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All Credit goes to the Original Author
I was standing behind the counter at McDonald’s, bored out of my mind. I surveyed the nearly empty restaurant. The only customer was a young mother with three wailing toddlers. My heart went out to her. After struggling with the tots for a while, she managed to get them all happy and silent by giving them Happy Meal toys. She let out a sigh of relief and exited the store, kids in tow. I looked around the now empty restaurant, from the grey industrial-tiled floor to the fryers in the background, and sighed. This was a very boring job.
I started daydreaming. In the fantasy, I was standing in a beautiful, perfectly round meadow ringed with trees. Wildflowers dotted the land. There was every color in the rainbow, and hummingbirds and butterflies were zipping from flower to flower. Birds were singing in the background. I lay down on the soft grass. I could stay here forever. Suddenly, the peace and quiet was interrupted by a loud voice. “Miss!” I looked around, confused. Where was the voice coming from? “Miss!”
I snapped out of my daydream to see a tall man waving his hand in front of me. He had soft-looking bronze hair that I wanted to run my fingers through, and stunning green eyes that looked like emeralds. He was wearing black slacks and a green shirt that set off his eyes perfectly. He looked about the same age as me, in his early 20’s. He looked like a Greek god. I blushed at the thought that this gorgeous stranger caught me zoning out.
“Oh, sorry, sir! You caught me daydreaming,” I admitted sheepishly.
He grimaced at the word ‘sir’. “Don’t worry about it. And please call me Edward. ‘Sir’ makes me feel, I don’t know, really old.”
I giggled at him. “Whatever you say, Edward. Now, can I help you?”
“Yes, I’d like a cup of coffee. Black.”
“Coming right up, si – Edward.” I turned to fill his order.
“So, who are you?”
“Excuse me?”
“Well, you know my name. It’s only fair I know yours.”
“Bella,” I smiled.
“Bella. Perfect name.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means beautiful. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”
I blushed. A hot stranger said I was beautiful. “Thank you.”
He chuckled. “You’re adorable when you blush.”
This, of course, just made me blush more. “Um, th-thanks,” I stuttered, trying to remember how to talk. Forget talk, I was trying to remember how to breathe.
I gave him his food. As I handed over his coffee, our fingers brushed, and an electric current seemed to pass through our hands. I looked up, startled, and the expression on his face told me he had felt it too. He looked up at me and our eyes locked for a moment.
“Here you are. Enjoy,” I managed to stutter out.
“Thank you, ma’am.”
I giggled. “Oh, please call me Bella. ‘Ma’am’ makes me feel, I don’t know, old,” I mocked him.
He rolled his eyes at me. He looked really cute when he did that. Bad Bella! He’s a customer! I reprimanded myself. Yeah, another voice in my head said, a really hot customer. I shook my head. Thoughts like that would get me in trouble.
“Well, thank you, Bella.” He began walking to a nearby table. After a few minutes of watching him surreptitiously, I was daydreaming again. I was in the meadow again, but, this time, Edward was with me. He was lying down, his buttons on his shirt undone. He seemed to be sparkling in the sunlight, and the breeze ruffled his hair. He reached out to touch my face, then he –
“Bored?” a velvet voice close to me asked. I started, then, seeing who it was, blushed again. The same person caught me daydreaming two times in a row!
“You have no idea,” I answered him. “My friend and co-worker Angela is sick today, so I can’t talk to her, and I’m not allowed to use my cell phone while I’m working, so I have nobody to talk to.”
He leaned against the counter casually. “You’re calling me a nobody? I’m hurt.” He put a hand over his heart dramatically.
It took me a second to absorb what he was saying. “You’d stay and talk to a random, boring stranger at a McDonald’s?” I asked, surprised.
“No. But you’re not a random, boring stranger, are you?”
“Don’t you have anything more important to do?”
“Let’s see…” he pretended to be deep in thought. “I could go home and daydream about this beautiful, interesting girl I met at McDonald’s, or I could stay here and actually talk to the beautiful, interesting girl I met.” He grinned at me.
I smiled at the compliments. “Thanks. Now, let me ask you a question. How many girls have you used that line on?”
He laughed. “None.”
“Really?” I asked, skeptical.
“Really. I was waiting for a girl who was pretty, smart, interesting, and funny to come along.” He winked at me.
I laughed. “You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were flirting with me.”
“Of course not,” he replied in mock horror. “That would mean risking getting beat up by your boyfriend.”
I laughed again; Edward was making me do that a lot. “Yeah, get beat up by someone who doesn’t exist – that’d be a first.”
He looked surprised. “You don’t have a boyfriend?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
I shrugged. “No one’s caught my eye yet.”
Liar, liar, pants on fire, a voice in my head sang. Someone has caught your eye, and he’s standing right in front of you.
