“I heard you are looking for a job?”
My face must be turning red, considering how hot my cheeks instantly become. I try to be inconspicuous when I drag my palms across my lap, hoping to hide any trace of sweat I’ve developed in the last fifteen seconds.
“Yes, yes, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize—of course you work here. Look at you—“Oh my God, shut up, Ashley.
He squats down, bringing his eye-level closer to mine. If I were to look down right now, would his bulge be more decipherable or less? I cannot look down. He’s trying to make eye contact, not junk contact.
Noah has sapphire eyes, peppered with flecks of gold dust. Noah smirks a cute crooked little tug of his lips, showing off a hint of his pearly teeth. “I’m thrilled you asked for an application. We’re short-staffed at the moment. Do you have any waitressing experience?” He speaks clearly and with a point. He’s clearly polished with etiquette.
Unlike me, who is still trying to dry my sweaty hands off on my pants, because I’m assuming a handshake is in the near future. I don’t want Noah to feel like he has to go wash his hands after meeting me.
“Actually, yes. I worked at a hotel restaurant in Hartford, Connecticut for a couple of years while I was attending school. I just graduated a few weeks ago, and moved down here to find a job.” It’s kind of the truth.
“Well, The Clam Pit isn’t up to the same luxury status of a hotel restaurant, but I hope you will fill out the application, so we can set up a time to meet.”
I decided to leave out the fact that the hotel was a motel, and the restaurant was a diner next door. People expand on the truth with resumes all the time, though.
“Yes, of course. That would be wonderful.”
“Fantastic. I hope you all enjoy your lunch. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do for you, ladies.” A waiter brushes by Noah just as he’s standing up, and he’s pushed forward against the table, or me, and his junk touches my arm. I’m now looking at my arm as if it would have left a mark, but nope, no mark. It felt real, though. That junk is definitely real.
“I’m so sorry, pardon me,” he says, placing his hand on his chest and taking a step back. Does he not realize his penis was just resting on my arm for half a second? “I’ll come back to check in on you once you finish your meals. Enjoy, ladies.”
“Thank you,” I respond on behalf of the three of us, seeing as the other two are mute once again.
“Well, there you go,” Kricket says after he walks away. “I can come up with a thing or two I can do for him if you can’t pull through.” I try not to act surprised at her comment, though it’s mildly unexpected after her elongated vowed silence.
“We’ll see, I guess.”
“He looks like Richard,” Krow utters. Her shoulders buckle forward, and her hair falls into her face.
“What?” Kricket responds. “No, he doesn’t. Not even close. Richard was five-five, skin and bones, and paler than a cloudy sky. What in the world are you thinking?”
“He was beautiful,” Krow says in a ghostly whisper.
“The manager here? Yes, he was beautiful. Richard? We called him The Walking Dead for a reason.”
Oh boy. “Maybe you’ll meet someone new here. There’s clearly plenty of single men to choose from,” I tell Krow, debating whether I should keep my thoughts to myself. The girls peer at me with an inquisitive look in their eyes like I just said the wrong thing.
“No one can replace Richard,” Krow grunts.
“I’m sorry,” I follow. “I was just trying—I’m going to fill out this application quickly, okay?”
I twist my body to the side and tend to the application while listening to Kricket quietly talk Krow off the ledge.
“He’s in jail now. You can relax,” I hear Kricket whisper.
Fun. This is fun.
Noah returns to our table just as we’re finishing up our meals. “How was everything, ladies?” he asks, folding his hands in front of his waist. Maybe he noticed his junk was bulging earlier.
“The sandwich was incred—“ I try to say.
“That salad was bland and dry,” Kricket states.
“Ah,” Noah says. “We could have gotten you a different salad dressing if this wasn’t what you preferred.”
“I don’t use salad dressing. It’s full of chemicals.”
