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Lita headed toward the table at which the diner awaited, yawning as she approached. The person sitting there had long blond hair, and despite her exhaustion, she was easily able to discern that it was a man. There was no mistaking those broad shoulders.
"Hello...My name is Lita, and I'll be your wait-" She stopped in mid-sentence as she got a good look at the man.
Bright green eyes looked up at her almost curiously, his face lightly dusted with a coating of stubble. He was so handsome that Lita couldn't quite catch her breath. She noticed how immediately her body was responding to the sight of him. On top of the obvious exterior, the man seemed to have a smoldering, mysterious aura about him. She found it strange she would think such a thing, seeing as she didn't know him, and he hadn't even spoken to her yet. Also, despite the fact that he was blond, there seemed to be an odd, almost mystical darkness about him. Or maybe it was just his dark gray shirt and the black trenchcoat he was wearing...
The exceptionally handsome man ran a hand through his long hair, and Lita felt ripples shivering down her back at the gesture.
"I'll have a cup of coffee, plenty of cream and sugar..."
God, his voice was so thoroughly masculine... So sensual. The redhead feared she might never find her own voice and was certain this man probably thought she was a weirdo by now.
Surprising herself, she rediscovered her voice. "Coffee, plenty of cream and sugar," she repeated his words as she scribbled it down in her little notepad. "Anything else?"
"Um...yeah," he said as he glanced the menu over quickly once more. "I'll take a BLT with that..."
Lita wrote that down as well. "A late nighter, huh?"
The blond man folded his hands on the table before him after handing her the menu. "Yeah, you can say that..." He examined her face intently, his expression neutral for the most part. Nonetheless, Lita felt her knees start to weaken. Suddenly, she no longer felt exhausted. She couldn't believe how strong an effect this man was having on her.
"I haven't seen you in here before..." Wow, she'd actually thought of something else to say to him!
"No, I haven't been here before..." he replied. "I'm from Toronto - I was living there for awhile but decided recently to come back here to Florida..."
Lita cocked her head in interest. She hadn't really caught a Canadian accent from him, but then, he hadn't spoken words like 'out' or 'about.'
"You're from Toronto?"
"Yeah," he said. "I was born there...my mom and family still live there." He eyed her silently for a beat. "You said your name is Lita?"
"Yeah...what's yours?" she asked.
"Edge..."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh...sorry...Well, my name is really Adam, but my nickname is Edge - it's what pretty much everyone calls me," the handsome blond explained. He put his hand out to shake hers.
Nearly dumbfounded, Lita put her hand in his. "Nice to meet you - Edge..." She smiled crookedly. God, there was just something about this man...
The blond man seemed to hold onto her hand just a tad long, and Lita suddenly came back to her senses, shaking her head as though to rid herself of the cobwebs.
"Err...I'd better..." She pulled her hand free and gestured toward the kitchen. "...go see about your order..." Then, before Edge could say anything more, she turned and hurried to the kitchen. She felt her face burning bright red with embarrassment, and she felt so awkward. What must the man think of her?
"Hey, you look a little flushed..." Chris said as she pushed her way through the double swining doors.
Lita ignored her friend's comment. "I need a BLT," she said. She shifted her gaze to Dawn Marie, who was still present back there. Surprisingly, the brunette was at the sink, washing some dishes. That was not part of her job.
"What are you doing?"
"I think that's pretty obvious..."
"You know what I mean," the redhead said, nudging her friend on the arm. "Why are you doing that?"
Dawn Marie shut off the water, then grabbed a dish towel off the counter beside her. As she turned toward Lita, the redhead realized she was still shaking a bit.
"Dawn? What's the matter?"
"I...I can't go back out there..." the brunette whispered. "Not now, anyway."
"You have to," Lita said, puzzled. What was going on? "While I was out there, a couple of diners stepped in - they're at a table in your station."
Dawn Marie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Damn...then I guess I have no choice unless I want to be out of a job - or on Stephanie's shit list along with Torrie..." She straightened her shoulders, then, without another word, left the kitchen.
Lita turned
to exchange glances with Chris. The blond man's face wore a look
of equal confusion and concern.