The things we don’t say
CHAPTER THREE: LUCKY
notes: hiiii. this chapter is a little short and I’m sorry but I just had so many ideas but for some reason couldn’t write them down?? I’m not sure how that works. but anyways I hope you guys enjoy. I’m still taking recommendations, so please reach out! also if there are any critiques or comments about my writing, you can educate me but in a nice way please! xx
You stood there, mouth slightly open, just staring at lando. You cleared your throat as soon as you noticed your expression and shook your head slightly in disbelief. In your head, you kept repeating: treat him like a normal person. This thought obviously wasn’t working because you haven’t said anything in over a minute of standing here. Finally, you said something. “What are you doing here?”
“Getting dinner.” He shrugged. Your eyes glanced towards the man he was with. Max Fewtrell. His best friend. You did notice it was him at first because your mind just stopped working when you saw lando. Max seemed confused. The sort of confusion that says ‘I have no idea what’s going on right now’. You looked over at Lando again. People like Lando don’t come to dingos for dinner. “At dingos?” You asked, genuinely confused.
Lando grinned. “Is there something wrong with dingos?” He asked. You farrowed your eyebrows and a small, amused smile appeared on your lips. “It’s dingos.” You replied. “Is there something wrong with dingos?” He repeated. Max glanced between the two of you like he was watching a tennis match. He obviously didn’t know who I was or Lando why Lando insisted on coming to Dingos for dinner.
You let out a short laugh and shook your head, glancing towards where Hannah was standing at the front. She was watching the interaction from afar with a deeply confused expression. Honestly, fair enough. How exactly were you supposed to explain this? You looked back at the two boys who looked completely out of place in Dingos. Their clothes alone probably cost more than your monthly rent. You bit your lip to stop yourself from smiling. “Can I get you guys started with drinks?”
“Coke, please.” Max said. You smiled softly and nodded before looking over at Lando. Lando smirked and leaned back into his seat. “Do you guys have vodka cranberry’s?” You let out a scoff and shook her head, trying to hide the smile on your face. Max finally puts two and two together and starts laughing to himself softly.
“I can see what I can do for you, Lando.” You said, smiling. He smiled back at you, dimples showing. “Thank you.” You scribbled down the drinks before heading towards the bar. You were only a few steps away when you heard Max speak up. “That her?” You tried very not to listen. “Yeah.” Lando replied. “The girl from the pub?” “Yeah.” There was a brief pause while max looks over his shoulder to look at you putting their orders in.
“So that’s why we’re here.” Lando looked down at the menu, trying and failing to hide his smile. “Maybe.” Max let out a laugh. “You drove forty minutes for a burger.” Lando laughed. “Dingos does a decent burger.” He argued. “You don’t even like burgers that much.” Lando opened his mouth and closed it again, his smile turning sheepish. “Exactly.” Max said.
Max looked over his shoulder once again, watching you talk to the bartender as he prepared their drinks. “She is cute, though.” He said, looking back at Lando. Lando looked over at the bar and his smile softened. “Yeah.” He said softly. “Yeah?” Max asked. “Yeah.” Lando replied.
You eventually came back with their drinks. “Coke Zero, and a…vodka cranberry.” You said placing them down in front of them. “Thanks.” “Thank you” They said in unison. “Have you decided on what to eat, or do you need a few more minutes?” You asked. Max immediately closed his menu. “I’ll have the bacon cheeseburger and chips.” You nodded and scribbled it down. “Good choice.”
You looked over at Lando and he was still going over the menu. “Need a few more minutes?” You asked politely. “Nah, I’ll have whatever your favourite thing is.” You blinked. “Sorry?” You asked in shock. “Your favourite thing.” He repeated. You let out a nervous laugh and shook your head. “I can’t do that.”
“Why not?” He asked. “Because if you don’t like it, you’ll blame me.” You argued. “I won’t.” “You will.” “I won’t, I promise.” You stared at him for a few seconds before finally giving up. “Alright…I’ll give you my favourite.” You said, reluctantly. “Thank you.” He said before taking a sip of his drink. You took both menus and walked to out the order in with the chefs.
