Living in Crossroads meant a diet that consisted primarily of liquor and diner food. Theoâs insides were surely rotting away, but after a life on the road, it was something he was accustomed to. There was a comfort in club sandwiches and burnt coffee that nothing else could ever match. The dinerâs 24 hour operation made everything all the simpler; Theo would claim that his own late working hours lead to all his late dinners, but in reality, he preferred to occupy the diner when his favorite blonde waitress was around.
Her service may not have been the friendliest, as some bitter bloggers may have pointed out, but that was the way Theo liked it. A plate of food with a side of sass. You never knew what you were gonna get with Gemma.
When he walked in that evening, nobody appeared despite the ring-a-ling of the bell above the door. Music was playing somewhere in the back; either Jack on his guitar or someoneâs radio.
âCALIFORNIA STATE POLICE,â he bellowed in a voice deeper than his own. âCOME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP.âÂ
He meandered over to the counter, taking a seat on one of the stools with the knowledge that no one in that joint was actually going to take him seriously.
the tourists were slowly dying out; they never ventured to the diner all that late anyways, despite it being the only attraction within 100 miles in any direction, and the cable reception being absolutely abysmal. they had their dinner at nine, were in their room by ten, and by eleven, most of them were either surfing away on their phone or passed out from the desert heat.Â
gemma preferred it that way. she could sit against the back door, chipping away at her freshly painted nails, scratch notes and ideas on a pad of paper and let the oldies station drone on from the small radio she turned on whenever jack took his break away from the diner.Â
there was no point in answering the bells call - she barely knew how to cook, and anything a patron might want, she wasnât willing to make anyways. but a smile crossed her face as she recognized the tone - theo always had a way of making an entrance, and his theatrics were on par with her own.Â
âoh, no, mister office, please!â gemma feigned as she opened the swaying door with her hips, holding her hands above her head in innocence. âi was just taking a short break, sir, i just needed some fresh air!âÂ
she let her hands down just to tug on the collar of his shirt, pulling him across the counter to kiss him briefly before smiling widely. âwhat are you doing here? did you get bored at home, just thinking âbout me?âÂ
