The Coworker

Chapter 1

What is it with old people and thinking they are above everyone else?

I mean, seriously, I will give people respect when they respect me, but the couple in booth #14 almost had a heart attack because someone else was seated before them. Like, it is not my fault you did not get a reservation, and you decided to come in at the busiest time. Of course, I do not say anything, so instead am mindlessly wiping a table and sending negative thoughts their way. 

My coworker Chase brings me out of my trance, but I am put in another one by the sight of him. He was one of those guys who you either loved or hated, but in my opinion, he was a complete dream. Muscular but not too buff, tall but not a giant, and a smile that made me melt whenever I saw him. 

"Alexa, what's up?" he says a couple of tables away. 

"Not much, just ready for this shift to be over," I say, trying to keep busy to avoid eye contact. If I stare into them too long, I will never stop. 

"That bad, huh?"

"Actually, today was not horrible. I'm just tired. I have been pretty busy with school lately." I am currently taking classes at a local community college before transferring to a larger university next fall. My dream is to go to law school one day, but we'll see if I can keep up with all of the required reading. 

"Man, that's too bad. I just got off, and I was going to see if you wanted to go to my cousin's basketball game with me. He isn't very good, so I could use some company to pass the time." He flashes me his pearly white smile. Uh, how can I resist that? 

"I would be up for that if you don't mind waiting another hour till I'm off?" 

"I don't mind at all. Just come out to my car when you're ready." And with that, he turns around and walks away. Did that really just happen? 

"Excuse me?! Hello!!" 

I am brought back to reality when I realize I never refilled booth #14's drinks. I give a quick apology and run off to get them. Luckily I only have a couple more months before moving to the university where I can get another crappy job.

---

8:00 pm. I am finally able to clock out. I have never been giddier to hang up my apron, and I practically sprint out the door. I look around to find Chase's car but am not seeing it anywhere. He custom painted it a dark red, almost burgundy, so it usually stands out. After circling the lot twice, I decided the only thing I could do was wait. I don't have his phone number or any of his social media, so I don't have any way to reach him. I tell myself that if he is still not here after fifteen minutes, I will just go home. The wiser decision would have been not to agree to go out with him in the first place, but I figure I'm young, so I might as well live a little, right? I can just stay up late and finish my notes...and my essay...and my presentation...and some more notes. 

Fifteen minutes pass, and just as I am about to get up and leave, his car turns into the parking lot. He pulls up in front and rolls down the window.

"I am so sorry I'm late. I had to get a couple of things from the store and just lost track of time," he says. 

"No problem, I got off a little late anyway," I lie. I don't want him to feel bad when it was just an honest mistake. 

I hop in on the passenger side and buckle my seat belt. I sense that Chase is staring at me, so I glance over. 

"What?" I say. Despite being late, he doesn't seem like he is in much of a hurry as we still have not moved. 

Then our lips collide, and we kiss. Just to be clear, he kissed me first, and then I kissed him back. Although I have had coworker crushes in the past, I don't know, this one just felt different. I typically do not start anything since I have to work with this person and do not want it to be awkward, but I could not help myself this time. We pull away and just stare at each other for a moment. He brushes his hand up against my cheek, then grabs the back of my head and slams it into the glove box.