| Chapter 4 |
| Chapter 5 |
| Lance listened for the familiar ding of the small bell hanging over the front door as he entered the small diner. He shrugged off his light jacket and headed for the kitchen, smiling at a few regulars on his way by. Grabbing his normal apron with the pockets stitched across the front, Lance tied it around his waist tightly, checking to make sure his order tablet and pencils were still in place. Checking the clock on the wall, he saw that it was only 6:50. Just enough time to make up for the coffee I didn't get to finish this morning, he thought, this time only blushing slightly as he thought of the reason. Josh. He was smiling again and pouring himself a hot cup of coffee when the door opened again and Meredith, Lance's friend and fellow employee at the diner, came walking in with an armful of dirty plates. "Mm," Lance said into his coffee, setting down his cup and taking a few plates from her arms, "let me help you with those." Meredith let out a breath and gave Lance a tired smile. "Thanks hon," she said, sitting down on a stool after she had put the last dishes on the counter and dabbing at her forehead. "I'm just tuckered out this morning." Lance smiled knowingly and handed her a cup of coffee, which she gratefully accepted. "Boyfriend troubles again?" Meredith made an agreeing noise while she drank, and then sighed. "I swear sometimes that man just drives me absolutely crazy. If it's not one thing, it's another. Last week he was all mad because I was working too many hours at the diner and not spending enough time with him." She blew at a blonde strand of hair in her face and then tucked it behind her ear. "This week it's some nonsense about the car." Lance shook his head, having heard all about Meredith's endless troubles with her longtime boyfriend Jason. He'd been to the diner a few times, mostly at night, and Lance had met and spoken with him over coffee. In all truth, he had nothing but sympathy for Meredith. Still, when they weren't fighting they were madly in love, and who could argue with that? "What you need is some time away from here," Lance said, giving Meredith a pointed look. "Take some time off from work and go visit your family or something." Meredith grinned at him and shook her finger in his face. "You are not one to talk about needing time off James Lance. In the two years I've worked here with you, I have never seen you take so much as one vacation or day off that didn't involve either you or JC being sick." Lance rolled his eyes slightly, making Meredith grin over the rim of her cup. "That's different." "Oh?" Meredith finished her coffee and set the mug down, crossing her arms across her chest and looking both interested and amused. "How so?" Lance sighed and dumped the rest of his drink into the sink. "You don't have electric bills, rent, and car payments all pilling up on top of each other." Meredith dropped her arms and sighed quietly. "JC still hasn't found a job?" Lance fiddled with his apron strings and shook his head. "No." He looked up at Meredith and shrugged a little. "He's trying so hard Mer, he really is, but every employer keeps giving him shit about him being a high risk employee, or even better," Lance's face took on a bored expression, "they say that he's too overqualified for the job. Well, kiss my ass." "Lance!" Meredith laughed, trying to keep the conversation light since she knew Lance only cussed when he was upset. "Sorry," he said a little sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. "I'm just so tired of seeing Josh's hurt face every time he comes home jobless. He feels like such a failure and wish I could make him realize that he's not." Meredith just nodded. She and Lance told each other a lot of things, and JC's insecurities about money and the honest fear that Lance might leave him one day was a big topic. "Don't worry Lance, everything will be okay," she said nodding, "I'm sure of it." She bit her lip, trying to think of something else to say. "Oh! I forgot to tell you that a friend of yours has been waiting for you." Lance raised an eyebrow and looked towards the door. "Really? Who?" "Big, strong Italian guy with brown hair and a goatee," Meredith deadpanned, "I think his name was um, Joey?" Lance grinned. "Ah, ok. Yeah Joey's a good friend of mine. How long has he been here?" " 'Bout an hour or so." "Okay. Thanks Mer." Lance kissed her cheek and smiled as he headed out the kitchen door, ready to begin another work day. ~*~ Britney blinked. Once, twice. She blinked a third time, cocking her head slightly in a way that told Justin she was still