A Rockin' Twist of Fate (BWWM Short Story)

Chapter 1

Christmas Eve, and I was working. Rent was going to be late again. My genius idea to work for tips and time and a half on a waitress' salary, had backfired. I was thankful that the church took care of at least some of the Christmas presents for my son. I didn't want to buy in to the superficial aspect of Christmas, but I didn't have the heart to take away Santa Claus this year. He needed something to believe in, and some days I needed to too.

I just wanted to believe in the decency of people. That if you do good, good things happen. Sometimes, I'd just look around and wonder when my good thing would come along.

"Another one of your homeless boyfriends is here."I heard Tonya, the other waitress on staff say.

I pushed out a hot breath, "Really?"

Tonya threw her hands on her hips, "Yes, he looks like one of yours. Scruffy-looking, asking  specifically for you and to be put in your tables. You are lucky Eric's not here." She turned away, "This one is cute though."

I rolled my eyes and went into the dining area and noticed him. He was standing so I realized how tall he really was he still had a thick goatee connected to his long tousled hair on top of his head, as the light hit his coppery hair it turned red making him look like Paul Bunyon. My fingers absent-mindedly smoothed my shoulder-length dark brown hair just before his sky blue eyes met mine and his thick lips curved under his mustache.

 "Hey Kyle." I said as I set the tip of my pen on the notepad, "Come on," I cocked my head and pivoted toward my section leading him to a table in the middle of the diner. I was glad I didn't need to put him in one toward the back to hide him from Eric. The manager that was supposed to be on staff, but also decided to take advantage of the holidays to go on a vacation to some place warmer than Silver Springs. Lucky. 

As Kyle came closer I'd noticed his lumberjack beard was more neatly trimmed and the blue business shirt under his thick light brown coat. A little different from when he'd come in earlier in the week, and when I'd met him a week before than at the soup kitchen at the church where I volunteered yesterday. Apparently, they didn't require him to shave his beard just yet.

"I didn't expect you here so soon." my eyes went down to my pad, "We're open for a couple more hours."

I notice his lips curve into a lopsided grin, "I came here for the lunch you promised."

I nodded, "I figured. What will you have? Coffee?"

"How about you?"

"What about me?"

He let out a light chuckle, "No I mean I'll have you."

My face burned and I couldn't help but giggle.  I'd met Kyle once and had known him to be a flirt. And why wouldn't he be, he was a hot drifter, that looked like a bulky Jared Leto. He probably hitchhiked and stole hearts where ever he went, "I'm not on the menu, Kyle."

"You should be," His thick eyebrows wiggled, "I bet you're delicious."

My mouth hung open for a minute.

He chuckled, "I'm sorry.  It was a joke."

I let out an uneasy laugh, "Right."

He bit the corner of his bottom lip, "What I meant was, I got a job. So I'll be sticking around. I thought after you got off, we could celebrate."

I felt my eyebrows furrow as I studied him. 

"I'm asking you when you get off so I can maybe take you to lunch."

I shook my head, "I can't."

"Why not?

"I just can't." my voice was more serious than I had intended it to be. 

"Can't or won't."

I looked up into his eyes and I felt my stomach fall into a panicked freefall, "I don't have a sitter for tonight."

"I'll babysit," Tonya called out. 

I shot her a sharp look an looked back at Kyle, "Kyle, I'm flattered but..."

"But what? You said for me to come see you for lunch if I'm staying around." He smirked again creating a dimple on his bearded cheek, "So let's do lunch?"

"I can't."

"Dinner?"

"It's Christmas Eve. I have a son." 

"So bring him along."

My eyes shifted up toward the foil snowflakes hanging above, "I can't."

"Why not?" I heard Tonya's voice with his as she stood near us refilling the old graying haired man's mug at the bar counter. He wasn't even in her section. 

"Because I don't just bring any stranger around my son."

His eyes widened, "I'm a stranger?" He looked over at the white-haired guy at the counter, "Are you hearing this?"

"You are manipulating my words, and turning them into a date," I was frustrated but a smile tugged at my lips, "I was trying to be nice."

"I see. That's classic Florence Nightingale syndrome. When I'm down and out, you are all for helping me, but now that I've got myself together you turn me down. You want a guy you can take care of, but when a guy offers to take care of you, you give him the cold shoulder." He stood digging in his pocket.

"I don't need a guy to take care of me." I snapped. 

"Throw a guy a bone? You're the first nice face I've seen since I came in town. I just want to celebrate something good."

I sighed, "I really, really can't."

His head fell but his sweet smile didn't, "Fine." He flipped through a small stack of bills and placed half the stack on the table, "You just stay sweet. And take care of that kid." He turned trotted toward the door.

I felt hand push my back forward, and I turned to Tonya. Her eyes were big and as she looked at me,  shifted her eyes back to Kyle and then back to me. 

"Wait." Tonya called out turning around, "Go with him, you haven't gone out in months. You need some action she whispered."

I looked up at Kyle who was facing me.

"You have a free sitter, all you have to do is get laid. Let him pull that stick out of your ass."

I cut my eyes at Tonya but sighed. "What time are you picking me up?"

A slow gleaming smile appeared on his hairy face, "How about eight."

His lip twitched as he slowly walked toward me.

"You do understand that I can't be out all night. You promise to get my home at an appropriate hour."

He nodded, "I will."

"Good." I smiled bashfully, "Than you can pick me up at seven."

"Sure." I smiled. 

I watched him stroll out of the diner with a wide grin on his face. 

I looked back at Tonya telling myself I was going to get her back. 

"What?" She walked past me, "You're welcome. And Merry Christmas. Don't say I never did anything for you."

I rolled my eyes and stormed back toward the kitchen, wondering if the fluttering in the pit of my stomach meant that possibly I was looking forward to that night and maybe I did owe Tonya a "Thank you".