The Waiter by Bradleigh Collins (bill gates books recommendations .txt) 📕

intrigued. “Do you remember any of your routines?”

Dana and I looked at each other. “Proud Mary.”

“Proud Mary?” Lucy said. “You twirled a baton to Tina Turner?”

“Well, it was in Georgia, so it was more like the Credence Clearwater Revival version.”

“And it was just a dance,” Dana added. “The band played it during games and pep rallies, and the majorettes and cheerleaders would do this silly little routine.”

Lucy grabbed the karaoke song book. She started flipping through. “If that song is in here, you bitches are dancing.”

“No!” I screamed. “I am not anywhere near drunk enough to do that!”

“Oh, you’re doing it,” The Waiter said. “Drink your punch baby.”

Lucy looked up from the book. “It’s here.”

“Let’s do it!” Dana was game.

“Katie and I will sing,” Lucy said. “You two will be our backup dancers.”

Josh finished his song and Lucy and Katie dragged Dana and me to the front. Then she grabbed the mic and spoke to the crowd.

“So, our friend Dana is visiting from Georgia and she and Sammy here made the mistake of telling me they remember their high school dance routine. Now they gotta prove it.”

The bar patrons clapped and yelled and started a rhythmic clapping to the song as Lucy and Katie sang and Dana and I danced. We remembered every move. When the song was over, we received a big round of applause and even an “Encore! Encore!”

As I was walking back to the bar, I tripped and fell right into The Waiter.

“Okay, you’re cut off,” he said as he steadied me on my feet.

“And I was worried about embarrassing myself dancing. Dancing I can do. Walking, not so much.”

“I love you,” he said laughing. And because he was laughing when he said it, I thought nothing of it.

“You love that I made a complete fool of myself for your entertainment.”

He pulled me close. “I love how you are with your friends. I love that you smile at random people on the subway for no reason. I love the way you blushed that first day when Josh told me you were single. I love all of it, Red. I love you.”

People in the bar were still clapping and cheering, but the noise faded into the background. I looked up at The Waiter. He was serious. I felt like everything was happening in slow motion. Everything except my heart rate. I don’t even think I was breathing. But I managed to say it.

“I love you too.”

He leaned down and kissed me.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said. “My place.”

I turned to Dana and Simon. “We’re gonna call it a night if that’s okay with you guys.”

“Us too,” Dana replied. “We have an early flight tomorrow morning.”

“We’ll share a cab,” The Waiter said.

Josh, Katie, Lucy and Kyle decided to stay for one more drink. We all hugged goodbye and then the four of us left and flagged down a cab. The Waiter sat up front with the driver and Dana, Simon and I climbed into the back seat. Dana and I rehashed the evening and she promised to send me copies of all the photos she’d taken this weekend. Occasionally, The Waiter would look over his shoulder at me in the back seat and smile. A knowing smile, as if the two of us had a secret that nobody else knew. And we did.

He’d said those three little words. He loved me.

And I loved him, too.

CHAPTER 25

◆◆◆

“You got laid last night.”

It was the first thing George said to me when I walked into the office.

“What are you talking about?” How the hell did he know that I did, indeed, get laid last night? And twice this morning.

“You got laid. I can tell. You look different.”

“That’s because I’m still recovering from the Halloween party, George.”

“No, it’s not. Oh god. You got back with that beast, didn’t you?”

I smiled at him. “No, George, I did not get back with Dalton. I’m gonna go make myself a much-needed cappuccino. Can I make one for you as well?”

“Much-needed because you were up all night getting laid. I’ll go with you and you can tell me everything.”

George followed me to my desk as I put my things down and then we headed to the kitchen. You would never know there was a party here in the office on Saturday night, aside from all the leftover Halloween candy.

“So, what’s with the glow? Did you sleep with a celebrity or something?”

I laughed. And then I told him the whole story about The Waiter.

“I need to meet him. Let’s get together one night this week after rehearsal.”

“Oh, that’s right! You start rehearsals today. Are you excited?”

“Yes. There are two incredibly hot guys in the cast and I plan on hooking up with both of them.”

“At the same time?”

“If the opportunity should present itself.”

We took our cappuccinos with freshly frothed foam back to our desks just as Jackie was walking in with a fresh bouquet of flowers.

“Sammy got laid last night,” George informed her.

“Good for you, Sammy,” she said with a hi-five and a smile. “So did I.” She sashayed right into her office and began arranging the flowers in a vase. George and I looked at each other.

“Legend,” George said.

“Total legend.”

I sat down at my desk and logged on to my iMac. I started to check my email, but my mind was elsewhere. And by elsewhere, I mean still in bed with The Waiter. I could feel my face morphing into a ridiculous grin as I remembered every detail.

After we said goodbye to Dana and Simon at the hotel, we walked hand-in-hand down Broadway the three blocks to his apartment. The last time I’d been here was in the daytime, and I remember thinking that the Ansonia looked like a castle. Now, at midnight, all lit up, it was even more romantic.

“I love your building,” I said as we walked through the marbled floor lobby to the open elevator.

“It used to be a sex club.”

“What?”

“Yeah. The basement used to be Plato’s Retreat.”

“Wow. If these