Page 7 of The Perfect Play

It took about ten minutes for the women to give their order, even though it was nearly the same month in and month out. Some changed a little because they were on a diet or wanting to try something new, but for the most part, their orders were as predictable as their showing up at the diner every month.

“What book are we discussing this month, ladies?” I asked, finishing up the last order on my notepad.

“It’s one Gladys picked out,” Karla said, pointing to the woman at the far end of the table. The woman leaned a little closer and covered her mouth so only I could hear. “It was the most boring piece of trash I’ve ever read. I wish I was like some of these gals and could just pretend to have read it.”

I covered my mouth to keep the rest of the group from hearing my laughter, wondering what it was about. When I got myself under control, I clicked my pen and said, “Perfect. I’ll go get your meals going and be right back to fill up your drinks.” The one lady at the end was always a camel, and I’d probably have to refill her glass at least four times before she left.

The bell above the door rang, and I said, “Welcome to Lou’s. Take a seat, and we’ll get you taken care of,” before even turning to see who it was. When I turned, I stopped in my tracks, swallowing hard. “What are you doing here?”

To his credit, Jake looked just as shocked to find me in the diner as I was to see him again so soon after our ride home from tryouts.

“We decided to meet up for some food,” he said, pointing to his crew of baseball friends behind him. “You work here?” The disbelief in his voice caused me to shift from one foot to another.

Deciding not to answer the obvious question, I repeated, “Take a seat. I’ll send someone out to help you,” before turning on my heel and marching back into the kitchen.

I took a breath, trying to hide the burning shame that kept creeping up, heating my cheeks. I’d been working at Lou’s for the last three and a half years, starting out bussing tables and then waitressing ever since. In that time, I’d only had a handful of students from Rosemont come in on my shift, and I’d always been able to avoid waiting on them. But the look on Jake’s face as one nostril turned up at the thought of working in a place like this made me feel like I’d just swung and missed at a change-up.

“Claudia,” I said, walking up to the middle-aged woman. “There’s a group of guys out there who go to my school. Will you take their table?”

“Sure. Looks like there are five of them? Can’t be worse than those ladies out there.”

If only she knew.

I gave Lou the orders and helped get a few of the sides ready, knowing that prompt service would help avoid complaints—and I prided myself on good service. Any extra tips went into the large Mason jar in my closet, and I still had a ways to go to fill it.

A couple of times, I looked up and glanced out of the kitchen, where I saw Jake staring at me, a slight smile on his lips. If he hadn’t looked so surprised upon walking into the diner, I would have thought he was stalking me.

Focusing on the orders and what I needed for each helped me avoid thinking about him, for a few minutes anyway. Why couldn’t I just stick to thinking of him as a spineless jerk whose friend was killed in a drunk-driving accident in Jake’s car? Why did my pulse race and my mind conjure up all the fantasies I’d had when I was hard-core crushing on the kid? Because as much as I told myself those were over, his sudden attention to me was throwing off my opinions of him.

I carried a large tray with several of the orders, grabbing a stand on my way out. I’d done this enough times that it felt automatic, but when I glanced in Jake’s direction again, my foot caught. I dropped the stand and grabbed the tray with my now-free hand, knowing that sending a tray full of orders to the ground would be more embarrassing than I could ever get over and Lou wouldn’t be happy.

“A little clumsy today? Aren’t you supposed to be the all-star pitcher?” one of the boys called out, and from the sound, it was Dax. The rest of the group chuckled.

I didn’t give them the satisfaction of another look. Once the tray was steady, I used my foot to kick the stand back up to where I could grab it and continued over to the book-club ladies. I gave out their orders before heading back to the kitchen with an empty tray, ready for round two.

“Looks like they need more help around this place,” Jake said, his voice drawing my attention right before I walked into the back. The smirk on his face was the same he’d had for the last few years.

I knew it. He hadn’t changed, but he was up to something. I just wasn’t sure what.

Chapter 6

Jake

Iwas impressed with Penny’s skill at keeping everything balanced. At first, I was sure the tray was going to go toppling to the ground. I’d thought about getting up and helping her, but something kept me firmly seated. Maybe it was the fact that I was with the guys and they’d already started making fun of her.

When I’d spoken, it wasn’t to say anything bad against her. I was just making a statement. But it acted as a double-edged sword, fooling the guys into thinking I was in on the jokes. Making fun of Penny wasn’t something I would ever do—at least, not intentionally. Sure, I’d avoided her like the plague for years, but anytime someone had brought her up in conversation, I’d tried to give her some sort of compliment.

She reappeared with another full tray, not even glancing our direction. Some of the pieces of her auburn hair had fallen out of the tight bun-like ponytail she wore so often, and I wondered if it was as soft as it used to be. When she’d been stressed, it always helped to play with her hair, which somehow eased any tension I felt as well.

“What’s wrong with you, Jake? You look like you haven’t seen her in days,” Dax said, slugging me in the shoulder. “Doesn’t she live next door?”

“Yeah,” I said, massaging where he’d hit me.

“Maybe you should ask her out. Then at least you’d get her out of your system.” Colt took a sip of his water the older waitress had brought out a few minutes before.

Shaking my head, I leaned onto the table. “She’s not in my system. We were friends growing up. Just leave her alone, all right?”

Nate was sitting on the end of the booth next to Ben and stood up, a smirk on his face. “Well, if you’re not going to ask her out, I will. Do you think she’d go for me?” He took a few steps in the direction of the old-lady table, his swagger a telltale sign that he wasn’t kidding.

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