Something Inside (Published)

Chapter 6.....

**Edited!!

Layla's POV

Seeing Ashton in front of me almost made me gasp in shock. What the hell is he doing here? I yelled inside my head. He just stared up at me, almost in shock too. I saw the moment he went from surprise to amusement.

"Layla." He said, my name rolling off his tongue. I couldn't help loving the way he said it. He made it seem fancier, or somehow sexier. All I could picture was, us in bed together from the night before. Not wanting to seem unprofessional, since he had company, I decided to ignore him. 

"Anything I can start you off with?" I said looking down at my pad, not wanting to make eye contact with Ashton.

"Layla." He said my name again.

"Yes, what can I get you?" I asked, trying to ignore him. I could feel the other guys gaze on me and my cheeks flamed a pink color. 

"You can't ignore me forever Layla." Ashton said and I could hear the smirk in his voice. Well, I'm going to try, I thought to myself.

"What can I start you guys off with." I repeated. I heard a snort of laughter and looked up. The guy sitting with Ashton smiled at me and shook his head.

"Can I get another one?" The blonde guy asked shaking his empty glass.

"Of course, what is it?" I asked.

"Vodka and tonic."

"And, you?" I asked Ashton, daring a glance at him.

"Whiskey." Ashton said looking at me. His bright blue eyes seemed to freeze me to the spot. He just stared at me, until I felt my cheeks turn even redder. 

"O-okay." I finally stuttered. I turned and made my way to the bar to get their drinks.

Layla, ignore him and don't let him get to you. I told myself as I waited for Ted, the bartender, to make the drinks. For some stupid reason he just seemed to make my knees go weak. You just like him because he saved you and he took care of you. Don't think about him and just serve him then he'll be out of your life forever, I thought. Grabbing the drinks, I headed back to the table. You can do this Layla. I chanted to myself. My legs were shaky as I walked back to the table with their drinks. I don't know why I was nervous, but I couldn't seem to calm myself down. Maybe it was because I thought I would never see Ashton again, and that I now know he is a millionaire and self proclaimed womanizer; but who knew. 

"Here you go." I said, putting the drinks down for them. "You guys ready to order?" I asked, trying to steady my voice. Thankfully it came out stronger than I expected. You can do this Layla. You are not weak.

"Yes, I'll have the blackened salmon with asparagus." The blonde guy said, smiling at me while handing me his menu. The guy was cute, his blonde hair was short, but it seemed to suit him, and his blue eyes stared back at me with a slight twinkle. He may be a bit older than me, maybe 5 years, but he didn't look too bad. 

"Okay." I said smiling back. "And you?" I said, turning my gaze to Ashton.

"I'll have the shrimp stir fry." He said. He handed me his menu, but made sure his hand touched mine and lingered for a few seconds. Taking a deep breath, I forced a smile on my face. 

"I'll get that in for you." I said, then hurried and turned around. I ignored how my skin tingled at his touch, and dropped the order off at the kitchen. The whole time I kept telling myself, just do your job. Ignore him, and just serve him his food like the lower class person you are. After I said that, I frowned at myself. Great Layla, make yourself feel worse than you already do. But it's true, the stupid voice at the back of my head said. Shaking my head at myself, I went back to Ashton's table to see if they needed anything.

Walking towards the table I straightened my skirt unconsciously. I could see Ashton was laughing at something the other man said because his wide shoulders shook underneath his suit jacket. From here I could hear Ashton's laugh, and I instantly wanted to hear it again. It was a deep laugh, if only I was in front of him admiring the smile that's probably on his face. The guy across from him had a smile on his face and laughed as well. I cleared my throat as I stood by the side of the table, not wanting to scare them nor interrupt their conversation.

"Hi. You guys need anything?" I asked.

"Can I get a refill?" The blonde guy asked again. I smiled and nodded. I looked over at Ashton, but he shook his head to clarify a 'no'. Turning, I went and got the refill. Just as I was heading to take it back I heard the bell ring for Ashton's order. Glad I hurried back to the table and dropped off the drink, they seemed to ignore me and looked to be in deep serious conversation. I made my way back to the kitchen and grabbed both of their dishes. Balancing the two in my hands as I weaved around tables and to the deck. 

"Okay, here you go. Here is the blackened salmon with asparagus." I said holding Ashton's plate in one hand and setting the blonde guys down in front of him. "And here is the shrimp stir fry." I sat his down. "Need anything else?" I asked.

"No, I think we're good. Thank you, Layla." Ashton said, his voice sounding like honey. I smiled and left to my other tables. It was kind of weird having Ashton here like this. He probably thought I was low class, regretting that he helped me last night. 

I went back and forth between tables and the kitchen constantly, as he restaurant got busier. I already handed Ashton and the guy their bills before going to help my other tables. With my tables content for the next little bit, I made my way back outside to see if Ashton was done. Walking out there, I found no one seated at their table. Both chairs were pushed in and empty plates littered the table. Their bills were on the edge of the table. For some reason a wave of sadness crashed on me that Ashton left without saying anything to me. Why would he Layla? You're nothing but trash to him anyways. The voice in my head said. Clenching my jaw, I picked up their bill and opened them.

Instantly my eyes widened. They both left a BIG tip, and by big, I meant $100 from each. Wow! That's a lot, that's more than I sometimes get on most nights in total. Shocked, I made my way back inside putting the $100 bills in my pocket. I spent the rest of the night going from table to table, to the bar and to the kitchen. Finally five o'clock came and I could leave. I waved bye to everyone and grabbed my stuff, ready to get the hell out of there. There was no better feeling than when you saw the clock hit the time you could leave.

As I stepped out of the door, I breathed in the semi clean air. The air smelt like the ocean, fresh and salty. The sun was still up, and I was glad it was still somewhat summer, but slowly turning into fall. It wasn't cold or too hot, just perfect outside. Just glad to be done with work, I walked to the curb ready to hail a taxi. Just as I was putting up my hand to grab a taxi, a car horn sounded right by me scaring the shit out of me.

Jumping, I turned around and saw a black limo idling on the curb. What the? I stared at the car as fear slowly crept into me. Who is in the car? When an unknown car pulls up near you, you know it isn't for a good reason, and after last night I have been more jumpy than usual. I narrowed my eyes trying to not look scared. The door opened, and out stepped none other than, Ashton Miller.

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HEY! Im so sorry for the very late update and short chapter!!! Ive been so busy graduating, seeing grandparents, work and trying to catch up on sleep too. IM SOO SORRY! I hope you like this chapter though. Its just a filler sadly and I promise the next chapter will be longer and more interesting. I hope you guys are enjoying this book.

PLEASE KEEP READING, VOTING, and COMMENTING!

-Ken