Shut up, I told the voice. It’ll never happen.
“So, I’m guessing you don’t have a girlfriend, as you were not-flirting with me before?” A thought struck me and I raised an eyebrow. “Unless you’re one of those players who flirts with every girl he sees and could care less that he’s dating someone?”
He shook his head at me. “No, I’m not like that. My mother taught me to treat girls with respect.”
“Good, because if you were, I would probably start screaming at you about how girls deserved to be treated better, then I would hit you something heavy.”
“Remind me not to get on your bad side.”
I grinned at him, then asked “So, what do you want to talk about?”
He thought for a moment. “Everything,” he decided.
“Okay…”
“What’s your favorite color?”
“Green,” I blurted out, looking into his eyes. I blushed; my favorite color had been brown before.
“Why are you blushing?”
“No reason,” I lied.
“Riiight. Tell me.”
“No.”
“Please?” he breathed.
“No,” I replied stubbornly, crossing my arms across my chest.
“Bella…” he warned.
I just shook my head.
“Bella, please,” he asked me pleadingly, unleashing the full force of his eyes on me.
My breath caught for a moment. Breathe, breathe! I reminded myself.
“That’s not fair,” I pouted.
“What?”
“Oh, please. You can’t just dazzle people like that!”
“Dazzle?” he asked, genuinely confused.
“I bet you smile at them and girls do whatever you want. Do you think everyone gets their way that easily?”
“I dazzle people?”
“Probably. Actually, I’m sure of it.”
“Do I dazzle you?”
“Definitely.”
He smiled widely. My heart skipped a beat at his beauty.
“Okay, that was interesting to know, but back to my question. Why did you blush when I asked your favorite color?”
“Shoot. I was hoping you would forget about that,” I grumbled, more to myself than him. He just laughed.
“Silly Bella, I don’t forget that easily. Now please tell me, or I’ll use my magical dazzling powers on you.” He winked.
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think I should have told you that – your ego is big enough as it is.”
“Bella, stop avoiding the question.”
“Okay, okay.” I blushed. “Wow, this is going to sound really pathetic. Green is the color of your eyes.”
He looked at me in shock for a moment, and I turned even redder. Then, his face broke into a wide smile.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
He was still smiling as he fired another question at me. “Okay, what’s your favorite flower?”
I shook my head at him. “Nuh-uh. I let you ask the last question, I get to ask this one.”
“Okay, what do you want to know?” he asked, his brow furrowing.
“Well, what do you do?”
“I’m studying to become a doctor.”
“Really? That’s great. Hmm, maybe I’ll see you at the hospital some time.” He looked confused, so I explained. “I’m really clumsy, and I end up injuring myself most of the time, so I’m really familiar with the people at the hospital.”
He looked torn between being worried and laughing. In the end, laughter won out, and I scowled at him. “I’m glad to see that you think that me hurting myself is amusing."
“Sorry, Bella, I couldn’t help it.” He grinned.
“It’s fine, everyone laughs about it.” I couldn’t stay mad at him for long.
After a while, we sat at a nearby table to ask our questions. He sipped another coffee, and paid for me to have one too. We laughed and talked. I found out a lot about him. He was adopted, he had two brothers and two sisters, and he liked to hike, hunt, and play piano. I glanced at the clock, and found that we had been talking for two hours. I ha been so caught up in him that I hadn’t noticed the time. We were so comfortable around each other, and I felt a connection to him, like we had known each other all our lives instead of just for a few hours.
“Whoa, we’ve been talking for a long time.”
“Well, you know what they say – time flies when your having fun. And I was having a lot of fun.”
“Me too,” I said, smiling.
“Ugh, I’m pretty hungry now. Can I get some fries?”
“Sure thing.”
I walked behind the counter and got him some fries.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
He made his way back to the table, and I was about to follow him, but he spilled a few fries on his way there. He looked at me apologetically. I shook my head and smiled at him to let him know that it was okay. As I reached to grab the broom, a rather overweight lady with blonde hair walked to the register. Okay, rather overweight is an understatement. This woman was fat. I figured the fries could wait until after this woman left.
“Hi, can I help you?” I asked politely.
“Yes, I’d like two Big Macs, a Coke, two large fries, a chocolate ice cream, a large vanilla milkshake, three apple pies, and a Double Quarter Pounder with cheese – oh, and I almost forgot, an Asian salad. I’m on a diet,” she confided. “I know you’re probably thinking that with my great body, I don’t need a diet.”
I gaped at her silently. Her great body? Behind her, Edward was trying to disguise his laugh as a cough. I couldn’t think of anything to say. Luckily, she didn’t give me a chance. “Yes, that’s what everyone says. However, I have to keep my body trim and fit, for all the cute guys out there.” Her eyes fell on Edward for the first time. “Like him!” she exclaimed. Edward looked over his shoulder, only to realize there was no one there. His eyes widened in fear as he realized she was talking about him. She grabbed her food off the counter and began waking toward him.
