “So why are you the one with two guys drooling over you?”

“They do not drool over me!” I protest, before another thought pops into my head. “Wait, what do you mean two guys? Who else are you talking about?”

She rolls her eyes. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“Apparently not.”

“Oh God, Georgie,” she says, with an exaggerated groan, “are you an idiot? Connor?”

“You have got to be kidding.” Now it’s my turn to shoot her an incredulous look. “We are talking about the same person here, right? Connor Murphy? The guy who inexplicably hates my guts and is constantly out to get me?”

“Or so you think.”

“It’s true! Believe me, I think I would’ve noticed if Connor was “drooling over me”, or however you want to phrase it. We haven’t had a conversation in weeks. Not to mention now I’ve started dating Nathan he hasn’t stopped shooting me daggers. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure those aren’t common signs that a guy likes you.”

It’s been a full two weeks since the carnival and my relationship with Nathan is still going strong. Well, as strong as you can get when the affection’s almost one-sided, that is. I’ve been making sure to play up the dating game whenever Connor’s in earshot, but other than shooting me looks I’m sure are intended to kill, there hasn’t been much in the way of a different reaction.

I’m not sure what I expected, really. A chivalric brawl in the hallway between Nathan and Connor over my honor? Yeah. Like that’d happen.

Still, I wouldn’t mind seeing something like that.

Quite frankly, I’m confused. Maybe I should just be content with the fact we’re evoking at least some kind of reaction from our target. It could be worse; he could be completely indifferent towards our relationship. Even so, another niggling part of me continues to question whether I should be stepping up the game.

What does “stepping up” involve anyway?

“He’s jealous, Georgie. Don’t you know what that means? He wants you for himself.”

The idea is so utterly ridiculous, Ava should be incredibly thankful I don’t have a drink right now. If I did, she’d definitely be covered in it. But seriously, how can she suggest an idea so outrageous? I swear, I’ve got more chance of flying to the moon tomorrow than Connor liking me.

And I have no intention of becoming an astronaut.

“You’re crazy,” I tell her bluntly. “Connor couldn’t have made it any clearer that he hates me. I’m not sure why, but there’s obviously some reason behind it. Not that I’m going to find out any time soon – that guy’s practically cryptic. There’s no way in hell that he likes me.”

“And you don’t like him?”

A flat look sent in her direction serves as my response.

“So if you don’t… why are you going through all this trouble to make him jealous?”

I open my mouth to speak, but pause when I realize the response isn’t automatic. Abruptly shutting it, I make an effort to look like I’m not pondering on the thought too much. “I… I just… it’s just a bit of revenge, okay?” I force out eventually, ignoring the smirk that’s tugging at the corner of Ava’s lips. “There’s no way I’m letting him get away with the way he’s been treating me.”

“Nathan’s going to be crushed when he finds out.”

“Well, he’s not going to find out,” I say pointedly. “It’ll all work out in the end, okay? I’ll figure it out.”

Still, no matter how confident I try to convince I am, I do feel bad. Leading on a guy as sweet as Nathan – especially one who’s confessed to having a long-term crush on me – is wrong, and boy do I know it. But the prospect of shutting down this whole jealousy plan seems unthinkable. There’s no way I can give up now when I’ve come so far.

And when Nathan’s this happy.

Ugh, I’m a terrible person.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” I say, for lack of a better escape route from the conversation. “Cover for me.”

“Sure.”

I hop off my seat and adjust my shirt before heading towards the back of the restaurant. Aside from the bathrooms, the only other room around here is the staff room – although it’s become more of an unofficial dumping ground for mine and Ava’s belongings, since nobody else really uses it anyway. I don’t think it’s ever held more than a worn-out couch and a few stacks of incomplete paperwork Dad wants to keep out of sight.

However, just as I pass the door, I’m surprised to see it swing open. Skidding to a halt, I come face-to-face with my dad, a blue ring-binder in his hand.

“Oh, Georgie,” he says, when my appearance registers in his head. “I’ve been meaning to catch you.”

I try not to sound too wary. “Yeah?”

“I forgot to tell you, but we’ve got a new employee starting today. New waiter. Shift work, like you and Ava.”

“Really? You finally got someone?”

The Help Wanted sign has been up in the restaurant window for God knows how long. Apparently no one in this town has the desire to be worked to the bone in a family friendly eatery for minimum wage. Ava and I are the only fools who are actually stupid enough to put up with it.

