Page 2 of The Love Raffle

Amber wasn’t sure if it was the heat of the room or the way Levi was looking at her, but her head felt light, and her lips parted slightly as if waiting for what might come next.

The music’s tempo increased again, and Amber felt like she was flying.

“You’re going to get me fired,” Amber said, but she laughed as he twirled her around. He grabbed both her hands and pulled her in and out as they moved to the music. He hadn’t had this much fun in ages. The DJ grabbed the mic and, with a grin, made a remark about Levi being there before he switched the music to something out of the ordinary for the venue: Harry Styles. Levi rolled his eyes and Amber smiled. With a shared look, they broke into a dance. They screamed the lyrics as they jumped around. Amber would have kept going, but she spotted her boss motioning for her to cut it out. She stopped in her tracks, sighing at the fact that this had to end. She didn’t normally have fun at this job.

“If you need anything while you’re here, just wave for me.” She went to move past him, but Levi grabbed her arm, and his hand slid down from her elbow to her wrist before settling at her hand. He gave it a squeeze.

“Thanks for the dance.” He winked at her, and she smiled in return.

“Anytime,” she replied.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

* * *

Amber’s notepad was nearing its last pages, but she didn’t care. Last night felt like a dream. She shook her head, trying to focus as the child in front of her rattled off his order. Riverside Restaurant was a nightmare on Friday nights. There was no vacant table in view, and conversations rose from every corner, creating a swarm of conflicting vocal pitches expanding in the dining room.

“Yeah, I’ll take the rest of this home for later.”

“Can I get a refill over here?”

“This is not what I asked for…”

She flipped to the back of her notebook to write down the kid’s order and kept an eye out for the time on the wall.It hasn’t even been five hours yet. Kill me.

“And I want that with no skin. Ihatechicken with skin.” The little boy’s feet could barely touch the ground. He sat at the head of the central table with his family. They’d called this his birthday dinner. She would imagine that a child would prefer to eat at Chuck E. Cheese for their special day, but this kid was different.

Amber made a special note of his request as two waiters zigzagged behind her with their arms full. “So…” She called out the list of menu items requested by the kid’s parents, grandparents, aunts, and cousins, then stopped on his. “Lime chicken and salad with…no skin…?” Repeating that last one had her head spinning.

None of the adults batted an eye at the odd request. “Yes,” they said together.

Amber smiled tightly. “Lovely. I will be right back.” She headed for the worst room at this godforsaken job: the kitchen. She dreaded its heat, hustle, noise, and smells, but braced herself to enter.Let’s get this over with.Amber shut her eyes and plunged through the door at the back of the counter.

* * *

When the clock showed one a.m., the nightmare wasfinallyover.

“And hewould notstop asking for it no matter how much I tried to tell him it wasn’t what he thought,” Conner said as he and Elouise helped Amber take out the trash.

Amber laughed as she heaved a large black plastic bag over her shoulder.

Elouise dragged her trash bag on the ground. While the other staff members continued to work on the floors and tables inside, they remained busy. The chef, along with the sous-chefs, was also preparing to pack up. The guy on dish duty would be here for a while, though, for sure. Tonight was busy. “Some people don’t know how to take no for an answer.” Elouise led the way to the dumpster in the alley and hoisted her bag onto her shoulder before throwing it in.

Amber did the same and dusted off her hands. She sighed after an alarmingly loud motorcycle sped down the street ahead. “Jeez.”

Elouise plucked her vape pen from her pocket. “I know. Every day makes you want to off yourself, right?”

Conner threw his bag in and wiped his hands on his dress pants. “Elouise, we just touched trash.”

Elouise blew the mist from her nostrils. “So?”

Conner folded his arms. “So…germs? Hello?”

“I just talked about offing myself and now you’re trying to guilt trip me about coping?” Elouise spat. Her green hair seemed brighter under the alley’s lone light, which hung on the wall above the kitchen door. Her nose ring twinkled when the light hit it.

Conner shook his head. “Disgusting.”

Amber tucked some strands of hair behind her ear. “She’ll face the consequences in the long run.” She fished for her hand sanitizer in her pocket. Amber didn’t know what she would do without these guys. Work had been hard since she’d moved here, but Elouise and Conner made it bearable. “Here, Conner. I know you haven’t gotten around to replacing yours.” She squirted some of the gel into the lanky guy’s palm.

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