Contradictions

Contradictions

By Eviant

Copyright © 2011 by Eviant

Smashwords Edition

Chapter 1

“Lucas, get in here.”

Luke Small wrinkled his nose at the cigarette
smoke wafting from his father's office and steeled himself for the
inevitable confrontation. His father, Bruce, had opened the diner,
Small's Landing, or just the Landing for short, soon after being
discharged from the Marine's.

“Good morning, Dad.”

“Did you get the silverware rolled last night
like I asked?” Bruce never bothered with pleasantries, or really,
to say anything pleasant at all.

“You know I didn't. You had me doing
inventory of the freezer until midnight and then kicked me out so
you could go to the bar.” Manny, the chef, had offered to do the
freezer inventory since that was part of his job, but Bruce would
have none of it.

“How the hell do you think you're going to
run this place one day if you can't even roll the damn silverware?
I've always known you were a good for nothing little fag. Thank God
I didn't fork out the money for you to go to college.” Bruce's
speech was punctuated by streams of smoke coming out of his nose.
With his red, angry face, it likened him to a cartoon
character.

“For the last time, Dad, I'm not gay. And if
you would give me a key, this wouldn't be an issue.” Luke tried not
to let his father see how the constant rejection stung. His father
had made the 'fag' accusation since he was a teen; so much so that
Luke started to believe it and experimented with guys. While he
enjoyed men, he was definitely preferential to women.
Unfortunately, despite his deep baritone voice, his height, dimples
and baby face made him look like a stereotypical twink. This made
finding a man's company easy, but women tended to assume that he
was friend material only. Not that he had many friends.

“Anyone that looks like you has to be gay. I
always told your mother that letting you cry when you broke your
arm was going to make you a wimp. And until you show me that you're
management material, you're not getting a fucking key.”

“I was four for goodness sakes! And I've been
managing this diner for the last six years.”

“Bullshit. Once you're man enough to move out
on your own, I'll think about giving you a key.”

Luke took a deep breath. He was 26 years old
and stuck under his father's thumb. Because Bruce wouldn't pay for
college and Luke couldn't get student loans because of the
profitability of the diner, he didn't have a degree. Since he had
always worked for the diner and his father damn well wasn't going
to give a reference, he had no job history for a resume. No one
wanted to hire a 26-year-old with no degree and no resume. At
least, not for anything that would pay enough to pay for an
apartment. His father barely paid him enough to get by, forcing him
to continue living at home.

Luke decided to concede so he could walk
away. “You're right, Dad. I'm going to roll the silverware now.” He
rolled his eyes as he turned and walked out of the smoke-filled
office, ignoring the satisfied grunt that he heard behind him.

*

Amy Rice put the finishing touches on the
spreadsheet she was working on, saved it and emailed it to her
boss. She was an administrative assistant for TradeLend, a large
corporation employing more than 1000 people in her area. She was
just a number, but she was good at what she did, so she felt fairly
secure in her position.

Her computer locked and e-reader securely
tucked into her purse, she took the long elevator ride down to the
lobby and walked the two blocks to her favorite diner. She was
looking forward to a Cobb Salad, sweet tea and losing herself in
the historical romance she was reading.

A sweet tea appeared in front of her as soon
as her butt hit the chair and she smiled appreciatively at Luke,
her favorite server. She'd harbored a crush on him for the longest
time, until her best friend, Alice, had laughed and informed her
that he was most definitely gay. Oh well, at least she didn't have
to worry about sucking in her stomach or making sure her top wasn't
showing too much cleavage. Not that she dressed provocatively at
all, but her generous breasts- the bane of her existence- had minds
of their own.

“Thanks, Luke. I think I'm in the mood for
the salad today.”

“You've got it, Sugar.”

She was pretty sure that he knew her
name...he must have heard Alice say it 100 times, but she never
minded his endearments. In the South, they weren't taken as
condescending or sexist. Well, most of the time.

As soon as he walked away, she dove into her
story and barely registered when he returned with her food a few
minutes later.

*

Luke watched the expressions flit across
Amy's face as she absently ate her food while reading whatever it
was that she was reading. He had a feeling she had no idea how sexy
she was. He'd heard her tell her brash friend that she knew she was
nothing more than average, if not chubby. If average meant slightly
short, curvy, brown hair and brown eyes, then yes, she was. But
that was just the surface. She had beautifully pale skin, sparkling
eyes, perfect curves and an adorable cupid's-bow mouth. She always
wore her hair back, but it looked silky-smooth. He was fascinated
by the scar that went from just under her left ear down along her
jaw. It wasn't blatant, but he could definitely see it up close. He
respected that she didn't go to great lengths to cover it with
concealer.

He noticed the way her demeanor changed on
the days when Danny served her. She seemed more uptight and
nervous. More than likely, she thought Luke was gay, so she didn't
consider him a threat. Maybe he could use that as an advantage
someday. Yeah, right. Like she would want to date a 26-year-old,
live at home diner server. He rolled his eyes at his own stupidity
and went to refill her tea. She didn't look up, but her cheeks were
red and he could see the heartbeat at her throat. He wondered what
she was reading.

Chapter 2

“Amy,” Alice called in a sing-song voice as
she let herself into Amy's apartment.

“Jeez, Alice! I gave you the key for
emergencies, not to barge in here whenever you wanted.”

Alice laughed loudly. “Like you would ever be
fucking some guy or running around with your snatch showing.”

Amy rolled her eyes. Alice was so beautiful
with her tall, slim body, short, blond hair and large blue eyes.
Unfortunately, she had the mouth of a sailor. A very drunk, very
lewd sailor.

