Hidden Gem Short Story Collection (9781301405985) (7 page)

“
Isn’t it kind of early?”
Tyler asked, taking the double shot into his hands. “We haven’t
even gotten our food.”

“
Aw, c’mon,” Rufus turned
to Mike and Moss. “Is he still a lightweight?”

“
What’s the point of
putting on all that muscle if it can’t help you hold more alcohol?”
Moss asked.

“
I was, I don’t know,
fourteen or something the last time I drank in front of you,” Tyler
scowled, knocking back the double shot and sucking on a lime. He
winced, feeling the burn of the alcohol as he stared back at Rufus
and Moss. They held up their hands in mock surrender.

“
Alright then, big guy,”
Rufus laughed, shrugging as he waved down the waitress. Tyler
rolled his eyes. It didn’t seem to matter to Rufus and Moss that
nearly a decade had passed. In their eyes, he was still fourteen.
Normally, there was a comfort in the familial ribbing that came
with visiting the two, but Tyler wasn’t in the mood.

“
How can I help you?” the
waitress said as she approached their table. Tyler watched as the
trio eyed her. He bit back his lip, embarrassed that his three
friends didn’t have the best self-control. Their waitress
was
pretty and very much
their type. She had snow-white skin covered in ornate, flowery
tattoos and jet-black hair that was probably only pulled back for
work.

“
I can think of all sorts
of ways,” Moss muttered. The waitress smiled a stiff smile, her pen
and pad in hand.

“
Well, think something up
quick because my shift’s about to end,” she replied.

“
What? No!” Rufus teased.
“But I like you and I want you to stay.”

“
Yeah, we want to keep
looking at you,” Moss smiled. Tyler cringed. Rufus and Moss never
really had game, as far back as Tyler could remember. Their cheesy
lines were drawing the attention of those sitting within earshot.
And he could see just how much the waitress hated standing at their
table in that moment. It was a shame because Tyler had liked the
fact that he was sitting in a private back corner, covered by the
hulking mass that was Mike, with a waitress that seemed to have no
idea who he was. He tried to make eye contact with her, to perhaps
offer his apologies, but the girl wanted nothing to do with anyone
in the party.

“
I think we were just
going to order more drinks,” Mike said, his tone as apologetic as
Tyler felt. “But I’m not sure these guys actually figured out what
they wanted yet. Why don’t you go wrap up your day and we’ll just
order from the server who’s taking over for you?”

“
Okay, have a good night
then,” the waitress said, turning on her heel and tearing her apron
from her waist. To Tyler’s horror, Rufus and Moss were delighting
in the sight of her taking any article of clothing off of
herself.

“
I love me a bad girl,”
Moss said, kicking his feet under the table. He pounded his balled
up fists on the table. “And I can just tell that girl was
bad.
”

“
I’m hoping our next
server is a dude,” Mike said, shaking his head. “We’re surrounded
by families for Christ’s sake. And it’s not even really late enough
to be drinking like this. Or acting like this.” Tyler looked over
at Mike who looked strangely tense. He was thankful Mike was on the
same page as him, so he would be the one saying all the things that
Tyler himself was afraid to say aloud. But Tyler also suspected
Mike was only doing it because he could sense Tyler’s
discomfort.

“
Hi!” a bright voice
suddenly said, tableside. Tyler looked up, leaning forward to see
to whom the voice belonged. Their new waitress was standing there,
a pen and notepad in hand and ready to take their order. Her pale
blonde hair was pulled into a low knot that sat at the nape of her
delicate neck and her sparkling blue eyes flitted around the table
as if to greet them individually. Her gaze stopped on Tyler for a
second longer than the rest of the men. Tyler’s heart fluttered.
Normally, his stomach had a slight sinking feeling when he was
recognized at an inconvenient time, but that feeling was absent.
Probably because he wasn’t sure if she had actually recognized him.
Probably because she was kind of sort of
gorgeous.
He was surprised the other
boys didn’t seem to notice.

