Ignite My Fire(MxM)

Chapter 2

The next day came early, Micah rolling out of bed at seven. Body dragging in exhaustion as he trudged down the stairs to make a quick breakfast before he got dressed and brushed his teeth.

He cocked his head as he put a pot of coffee on, listening for any sign of noise from upstairs. His mother didn't have to work today, and the last thing Micah wanted was to accidentally have woken her up. The toll the unexpected move had taken on her, combined with her stressful job as nurse, was enough to have most people comatose.

She put too much on her own shoulders, always protesting when Micah would help with bills and groceries, too kind for her own good.

Micah finished up and quietly left the new house, stepping out into the cool air as he made his way to the car. They lived close to a fairly large city, but still somewhat out in the woods in a small little blink-and-you-miss-it town that was basically a part of the larger city.

The drive into the city was fairly smooth, quicker than he expected it to be really. Micah pulled up to what would be his new job for the foreseeable future, eyeing the sleepy looking little diner on the very edge of town, still in a smaller rural looking area.

Thanks to some connections his mom had he was able to do a phone interview and set up a job ahead of time. A friend of Emilia's knew the owner and was able to put in a good word for him. The application and interview had gone very smoothly, almost suspiciously so.

It was called Sue's Diner and Micah snorted at the name, the small old school building and basic name not at all hinting to the filthy rich family he now knew owned it.

Well. Time to tackle the day.

Deep breaths.

Micah got out of the car, walking in and eyeing the stereotypical red and white colors of the decor and the high chairs lining the bar. There was a couple of girls on the other side of the bar, cleaning and taking orders of the few customers willing to come in at such an early hour.
Micah let his eyes roam as he headed toward the bar, taking in the multiple tables set out around the room and the few people that were laughing and chatting away as they ate their food. On edge despite himself.

"Micah?"

He paused, turning to meet the gaze of an older woman, peppered hair a curled mess and brown eyes that looked kind instantly relaxed any lingering tension he felt. He nodded, reaching out and shaking the hand that was offered in greeting.

"Yes ma'am. I'm here for the job if you'll still have me?"

His polite language earned him a pleased nod and he couldn't help the smile that started to work its way onto his face.

"Oh good. It's hard to find young ones with manners nowadays. I'm the manager here, of sorts. You can call me Ruth."

Micah nodded and followed her as she gestured for him to follow and walked past the bar, into the back rooms.

"We'll work on giving you some more thorough training tomorrow and I'll get your logins for you but- you said you had past experience in a diner and in food places in your interview?"

Micah nodded, bouncing lightly on his toes as he glanced at the cooks preparing food, laughing and talking as they did so. The environment seemed good so far.

"Good, then you know how to serve and take orders. Most people that come in here are nice and polite so you can always have them point stuff out to you as you are learning the menu. You probably won't have to work the kitchen often. I mainly need you to take orders, serve, and clean, like the job description said. Lord willing we will never get to the point where we are short handed enough to have to make you learn the cooking side of things."

"Yes ma'am. I also memorized the menu ahead of time, just in case. So I should be good in that regard."

Ruth smiled, patting his shoulder as she guided him away from the cooking and further into the kitchen.

"We aren't very formal here with each other so don't worry. Not to mention most of our customers are pretty nice as I mentioned before. Now let's get you an apron and your name tag. We had a tag made ahead of time and if you want to put decorations on it or your apron, so long as it's nothing offensive."

Ruth walked over to some boxes on metal shelves and opened one, pulling out said apron along with his name tag. He took them and thanked her before sliding the apron on, quickly securing the pin to the tag and tying the apron in the back.

"You can go wipe down the bar and counter for now. After you finish that just ask one of the girls up front and they'll give you something else to do. Go introduce yourself and try to have a little fun. It's your first day and it won't get too busy until later so there's no reason to be nervous!"

Micah grinned, saluting her and grabbing the offered rag and cleaning chemicals before jogging out of the kitchen.

He introduced himself to the two girls up front, exchanging pleasantries as he started scrubbing the counters thoroughly, making sure to get every little spot.

He had begun to scrub the counter connected to the bar on his side when he heard the bell at the door jingle. Loud laughter and the distinct smell of predator had him tensing and inhaling shakily as he willed his hands to continue moving. Ruth's earlier words of not being nervous playing in his head on repeat.

The girls that had been happily chatting and working before were now silent, eyes downcast and bodies turned slightly away from the group as they quietly continued to work. The tension coming off them was nothing if not noticeable and Micah realized that his instincts must have a good reason for acting up this time.

He continued to scrub but glanced up, gazing at the group from under his lashes.

There was a handful of them, They were sitting in the largest circular booth. One of the girls immediately caught his eyes, She screamed danger on both a visual and instinctive level.  Knee high combat boots, black pants, and a black tank top paired with dark hair and cold blue eyes that scanned the room with an almost predatory gaze.

Micah let his gaze wander and froze when as he met a pair of golden eyes. His breath left him in a rush, unable to break that heated gaze.
The girl that has caught his eye first said something to the person with the golden eyes, causing them to blink and break the trance. Micah took in the rest of the person's features before looking back down and resuming the scrubbing he didn't even realize he had stopped.

Gold eyes, dark brown hair, sharp jawline and a very muscular body from little the loose t-shirt showed.

Micah licked his lips nervously, working up the courage to glance up again, only to be met with that same intense gaze, this time darkened though, an almost dangerous glint to it.

If he has thought the girl was a predator, this guy was ten times that. He had no idea what kind of shifter would give of such an aura and he wasn't sure he even wanted to know.

The sound of steps reached his sensitive ears and he focused back, tensing when he realized that the guy was currently headed his direction.

Well shit.