SECOND CHANCES (ORIGINAL WORK)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

It had been drizzling rain for hours. Streams coursed down the windowsill of the diner. But even so, the rain couldn't quell the diner's bustling afternoon completely, it seemed everyone was crazy enough to be out in the light shower, much to Aaliyah's dismay.

One of the cooks had called in sick and Jim, her manager, was in dire need of someone to handle desserts. Fortunately for her, it was her specialty.

"So are you going to tell me what happened?" Samantha asked after a few minutes of silence, accepting the glaze from her friend so that she could paint it over freshly baked mini apple pies.

"What do you want to know?"

"Not every sordid detail, obviously. Just the G rated stuff. It is my big brother we're talking about after all." Samantha shivered

Aaliyah had the impression that his world was ordered by a sense of right and wrong, that he had integrity. He wasn't preoccupied with pretending to be something he wasn't.

A small smile spread across Aaliyah's face. "It was... different."

Samantha raised her eyebrows. "Oh."

"Not a bad different. Definitely one I'm not going to forget for a long while. Now I just have to figure out how to stay the hell away from him."

"Why? What do you mean?" A frown marred her brow at the mere suggestion.

"We had our moment, but I'm really hoping this is once and done for him, because..." She let her face fall into her hands as the memory of their night settled over her.

"Lia, what?"

"I don't know. It's been a bit of a whirlwind so I don't really know what to think." She grabbed a fork and pressed the tines around the rim of the pie shell until there were ridges all around it. "To be honest, Samantha, I don't know up from down right now."

"I know you're hyper focused on everything that's been going on in your life right now, but if you're attracted to him, and he's obviously super attracted to you, why not just go for it?"

"I've been to hell and back, Samantha. You know this."

"Jason isn't some asshole frat boy. Maybe you should give him a chance."

Aaliyah's shoulders slumped and sadness flickered behind her eyes. "I'm scared. I don't want to go through what I went through again. I was a mess."

"He's been through some pretty rough stuff too," Samantha said.

Aaliyah lifted her gaze to hers.

"Stop waiting for something bad to happen. The best thing you can do is get to know him a little more. Stop trying to control what you can't control."

Letting him in scared her, but Samantha had a point. She needed to learn to be more open to it, after all, she did feel safe in his presence when she wasn't overthinking.

As Aaliyah slid the baking sheet into the oven, she heard the bells on the door jingle behind her. She turned slightly to see Jason come through the door. He was soaked through. The room seemed to become smaller and her breath hitched as she stared at the tall man who stood across her. Despite being soaked with water, she found him very cute, and felt the need to sweep the hair stuck to his forehead away, just so she could see more of his face.

Samantha frowned and interrupted her train of thought, leaving her flushed but glad that no one noticed her staring. "You're soaking wet."

Jason draped his jacket over a chair. His hair glistened with droplets of water. "Truck came in; someone had to unload it."

"You're going to get sick, Jason." Samantha chastised.

"Let me get some towels so you can dry off," Aaliyah said, glad to be able to leave to catch her breath, even if for a couple of seconds. She headed to the back and grabbed two towels out of the supply closet. Back in the diner, she found him rubbing a paper napkin over his hair.