For the past two days, Rooster and I have barely stopped talking. The only time we really stopped talking was when he was at training, and that was only if he was in the air. Over the days we've talked, I've learned so much about him.
He lost his dad at a young age in an accident as a navy pilot, the same job he has now. He also lost his mom a few years ago, so he felt alone. Rooster had quickly became one of my best friends in the span of two days, and I couldn't be happier.
"Angel-." My mom earns my attention as I handed a customer their drink. Why is it that none of them order cool drinks? I'm literally trained to do that.
"Yeah?" I asked, turning to find her leaning against the bar. It was a slow day so far, probably because it was the morning shift. My shift started at 11 am, and it was currently 5 pm. I got off in an hour, so I was looking forward to it.
"Do you mind sticking around after work...?" Her voice trails off in my head as a familiar face walks into the bar.
His gorgeous brown eyes were already searching the room.
"Angel!" My mom's hand waves in front of my eyes. Nodding, I turned my attention back to her. "Yeah, yeah. I can stay longer after my shift ends." I shrugged, trying to busy myself as the group moved to the pool table once again. Deciding on wiping down the counters, I grabbed a rag from the wash sink.
"Rae." A deep voice says behind me as I washed up. Turning, I'm met with Rooster's brown eyes. "Hi." I fought back a blush as I approached him. "Hey, gorgeous." He smiles as I faced him. We were secluded from everyone else, thankfully, but I still lowered my voice.
"Your usual?" I ask, leaning against the bar. "A Coors light for me and five blue moons for the others, please." He laughs, glancing back at the group starting the game.
"Hey, when do you get off?" He abruptly turns back to me as I crouched down to collect his beers.
"In about an hour, why?" I asked, warmth bubbling in my stomach as I handed him his bottles. His fingers linger for a moment as he collects them.
"You should join us when your done." He smiles, nodding his head before returning to his group. Furrowing my eyebrows, I turned back to my mom. Brushing it off, I continued cleaning off the counters and attending to various tasks.
He was surely just being nice by inviting me to hang out with his friends. Maybe he could tell I didn't have a lot of friends.
•••
"Alright, I'm clocked out." I told my mom, hitting the check button at the bottom of the screen. In the corner of my eyes I saw the customer she was talking to the other day come in. Ignoring it, I made my way to the back to collect my things to put them in my car. Untying my apron, I brushed past my mom.
"Rae, Hey!" Rooster smiles as he joins me as soon as I exited the bar. "Rooster, hey!" I teased, looking up at him.
"Change of plans. Do you maybe want to go grab some dinner or something?" He scratches at the back of his neck. My heart flutters as I watched him brush his hair back.
"Depends on where." I kept my composure, a soft smile etching on my face as I leaned against the counter of the bar with my arms crossed. The bar was beginning to pick up, which meant we were a tad crowded.
A warm hand reaches out and rests on my elbow, gently leading me away from the bar area with him. The two of us stood towards the kitchen's swinging door, secluded from everyone's voices. It was still loud, but I could hear him much better.
"Any place you want, sweetheart?" He bashfully smiles, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall.
"Hm, a chicken salad does sound pretty good." I blush, following his lead and crossing my arms. "How about, we grab some dinner to-go and go see a movie at the drive in." He replied, proposing another idea.
Now that I think about it, it was dinner and a movie but a movie where we could still talk.
"Sounds great. Can I run home and change first?" I asked, pushing my hair back so it was behind my shoulders.
"For sure. Just let me know when you're read-." He starts, but my mom cuts him off.
"Rae! You're still staying around for a bit right?" She calls, interrupting us. Groaning lowly, I dropped my head to look at the floor.
"Hold on. I'm going to convince her." I mumble, handing Rooster my apron. "Rae, we can reschedule." I hear him say as I walk behind the bar. My mom was talking to the same guy again, which was odd.
A mischievous grin replaces my face as I tucked my hands together behind my back. "What's with the face?" She teases, noticing my demeanor.
"So I kind of forgot you asked me to stay later, and I kind of made plans?" My voice increases in pitch as I looked at her. She sighs, glancing over at the man she was previously talking to. A low laugh escapes his lips as she processes my words. I was obviously asking for permission to leave. I was off, I didn't have to stay.
"What's the plans?" She enquires, crossing her arms playfully. "Just hanging out with a friend. That's all." I nonchalantly shrug, brushing off the fact it may or may not be a date. I didn't know his intentions, so technically I wasn't lying.
"And who would this friend be?" She smirks. Glancing back, Rooster was on his phone with my apron tucked into chest between his muscular arms. I had expected him to put it down on the table next to him, but nope.
"I'll allow it since it's Rooster." She laughs, playfully nudging me. "Yes! Thank you!" I laughed, pulling her into a hug. "Have fun. Be safe." She beams, urging me to rejoin him.
"I will, thank you. I'll see you tomorrow for dinner." I beamed before making my way back over to him.
"You ready?" He asks, noticing my return before placing his phone in his pocket. Reaching up, I gently pulled my apron out of his arms. "Yeah, I convinced her." I laughed.
"Oh you're not going to say bye?" A female voice speaks out behind us as we began to leave. "Excuse me, real quick." He laughs before turning back around and returning to his friends briefly. Nerves settling in my stomach, I began picking at my nails as I chewed the inside of my bottom lip.
A few moments later I felt a hand return to my arm. "Ignore them. They're dramatic." Rooster laughs before leading me out of the bar and to our cars.
Opening my car door for me, Rooster motioned me in. "Need a ride?" I asked, placing my bag and my apron on my passengers seat of my 1968 VW Beetle.
"No, I'm parked over there." He motions to his older truck sitting a couple spots away.
"Anyways, let me know when you're ready to get picked up." He smiles, watching me sit down. Closing the door behind me, he leans down and rests his forearms on my car door.
"I will, thank you." I beam up at him. Our faces were basically level. He claps his hand against the car door as he begins to stand up. Leaning up, I press a quick kiss on his cheek.
Starting up my car, I watched him straighten his posture as a blush creeps up onto his cheeks. He smiles before making his way to his own truck.
YOU ARE READING
•clueless•
Fanfiction"Why did you make me fall in love with you when you're about to leave for a mission you may not even come back from?" I exclaim, my throat burning as I fought the urge to cry. "Do you seriously think I wanted to fall in love right before I left? Fa...