Although it seems our grand total has just been brought up to three.

“Yeah. He came in the other day. I was going to train him up myself – show him the basics of the job – but I’m weighed down by all this stuff to do in the kitchen. You wouldn’t mind taking over for me, would you?”

It takes a couple of seconds for his words to process – mostly because I’m pondering on the thought of who our new mystery employee might be, and whether he’ll be hot.

Fingers crossed for an ex-Abercrombie model.

“Um…” I blink. “I suppose so.”

“Great!” he says, his face brightening. “That’d be a massive help. You don’t really have to do anything extra; it’s all the stuff you’d normally do. Show him how to use the cash register, how to take orders… well, you know the drill. That okay?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

I suppose it’s remotely more interesting than idling at the counter with Ava. Plus, if there’s a miracle and our new colleague does happen to be God’s gift to women… well, maybe showing him how to use the cash register will get me in there.

You know, if he happens to dig that kind of thing.

“Okay, well, he should be here soon. I’m leaving him in your capable hands,” he says, although I’m convinced there’s an undertone of sarcasm to his voice. “Thanks.”

We exchange brief nods and he heads off toward the kitchen. I make my way down the hall and enter the bathroom, blinking as the bright reflected light hits me. The white tiled room is small and kind of claustrophobic, but it beats having to stick around and discuss my complicated life with Ava. She may be my best friend, but she sure has some crazy ideas. I mean, Connor liking me? Please.

I head over to the basins and catch sight of the mirror overheard, grimacing at the soapy hand streak that’s obviously the signature mark of an overexcited sugar-fueled kid. If nothing else, working here has taught me one thing: selling extra large sundaes in a place that’s usually crawling with already uncontrollable children is not the best idea.

I’m just not sure that snippet of knowledge is going to be of any benefit later in life.

Sighing, my thoughts turn again to the new employee that I’ve got to train up. I know I’ve got my hopes set high on some attractive guy (and we’ll probably end up with some acne-ridden nerd who lives in his mom’s basement) but it’s still a mystery to me who would actually take that job. I know from first-hand experience that it’s not the most desirable occupation in the world.

Is it someone from school? It’s probably unlikely, as I’m not exactly the most popular person right now – especially after the obsessive crush rumors, courtesy of Connor – and people aren’t exactly tripping over themselves to hang out with me.

Tripping over themselves to avoid me, maybe, but not much else.

I place a hand under the faucet’s stream of running water and run it through my hair, hoping to eradicate some of the frizz it’s obtained from the humidity of the restaurant. Then I scrutinize my appearance, wondering if it’s acceptable to meet a potential godly new colleague.

How should I act, anyway? Cool is the obvious answer, but how am I supposed to know how that works? If you want clumsy, awkward or nerdy, then I’m your girl… but cool?

Let’s face it, Georgie – never going to happen.

Shaking my head, I wipe a hand on my apron and decide it’s probably best to make a reappearance. I’ve been absent for at least five minutes now, and if I don’t hurry up, Ava’s going to think I’ve fallen down the toilet or something.

I exit the bathroom swiftly and begin to make my way toward the main restaurant area once again. Mere seconds after I round the corner, my feet grind to a sharp halt and I find myself frozen to the spot.

Staring, as if to confirm what I think I’m seeing before me.

The new employee’s here, alright. The funny thing is I don’t even need to look up to verify my suspicions. For some reason, my eyes seem to be completely transfixed on the name badge pinned to the front of his shirt, gleaming in the restaurant’s light.

This cannot be happening.

Oh God, please tell me this is some kind of awful dream that I’m going to wake up from in a cold sweat but forget about the next morning. Please tell me my eyes are deceiving me, and that the real worker is my much-awaited tanned underwear model I’ve spent way too long imagining.

But sadly that’s not the case. My eyes are in full working order and what I’m seeing on the name badge is cold, hard reality.

Which is why my heart freefalls to the bottom of the stomach when I read the words Hi, my name is Connor.

--------------------------

I am so sorry for how long it took to update! I'm having to write in my tiny revision breaks and I had such massive writer's block with this chapter. Ugh... I'm so sorry. I feel so bad :(

By the way, the side of the chapters are looking a little bare. If any of you creative people want to make some banners, I'LL LOVE YOU. Once again I'm sorry for the crappy chapter. Until next time <3