Chapter 10

Whenever we crossed a crossroad or turned around the corner with Perkyn, I kept looking to my side from the corner of my eye. Mostly because I didn't want any of the boys to show up and ruin my possible partnership.

If Casen or Austin would pop out of nowhere, I was sure that they would humiliate me in the worst kind of way.

"So, this would be it," he stopped in the middle of the busy sidewalk while tourists and excited kids surrounded us.

I turned to my side and glanced up at the brick building that looked old school and also intimate. The name Twa Corbies was lightning above us like a rumble of thunder.

"Twa Corbies?" I asked and Perkyn shrugged.

"The owner likes classics, I suppose," he shrugged and opened the door for me.

When I stepped into the diner that was full of life, I was immediately welcomed by the great smell of cakes and coffee.

I hadn't expected to see that many kids but half of the diner were teeming with them. Almost each one of them had a piece of cake or muffin placed in front of them while they weren't letting their parents off the hook.

"Why don't you take a sit?" Perkyn asked and nodded toward the back of the diner. "I'll get you something really delicious."

"I don't trust you enough to leave you alone with my food," I narrowed my eyes and he raised his eyebrows.

"We are co-workers already, Heddy," he reminded me of the obvious. "Why would I put anything into your food?"

I crossed my arms and tilted my head to the side.

"I meant I don't trust you to not eat it," I corrected myself and his eyes lighted up.

"Oh, my bad," he put his hands up in defense. "I didn't know you were such a glutton."

I gasped and leaned back in a dramatic way. I had never met someone who would insult me right away after they had just met me.

I could pull that out of my bucket list also.

This summer has promised itself to be different and new.

"I'm not," I said indignantly.

"Are you sure you aren't?" he asked with a suspicious face while his wrinkles deepened under his few days old stubble.

"I might be," I turned my head away like a child. "But I won't acknowledge it from someone else."

"I see," he pursued his lips. "I'll watch my mouth from now on."

"Thought so," I agreed and walked away from him.

Now that I've gotten to know Perkyn, I wasn't so stressed about my first day at the hotel. I knew that no matter what would happen with my new colleagues, I'd have Perkyn there who was the embodiment of coolness.

I couldn't wait to tell Leigh and Emilia about my job and my first impression of both Caleb and Perkyn.

I almost didn't believe that I got this lucky. This is what would happen if I paid attention to myself and have my priorities in line?

"I haven't touched a crumb on it, I swear," Perkyn brought two plates in each hand and put a piece of creamy cake in front of me.

"Yeah right, now you feel threatened," I teased him as he put his plate on the other side of the black table.

"And now…" he murmured and stepped behind me with a still posture.

I furrowed my brows and glanced back at him over my shoulders only to see him getting ready for something.

"What are you doing now?" I asked but he gently grabbed the side of my neck and turned my head back.

"Just stay still a little," he said but I moved my head away. "Heddy, please."

"I won't ask you again," I lowered my tone as I saw a husband and wife turning their heads toward us.

"Neither will I." he promised and adjusted my hair.

I already hated being in the center of attention and Perkyn has already brought my fear to life in only a few seconds.

Usually, people needed years to reach that success.

I might need to choose carefully who to talk to and spend time with in public.

I fought every will inside of me to move my head away while he was moving his fingers through my hair like a barber. I tried to swallow my embarrassment as he hummed lightly while he was focusing on his task

"Perkyn…" I warned him as a little kid walked beside us and he didn't even try to cover up the curiosity on his face.

"Be patient," Perkyn answered.

I groaned and dropped my gaze, using the 'if I don't see them, they also don't see me' tactic that has always worked for everyone, well, mostly when we were kids.

"Are you done yet?" I asked as he pulled my hair and I hissed.

"I'm so sorry," he said as he started to tie my hair up.

I wasn't even in the mood to try to imagine what my hair will look like. I was lucky that I couldn't see myself from the outside but since everyone else would see it just made me shut my eyes in disbelief.

How did I get from my job interview to here? Stuck in a diner with my next colleague who was tying my hair like a father would do for his daughter.

Suddenly a little boy stopped by our table, his red hair was messy and his face was pale, in perfect contrast of shades. He was wearing a Batman T-shirt while he was holding into his dinosaur.

"You were bored?" He asked and Perkyn looked down at him.

"Pardon, mister?"

The boy sighed and pointed at Perkyn's right hand which was full of tattoos. I tried to hide my smile at their interaction.

"You're gonna need a lot of soap to wash that off," the boy advised and I laughed.