“What do you want, Alice?” she asked
dryly.

Alice ignored Amy's tone and bit into the
apple that Amy was just about to snack on. “I have a blind date for
you.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Alice, you know I don't date, much less,
blindly.”

“Yes, my dear, sheltered, little lamb. But
those times are over. You can't sit around doing nothing but
reading that smut all the time.”

Amy gasped. “It's not smut! Well...not all of
it,” she said, blushing.

“Uh huh.” Crunch. “When's the last time you
spent a night away from your e-reader?”

Amy bit her lip as she thought. “You took me
to the movies two weeks ago,” she said proudly.

Crunch, crunch. “I don't count, sweetness.
You and I aren't getting into each others' pants.”

“Fine. I don't remember.”

“My point exactly.” She punctuated her point
by making a perfect shot of the apple core into the garbage can.
“That's why I have a date for you. And don't even try to
argue.”

“How do you know this person?”

“He's a friend of a friend.”

“Who is this 'friend'? One of the guys you're
currently seducing?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact. His best friend
has been single for too long and he wants to hook him up with
someone, so it's perfect!”

“You expect me to go out with some guy you've
never even met and know nothing about and you think it's
perfect?”

“Psh, who cares what he's like? You just need
to get over this fear of dating and get out there. Maybe get
fucked, sucked and fondled. He's just going to be your training
wheels.”

“My
training wheels?
I may be a
home-body, but I
have
dated and I'm far from a virgin. I
just choose my men carefully.”

“Shut your trap and fuck your excuses. This
is happening. I told him to meet you tonight at the Landing at
seven, and then you're going to see Slam play at the Bar.”

Amy sighed in defeat. There was no point in
arguing more. If she resisted, Alice would drag her there kicking
and screaming. She loved Alice and knew she meant well, but she
could be such a bitch sometimes.

“Fine, but I'm not dressing like a slut.”

“Come on, I'll help you pick something out.”
Alice was really, really too giddy about this.

*

“Dad, I've worked 60 hours this week. I'm not
covering the late-night shift, too.”

“Boy, you'd better watch your tone. I'm your
father. I let you live under my roof and work in my diner. You'd
better show some respect.”

Luke tried to keep his voice at a reasonable
level, knowing there were customers within earshot that his father
conveniently forgot about. “Dad, I show you nothing but respect. I
let you run my life every damn day. I'm asking, this once, for the
night off. Hell, it's not even a night off since I wasn't scheduled
in the first place. I'll stay until 8 and then I'm out of here.” He
turned and walked away before his father could respond.

He was shocked to see Amy sitting at her
normal table when he came through the swinging door of the kitchen.
She normally only came in at lunch.

“Hey, Amy.”

She jumped and looked up, relief and maybe
worry passing through her yes. “Hey, Luke, how are you?”

“I'm okay. I'm surprised to see you here for
dinner.”

“I-I'm meeting someone,” she replied,
wringing her hands.

She looked especially tense. “Are you okay,
Sugar?”

She smiled and barked out a single laugh. “I
just don't do this and I don't
want
to do this.”

“Humor me, Sweetheart. What is 'this'?”

“Oh, a date. A blind date.”

“Ah, I don't blame you. Let me guess, your
friend, what's her name...Alice, insisted?”

“You got it in one.”

“What time is he supposed to be here?”

She looked at her watch. “15 minutes
ago.”

Luke cringed. Poor thing. This had to be a
blow to the ego.

“I'll give him a few more minutes.”

He resisted running a thumb over her flushed
cheek. “I'll bring you some tea in the meantime.”

She gave him a shy smile. “Thanks, Luke.”

He delivered her tea and watched the door
closely from behind the counter where he rolled the silverware by
rote.

30 minutes later, he saw her admit defeat
when she put her head in her hands and moving her lips as if she
were talking to herself. He decided then and there that he wasn't
going to let her go home thinking that she wasn't worthy.

“I see the dreaded blind date didn't
show.”

“Yeah, I'm ticked off but relieved at the
same time. I'm going to strangle Alice tomorrow, though.”

“Hey, I was going to go to the Bar to see a
band tonight, would you like to join me?”

Amy looked surprised. “That's where we were
going, too. I was looking forward to hearing Slam play. Are you
sure you don't mind me joining you? I don't want to cramp your
style.”

“How on earth could you cramp my style?”

“Well, you know...never mind. I'd love to.”
She gave him the first genuine smile he'd seen all night and he
thought he'd never seen anything more beautiful.

“Let me just finish up and we're out of
here.”

*

Amy was so ticked at Alice that she could
scream. On the other hand, she would much rather see Slam with Luke
than some random 'friend of a friend of a friend'. At least she
knew that Luke wasn't a threat. She could literally let her hair
down and be herself. After what happened with her mom and step-dad,
she was overly cautious around men.

As she drank the last of her tea, she heard
raised voices from the back. The voices were muffled, but she
thought she heard 'worthless', 'don't bother coming home', 'piece
of shit' and 'or else'. She knew that the Landing was family run,
but she had only seen the owner once. He projected a fake, jovial
attitude, almost like a car salesman. A used car salesman that only
stocked junkers and painted them so that they looked new. She
shuddered. If she didn't love the food and the service, he was
enough to keep her out of there.

She watched as Luke came out of the back, his
face pinched in anger.

“Luke, what's wrong?”

He shook his head. “Just Dad being Dad.”

Her eyes widened and she pointed towards the
kitchen. “Oh, goodness. Is your last name Small, too?”