Chapter 3

"You sure you don''t mind?" I asked, giving Tori a guilty look.

Tori rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding me? We''re working the same shifts anyway. I just have to show up thirty minutes earlier." She shrugged like it was no big deal.

When Tori found out I was planning to walk thirty minutes each way to work, she immediately offered to drive me every day. I wasn''t used to people actually wanting to help me, so her kindness made me feel like garbage.

"At least let me chip in for gas every week," I said, tugging at the tight uniform they made us wear.

I''d spent Saturday finishing the project Alec and Kade had bailed on, and now it was Sunday—my first day at work.

The morning shift was pretty slow, but people in this town seemed to tip well. I was doing okay so far, only spilling stuff on myself instead of the customers.

Thank God the uniform was just a black t-shirt with the restaurant logo and tight black pants. All my spills blended right into the black fabric. My dark brown hair fell in waves down my back.

Tori and I headed back inside after our thirty-minute break.

I peeked through the kitchen doors at the dining room. It was around five, and the dinner crowd was starting to roll in. Two more hours until I could collapse into bed.

My heart nearly stopped when Kade and Alec walked through the front door with Grace and another gorgeous girl. A sharp, weird pain shot through me seeing them with dates, but I shoved that feeling down deep. This wasn''t the time for whatever confusing emotions I was having. The hostess seated them, and of course she put them in my section.

Kade and Alec looked even better outside of school. Kade wore a black sweater rolled up to his elbows, dark jeans, and black boots. Alec had on almost the same thing, plus a leather jacket. I caught myself staring and mentally kicked myself. The last thing I needed was to go all starry-eyed and fall right into their trap.

I watched, confused, as Kade''s eyes swept the room until they found me peeking out from the kitchen. A smirk spread across his perfect face when our eyes met.

"What''s wrong?" Tori asked, looking out the door.

I sighed. "Kade and Alec, of course."

"I don''t know what you did to get on their radar, but I feel bad for you," Tori said, shaking her head sadly.

I stared down at my hands. "I didn''t do anything. I bumped into them once by accident and they decided to make my life hell."

"I''d tell you to go to the principal, but they seem to have everyone wrapped around their fingers," Tori said with a frown.

I sighed and stopped complaining. They wanted a reaction, and I wasn''t going to give them one. I wasn''t playing their games. I just had to hold out until I turned eighteen next February, then I''d be out of this town for good.

"Want me to take their table?" Tori offered.

I shook my head. "Nah, they''ll never let me live it down."

I took a deep breath and smiled when Tori gave me two thumbs up and an encouraging grin.

"Here goes nothing," I muttered.

I could feel all four of them watching me as I walked to their table.

I plastered on a fake smile and kept my eyes on the girls. I wanted to look at the twins as little as possible. Grace sat next to Kade while Alec had a beautiful girl with black hair beside him.

"Hi, I''m Aurora and I''ll be your server tonight," I said, trying not to wince when Grace shot me a nasty look. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"Aurora? What kind of name is that?" the black-haired girl snickered, making Grace let out that annoying laugh of hers.

I kept smiling and stared back at them.

"I''ll take water," Grace said with a sigh. "But I''m gonna need something way stronger if I have to look at those freaky eyes much longer."

I couldn''t figure out what was so "freaky" about my eyes. Was it really that weird to have two different colored eyes? Sure, it was rare, but freaky? Having one brown eye and one blue eye made it almost impossible to find makeup colors that worked perfectly, but whatever. Inconvenient? Definitely.

I couldn''t help glancing at Kade and Alec, almost grimacing at those stupid smirks on their faces.

The twins ordered sodas while the girls stuck with water. I practically ran from their table and helped a couple other tables in my section before rushing back to get their drinks.

Before I could head back out, Tori and Kyle, one of the cooks, stopped me.

"How''s it going with the twins?" Tori asked, frowning as she glanced toward the dining room.

I rolled my eyes. "Always a pleasure dealing with them."