“
You our new waitress?”
Moss asked.

“
Yes, I’ll be taking over
for Jana and I’m happy to take your order whenever you’re ready,”
she replied.

“
I want a new server,”
Rufus said, gruffly. Tyler looked over, momentarily horrified by
his rude tone. Rufus pointed to the waitress’s arm. “This one’s
broken.” The table burst out laughing. Tyler looked back at the
waitress, noticing only at that moment that the new girl’s arm was
in a sling.

“
I assure you, sir,” the
waitress replied, her smile remaining soft and genuine. “That I’m
perfectly capable of taking your order. Besides, I’m a leftie.” She
shrugged, indicating the pen in her free, left hand. “Anyway, my
name’s Sophie and I’ll be right over there so whenever you figure
out what it is you want, give me a holler.”

~

The night was long, extending well past the
restaurant’s hours, much to the dismay of the staff and restaurant
owner. Sophie seemed fine with it, waltzing about the restaurant
like sunshine trapped in a wooden box, just waiting for it to be
morning so she could climb up into the sky. Her energy and vibrancy
was contagious – Tyler could feel his mood pick up anytime she was
a mere five feet from their table. He was glad the guys were much
too drunk to pick up on his sudden eagerness to be around their
waitress.

But there was one thing –
one
very
coincidental matter – that bugged him.

“
Wasn’t the name of the
only girl that was injured that we couldn’t visit named Sophie?”
Tyler asked at the breakfast table the next morning. Mike had his
head propped up on the counter, shoveling huge mouthfuls of bacon
and eggs into his mouth.

“
Yeah, I think so,” he
replied. “Why?”

“
That was the name of our
waitress last night.”

“
Yeah, I remember.
Sophie’s a name people have – what’s your point?”

“
Our waitress had her arm
in a sling. Like she was recently injured. You don’t think maybe
she was the one at the concert?”

“
Our waitress last night
gave zero indication she even knew who you were,” Mike said,
swallowing his food. “Don’t you think she would have been like,
‘Well, gee. What a coincidence that Tyler Chase is my customer when
just the other day, he broke my arm or whatever.’ Not saying
that
you
actually
broke her arm – I was saying Tyler Chase as like, the concert, not
as like, you, Tyler. You know.”

“
I know. And I guess,”
Tyler conceded.

“
Huh,” Mike put his fork
down. “You know, if it
is
the same Sophie, she was kind of creepy for not
saying anything.”

“
Isn’t that just being
professional?” Tyler asked. He winced at how quickly he had jumped
to the waitress’s defense. “Maybe?”

“
Maybe,” Mike shrugged,
not sensing anything odd or out of the ordinary. He seemed to think
Tyler was just making conversation. But the fact of the matter was
that Tyler had lost sleep over his curiosity. By the time they left
the restaurant, Sophie had ended her shift and gone home. The
owner, a cranky-looking elderly man, was the one who closed up
shop. He made sure to give them a disapproving eye as he held the
door open for them to leave.

Tyler wasn’t sure why he didn’t just ask
Sophie if she was, by any chance, at his concert the other day. It
was probably half in part due to feeling generally intimidated
around Rufus and Moss. Despite the fact that he was now bigger than
both of them, Tyler couldn’t help but feel like the little kid he
was when he first met them. He didn’t want to come off as some
child trying to hit on their waitress, especially when it wasn’t
even his intention to be “hitting on her.” He didn’t want to deal
with the car ride home where everyone would be giving him shit for
trying to “be suave.” He just wanted to know a little more about
her – that was all.

Not asking proved to be a big mistake. It
had been a long while since any girl had caught his eye, and he
wasn’t really sure how to deal with it anymore. He knew himself. He
knew how he had a tendency to fall fast and fall hard, to see
someone just once and create, in his head, an elaborate story of
what their lives would be like together.

After all, that was what had happened with
Gemma.

