On the Run

"Thanks," I said, but he was already gone back into the kitchen.

I sat patiently waiting for my food, drinking my water. I looked around the place. It was a nice setup, smartly decorated. Except for the all of the dirty tables, it was very nice and clean looking. I guess someone didn't show up for work and he had to do it all by himself.

Frankie brought out another table's food and he noticed my empty water glass. While filling it, he grumbled, "Your glass have a hole in it?"

I guess that was his way of saying that I was drinking too fast, but it made me smile and giggle a little. By the time he brought my burger, I was really hungry. The burger really was the best I ever had and the fries were really good, too. It all tasted like it was fresh and not frozen.

As I was finishing up my food, he turned off the 'open' sign after the last of the customers left.

I put my money on the bill, along with a fifteen percent tip. At this rate I would be very broke very quick. I looked around the restaurant at all of the dirty tables.

I cleared my throat. "Do you want some help cleaning up?" I asked.

He narrowed his eyes at me and scowled.

I cleared my throat again. "I mean... It's just that... Um... I could use a little money..."

His face softened a little bit and he sighed. "Okay. I'll give you ten bucks if you clear and wipe these tables, then wash the dishes."

"Thank you so much, sir."

"I ain't that much older than you, so knock off the 'sir' bullshit. What's your name?"

"Lucas."

"I'm Frankie."

"Nice to meet you," I said.

I went to shake his hand, but he shoved a dish tub at me instead. I got started clearing off the tables while he locked the door and then went back to clean the kitchen. It took me a few trips, but I got all of the dishes cleared away. I wiped every table and the countertop down with bleach water, then I went back to start on the dishes.

As I was finishing up the pots and pans, Frankie came back and put the mop and bucket away. He leaned against the wall and looked at me and my progress.

I drained the sink and wiped and rinsed it, then started to dry the pots and pans with a rag. He made a grunting sound, then pushed off the wall and walked into the small office in back. I watched him walk away, my eyes drawn to the bubble butt in his white pants. Nice.

Once everything was put away, I walked back to find him in the office. There was a couch and a big wide filing cabinet in the office, along with a desk and computer. Frankie was sitting at the desk with a stack of receipts. He had a pen tucked behind his ear and he was staring at the computer. He entered some data into the computer and brought up a report.

I cleared my throat to get his attention. "I'm all finished, sir-- I mean, Frankie."

Frankie got up and inspected the pots and pans on the rack. He frowned and then moved some stuff around. I had clearly put them in the wrong spot. How was I supposed to know where they went? It's not like he told me or gave me any kind of direction.

He pulled a ten dollar bill out of his pocket. "Not bad. Here ya go."

"Thanks," I said as I stuffed the money into my pocket. I shifted back and forth on my feet nervously. "Um... If you need someone to work for you... I was thinking maybe..."

He scowled at me again.

"I'm a really hard worker," I continued.

"You ever work at a restaurant before?"

"Um... No. But I'm willing to learn."

"How old are you?"

"I'm eighteen. Almost nineteen."

"All right."

"Really?" I said with a big smile.

He frowned. "Yeah, yeah. Annette up and quit to run off with some trucker, so..."

"Thank you so much," I said. "I promise you won't regret it."

"Yeah. Okay," he said dismissively. "Be here at 5:30."

Wow. That was really early, but what else was I going to do? I walked back to the front and grabbed my backpack and walked to the front door.

"You got somewhere to go?" he asked as he unlocked the door for me.

"Um... Yeah... I'll be fine," I lied.

Frankie sighed again and relocked the door. "Come on."

He motioned for me to follow him with his head. As we walked through the door to the back, he hit the light switch turning off the front house lights. I followed him to his office.

"You can sleep on this couch for the night. I'll be back down at 5:30 to get started. We open at 6:00 for breakfast and close at 10:00."

"You work all day and night, 6 AM until 10 PM?" I asked.

"Yeah. You got a problem with that schedule?"

"No, si-- Frankie. If that's what you want me to work, I'll do it."

"Good. Get some rest. Oh, one more thing. If you steal from me, I will find you and I will cut your balls off and grind them into hamburger meat."

The look on his face told me that he was absolutely not kidding. He turned around and went up the stairs that led to the apartment above. I got my toothbrush and toothpaste and cleaned up in the men's room. I stripped down to my t-shirt and briefs and grabbed my blue blankie. I turned off the office light and laid down on the couch and quickly fell asleep wrapped in my blanket.