"Who''s always a pleasure?" Kyle appeared next to me and threw his arm around my shoulders. I tensed up. Kyle was one of those guys who hit on every girl he met and had zero concept of personal space.

I''d lost count of how many times Tori had to tell him to back off just this afternoon. I never thought I''d be his next target.

Kyle was definitely good-looking. He had sun-bleached hair that swooped across his forehead like Superman, a sharp nose covered in freckles. He looked like a California surfer, not a cook in Georgia.

"Why do you have to put your grubby hands all over everyone?" Tori huffed, hands on her hips as she glared at Kyle.

Kyle smirked and tightened his arm around my shoulders. I felt my face heat up.

"Okay, okay," I said, pushing him away, feeling way too warm.

Kyle grinned and headed back to the kitchen. "Jealousy doesn''t look good on you, Tori."

"Creep," Tori muttered, shaking her head. Her red curls bounced with the motion, looking like flames.

I''d never really had time to be interested in guys before. I was too young to notice them when I lived with Grandma, and when I moved in with Melissa, I was too busy just surviving.

"Grace really has it out for you, huh?" Tori said, shaking her head.

I pouted. "Seems like it."

I grabbed their drinks while I had the chance and tried to steady my breathing as I approached their table. I almost cheered when I made it there without spilling anything.

I set their drinks down one by one. As I went to place Kade''s soda in front of him, his hand shot forward at the exact same moment. The glass tumbled over, spilling all over the table.

My breath caught when a smirk curved his lips. His dark eyes sparkled with mischief as they burned into mine.

"Sorry about that," I said, keeping my voice as polite as possible. "I''ll clean this up and get you another one."

I pressed my lips together as I pulled out a rag and started mopping up the soda. I couldn''t help glancing across the table.

I''d have to get close to Kade to clean that spot. Way closer than I wanted to be.

"Don''t be shy, sweetheart. You made the mess," Kade said with a sly smirk, watching the heat rise to my cheeks.

I could feel butterflies going crazy in my stomach, my heart practically pounding out of my chest as I leaned across the table.

Kade''s face was inches from mine, and I could smell his cologne—something husky and intoxicating. It was earthy and masculine with just a hint of sweetness. It made me wonder what Alec smelled like.

"Why do you smell like cologne?" Kade demanded in a low voice, making my eyes snap up to his. Kade''s gaze flicked to Alec, and suddenly both of them were staring at me with the same intense expression.

Confusion and disbelief crossed my face as I processed what he was saying.

I found myself stammering for an answer, not even sure why I wanted to give them one.

"I don''t see why that matters," I mumbled, butchering half the words as their eyes bore into me with strange intensity.

Desperate to escape their intense, almost angry stares, I rushed back to the kitchen for a replacement drink.

"You okay, Aurora?" Kyle asked, raising an eyebrow.

I huffed. "Yeah, Kyle. I''m fine."

I grabbed another soda and hurried back out, wishing I could be anywhere else.

I set the drink in front of Kade, relieved when it stayed upright this time.

"Ready to order?" I asked, my smile much more forced now.

Kade and Alec''s whole mood seemed to shift. Neither of them had their usual smirks anymore—honestly, they both looked pissed. I could hear Grace''s annoying laugh from across the restaurant, along with more glares from the twins.

The rest of my shift went exactly as expected. Grace found about sixty things wrong with her salad that needed to be fixed, while Kade and Alec kept throwing little insults my way.

I smiled through every insult and bit my cheek, pretending I didn''t hear a thing.

I let out a huge sigh of relief when all four of them finally got up to leave.

I ran back to their table, grabbed the check, and headed to the back to clock out.

My eyes went wide when I looked at the receipt. Those twins were definitely playing some kind of game, and for whatever reason, I was their target.

Their bill was almost seventy dollars, and they''d left me a sixty-dollar tip.

They had to be rich or have really good jobs. Based on their incredible looks and cocky attitude, I was guessing rich.

The tip wasn''t what worried me most about the check, though. What sent butterflies and nausea rushing through me was the little note at the bottom of the receipt:

*See you soon, doll.*

*A&K*