Granted, then, he didn’t know that Gemma was
her name. He just knew her as Queen Bee, like everyone else in the
world. He had seen her on stage, performing the last concert of her
European tour in Barcelona. He had wanted to meet her after the
show, but he was informed that her family had already whisked her
away. She was covered in ornate disguises and surrounded by
protective handlers, but Tyler was convinced he could see through
it all. Tyler was convinced he knew that the person underneath the
makeup and masks and costumes, was a person just like him. His
other half. He was sure of it.

There were brief moments
during their relationship where Tyler cursed the day he tweeted
about Queen Bee. She had been, at the time, only a success abroad –
a no-name in the states. Perhaps she had been long overdue for
American fame and it was just a coincidence that she blew up after
Tyler’s tweet, but he knew better than that. He knew it was all on
him. In sharing his excitement for the strong feelings he had
suddenly developed for her, he had shared her with the rest of the
world, thus having to
share
her with the rest of the world. Though looking
back, he realized he never
truly
had her.

In the most rational parts
of Tyler’s brain, he knew he sounded crazy. Even within his own
mind, he would scold himself for thinking the things he
thought.
This is why she left you. Because
you were
smothering
her.
He bit his lip, embarrassed by
his self-admission. It was never his intention. He had never wanted
to scare her off the way he did. But he had felt so
strongly
about her, and
it killed him to know that she had probably never felt the same way
back. Tyler never doubted that she loved him, but within their
relationship he had learned there were many different kinds of
love. He left the relationship still unsure what type of love it
was that he was receiving from Gemma.

He found himself parked outside of the
unnamed, wood cabin restaurant that they had spent the previous
evening. Tyler had slipped out of the house while Mike was on the
phone, not wanting to have to explain his whereabouts. He kept his
phone on him, knowing Mike would probably worry.

As Tyler stepped out and closed the car
door, he heard the familiar, raspy voice of the old man that had
ushered them out of the place the night before.

“
We’re closed!” he said,
waving a rolled up newspaper in front of him as he made his way
towards Tyler. “And you were just here, what, eight hours ago?
Please give us some time to recover, for God’s sake.”

“
I’m sorry,” Tyler
replied. “For me and my friends last night, I know we well
overstayed our welcome. And I’m sorry to bother you now, especially
since you’re not yet open, but I have a quick question about the
server who did the night shift? Sophie?”

“
What do you want with
her?” the old man said, crossing his arms over his red and
black-checkered hunter’s jacket. His grey beard frowned with
him.

“
I just wanted to ask her
a quick question.”

“
It better not be for a
date. Sophie doesn’t go for hooligans like you.”

“
No, not for a date.”
Tyler tried not to laugh. He had never been called a hooligan
before.

Just in time, the front door of the cabin
swung open. Sophie stepped out, dressed in a cherry-blossom-pink
turtleneck dress over ivory tights. Pulled over her tights was a
pair of fur-lined, knee high boots. Her pale blonde hair was loose
and scattered over her shoulders, framing her face and catching the
sunlight as she walked towards Tyler and the old man.

“
Hey Pop Pop,” she called
out. “I can’t find the drill bit to fit the trees out back. Do you
know where to find them?” The old man’s face softened as Sophie got
closer. He turned to give one last snarl at Tyler before turning
back to Sophie with an unrecognizably sweet smile.

“
Sweetheart, you shouldn’t
even be doing that type of work, the doctors said you need rest,”
he said. “I’ll take care of it, please. Your mother would have my
head if she found out I let you get hurt, then made you work
through an injury.”

“
I think my mother would
have
my
head if
she knew I let her elderly father do as much heavy labor as you
do,” Sophie said, wagging a playfully threatening finger at her
grandfather. Tyler couldn’t help but smile. He watched as Sophie
gave her grandfather a quick kiss on the cheek, leading him back
into the cabin. She glanced over her shoulder at Tyler, giving him
a “one-minute” sign and a flash of a smile as she disappeared into
the restaurant.