processing the information. He chewed nervously on his bottom lip, his hand still over her mouth and the other resting awkwardly on her knee. He wished she would hurry up and say something. The silence was like a virus, slowly eating away at him. When she blinked again, Justin sighed and pulled the hand over her mouth away. "Britney, I'm gay," he repeated slowly. She took a slow breath, releasing the air out of her nostrils instead of opening her mouth. "Gay," she said quietly. And she speaks! Justin bit his lip and nodded again. "Gay." She looked down at her hands, then over at his, and then up at his face. "You're gay?" "Yes, I am." Okay, okay, this is good. Starting slow, but at least she isn't throwing anything... yet. "You like guys?" He chuckled softly. "Uh yeah, that's kinda how this whole gay thing goes." Good, good, keep the conversation light. Light is good. She leaned back against the sofa, looking thoughtful. "So last summer, when we went to my cousin Jeremy's wedding? You were gay then?" Justin cringed a little, but nodded. Now she knows how long you've been lying to her, but that's okay. It's oooookay. Just keeps things light. Nice, and light... "Did you want to fuck him?" Uh-oh. Not so light anymore. Justin choked on his breath, looking at Britney with wide eyes and mouth hanging open. "Um, excuse me?" "My cousin, the one who got married," Britney said, looking at him with a blank expression. "I saw you looking up at the them during their vows, and I thought you were admiring Chelsea but now I'm having second thoughts. Did you think he was hot? Would he be a good fuck for you?" His mouth felt bone dry. No matter how many times he swallowed, trying to get a little spit to circulate, nothing was happening. "I- what, I-" "It's a simple question J." He leaped off the couch, his arms open wide and his mouth open in shock. "A simple question? What the fuck Britney?" "You were looking at him-" "It was a wedding for gods'sake where the hell was I supposed to look? My shoes?" "Why are you avoiding the topic Justin?" Justin stopped, his face flushed and shocked as he ran a hand through his now unruly curls. This is insane. She's insane. I'm going insane! "And what topic is that, Brit?" he forced out. That did it. Britney slapped the leather couch with her hand, pushing up from the furniture and jabbing her finger in Justin's face. "The fact that you lied to me!" Justin closed his mouth. What was there to say to that? It was the truth. "Britney..." "No. NO," she said, grabbing her purse from the coffee table and storming towards the door. "I don't want to hear it, I don't want to speak with you, and I don't want to hear from you." "But-" "No, no, NO!" she yelled slowly. If she hadn't been so furious Justin might have smiled at how she sounded like a five-year-old just then. The keyword of course being, might. She swung the door to his apartment open, turning to face him with smoldering eyes. "Don't call me," she hissed, and then slammed the door in his face. Justin frowned, staring at the door for a few minutes before turning around and heading back to the living room. He stopped in the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of wine from the fridge and uncorking it, taking a long swing straight from the bottle. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he undid his tie as he headed for the living room. Sitting down on the sofa once more, he took another drink before staring at the carpet, still perfectly white. That went well. ~*~ After taking one more customer's order, Lance shoved his notepad in his front pocket and headed over to the stools. He stood in front of a man playing with the salt and pepper shakers, making them dance, and smiled when he looked up. "Hey Joey." Joey smiled tiredly, setting aside the salt and pepper and standing up to give his friend a hug. "Hey Lance. How are things?" "Not bad," Lance said with a smile, though they both new better. Joey grinned a little. "How's JC?" He chuckled when Lance blushed and dropped his eyes. "He's good," Lance nodded. "Still out of work for the time being, but we're good." He waited for Joey to nod and grunt knowingly, and then he smiled again and patted his shoulder, leaning his elbows against the counter. "So what brings you to The Diner? You don't usually visit me at work." Joey sighed. "Yeah, I know, I just needed to talk to you." Lance nodded, concerned. "You okay?" Joey played with his napkin, staring at the counter in thought. "Joe?" He tore the paper into little shreds, tossing them down on the counter before looking up at Lance. "Kelly's pregnant." |