Falling in love with Love

She stood under the hot spray and cried. It had been so long since she had let anyone this close, so deep the connection was immediate and completely captivating. Just thinking of him, his touch, his kiss, his eyes, left her dazed and emotional. The fact that she had allowed him to get so close, actually shocked her, and now that things were rocky between them, she had to fight the urge to pack her bags, load up the dogs, and get the hell out of town! But then again, she had always been a runner, and somehow when things go serious, she would always find a way to self destruct, she felt it as a way of protecting herself. She'd be damned if she allowed anyone to break her, she could do that all by herself! With all the arguing between them, she had started to panic. If he had been any other man, she would have dropped his ass a long time ago, but so devoted, and yet still weak with her love and passion for him, she knew she would never be able to let him go.

As she turned her face upward, she felt the water wash over her and mix with her hot tears. When had she become this person? Tamed by a man whom she had met by chance, while engaged to another? Had a larger force brought their two worlds together by accident, or had it always been meant to be? Had fate been playing her all along?

A large thud made her jump, snapping her out of her daze. Peering around the edge of the curtain, she saw the newest member of her family sprawled out on the bathroom floor with the heel of her favorite stiletto between its teeth. Before she could scold and reach for her heel, the pup grabbed its new found treasure and ran out the door, down the long hallway and out of sight. Still dripping, with conditioner in her hair, she jumped out of the shower, and chased after the young pup.

Not five miles down the road, he sat in his office, brooding. He hated when she was like this. Irresponsible, rebellious, will no regard for his feelings. How could she do this again? Would she never learn, or did she just not care? Was she truly that's selfish and petty? Once again, she had gone against his wishes and gone to the bar with the girls and gotten drunk. He didn't care that she drank at home, but she was a gorgeous woman, and she knew it. After a few rounds, she would revert back to, as he had once heard her call them, "Club Rat Days". She would drink until she passed that point of no return, and couldn't stop. Maybe her mother was right, maybe addiction DID run in her blood. He hated knowing she had done this after, how may times he had asked her not too? Her behavior was intolerable. He crossed his arms, leaned back in his chair, and turned his attention to the monitors in front of him. As he watched his employees moved across the screens, he couldn't resist the feeling of satisfaction in watching his restaurant run so smoothly as he cooped himself up in solitude. 'Ooo' he thought to himself, he need to check on those running shoes he had saved the other day. As he turned back to his computer, her laugh popped into his head. He loved hearing her laugh, it was so unique, a little loud, with just a hint of darkness. He caught himself smiling and immediately scowled, as he was still pissed at her. He clicked open his browser and chose the eBay icon. He had put them on his watch list so he could see how popular they were, and how much the average bid would be. As he started to scroll down through is watch list, there was a knock at his door.

"Yea!" he shouted. Amber, his hostess, poked her head through the door.

"Hey Boss, it's almost 2, can I eat?" she asked as she shook her red curls out of her face. He chuckled, she was always hungry.

"Yea, go ahead", he answered casually. He knew she would eat up front where she could still see the door, and seat guests as they came in. As he thought about it, he realized, he was hungry. Wait! Did she say 2!? He turned around to the monitors again just in time to see her car pull into the parking lot. She was here. He couldn't tell if he felt angry and spiteful, or exhilarated. He watched her walk through the front door, God she was beautiful, he thought to himself. He stood up, adjusted his cuffs and tie, walked out of his office door, and came face to face with his girl.

"Hey," he muttered, "Fix your tie babe" he said to her quietly as he gently brushed past her and walked up to the Expo line. Esmeralda self consciously brought her hands to her collar. As she tightened her paisley, silver tie, which she had actually stole from him, she saw him glance at her. She walked up to him and was about to tip up her chin for his help, when she heard her best friend come in behind her.

"Esme! Are you taking tables? Can I transfer some to you?" Esme turned to see Ronnie coming up fast. Ronnie took on look at Esme and grinned. "Girl, who dressed you today?" she said with a laugh. Esme snickered as she let her best friend adjust her tie and collar. As she rolled up her sleeves, Ronnie circled her to tie her apron.

"Yea, I'm ready. Vince, will you transfer her open tables to me please?" Esme offered a smile to his cautiously; she knew he was pissed at her. As their eyes met, she could feel his irritation. It would be best to just stay out of his way and try and keep her attention on her tables. She reviewed each ticket that had just been transferred and went to make sure they were happy, before she would begin to roll the silver that was left over. She decided that for the next three hours, she would focus on rolling, sweeping, cleaning, serving, and restocking for the next shift, rather than his eyes, his laugh, and how every time she looked at him, her heart swelled just a little bit more.

Vince sat in his office and scrolled through his favorite app. He needed to distract himself, but he couldn't keep from looking up and watching Esme move across the screens. Ugh, why was she so difficult? As he watched her greet a table, he scowled as he saw her lean against the other, ans start to chat. 'This bitch' he muttered with a smile spreading across his face. He grabbed his flashlight and walked out of the office, into the server line. He carefully positioned himself, where she would see him behind the wooden lattice and stuck the tip of the flashlight through an opening, clicking it on and off as fast as he could in her direction. He saw her wince and looked up, carefully making eye contact, all while she carrying on the conversation with her table. It's like she did this shit on purpose. She knew leaning on the tables would draw his out, but also fuck up the levelness of each! As they looked into each others eyes, it was like she could read his thoughts. She shifted her weight off of the table and to her other hip. A slight smile came across her lips as her eyes dropped and she continued taking the order. He watched her turn, and out of habit he squared his shoulders as she walked towards him, into the server station. He watched her swipe her employee card and start tapping away at the computer screen with her red and black nails. He came up behind her, "How many times have I told you to keep your ass off my tables:" he said under his breath in her ear. As she turned to face him he gazed into her eyes. They were brown, with just a hint of red that matched her hair.

"Oh I'm sorry" she said innocently, "I wasn't paying attention." He knew she was lying, he could tell just by the look in her eye, she was playfully devious, again he loved it, he loved, HER!

"Don't let me catch you doing it again." he told her , and gave her ass a little smack before he turned to the line. "Guera!" he called through the window, "Por favor, una Steak Mexicana con res, y tortillas maiz". Guera, his line cook was the only one who could make it the way he liked it, and he knew Esme would eat some too, as it was her favorite. How were they so similar, yet so different? He watched her work, she moved with ease from one table to the next, making sure people knew she was there, laughing at jokes, holding multiple conversations and carrying each in bits, as she worked. He walked to the bar and swiped his employee card. Golf was on, he thought, as he flipped through the channels on the bar TV, and landed on Rory McIroy walking across the green. He glanced at the well and sighed, the liquor order better get here soon, they were running low on, actually, everything. Just as he sat down at the bar top, he heard the kitchen bell. Esme would grab it, she was very diligent about her Friday shifts, plus she loved making him feel like a king, which in turn, he loved. He heard the bell again, heard Esme's voice, and then her laugh. He could almost feel it, again an air of sultry seduction, mixed with the darkness. He straightened up as she came around the corner with his lunch.

"My Love," she addressed him, as she placed his food in front of him, turned to grab some utensils from the bin and asked, "water, coke, or tea babe?" He looked at her, into those deep eyes, and felt all of her love and affection seep deep down inside him.

"Tea please". His voice was raspy, almost gone, he cleared his throat. When she came back, she set the drink in front of him, stole a bite off his plate, and out of habit, he tapped her on the butt again, ans she went back to her tables.