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“Who’s kinda creepy?” Daphne asked as she walked in, catching the tail end of our conversation.

“The other kitchen guys,” Brett told her.

She rolled her eyes at me. “You’re such a turd, Brett.”

He scowled and finally turned to start stacking containers on the counter. “I’m just saying. My dad says you have to be careful who you associate with. It reflects back on you, ya know? That’s why my frat was so strict about who we invited to our parties.”

“Yeah, and that’s why everyone hates your frat.”

I suppressed my snort. Daphne grinned at me, and I smiled back as I started peeling potatoes. Brett went quiet after that, and when the kitchen started getting steamy from the big pot of bubbling broth, he had to go and sit in the back office with a soda for a while until he stopped feeling like he “was gonna ralph everywhere.”

The day passed super slow. It kinda sucked that I barely got to see Elliot during our shifts, but none of them seemed to leave the other kitchen much except to take their orders out to the front. I was pretty sure they all even ate their lunches in there.

Brett dragged himself back into the kitchen when Daphne’s shift ended. She was still at college, so she didn’t work as long hours as us. Liz, the manager, popped her head in before leaving at seven. She definitely had the same condition as the others, so she didn’t come into the kitchen—just told us that Elliot would be locking up once we were closed.

My gut fizzed with excitement that I refused to show. When closing time finally started inching closer, I glanced over at Brett, who was slumped over the other counter fiddling with an empty container.

“Hey,” I said as casually as I could. “If you, uh, wanted to head to that beach party now, I’ll be okay cleaning up.”

He immediately perked up. “Yeah?”

“For sure.” I gestured at the window. Through it, we could see the food court starting to clear out. “It’s quiet, so I can start now between orders. Won’t take me long.”

“Sweet. Knew you were legit, Rick.”

I didn’t bother pointing out that it was Ricky, not Rick. I just gave him a tight smile as he shuffled for the door.

“Oh.” He paused, looking uneasy. “I should probably tell Elliot—”

“I’ll do it,” I blurted, then flushed. “I don’t mind. I’ll ask him to quickly check the kitchen again.”

“’Kay.” Brett still looked a bit wary. “He might rat me out for leaving early again.”

I was pretty sure he wouldn’t, but I smiled and said, “I’ll tell him it was my idea.”

“Rad.” He grinned at me. “Thanks, Rick.”

Then he was gone. I hovered for a few seconds, patting my hair to make sure it wasn’t too messy, then took a breath and headed for the door.

Brett had already left by the time I walked the short distance down the corridor to the other kitchen. My palms were a little clammy, stomach jittery with anticipation and nerves. I knocked twice on the door, then took a few steps back so I wasn’t at risk of, like, contaminating the kitchen or something.

A few long seconds passed before the door inched open just a crack. A familiar face peered out, already frowning. Then his frown melted away when he saw it was me, replaced by a big grin.

“Hey.” He glanced over his shoulder into the room. I didn’t know who was in there with him, so I tried to keep my tone neutral.

“Hey, sorry to bother you. Um, I told Brett that he could go early, so…”

I trailed off, heat rushing to my cheeks. A slow grin spread over Elliot’s mouth.

“I can check your kitchen, no problem.” He kept his voice just as even, but gave me a secret wink. “I’ll be in once we’re all done here.”

“Okay, thanks.” I shifted, not wanting to walk away from him just yet. “Um, thanks.”

“No prob.” He grinned again, watching as I turned and walked away before closing the door.

My heart was beating faster already. Thank god I was alone in the kitchen for the time being, because I already had a boner forming just from seeing Elliot’s face and hearing his husky voice. I couldn’t stop thinking about last night. Wondering if we would do it again.

“You taste perfect.”