***

When the office light came on, I woke with a start and bolted straight upright.

"Sorry, Luke," Frankie muttered. "Didn't mean to scare you. I knocked, but you didn't answer. Get up and get cleaned up."

I put my blanket back in my backpack and grabbed a new change of clothes and my toiletries. I went to the men's room and cleaned myself up in the sink and got dressed.

Frankie handed me a white apron and I put it on and tied it around my waist and then followed him into the kitchen.

"Oh, I need your driver's license and social security card."

I knew that I couldn't give those to him. The cops would be able to find me in no time.

"Um... I don't have them. I lost them," I lied.

Frankie narrowed his eyes at me and I looked down at my feet. He knew I was lying.

He let out a sigh, then said, "Okay. Here's the deal. I'll give you room and board -- that's the couch to sleep on, plus three meals a day -- and you can keep whatever tips you make."

I nodded. "That would be great. Thanks."

"Yeah. This better not come to bite me in the ass, Luke."

"Lucas," I corrected.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Nevermind."

He grabbed a huge sack of potatoes from the pantry. I watched his big arm muscles flex from the strain of the sack as I followed him to the prep area.

"Get to peeling these potatoes," he said. "All of them. We'll need them for hash browns and fries."

He showed me how to use the automatic peeler and I started to peel the entire bag, rinsing them and putting them into a big bin. While I was doing that, he took a box grater and grated two of the potatoes and then left me to work.

"Luke!" he called out a several minutes later. I wiped my hands and followed his voice to the front counter.

"Come on. Sit down," he said.

He was sitting at one of the stools eating a plate of scrambled eggs, hash browns and toast. An identical plate was sitting at the seat next to him, but with smaller portions. I smiled at him.

"Hurry up," he ordered with a frown as he stuffed his mouth full.

I quickly sat down next to Frankie and ate my breakfast. He was eating really fast and I tried to keep up with him, remembering what Chuck had said. A man has to eat fast so he can get to work. And I wanted to do a good job for Frankie.

I had to learn really fast. When Frankie opened the door at 6:00 AM, there were already people coming in. Frankie helped me take the first order, and then I was on my own. Frankie did all of the cooking, while I did a lot of everything else. I took orders and bussed and cleaned the tables. I ran food out. I made coffee and did prep work for him when I had a spare second. The customers were really supportive and cut me a lot of slack since it was my first day. I know I messed up a few times, but they didn't get mad and still left me a tip. I ran my ass off non-stop for almost four hours.

By the time the breakfast rush was over, I thought I was going to die.

"Okay, Luke. We need to get ready for lunch."

Oh my god.

I nodded and took a deep breath and followed him to the back. I washed the dishes, then he showed me how to make iced tea. I cut lemons. I sliced potatoes in the slicer for the fries. The lunch special was a chicken burrito, so Frankie showed me how to make hand made tortillas. Lunch time was way busier than breakfast. After the lunch rush, I was panting and out of breath.

"You did okay, Luke," Frankie said. "You wanna try the burrito for lunch?"

"Sure, Frankie. Thanks," I said with a smile.

Frankie's scowl softened slightly and his frown even lifted a little. That might be the closest thing he had to a smile, so I took it as a good sign. I sat down at the counter and quickly ate my burrito. It was really good. The best I ever had. Frankie was an amazing cook. No wonder the diner was so busy. They sure didn't come for his winning personality. As I ate, I looked up at Frankie through the kitchen window.

He needed to shave, but he was very handsome in a rugged and manly way. When I first saw him, I thought he was older. The scowl he always wore made him look older than he was. I figured he must be in his late twenties. He was tall. I was 5'8" so I figured he must be around 6'2" or 6'3". I was thin and lean and he was much bigger than me.

He caught me staring at him and he frowned at me. I looked away and grabbed my plate and took it to the back, then walked up to him. He explained what we needed to do to prep for dinner. In between the afternoon customers, I got all of that done with his help.

Frankie let me take my dinner break at 5:00, and I was glad for that. It gave me the energy to get through dinner. The dinner rush was really busy, with steady customers from about 5:30 to 9:00. It slowed down as closing time came around, so I got started on the dishes. It was about 10:30 when we got all of the cleaning done.

