Page 32 of Rebel Summer

“I heard you were back in town, Ivy.” Then another patron replied, “Everybody heard that. The shatter of glass woke my dog up, and he wouldn’t stop barking all night.”

“What did your dad think about your DUI?” That one was from Larry.

Or my personal favorite, when a particularly rowdy group began banging their hands on their tables, demanding, “Justice for the Lego car!”

But the real kicker was when a sweet little old lady with big eyes and thick glasses, who had been a community staple my entire life, asked in her crackly voice, “Are you sure the judge was in his right mind making you work with that dark-haired, tattooed boy at a time like this? You, of all people, getting a DUI? I don’t think he’s the right influence for you, dearie.”

All of this I bore with a smile and a laugh.

And then, the inevitable happened.

On my fifth day working the early shift at the cafe, at precisely ten in the morning, Dax Miller walked into the restaurant and sat down at a table near the door. He looked casual in a dirty, white t-shirt and tousled hair. Maybe a smudge of grease on one cheek, but really, who was looking that close?

Though I could feel the heat from his gaze following me, I ignored him. I wasn’t his waitress. He was in Sorel’s section, a young girl with red hair and cheeks full of freckles, who was about to be a senior in high school.

Over the past few days of working for him, Dax had made me clean his bathroom, sweep his floors, and call customers before sending me into the Lego torture chamber by myself each night. I knew it was all part of my sentence, but I was off his clock at the moment. He was in my house now.

So, I proceeded to chat with my tables, perhaps laughing a little too loudly at jokes while taking credit cards before hiding in the kitchen and helping Marco plate food.

Ignoring him like a boss.

I was leaning against the counter in the middle of a riveting discussion with Marco about the best way to cook a hamburger when Sorel came to find me.

“There’s a guy here who wants his coffee from you.”

“What?”

“The hot mechanic guy. He wants a cup of coffee, but he says he wants it mediocre, and you’re the only one who can do that.” She made a face, looking slightly horrified before adding, “He told me to say that word for word.”

Marco started laughing until I hit him in the arm and turned back to Sorel. “Tell him I’m not his waitress, so I can’t do it.”

“I did. But he insisted, and Jean told me to come and get you.”

“Go on,” Marco said, motioning me toward the door. “Give that hot mechanic what he wants.”

I groaned loudly before stalking out of the kitchen and grabbing the pot of coffee. I walked toward Dax, who was awaiting my presence with growing eagerness.

Without a word, I stared him down while filling his mug before stepping back to watch him take his first sip. Streaks of a cozy yellow light filtering in through the windows made the scene look like Dax was some tortured artist taking a drink of his coffee. It wasn’t attractive. He has too many plans to annoy me for him to be attractive. The second I realized I was twirling a runaway strand of curly hair spilling out of my loose bun, I stopped immediately.

He let out a big sigh and set his mug down with a satisfied clink. “That’s the stuff I’ve been missing. Perfectly average.”

“It’s very rude for me to take over someone else’s table, so next time you come in, you get who you get.”

“They don’t do it right.”

I leaned closer, setting my hand on his table. “I grabbed the coffee pot and dumped it directly into your cup. I promise, any one of us can do it exactly the same.”

“It just hits different coming from you.” He leaned back in his seat. “Speaking of…I’d like to order some food.”

“I’ll go get Sorel.”

“Can’t I just tell you real quick?”

“I’m not your waitress.”

“I’m sure you know what to do with my order, though, right?” His face shined with barely bridled delight.

I took a step closer to him, lowering my voice so the other decent human patrons of the cafe wouldn’t hear me. “You want me touching your food?”

---