The second you pushed through the swinging doors, Hannah was waiting for you. “Oh no.” You said while putting the menus down. “Oh yes.” She said. “Who are they?” She asked. “No one.” You said, because you had bigger problems. Like what the fuck to give lando to eat. You had no favourites. It was dingos for crying out loud.
“No one?” She asked, looking out the small window on the doors to see Lando glancing towards them. “They’re cute, though.” Not listening to a word Hannah was saying you finally put in a BBQ bacon cheeseburger with loaded fries. It’s what you always get from the chef when going home late. Chef Fennel never tells the manager about it. He just makes sure you go home full.
You look over at Hannah, realising she said something. “Huh?” You asked. She was about to repeat whatever she had said until the manager, KJ, came in. “It’s pumping out there! Get back to work. Y/N, I seated you with tables 20, 23 and 25.” He said. “Yes, sir.” You said and grabbed some menus and immediately got to work.
As you worked around the tables, you couldn’t help but notice lando always watching. Not in a creepy way. In a way he was just watching. It was a busy night. Tables full, food orders, drinks to be refilled but your eyes always drifted off to Lando. “Table 16!” The ding of the bell came from the kitchen ready with their food.
You quickly walked through the tables to collect their plates of food. Then you walked towards their table. “A bacon cheeseburger with chips…” You said, placing the plate in front of Max. “Thank you” “And a bqq bacon cheeseburger with loaded fries.” You placed the plate in front of Lando. He smiled and glanced down at the burger. “Looks good.” He said. “Your favourite?” “Best in dingos.” You shrugged. “Enjoy.” You said with a smile.
You were about to walk away and let them enjoy their food when the sound of Lando’s voice stopped you in your tracks. “Wait—I, uh…” You turned back around immediately. “Yeah?” “How are the girls?” Max’s eyes darted between the two of you before he took a bite of his burger. For a second, you just stared. Not because of the question. Because he remembered. The two drunk girls he’d met for all of ten minutes.
“Oh.” A small smile appeared on your face. “Yeah. They’re good.” “Yeah?” You nodded. “Very hungover this morning, but good.” That earned a laugh from him. “I can imagine.” Your smile lingered for a moment. Then it faded slightly. Because you suddenly remembered that Naomi was halfway to Spain by now. And Chloe would be gone when you got home from work.
“Yeah…” you said quietly. Something in your expression must have changed. Because Lando noticed immediately. His smile softened. “Everything alright?” Your heart did an annoying little flip. You looked away first. “Yeah.” You weren’t sure why that felt like a lie. “Enjoy your burgers,” you said quickly. Then you turned and walked away before either of them could say anything else. As soon as you reached the next table, you risked a glance over your shoulder. Lando was still watching.
The night continued on and the pub started to turn quiet. Lando and Max were still there. In their booth, just talking to each other. They were your only table left, so you were leaning a giant the wall next to another waiter, Chase. Chase was two years older than you and in the same university. You were pretty sure he was gay, but he had never said anything before, so you never brought it up.
Chase was complaining about how his mum wanted him to come home immediately because she missed him. “I just want to be free, you know?” He said. “It’s my third year of university and she does it every year.” He shook his head. “The lads and I had so many plans but she booked my ticket home already so I can’t even go anymore.”
You looked over at him with a sympathetic expression. “That sucks.” Chase let out a dramatic sigh and folded his arms. “I know it’s sweet that she misses me, but I’m twenty two. At some point she has to let me be an adult.” You nodded along, but if you were being honest, you didn’t completely understand. You’d only turned nineteen a few months ago. Most days, you still felt sixteen. Like you were pretending to know what you were doing and hoping nobody noticed.
University had helped. Living away from home had helped. Not talking to your parents for a year had helped. But there were still moments when you stood in the laundry aisle staring at detergent bottles or called Naomi into the kitchen because you couldn’t figure out why the oven was making a weird noise. Adult felt like a title everyone else had earned. Not you. Not yet.