"You did real good today, Luke," he said. "I mean that. You worked real hard."

"Thanks," I said with a grin. I was really glad that he noticed how hard I worked.

"You make a lot of tips today?"

"I don't know. I just kind of shoved it all into my apron pocket, but I think I did okay."

"Good. You want some ice cream?"

"Okay."

"Get me a couple of scoops of chocolate and whatever you want."

I went back to the freezer and grabbed the big bucket of chocolate ice cream and scooped two scoops for each of us into bowls. I put the ice cream away and brought the bowls to the counter. I grabbed a couple of spoons and sat down next to Frankie and we ate in silence. Sitting next to him, I could smell Frankie's sweaty body odor. It was strong and pungent. I liked it. I liked it a lot. He smelled like a man.

I stifled a yawn and Frankie made a noise that sounded like a laugh. After I washed and put our bowls away, I was ready for bed.

He looked me up and down and frowned. "If you want a shower, I guess you can come upstairs."

I knew that I was probably stinky and looked a mess. I blushed in embarrassment and nodded and grabbed my backpack and followed Frankie up the stairs. It was a nice sized apartment with two small bedrooms and one full bathroom. I was shocked at how out of place it was. I was expecting something old and dingy. The apartment had an open floorplan with a big living room and a really nice kitchen. The floors were a beautiful hardwood. There was plenty of recessed lights and sconces to give the apartment a bright feel. He had a big flat panel TV and a comfy looking couch and recliner. One of the bedrooms was set up as an office and a library and had some weight lifting equipment that probably didn't get much use these days. The other was his bedroom and the door was closed and he didn't offer to show it to me.

The bathroom was tiled and decorated in earth tones that gave it the look of what I imagined a fancy hotel or spa would look like. I took a long, hot shower in the glass shower stall and the water felt really good. He let me use his shower gel and even found some shampoo under the sink for me. I inhaled the fresh scent of the shower gel as I washed and smiled to myself. This was the smell that complemented Frankie's natural manly smell. It smelled good and my dick started to plump up at the thought of the way Frankie smelled. I resisted the urge to jack off in the shower. When I dried off, the towel he had left me was big and fluffy and it felt really soft on my skin.

After I got dressed, I walked out of the bathroom and found Frankie sitting on the recliner. He got up and shut off the TV. I said "goodnight" to him as he held the downstairs door open for me.

"Night, Luke," he said as he shut the door. I heard it bolt shut as I walked down the stairs.

I closed the office door about halfway. I counted my tips from the day and smiled to myself. Not bad. I straightened out all of the bills and hid them in the bottom of my backpack. I pulled off my jeans and I curled up on the office couch with my blankie. I thought of Frankie and how lucky I was to have met him. I closed my eyes and passed out from exhaustion.

***

The next few days were the same routine. We got up early and worked our butts off all day. I fell asleep exhausted every night.

On Sundays the diner closed at 6:00 PM. That was his only time off all week. I was just amazed at how hard he worked and I hoped that I would be able to keep up with him.

I really needed to wash my clothes, so I told him that was going to head down the street to the laundromat and I asked if he could let me in when I got back. He said he did his laundry on Sunday nights as well, so I waited for him. I only had my one backpack of clothes, but he came down the stairs with a couple of large canvas bags. He was wearing sweatpants and a tank top. He had tattoos on both of his upper arms, a large dragon wound around his right and a large tribal pattern on his left. I could see black chest hair spilling out over the neck of the tank top and I tried to force myself to look away. My eyes wandered down to the crotch of his sweatpants, which hugged a big bulging package. I turned red and quickly looked away from him.

We made small talk as we waited for our laundry. It was the first time we actually had a real conversation. After we got back to the diner, Frankie started up the stairs to his apartment.

"You wanna come up and watch a movie?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure," I nodded, trying not to show the shock on my face.

I followed him up the stairs. He made some popcorn and split it into two bowls. He sat down in the recliner and I took the sofa. We watched 'The Dark Knight' on DVD, one of his favorite movies. I never got a chance to see it and I thought it was great. Except I didn't get what was up with Batman's voice. Other than that, I really liked it.

After the movie, I thanked Frankie then saw myself out and went back down the office to go to bed.