"Don't even remind me." Perkyn sighed in a dramatic way to play along.

"Your mom will probably be upset over you using all of her pencils' ink on your arm," the boy continued.

I tried to hide my smile while Perkyn was almost too stunned to speak. When he noticed my struggle to keep my laughter in, he pulled my hair lightly.

I yelped but also laughed while rubbing my neck as Perkyn joined me too. His laugh was deep and contagious. It felt great to hear it.

"Miles, come here," an older woman interrupted us softly.

The boy, Miles, turned toward the noise and hugged his stuffed dinosaur.

"I've got to go," he said and turned away. "I'm praying for you."

"Thank you, I'll need that." Perkyn smiled as Miles walked away.

I was still smiling after a few seconds of Perkyn working on my hair. I loved how innocent and honest little kids could be. It's been a while since I've been this close to one.

The more time Perkyn spent on my hair, the more worried I got. What was taking so long? Did he know at all what he was doing? Or he was just purposely trying to ruin my hair? Why the hell didn't I resist more? I've got to learn how to say no.

Then something crossed my mind that has flown over my head until now.

"Where did you get a scrunchy anyway?" I asked, opening my eyes.

Perkyn clicked his tongue as he finished my ponytail and even tightened my hair before answering.

"I asked it from the cashier," he nodded toward the entrance of the diner where a woman in her thirties was staring at us with a small smile on her face. I could see amusement shining in her eyes as she has been watching Perkyn trying his best to tie my sweaty hair up.

"How lucky you were," I murmured and he stepped next to me and lifted my jaw with his finger.

I couldn't even blink as my face has been brought up in a higher position by him. I took his muscular chest and arm tattoos in before my eyes connected with his.

Perkyn was looking at me like he has never seen anyone in a messy ponytail before and I didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.

"Do I look that bad?" I asked worried and defeated.

His face quickly recovered from his thoughtful expression as he took a seat across from me.

"No… No, don't be ridiculous," he shook his head. "You wouldn't even look if you were a homeless wandering on the streets in nothing but disgusting and smelly clothes."

Even if he thought of that as a compliment, I couldn't help but frown at the way he had just expressed himself. He really wasn't good with words.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear any of that," I let him know, my face disturbed and startled.

Perkyn was staring at me for a few seconds with an open mouth before dropping his head.

"Please do," he begged quietly. "Fell free to tell me when to shut up."

I sighed and pulled my plate in front of me. As I took my fork in my hand, I examined the dark brown and crumby cake in front of me.

"What is that?" I asked and looked back just as Perkyn took a bite from his cake.

He didn't break eye contact with me as he swallowed his food and put his fork down.

"It's cake." Perkyn shrugged as if I had been the most stupid person in this diner.

I glared at him and leaned back in my seat. I tried to ignore how uncomfortable the back of my seat was while Perkyn kept glancing to the side for support. But from who? A bunch of kids whose faces were covered in sweets?

"You're walking on thin ice here, Adaway," I let him know and started to play with my fork.

"I don't mind doing that as long as I've got this beautiful company with me," he winked and the words got stuck in my throat.

Perkyn must have noticed my reaction because he chuckled and put another piece of cake into his mouth and gave me a head tilt while chewing.

I wanted to run away and never look back because it's been a long time since someone paid this much attention to me.

His cheekiness and innocent flirts reminded me of Seeley.

I felt the blood freeze in my veins as I remembered Seeley. Our friendship which wasn't always just a simple friendship has had these moments like these with Perkyn now.

I couldn't wrap my head around the fact why but I was sadder than disturbed by the memories that sometimes gave me the best memories.

I tried to shake my uneasiness off as I leaned on my elbows and stabbed my cake with my fork.

"So, you still haven't told me about the name of this thing," I nodded toward my plate and Perkyn leaned forward.

"You're an uncultured swine, aren't you?" he asked softly and I tapped my fingers against the cold table to silence my annoyance.

"I'm not… I just don't know much about sweets," I corrected him.

He gifted me with an unsure look before shrugging.

"That's one way to explain yourself out," he gave in and pointed to my plate with his fork. "It's a Hummingbird Cake."

I raised an eyebrow before examining my cake once again. I've never understood where those strange names came from for food or maybe I was the uncultured alien here.

However, I just couldn't think of a hummingbird when I looked at its cream and toasted pecans.

"This doesn't look appealing," I pushed it with my fork and Perkyn dropped his shoulders.

"Stop judging everything right away," he scolded me with a frown.

"Sorry, sorry…" I apologized and pulled my plate closer to me.