“Hi!” she said in what she considered a seductive tone, sitting down next to him, with her back to me. “My name’s Lauren. What’s yours?” She batted her eyelashes.
“Ed-Edward,” he stuttered. I laughed silently at the fear and horror in his tone.
“Oh, I absolutely adore the name Edward!” she screeched. “What a coincidence!”
“Yes,” he told her. She laughed as if he had told the funniest joke in the world.
“Well, Edward, my friend Jessica is having a party tonight. Tons of guys have asked me, but I haven’t said yes to anyone yet. How would you like to be my date?”
I almost died laughing at the look on his face. I was trying to disguise it as a cough, but failing miserably.
Edward looked at me over Lauren’s shoulder. ‘Help me!’ he mouthed desperately.
‘Say please,’ I mouthed back, laughing.
He looked down at Lauren, who was inching closer to him and running her hand up and down his arm.
‘PLEASE!’ he nearly yelled.
I laughed, then quickly came up with a plan. I slipped a ring I had in my pocket onto my wedding ring finger. I walked over to them, flaring my hand so she would see the ring. Then, I plopped myself down on Edward's lap.
“Excuse me, but what are you doing with your hands on my fiancée?”
“Fi-Fiancée?” she stuttered. I stifled a laugh at her expression.
She changed tactics quickly. “You’re engaged and hitting on me?” she yelled at Edward.
“Actually,” I told her “I recall seeing you ask him to your friend’s party. Last time I checked, that is not him hitting on you."
“Well, well, um, I, uh, ugh!” she stuttered. Flustered, she simply grabbed her food and began walking away. But, in her haste to get away from us, she didn’t notice the fries that were still on the floor. She stepped on one and slipped. All of her food fell on top of her, staining her clothes and making a huge mess on the floor. Lauren, in the meantime, was lying on the ground screaming.
“Aaaah! I’m going to die! Help me! I’m going to die in a filthy fast food restaurant! No! I have an appointment with my hairdresser at four! I’m too young to die! HEELLLPPP MEEE!!!!!!”
I laughed at her theatrics. It was obvious that she wasn’t even hurt. I asked her anyway. “Ma’am, are you alright?”
“No I am not alright! This establishment will be getting a call from my lawyer, and a dry cleaning bill!” she screeched, trying to get up off the floor. “I will make sure that – oh no, I’m going to be late for my appointment with my hairdresser!” She ran, or, more precisely, waddled, as fast as she could out the door.
After she was gone, I allowed myself a short laugh at her antics. I sighed when I saw the floor, though. It was covered in Coke, milkshake, ice cream, and other things Lauren had ordered. I got up off of Edward's lap reluctantly. Sighing again, I grabbed a mop. Suddenly, I was stopped by a hand on my own.
“Thanks for saving me back there. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come along.” He shuddered. “And, since this mess is basically my fault, I figure I could make it up to you by cleaning it up.”
“Really? Thank you! I hate cleaning up customers’ messes. Thankyouthankyouthankyou!”
He laughed and took the mop. I stood nearby and closed my eyes. This day had been filled with spilled fries, fat ladies, pretending to be a stranger’s fiancée, and now said stranger was doing my job. I shook my head. Could this day get any crazier?
Suddenly, I felt strong arms wrap around my waist from behind. I jumped, startled.
“Sorry,” he murmured into my ear. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.” After a second, I relaxed. Holy crap, this guy had an awesome body! I could feel his muscles through his shirt. It felt so…right to be in his arms. I never wanted to move.
“Anyway, I’m done.”
“Oh my gosh, thank you!”
“So, do I get a reward for saving you from cleaning up this mess?”
“Um, sure. What do you want?”
“How about a kiss?” he asked, his voice low, making me shiver.
My heart sped up as I tried to remind myself to breathe. “Hmm…” I said, pretending to think about it so I could see his reactions. “As a rule, I don’t kiss strangers.”
“Please?” he pleaded, spinning me around to face him.
How could I refuse him anything? “But I’ll make an exception in your case,” I breathed.
He lowered his head until our lips met. The kiss was chaste and sweet at first, but then he deepened it, running his tongue along my lip, begging for entrance, which I promptly granted. I knotted my fingers in his hair, as I had wanted to do since the moment we met. It was the softest thing I have ever felt! He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me even closer to him.
All too soon, I pulled away, gasping for air. He placed his forehead against mine. I noticed his breathing was heavier than usual, too. He moved his lips down to my neck.
“Thanks,” he whispered against my neck, his voice low and husky. His lips came back to mine, and he kissed me again. I smiled against his lips. I had decided that I really liked this job.
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