She fingered the uniform as she hung it up. Things would be so much easier if she had a permanent job. But that would mean tax forms and social security numbers and Stephan on her doorstep. He had the resources to find her.
Jacey grabbed her backpack out of one of the lockers then stepped back into the eating area of the diner. A wave of queasiness rushed over her and she took a deep breath, putting a calming hand on her stomach. She needed to eat.
“Go sit down,” Frankie called out to her. “I’ll bring you a burger.”
She smiled her thanks then made her way over to Derrick.
“Hi,” she said as she stood beside his booth. Derrick quickly slid out and stood.
“Have a seat, love. Can I get you a drink or something?”
“It’s okay. Frankie is bringing over something for me.” She’d started her shift at six this morning and had only managed a few bites of a sandwich during her shift. She was now shaking with hunger and fatigue. Frankie bustled over with a large burger and glass of iced tea. Jacey looked over at Derrick awkwardly. “Sorry, late lunch. Would you like something?”
She owed him for the pie the other night.
He shook his head and leaned back. “Please, go ahead.”
She forced herself not to wolf the food down. Eating too fast when she had an empty stomach would only make her sick. She’d learned that the hard way.
Derrick was silent as she ate, but it wasn’t an awkward silence. In fact, she was surprised by how at ease she felt around him.
“Go out to dinner with me,” he finally said.
“Umm.” She glanced down at her near-empty plate.
Derrick’s lips twitched. “Maybe not tonight. Tomorrow night. I’ll pick you up.”
“Derrick, we don’t even know each other.”
“Which is why we need to go out to dinner. To get to know each other. You’re a hard woman to track down, I couldn’t believe my luck when I walked into this diner and saw you. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you and I want to get to know you better.”
She stared at him in surprise. This wasn’t what she had expected. Not at all.
“Ahh, Derrick.”
He held up his hand. “I can tell you’re going to say no, so I want you to think about it. When’s your next shift?”
She had a lot of shifts this week to cover for one of the other waitresses.
“I’m working the breakfast shift every day this week.” She probably shouldn’t have told him that. Yet there was something about Derrick that made it near impossible to lie to him.
“Good.” He grinned and pulled out his wallet, leaving more than enough money on the table to cover the bill and a generous tip. Standing, he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Oh God, what was she getting herself into?
Shaking herself out of her stupor, she picked up the cash he’d left, gaping at it in disbelief. Fifty dollars? The iced tea had cost $1.50.
Shaking her head, she placed the fifty into her pocket and grabbed some change for the tea. She’d give him the money back tomorrow.
She was actually looking forward to it.
***
Jacey bit back a yawn as she walked toward the diner for her breakfast shift.
She just couldn’t get used to sleeping in the shelter, there were too many people, too much noise, too much worry that that someone might catch her with her guard down. Add her poor sleep to these early morning shifts at the diner, plus the fatigue from being pregnant and Jacey felt like she was running on empty.