As I laid on the couch, I couldn't help but think about Frankie. The way he smelled. The way he looked in that tank top. His hairy chest and his beefy tattooed arms. The way the shirt hugged his soft belly. That big bulge in those sweat pants, which hugged his tree trunk legs and showed off his sexy bubble butt.

I closed my eyes and let my hands wander all over my body. I rubbed my hands all over my smooth chest and my nipples. I let a hand slip into my briefs and I bit my bottom lip as I touched myself. I smeared the precome around the head. My other hand slipped into my briefs and fondled my nuts. I gripped my dick and began jacking up and down. I pictured Frankie's sexy lips kissing me while I ran my hands all over his bear body.

My left hand moved below my balls and I rubbed my finger along my crack, gently pressing and rubbing my tight hole. I imagined that it was Frankie that took my virginity in our basement, and not Bud Junior. It was Frankie that bent me over the workbench and pushed inside me, then leaned onto my body and breathed into my ear as he fucked me. I closed my eyes, lost in my fantasy. My right hand jerked my dick faster and I stifled a moan.

I reached my left hand up and pulled up my shirt just in time as I gasped and spurt my load all over my chest and stomach. I tried to catch my breath and I swirled the little puddles of come around with my finger, then finally got up and padded to the men's room to clean myself up.

***

I fell into Frankie's routine very quickly. The days were really long, but they went by fast. When I went to bed, I was exhausted, but I always slept very well.

After a couple of weeks, Frankie even started to warm up to me a little bit. He always told me what a good job I was doing. He said I was a natural with the customers and that made me feel really good. A lot of the customers came in all the time and I enjoyed seeing them regularly and chatting with them. I got to know a lot of them really well. They were so open and friendly, always smiling back at me and wanting to chat with me. I even started to remember people's usual orders.

One night when Frankie and I were having our nightly snack after we finished cleaning up, Frankie looked over at me. "The Bennetts told me how great you were tonight. They said I should keep you. You're a really hard worker and you're always friendly and smiling. I really do appreciate it. I know I'm not the most friendly guy, so.... Anyway, you've made a difference in my business. I'm proud of you, Luke."

I looked up at him. He actually had a little smile on his face. He really was proud of me. I told him "thanks" and started to cry. I couldn't help it. No one had ever said they were proud of me before. He looked a little bit uncomfortable at my emotional outburst. He patted my back and then told me goodnight. I sniffled and wiped my nose and watched him walk away towards the back stairs. I vowed to myself then that I would work my ass off every day for him.

I liked working with Frankie, but the best was Sunday evenings. After all the hard work during the week, it was like a reward. We would spend it doing laundry, sometimes going to the grocery store or to the Walmart in the next town over, then watching TV or a movie or just sitting and talking until bedtime.

I found out a lot about Frankie during those talks. He just turned 28 years old, and had fallen into the diner business by accident about eight years ago. He told me he left home, traveling from town to town and he got a job as a cook at the diner to make some cash before moving on, but he never left. And when the previous owner retired and moved to Florida, he sold the business to Frankie.

I was curious as to why Frankie moved from town to town, but he didn't talk about his life before he came here and I didn't ask. He never asked me about home and he never questioned me about why I left, which I was grateful for, so I didn't want to bring it up.

With the tips I made, I had built up a nice little savings. I was able to buy some new clothes and a pillow and blanket and anything else I needed. Frankie even cleaned out the bottom drawer of his wide filing cabinet so that I had a place to put my things.

It was just over a month after I started working at the diner, sitting on his couch watching a movie and laughing with him. We were both laughing really hard and we looked at each other and grinned. I looked into his sparkling blue eyes and I realized then my crush on Frankie had developed into more. I was in love with him.

The problem was that he didn't feel the same. If I had to label it, I'd say he thought of me as a little brother if he felt anything for me. Sometimes he'd be affectionate, sometimes it seemed like I just annoyed him and got in the way. Don't get me wrong, I knew that he liked me. Just not 'that way'.

***

I had been working at the diner for nearly three months when this guy starting coming in every day at lunch. His name was Randy and he was a some kind of mechanic at the truck stop on the highway. He'd sit at the counter and he'd chat with me and smile at me. I realized right away that Randy was flirting with me. It was a little bit embarrassing, but I didn't mind it too much. He left nice tips. For an older guy, he was cute. He kind of reminded me of my trucker friend Chuck.