Angel Food Cake and Negative Reactions

"Cauldy, are you aware you look absolutely hilarious in normal clothes? You do not know how to dress yourself." I peered first over the rim of my pink glasses that I used only for reading and then down at my outfit. My manager, Lennox, smiled at me warmly. His jaunty frame leaned against the opposite side of the booth I was occupying.

"You know I'm not even on the clock right? I don't have to help you with all of this paperwork." I tapped my pen against my lip. Even though the restaurant I worked at was closed, I came in like I did every Sunday night to help Lennox fill out forms and notices.

He gave a sigh and collapsed across from me. "Cauldy my love, you're going to make someone a great wife someday." His pointy knees bumped against mine and he gave me a lop-sided grin. His deep brown eyes and worn in Wranglers gave him a worked look. His crooked nose and stubbly chin added to his western appeal. "Maybe I'll snatch you up for my own and try to change you back to the good side." He gave me a heavy wink and laid his rough tan hand on my small pale one. I could see my pearl sized finger nails peeking out. I noted that the lavender polish on them was chipped and ragged.

"Really Len...I need to get back to work." It made me nervous when he tried to be too sweet. He knew where my affections were aimed.

"I really do mean it Cauldy. If you ever decide to pursue me, I wouldn't run." His sad, sweet smile looked less than appetizing to me. Maybe he needed a nice slap to jolt him back to reality. But instead of hitting him, I brushed my hand gently across his face, letting my thumb graze the heavy stubble. He was like a brother to me almost and I didn't want to ever severe ties with him. But dating him was the farthest thing from my mind.

"I'm really trying to get started here, but your numbers aren't matching up. This form says 4, when this one says 12." I abruptly started talking work to get out of the awkwardness that had seeped into our conversation.

"I know...I'm not a whiz at keeping things in order. You of all people should know that." He snatched his hat off of the table and pushed it down on his head, almost completely covering his cow brown eyes. He gave me one last half-hearted shrug and hoisted himself out of the booth. I shook my head and smiled simply. Lennox could be quite charming when he wasn't trying to hit on me. "I guess I'll just go to the back and help Nita out. She already started cleaning, but I'm sure she'll need something done. I'll come back and check on you later, when I get the chance." I nodded in response and began to let my mind wander. Nita was a goddess. Lennox has hired her about four months ago, when our long time waitress had quit, saying Len had been cutting her pay. Nita had a gorgeous slender figure and long blond hair that complimented her features. She had an adorable, oval shaped face, a button nose paired with a dash of freckles, and round green eyes that always shined even in the dull light of the restaurant. Her slim legs moved her around from booth to booth quickly, making her a fast favorite of our regular diners. I completely adored her from the moment she started working here, but the only person who knew that was Lennox. But before I could continue daydreaming, I found myself staring back at those green orbs.

"Hey Cauldy! Cute sweater. I was just getting Len's keys for him." She smiled sweetly, allowing her straight teeth to peek out from behind her glossy lips.

"Mmmkay." I gingerly picked up the keys, not quite meeting her gaze. I handed them to her and her soft hands made minimal contact with mine. It made my breath catch and it took all I had to not sigh. She was already walking away when I finally looked up, but I did notice she'd already changed out of her uniform. She had on a short, white tank top and denim cut offs. She had small white tennis shoes on and a silver anklet jingled with every step she took.

"Cauldy, Cauldy...if you stare much harder your eyes'll pop out." I turned my eyes up to Lennox and let out the soft sigh I'd been harboring for a while.

"She's eating me up inside Len. I just want to grab her and...I don't know..." I tore my glasses off my face and threw them down on top of the unfinished paperwork.

"Wow...that's lovely. I think you need...one of these!" He flicked a pack of cigarettes out of his t-shirt pocket and offered me one. I took it gratefully, allowing the smooth paper to glide over my fingers. I jumped up and dashed to the back, even though smoking was forbidden back there. When I was finally in dry storage, I lit up, breathing in deeply. I let the cigarette dangle dangerously on the edge of my lips as I slumped to the floor. I flicked the lighter on and off at regular intervals, as I glanced down at my outfit, taking into consideration what Lennox had said to me earlier about not being able to dress myself. I guess my red and white sweater was a bit big on me. And my boy shorts didn't do much for my legs. My shoes were probably ready for the trash bin. Those pink glasses that were currently resting on the table did make my face seem tinier then it was. I pulled on a lock of my short brown hair and took another long drag. 'What did Lennox know anyway?'

"Feel any better?" Said man loped into the room, his boots clicking on the floor. I nodded and graciously handed him the almost finished cigarette. When we were together, he always finished them off for me. "Try not to smoke back here anymore Caul. You're gonna end up lighting something on fire." He offered me his hand, jerking me up from the floor. "You really need to stop smoking. You're too pretty to smell like that." He wrinkled his nose at me.