“You’re looking at me like I’m insane,” Chase said. Your attention snapped back to him. “A little bit.” “A little bit?” “You get upset because your mum wants to see you.” “She wants me home for three months.” You shrugged. “I don’t know. Sounds nice.” Chase stared at you for a second. Then his expression softened slightly. He knew about your parent situation, seemed like he only remembered about it now. “Oh.” He said quietly. “Right.” He knew enough about you not to ask questions.
“I’m going to go check on my table.” You said softly before walking off towards Lando and Max. You put on your polite smile as you reached them. “How was the food?” You asked as you gathered their empty plates. “Delicious.” Max said. “I could see why it was your favourite.” Lando smiled up at you. “Im glad you liked it.” You said stacking the plates carefully in your arms.
You adjusted the plates in your arms. “Well, can I get you guys anything else?” “Just the bill, please,” Max said. Something in your chest sank slightly. Oh. Right. They were leaving. “Of course.” You gave them a small smile. “I’ll go get that for you.” You turned and headed towards the till before either of them could notice the strange feeling settling in your chest. It was ridiculous. They were customers. Customers left. That was generally how restaurants worked.
Still, as you printed the receipt, you found yourself taking longer than necessary. “You alright?” Hannah asked, appearing beside you. “Fine.” You said. “Y/N.” She pushed. “I’m fine.” You repeated, sternly. You grabbed the receipt before she could continue. You walked back towards table sixteen. By the time you arrived, Max was already reaching for his wallet.
You placed the bill on the table. “Will that be cash or card?” You asked. “Card,” Max said. “Alright, I’ll be back with the card machine now.” You said before walking off. For some reason, your feet felt heavier than they had all night. Which was stupid. You grabbed the card machine from behind the till and headed back over to the table.
You grabbed the slip to put in the total to see the tip they gave you. 50% tip. Your expression faded and you looked between them. “Hey, I uh- I think you made a mistake.” You said. “Here.” You pointed at the new total on the slip. Max glanced at it before looking at Lando. Lando looked at it before looking at Max. Neither of them seemed concerned. “Nope,” Max said.
You blinked. “No? Guys thats…” You looked down at the receipt again. “That’s a lot of money.” Lando shrugged. “You gave us good service.” You couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped you. “Still.” “Keep it,” Max said. Your eyes flicked between them again. For a moment, you didn’t know what to say. That tip was nearly half of what you’d make on some shifts.
“Thank you,” you said quietly. The teasing smile on Lando’s face softened slightly. “You’re welcome.” Something fluttered awkwardly in your chest. You looked down at the receipt before typing the total in and passing max the card machine. The machine beeped a second later. Approved. You took it back and tucked the receipt beneath your notepad.
“Thank you,” you said quietly. The teasing smile on Lando’s face softened slightly. “You’re welcome.” Something fluttered awkwardly in your chest. You looked down at the receipt before typing the total in and passing Max the card machine. A few seconds later, the payment went through. Approved.
You took the machine back and tucked it under your arm. “Well…” you said softly. There it was again. That funny feeling. The one that told you this was probably goodbye. “Thanks for coming in.” “Thank you for serving us,” Max replied. Youu smiled. “Have a safe trip home.” Max stood up first, grabbing his jacket from beside him. Lando followed a second later. The booth suddenly looked a lot emptier. You hated that you noticed.
“See you around, Y/N.” Your eyes immediately snapped to Lando. See you around. Not goodbye. See you around. A smile tugged at the corner of your lips. “Yeah.” You weren’t sure why your heart was beating so fast. “You too.” For a second, neither of you looked away. Then Max cleared his throat dramatically “Right.” Both of you immediately looked at him. Lando glanced back at you once more. “Bye, Y/N.” You nodded. “Bye.” You watched as they left the pub. Lando didn’t leave without one last glance over his shoulder. Then they were gone. The door swung shut behind them.
You let out a long breath and finally turned away, walking towards the back. Your shift was over. Thankfully, you weren’t closing tonight. You packed the card machine away and picked up the receipt again, ready to throw it out. But something made you pause. You turned it over. At first, it was just paper. Then you saw it. A number. Written on the back and written underneath in messy handwriting ‘Call me.’












