Callie

 

Friday came around and English ended up being first block. After working late the last two nights, Callie wasn’t sure she could keep her eyes open for another discussion on Hamlet. She couldn’t wrap her head around why they were still it when Shakespeare had a million other works they could focus on… but as long as it was on the curriculum, she had to suck it up for her GPA.

To her surprise, August was already in his seat. He had headphone in with his eyelids hanging low. It was clear he was still half asleep, but at least he made it on time.

His eyes caught hers and he sat up straighter as she took her seat next to him.

“Hey, Pearson.” He smiled.

“Hey Creston.” She replied, returning the smile and pulling out a notebook.

He put his headphones into the pocket of his Varsity letterman jacket. “What’d you end up doing last night?”

“Worked.” She shrugged. “You?”

“Not a whole lot You still waitressing over the pizza place by the water?”

“Seabreeze and Slices. Yeah.” She nodded. “It eats up all of my weekends but it’s good money on event days. I don’t have to wear a uniform, and I get all the pizza and wings I can eat. Plus, the manager lets us sneak drinks when the place is empty.”

He laughed, resting his arms on his desk. “That’s cool. Maybe I’ll swing by sometime.”

“Only if you’re a good tipper.” She replied.

“Ms. Pearson. Mr. Creston. Is this a conversation you’d like to share with the class?” Mrs. Morgan interrupted.

“No.” They answered simultaneously.

“Then I suggest you pay attention. This’ll be on your exam.”

The pair looked at each other and laughed to themselves but kept relatively quiet after.

After an hour long class on Hamlet’s thoughts and feelings, Callie couldn’t have been more relieved when the bell rang.

Shoving her notebook into her purse, she threw it over her shoulder and stood to leave. August followed, adjusting the straps on his backpack.

“Are you coming to the game tonight?” He asked, catching up to walk beside her. “We’re all getting together at Matt’s after.”

She shook her head, pursuing her lips in a pout. “Can’t. I’m covering another shift tonight.”

“Oh come on. Call out.” He replied. “Who else is going to take care of me when I get blackout drunk?”

She laughed, brushing a strand of hair behind Hunter’s ear. “As fun as that sounds, I can’t. Some of us actually have to work.”

After reaching the end of the hallway, She motioned her head towards the staircase. “This is me. See you later Hunter.”

“Later, Cal.” He smirked, walking backwards to watch her as she walked down the stairs.

Ugh. He was just too fucking cute.

    ooo

10:30 rolled around and Callie crossed her fingers that nobody else would come in so they could start to clean up. Seabreeze and Slices wasn’t a big restaurant or anything fancy, but because it was right on the water, it was usually pretty busy on weekends when everyone was on the beach.

The place had a very laid back vibe to it. Windows paneled all the walls so people could see the water and have a view of the boardwalks. The tables and counters were blue with white chairs and there was always mellow music playing over the radio so people would relax and enjoy their time.

While it was a great business plan and an environment she used to hang out at before she got hired; cleaning it up it up was a major hassle.

No matter what shift she worked, there was sand everywhere and they were expected to have the floor spotless at the end of every night. Everyone could grasp the idea of cleaning sand off the floor, but it was a million times worse when it’s mixed with ketchup or soda.

Downright disgusting and the bane of her existence.

The sound of the bell chiming from the door caught her attention as she sweeped the kitchen floor. She leaned the broom against the doorway, making her way to the front.

Almost in disbelief, she froze for a moment when her eyes  landed on Hunter, staring back at her with a wide grin on his face. His hands were deep in the front pockets of his jeans and his hair was a ruffled mess from his football helmet. Judging by the time, he must’ve headed over as soon as the game ended.

“Was hoping I’d catch you before you closed.” He spoke with a different tone than his usual cockiness that she’d seen at parties or at school.

“Yeah?” She managed to get out, despite the dryness in her throat. “What can I get you?”

“I’ll take a slice of pepperoni.” He replied, walking up to the register.

Callie looked up at him from behind the counter and it suddenly hit her how perfect he was. God bless his genes.

“You came all the way over here for a slice of pepperoni?” She asked, placing the order into the tablet. “Shouldn’t you be at Matt’s party or something?”

He hung his head with a chuckle before his broad shoulders lifted into a shrug.
“It wouldn’t be much of a party without you there.” He replied, taking his hands out of his pockets to lean forward on the counter, resting on his elbows.

Callie smiled but a warm flush came over her cheeks. Hunter was usually a flirt If he wasn’t talking to her, it was some other girl in class, but this time it felt more personal. There was no one around us. No one he’d have to impress. Just him and her.

She brushed her hair behind her ear, biting the corner of her lips. “Just for that you’re slice is on the house.”

“Shit, maybe I’ll come here more often then.” He laughed, licking his bottom lip as she pushed her code into the tablet.

“Take a seat.” Callie laughed. “I’ll bring it out in a second.”

Following her orders, he walked towards the tables by the windows looking out at the water. She walked the other direction through the kitchen doors and back into the employee bathroom to get a good look at herself in the mirror. She looked like a mess. Out of all the times Hunter could’ve stopped in, it had to be at the end of a shift. Her hair had random strands falling out of her bun. Her shorts were covered in random hand-prints of flour. Her t-shirt had ketchup stains, and she was certain she smelled like french fries by this time of night.