I gave a small laugh and dusted my hands of on the front of my sweater. "I better go finish that paper work though. I'd love to get home before midnight." He responded with a nod and ground out the cigarette against the thigh of his jeans.

"Before you do that, could you run these into my office? Nita will need them to finish closing up." He turned and plucked an array of objects off of various shelves. He pushed them into my arms and quickly disappeared out of the door.

'Why am I so damn compassionate? I swear without me Len would be in shambles.' I shook my head of my thoughts and made my way towards his office. I managed to flick my key out of my pocket, even though my hands were full, and unlocked the door. I put the cleaning products on the floor next to Nita's purse, so she wouldn't miss them. But when I turned to walk out, I saw her. She was leaning over the oven cleaning something. Her slender thighs were exposed and she was humming something. She sounded exquisite. I gently shut the office door behind me and locked it. That was one thing Len could be an ass about. He always had to have that door locked, as if someone was going to sneak in there and steal his inaccurate paperwork and tacky dollar store art. I stood behind Nita for what seemed like forever. When I couldn't stand it anymore, I took two steps forward, completely amazed that she was only a breath away. It was too late for any rational thoughts now, as I reached forward and grasped the back of her soft cotton tank top. She turned around, uttering a soft noise of surprise. Her green eyes went wide in question as we locked gazes.

"Cauldy?"

Just her voice, saying my name, caused me to dismiss any willpower I had left in me. My hand found it’s way to the back of her neck and I stood there for a few more seconds, drinking her in. I guess you could say I was waiting for her to stop me, but she didn’t'. So I slipped my lips onto hers. But what I had hoped to be warm and responsive turned out to be exactly the opposite. So as quickly as I could, I untangled my arm from her shoulders and turned away. 'God...why did she have to taste so heavenly...' I continued down the hallway, at a semi-fast pace, past Lennox's office and dry storage, and into the dining room. There, I bumped right into Lennox, when I turned the corner to run for the door. I fell backwards, sprawled on the floor like some rag doll. My breathing was heavy, and I felt like I was going to pass out...what had I just done?

"Are you okay? That paperwork isn't going to finish itself you know." He tossed a lighter and the pack of cigarettes down to me, where they landed on my stomach with an unpleasant thud. "Smoke as many as you need Cauldy, my love. There's no way I can figure that stuff out." He lovingly kicked at my foot and gave me a warm lopsided grin. But I knew it was only a matter of time before Nita came rushing out here, screaming that Lennox was going to have fire me or else there would be sexual harassment charges out the ass. So instead of waiting around for that, I snatched up the contraband and took off out the door. I headed towards my beat up VW green van. I had gotten it from my mother two years ago when I turned sixteen and it constantly got me pulled over by police. Dubbed "The Hippie Wagon", it got me where I needed to go and that was all that mattered to me. I quickly climbed into the drivers seat, and not bothering to lock the doors, shakily lit up for the second time that night. Len wouldn't need to help me finish this one up.

I took a long drag and held it for a few seconds, trying to make myself feel a little bit better about what I had just done, and exhaled out of my nose. Before I could put the cigarette back to my lips, three sharp raps echoed through the van, causing me to drop my unfortunate addiction on the shag carpet beneath my feet. "Shit!" I felt around rapidly, burning my thumb in the process. I snatched the almost finished cigarette up and looked towards the window. That's when I saw those gorgeous green eyes staring back at me. It was enough to make me want to die right there. What could Nita possibly want?

"Let me in." The glass muffled her voice, but she still sounded classically adorable. I wouldn't look up again, afraid that her gaze would be harsh. "Cauldy?" My eyes still stayed trained on the floor, examining the burn I'd just created on the carpet. Finally, Nita opened the door herself, letting wind rush through, creating goose bumps on my thin legs. I turned in the seat, still not looking at her, but facing her, letting my legs dangle over the side. I flicked the cigarette ashes to the ground and gently puffed, getting up the courage to say what I needed to say. Or at least to apologize.

"Listen, Nita..." But before I could go any further, I felt my cigarette being plucked from my hand and saw that tiny white tennis shoe stomp it out.

"That's a dirty habit Caul."

"I-I-I...know..."

She caught my chin with her index and middle finger and made me look at her. I was at a loss for words when she wrapped my mouth with her own. She warmly embraced me; letting her fingers explore my sides, rubbing gently over my ribs. I let my teeth nibble at her lips, then at her neck, causing her to sigh deeply into my ear. "Are you coming back inside?"

I nodded and she moved away from me so I could hop down. And with that, our hands intertwined and I could feel her acrylic nails brush against my knuckles. "How are we going to explain this to Len?" She turned and smiled in response. But instead of the word filled answer I was expecting, her mouth crashed down on mine again. Her hands tangled in my hair and mine found her neck, as we tried to taste as much of each other as we could.

"We'll worry about that later angel."