While I was lost in thought, I noticed that Perkyn has turned silent for too long. Silent so much that he wasn't even eating.

When I slowly looked up, I saw him staring at me without blinking while a determined look took over his face.

"What?"

He raised his eyebrows, mirroring my confused face almost flawlessly.

"What what?" he repeated as if he didn't know where was I coming from.

"You're not going to wait for me to try it, right?" I asked with a purposeful expression.

Perkyn rubbed his temples and cleared his throat.

"Just one bite," he asked and I exhaled. "Pretty please?"

I rolled my eyes and took a bite while Perkyn was looking at me carefully.

While I was chewing the piece of the cake, I couldn't help but enjoy the light taste of pineapples and coconut.

It was a strange mixture but it certainly wasn't bad.

Perkyn was impatiently waiting for my reaction, I made my mind up and decide to not give in that easily.

The cake was surprisingly good but there was no way I'd ever let him know that.

"Ah… It's okay," I shrugged and put my fork down.

"I expect a little more detail than that," he glared at me.

I wiped my mouth with a napkin and crossed my legs as a determined person would do.

"It's good for now but I wouldn't eat it again," I expressed myself and he sniffed.

"You know, they say that hummingbirds can recognize and remember people," he said and I almost smiled at this cute fact. "I knew that I'd remember this moment but not this way."

I let out a laugh and continued to eat my cake. While I was finishing the soft cake, I could feel Perkyn's eyes on me.

"Do you live here?" I asked while eating and he gasped.

"Flirting already?" he asked. "I like it."

I threw my napkin at him which he easily caught while trying to fight a handsome smile. I shook my head and dropped my gaze to my plate.

"I've been here for sixteen years now… I'm twenty by the way," he said after a while. "I live with my dad and his wife, Delilah."

"What do they do?"

"My dad is a coach for a local volleyball club," he explained with an honest proud face. "And Delilah is a firefighter."

I was surprised to hear that his stepmother has been working in one of the most dangerous professions but I didn't even need to ask because the look on Perkyn's face told me that she must have been doing a great job.

"And what will you be once you grow big?" I asked.

Perkyn shrugged and leaned back in his seat casually. He has already finished his plate but it didn't seem to bother him that he had to still wait for me to finish my cake.

Maybe I wasn't such a boring and disturbing person after all like my mother has been telling me that.

"I don't know for sure…" he moved his plate away with a concerned expression. "My dad wants me to be a lawyer. A lot of unfair shit has happened to us and he'd feel safer if his son would work in law enforcement. And I don't want him to lose his hope."

I felt sorry for the struggle he has been facing with. It must have been hard to make your parents happy while you weren't happy or peaceful with the decisions you were about to make.

"And what do you want?" I asked quietly.

He scoffed and forced a smile on his face.

"It doesn't matter what I want," he said and I shook my head.

"That's not true," I disagreed softly. "I know you want to make your parents happy but you have to think about yourself first. You are about to make a lifelong decision and if you won't use that knowledge later then why waste all these years learning about something that has never interested you?"

His eyes found me and mirrored his inner war perfectly. The feeling of wanting to be accepted but also the endless desire to make yourself happy could almost never be placed right next to one another.

Sometimes we had to choose and most of the time we didn't make the right decisions.

We'd go through heavy things and witness something that would never fade away. And what for?

I've never understood why did parents feel the need to control their kids' life that much. Helping was another thing but there was a huge difference between control and guidance.

"I didn't expect you to be this emotional," he gave me a small smile and I tore my gaze away from his. Suddenly his eyes on me felt like fire burning my skin.

"I know a few things about controlling parents," I admitted laconically.

"Really?" he asked. "Let me hear it."

I shook my head right away and pushed myself up from the table. Once I've heard him wanting to know more about my personal life, I knew that it was my clue to leave.

"I'm not that comfortable with strangers whom I've only known for half an hour." I joked and he frowned.

"Is that what I am? A stranger?" he asked and I slowly nodded.

I felt guilty for speaking my mind but I still didn't know him that much to think of him as something else.

"And my next colleague, that's an important title," I nudged his shoulder and he hummed.

Now, it felt really ironic that he has bought me a piece of Hummingbird cake.

"Thank you for the cake," I smiled at him and he relaxed a little.

"Thank you for accepting my offer to live on my money," he said and I scoffed.

"See you on Monday, Perkyn." I said goodbye while grabbing my stuff.

"Take care." He followed me with his eyes as I walked past him and hurried out of the diner.