Chapter 6

Simon

I had to get out of there. Seeing someone else blatantly flirting with Miranda, the woman I've already decided is mine, was too much for me – especially because she didn't do anything to thwart his advances.

If I stayed in the dining room, I would have done something stupid. I wanted nothing more than to march over there and tear her away from that man. That would totally break the illusion of professionalism I've been trying to maintain around her.

Once the door closed behind me, I knew I couldn't go back out there. Jealous rage coursed through my body, and there's no way I could give the customers good service. I've never been an exceptionally personable individual, but I'm usually able to put on a polite mask. At that moment, my mood was so shot that I knew that wasn't possible.

I know that my absence was felt by my employees. This is one of our busiest nights of the week, and normally I'm running support. At a few points in the night, the assistant manager or one of my servers came to check on me or ask for my help. I lied, telling them that I wasn't feeling well. I feel bad about it, but I didn't want to make anything worse.

When my assistant manager came to let me know the dining room was slowing down, I gave him permission to cut the floor. Before he left, he asked if I wanted to go home to recover. I almost took him up on the offer, but I know I need to talk to Miranda. I told him that I'd be fine to close, and he can head home after the last customers leave.

I have to come clean to Miranda. I'm sure her roommate relayed my reaction to her. Her eyes were on me the entire time her friend was flirting with my girl. There's no way she didn't see the rage on my face, and I can't have Miranda thinking I'm upset with her.

I resolve to find her after the store closes, but as it turns out, I don't have to go looking for her. About ten minutes after the doors of the restaurant are locked, there's a knock at mine. When I tell them to come in, Miranda's face appears in the crack.

"Hey, Simon," she says, clearly treading lightly with her words. "Can we talk?"

"Sure," I reply, carefully hiding my worry that she's about to put an end to what's been going on between us. "Come on in."

She does as she's told, closing out the sounds from the kitchen when she does. She hovers there like she can't decide whether or not she wants to sit. After a beat, she takes her usual seat, but she perches at the edge of the chair. It seems like she wants the option of a quick getaway if things go south. It almost breaks my heart.

"You saw Blaine flirting with me," she says, looking at her hands as she speaks. "Then you left the dining room and didn't come back."

I hum in acknowledgement, giving her space to say what she needs to. I'll have time to talk when she finishes. At least, I hope I will.

"I'm not interested in him," she says. Then, after a brief pause, she asks, "Why did you storm out of there like that? I… I wasn't flirting back or breaking any rules. I just don't understand."

"There's never been a rule against flirting with the customers," I say, kicking myself for making her sound so unsure of herself.

"What?" she asks, her head snapping up. "But you said –"

"I just didn't like seeing you flirting with someone else," I say.

Her eyes widen in surprise at the revelation. "Oh," she murmurs, still looking at me with a curious expression. "So when Blaine was flirting with me…"

"I just couldn't take it, Miranda," I say. "I was so jealous of him that I had to get out of there. I wanted to walk over there and kiss you in front of everyone so there was no more doubt about who you belong to."

"You want me?" she asks breathlessly.

"Of course I want you," I say, taking her hand in mine. I look deep into her beautiful blue eyes, hoping she can see the conviction in mine. "I never intended for the flirting to be practice. It was real for me."

"It was real for me, too," she says. "God, Simon. I was so worried that you didn't feel the same way about me. The entire reason Jenny and Blaine came in tonight was to see how you felt. I know it was stupid. I should have just come to you, but I've never felt this way about anyone before. I didn't know what else to do."

I know I should respond to her with words, give her proper reassurance, but I'm moving before I know what I'm doing. The last thing I see before I kiss her is those innocent blue eyes falling closed in anticipation.