Page 31 of Twilight of Embers
“Here,” Cáel growled.
The grit in his voice made me jump, my gaze snapping to his. The light blue hue of his eyes held me captive for a moment, my breaths coming faster. It was then I saw a faint scar bisecting his lip.
Cáel extended his hands toward me slowly. Tattoos extended from beneath his sleeves and covered his hands. But his movements were gentle, as if he didn’t want to scare me.
I handed the plate to him, and his mouth curved the slightest amount.
“And the last one’s mine,” Knox said with a smile, but it seemed a little forced around the edges.
I slid the cheeseburger and BLT combo in front of him. “Hungry?”
Knox’s grin widened, becoming more genuine. “We always are.” He glanced around the space. “How’s your first day going?”
I followed his gaze, noting a table that needed their orders taken. “Good. Fiona’s really nice.” And so far, the tables had left me pretty good tips.
“Good,” Knox said. “What time do you get off?”
“I’m actually not sure.”
He pulled out his phone. “What’s your number?”
My brow furrowed.
Knox’s fingers tapped the screen. “You shouldn’t walk back to the dorm alone if it’s dark. I can give you a ride.”
“You don’t have to—”
A low growl had my gaze snapping to Cáel.
“It’s not safe,” he gritted out.
“Okay,” I acquiesced quickly and listed off my phone number.
Knox’s fingers flew across the screen. “I just sent you a text so you have my number. Just call when you’re getting close to being done.”
“If it’s dark,” I muttered. “Do you guys need anything else to drink?”
They shook their heads, and I moved away, tucking my tray under my arm. I crossed to the table that needed to be served and forced a smile. “Welcome to Spark’s. Can I get you guys anything to drink? Or are you ready to order?”
The table was full of guys wearing various Evergreen gear. They were all on the larger size but not nearly as big as my new friends.
One of them ran his gaze over me and grinned. “You on the menu?”
Gross.
“I’m afraid that’s going to be a no, but the cheeseburger is pretty damn good.”
His friends laughed, but he kept his eyes locked on me as they all ordered.
Great. I did not need to deal with creepy customers.
Placing their orders with Ian, I moved through my tables, cleaning empty ones or checking with patrons to see if they needed anything. It didn’t take long before Ian was calling order up again.
I hurried back to the pass-through window and grabbed the plates, loading up my tray. I crossed back to the table of what I assumed were jocks and began unloading orders. Working at the café for the past four years had really helped with my memory, and I easily remembered who had ordered what.
A few of the guys were polite and thanked me, but some merely grunted. As I set the final plate in front of the creeper, a hand cupped my ass.
I jerked, stepping back and out of his grasp, glaring at him.
