The Sinclair Brothers ✔️

(33) Roleplaying

"You're losing something."

At the unmistakable sound of his voice that started to create butterflies in her stomach, Makennah casually glanced over her shoulder at Theo as if her heart didn't suddenly beat for him. Confused, her brow puckered. "What?"

Watching her from afar a moment longer, Theo gently smiled and walked up behind her where she stood in front of a mounted iPad, ringing in an order at the restaurant on a Sunday afternoon.

His hands unknotted her apron which hung low on her hips. Again, he said, "You're losing something." With deft fingers, Theo snuggled the apron against her hips and tightened the strings into a neat but operable bow. It felt intimate to have him stand so near to her and personally fix her apron. She felt the strings brush against her butt as he let them go.

Man, it was a good thing she wore her cute tight jeans today that made her butt look good.

"Oh...thank you," she mumbled. Her finger hovered over the screen, seeing all of the prompts but unable to focus on the order she just took. Other than two tables, the restaurant was empty. Makennah was working the late-lunch early-dinner shift.

"You're welcome." Theo leaned his shoulder against the wall and watched her ring in the rest of the order. To distract herself from his intent gaze, Makennah finished the order, pressed 'send,' and opened up another tab to print a receipt for a table that was still eating. It was way too early to give them the check but she wanted to distract herself.

Last night, Makennah promptly passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow. She was exhausted from all of the emotional trauma of the day. She didn't have time to check in with Theo. She woke up around four am to find an old text message from him that came in at midnight. He asked if she was okay. Makennah never responded and now she guiltily avoided looking him in the eye because they both knew she ignored him.

Miraculously, Makennah convinced Carolynn and Will that returning to her normal routine was the best thing for her anxiety. Carolynn called the doctor who confirmed she probably had a panic attack from all of the stress she was going through. He advised that she take it easy and lighten her load but otherwise try to make life return to normal. Makennah used that to push Carolynn to let her go to work, and they reluctantly agreed.

For the first time, she noticed Theo's unusually pristine and tidy outfit. He was dressed in a white and blue checkered dress shirt with the top button undone and the sleeves neatly rolled up which was tucked into grey pressed slacks and a brown shiny belt. His dress shoes perfectly matched the belt.

"What are you all dressed up for?" She asked.

Theo sighed and ran his hand down his face as if it caused him stress to think about it. "Mom and Dad believe in making me shadow them and learn more about the family businesses. Since they both went down their own paths and started their own businesses, I think they're competing to make me choose one over the other to pursue after I graduate college. I was with my dad this morning filing paperwork."

"What's your dad do?" Better to keep him talking about himself.

"President for a shipping company. Been in the family for decades." Well that explained all the money. Theo quickly changed the subject. "What do you want from Starbucks?"

Regretfully, Makennah wished she had applied some more concealer to hide the bags under her eyes which must warrant his offer of coffee. "Oh...um...." She found a five dollar bill in her apron from a tip she made and offered it to him to pay for her drink. "Caramel macchiato with caramel and mocha syrup."

Theo rolled his eyes and shoved her hand away, refusing her money. "What did I tell you?"

She blanked at his question. "Uh..." Nothing came to mind.