Under the Boardwalk (Boardwalk Boys #3)
Prologue
Alina
Another day, another dollar tip. Yup, you heard that right, one dollar and all in quarters. I can't be too mad, though. My last table was a cute elderly couple in their eighties. I know they don't mean any harm, but earning a living on old-school tipping wages is really hard. I guess for this couple, two percent is the new twenty.
They were rather sweet, though. The older gentleman noticed his wife's hands shaking when she tried to cut up her sausage. He dropped his fork immediately, scooted around the table, and softly took her knife. He then cut her food up for her and continued with his meal. It was the sweetest gesture and made me forget about the minor tip.
Humming to myself, I return to clearing the table. I almost trip over my feet as I turn back toward the kitchen and notice Kas sitting at his usual table with his friends, devouring their usual meals. I gulp audibly as I scan the table for… yup, there he is. Internal sigh. I swear he gets me all googly-eyed every time I see him. Without thinking much about the change of course, I walk past their table, looking for any excuse to get closer to him. I can't bring them their food because Kas has already taken care of it. I look at their mugs and notice they could use a refill on their coffees.
Quickly walking behind the counter and dropping the tray off, I grab the coffeepot and make my way back to their table. Slowly refilling their cups, as always, they don't even know I’m here. I'm what other people would call a wallflower, but I don't consider that an insult. I don't have much to say; if I do, it usually comes out too quiet for people to hear. I easily just slide into the background, where I usually want to be. I hate feeling people stare at me; it causes me to panic, and I nearly pass out.
Even with how uncomfortable the thoughts are, though, there is one set of eyes I think I might give an arm and a leg to have on me. Riley. As I peek at him through my lashes, his head is buried in a book, but the conversation has him looking up. Still not in my direction. As I refill the last coffee, I listen to their conversation. It's not like they ever notice I’m here, anyway. The only one that sometimes notices is Kas, and that's because I work with him.
“Yeah! Well, that and my mom’s psychic told her so. Said it would be a summer to remember,” Beck says with more enthusiasm than I would have expected from him.
“A psychic? Since when does your mom go to a psychic? And since when do you believe in that shit, anyway?” Gray asks.
Beck shrugs. “Since I like the sound of it, and after how fucking hard the last two years have been at school, I could use some good news. So just let me have this one, yeah?”
“Yeah, but if your mom's psychic said it to her, wouldn’t that mean it would be her summer to rem… Hey!” Riley cuts off, and I see him scowl at Grayson. It almost makes me laugh, but I know that would cause all eyes to turn to me, and then I’d probably just fall to the floor. I start to walk away, not having any other reason to stay longer when their next words stop me.
“Well, then…” Gray says, raising one of the mugs on the table in salute. “To Beck’s mom’s psychic… and the summer of our lives.” They clink their glasses together, causing one of the refills to spill over onto the table. Quickly, I grab the rag from my apron and clean up the spill as the guys go on.
“Try to act a little more civilized and a little less barnyard animal guys, would ya?” Tessa, Gray’s sister and my fellow waitress, smirks as she walks by carrying a tray of food to one of her tables.
Usually, that would have at least brought a smile to my face. Instead, I'm too caught up in what Beck said about this being the summer of their lives. It nearly had me blanching. I've pined after Riley for so long, but he's so handsome and smart, of course, hot as Hades, but mainly he’s caring. I've tried talking to him multiple times while he sat at this very booth alone with one of his books, but the problem is, he doesn't even know I exist.
If this is the summer of their lives, I can't let him get away without taking a chance. I know I’ll regret it for the rest of my life if I do. I have to do something crazy, something completely unlike me…
Something bold.