After Solitude

Chapter 6

Zoey's POV

On the way to work, Poppy and I have a small little party in her car. Neither of us can sing, but that doesn't mean we wont!

Sadly, our time comes to an end as we pull up to the restaurant. I'm happy she's on the same shift as me. Working with her helps time pass faster.

"Oh my God, Zoey! Is that their car?" Poppy elongates her arm, pointing to the expensive white car.

No, that can't be them. They have to be getting sick of me by now.

"Maybe someone just has the same car as Nik." I shrug.

She laughs and follows me to the doors to reveal a pale Doug waiting for us to enter.

"Great! You're finally here!" Doug quickly sighs.

I look at the clock on the wall and see that I'm ten minutes early.

"You have special guests that requested you." Doug says, looking directly at me.

"Special guests." Poppy's eyebrows bounce.

Is it really them?

As Doug moves away, I see all three of them sitting at one of my tables.

"Seems like they found a new toy." Tammy whispers loudly to Poppy.

Toy?

"Mind your business, Tammy." Poppy is quick to defend me.

Poppy and I speed walk to the back of the kitchen, passing the men without giving them a second glance.

My fingers shake as I tie the apron around my waist and my eyes brim with the familiar burn of tears threatening to spill.

"Poppy?" I call out to her.

As soon as she looks at me, her eyes soften. She leads me to the employee break room and sits me on a chair, pulling another one next to me.

"Don't listen to Tammy, she's a bitch sometimes." Poppy uses a light voice as she stops my hand from rubbing against my arm.

"What if she's right though? She knows them, they're her regulars, not mine."

Her hand squeezes mine, "Tammy is probably jealous that they requested you."

But am I just a new toy for them to play with?

"Stop. Shut down your thoughts, they're never nice to you." She wipes my hair out of my face.

"I don't want to be like the girls who hate men. I don't want to be taken advantage of." I admit.

She nods, knowing how that feels due to past experiences. "Just be careful then. Communication is everything. Before things go further, make sure you know what he, or they, want."

What if all they want is to take all the things that make me, me.

"Zoey! Where the hell are you?" I hear Doug's muffled yell coming from the kitchen.

"Just talk to them." Poppy pats my leg encouragingly.

I nod and dust myself off as I stand from the seat.

Opening the door, Doug is facing away from me, talking to one of the chefs. I quickly tip toe by without him seeing me and take a deep breath once I'm through the doors.

"Hey, doll." Wyatt says as I walk up to my only occupied table.

I give him a small wave, "what can I get you all to drink?" I ask, trying to keep it short.