“Goddamn it.” She mumbled, cleaning up what she could.

Wetting her hands, she brushed off some of the flour, but there wasn’t much she could do about the smell or the ketchup stains. She pulled the hair tie out to roughly brush her fingers through her hair before throwing it up in a high ponytail, before washing her hands and walking out to grab his slice from the kitchen and taking it to his table.

“Want anything to drink with it?” She asked, placing the plate down in front of him.

“Nah, I think I’m alright.” He smiled, leaning forward to grab his slice. “You going to get in trouble for keeping me company?”

She looked around the empty restaurant before shaking her head. “Not unless it gets busy in the next 10 minutes.” She replied, taking the seat across from him.

“Good.” He took a bite of his slice, breathing out hot air from not waiting for it to cool down.

Callie laughed, watching him bite between breaths and taking another bite impatiently. “So who won tonight?”

“We did.” He answered proudly. “Tie breaking touchdown in the last 30 seconds of the 4th.”

“Well way to go QB. Hell of a way to start the season off.” She laughed.

He nodded his head, finishing the rest of the slice practically whole. He was passionate about sports. Aside from parties and football, there wasn’t much August cared about in his life. Not that he had to give a shit about anything. His family’s money would make sure they were well off for generations., but there was a difference between seeing him talking about his family’s business and talking about his life.

“You should come watch a game sometimes. The team we got this year is pretty good.” He crossed his arms, leaning forwards on the table again to close the distance between them.

“Is that an invite?” She smirked, copying his form. “I mean, football isn’t really my thing but if I was to get a personal invite…”

He laughed, cocking his brow as his gaze went down to her lips then back to her eyes. “Well this is me personally inviting you, so I better see you there.”

“Sheesh, so bossy.” She replied with a cocky laugh, leaning back into her seat.

“Yup.” He replied confidently.

“Cal – closing time!” She heard from the doorway to the kitchen.

“Damn, I feel like I just got here.” Hunter sighed, looking back towards the cook then at her. “You got some time to chill after you get out of here?”

“Uhm, yeah.” She nodded, “we can hang out at the beach for a bit.”

“Perfect.” He smiled. “I’ll be outside.”

They stood at the same time and Hunter shoved his hands in his pockets as they walked towards the door. She gave him a small wave, turning the neon “OPEN” sign off, locking the front door before walking back to finish cleaning and counting the register.

“Hunter?” Callie asked, walking around the front of the building, not seeing him.

She walked towards the other side facing the beach to find him seated on the half-wall that separated the sand from the sidewalk. She could only tell that it was him because of the moonlight as most of the streetlights on the boardwalk were so few and far between.

“Boo!” She said, scaring him as she poked both of his sides at the same time.

He let out a shocked scream and jumped off the wall and into the sand. Turning around with a hand on his chest to catch his breath before bursting out laughing when he saw that it was her.

“You scared the shit out of me!” He laughed, walking towards the opening of the wall.

“You big baby. What if it wasn’t me?” She laughed, stepping out of her sneakers and taking them in hand.

“Well then I would’ve had to kick some ass.” He returned, holding out his hand for her to take.

They hadn’t had this type of closeness before but it was all too natural to take his hand and lace their fingers as she walked around to step in the sand, following his lead to walk towards the water.

“Come on, it’s just us here. You would’ve ran away screaming wouldn’t you?” She laughed, bumping her shoulder into his.

“Me?” He pointed at himself playfully. “Shit, maybe. Depends on the size of ‘em.” He laughed.

Callie laughed, approaching the water’s edge and dipping her feet into the small wave as it hit the sand.

“Hope I didn’t keep you long.” She said, smiling softly as she looked up at him, their fingers still intertwined.

“Wasn’t long at all.” He shrugged. “How many days do you do this?”

“Work?”

He nodded.

“I try for 4 or 5 days a week, but lately it’s been slow so he’s only been giving me weekends.” She answered.

“Shit, that sounds lame.” He laughed.

“Well, most of us can’t get everything from mommy and daddy.” She returned with a smirk.

He laughed, letting go of her hand to sit down on the sand a few feet away from the water. “Well, that’s also lame.”

“You’re telling me.” She laughed, taking a seat next to him.

“I can’t believe you blew off a party just to spend time with me? Don’t you know how boring I am by now?”

“I don’t think you’re boring at all.” He replied, his eyes meeting hers. He brought his legs up, resting his arms on his knees. “There’s always another party. I just wanted some one on one with you.”

“Really?” She asked, lifting a brow. “Why?”

“I like hanging out with you.” He replied. “It’s different. Calmer. I like it.”

She smiled, lowering her head, leaning closer towards him,  her cheeks getting warm again but this time it was too dark from him to see. “I like hanging out with you too. You’re so different than when you’re with other people.”

He chuckled, biting the corner of his lip. “Well, maybe we should hang out more often then.” He asked, playing with his fingers.

She lifted her head, not really sure if there was more to his sentence or not but he leaned in, placing a hand on her cheek, pulling her closer to kiss her lips. She didn’t think she’d be so susceptible to his charm but she practically melted into him, placing her hand over his, returning the kiss.

“I’d like that.” She whispered as they pulled away.