The Fire at Enzo's

"Ugh! I hate this place," Audrey grunted into her sleeve, as she wiped sweat from her brow.

This place being Enzo's, the upscale Italian restaurant she waited at in uptown D.C.

She quickly picked up the two plates of spaghetti and meatballs, and rushed out of the kitchen to serve her customers. Her long, curly ponytail brushed against her shoulder blades as she made her way through the tables in the dining room. Her long legs, so tired from moving around all day, not seeming to move fast enough to her customers' table. When she finally got there, she placed the plates on the table.

"Alright, here are your two spaghettis. Is there anything else I can get for you?" Audrey said through gritted teeth as she forced a smile, and shown bright eyes to the couple sitting in front of her. Something she was almost too good at.

The pale woman with tacky fire-engine red hair cleared her throat obnoxiously, and pursed her red painted lips harshly. "As I recall, I asked for no garlic in my spaghetti sauce. And, there's clearly a huge clove of garlic right here." The woman stared up at Audrey as if she were stupid.

Audrey quickly picked up the plate.

"And, I am so sorry about that. I will have that fixed for you in no time." She said, before she turned on her heels, back towards the kitchen.

"Who the fuck would eat at an Italian restaurant if they don't like garlic." She thought as she pushed through the kitchen door.

"What now? Why are you bringing dishes back when its your last table, Audrey?" The young, handsome sous chef yelled across the kitchen towards Audrey.

"No garlic." She stated, as she dumped the spaghetti into the compost bag, and put the plate on a cart of dirty dishes that looked as if it would topple to the floor at any second.

Dylan, the sous chef stared at her blankly. He was tall, standing at about 6"2' with very short blonde hair. He had some of the bluest eyes Audrey had ever seen, with a lean, muscular body. He was drop-dead gorgeous, to say the least. Not to mention, he was witty, sarcastic, and wickedly intelligent. Audrey and Dylan were pretty close friends, and the other waitresses always tried to push Audrey to ask him out. But, Dylan wasn't really her "type".

"I'd really love to meet the person who wants no garlic in their Italian food. If it has no garlic, I don't even think its considered Italian!" He yelled, as he threw another pan on to the stove so he could fire up more tomato sauce.

Audrey giggled at Dylan's outburst. "I thought the same thing." she added, putting her hands on her hips.

"I didn't like Susan at all, but why did she have to go and get herself fired. Handling all these tables is hell." He stared down at the pan, referring to the last executive chef at Enzo's, who met her demise just like the million of chefs before her. They just didn't seem to last too long there.

"Well, at least this is your last day of it. The new chef is coming in tomorrow. I heard he's pretty amazing." Audrey said, flashing a smile at Dylan. He always seemed to make her smile without even trying.

"I hope he is. I couldn't take too much more of this."

"I can't take too much of this lady-bitch at my table. I'm trying to get her fat ass out of here, so I can go home." Audrey huffed, watching the pan of tomato sauce intently, hoping it would cook faster under her gaze.

Dylan winked at her. "Got plans, I'm assuming."

Audrey winked back. "You know I do!"

"You, Ms. Audrey, are a forced to be reckoned with."

Audrey let out a chuckle, as she watched Dylan plate the spaghetti. She started to feel relief for the first time since her shift started. Once this table left, she was free to get home to those plans she had.

* * * * *

Audrey had been home for 20 minutes, before she heard a knock on the door to her apartment. Those 20 minutes barely allowed her enough time to wash away the grime and muck after her shift at Enzo's.

"She can wait." She mumbled to herself as she looked in the mirror.

Her dark brown eyes took in her reflection, from her wild curly hair, milk chocolate skin, small nose, down to the lips she always wished were fuller. She was wearing a black bra, and purple and black striped boy shorts. She slid her hands down her front, feeling her nipple piercings through her bra, and adjusting her navel ring. She went onto her tiptoes and pivoted, getting a quick look at her muscular, yet feminine butt. She put her hair into a bun and walked towards the front door. She looked through the peep hole and giggled.

"Now, this girl is so my type." she thought as she opened the front door for the beautiful, brown-skinned Dominican girl standing on the other side of it.

"What took you so long, baby?" Thalia whined, before she leaned up to kiss Audrey on her lips.

Thalia and Audrey kind of looked alike. Actually, when they were in public, they were often asked if they were related.

They both had the same wild hair, same dark brown eyes, and almost the same skin tone. But, Thalia had an exotic air about her. She had full lips, that matched her sensual curvy body, while Audrey was slimmer, having more of an athlete's body. Audrey was almost 5"10', while Thalia was barely pushing 5"5'.

Thalia and Audrey met at their local grocery store, and Audrey put on her charm so she could get the girl's phone number. They'd been together ever since. Well, not really together. While Audrey had long ago come to terms with the fact that she was a lesbian (which was hard to do her in Caribbean family), Thalia still found it an uncomfortable topic, and never even considered telling her family. And Audrey had no deep-rooted problems with that, although it was annoying. Though she was undoubtedly attracted to Thalia, she found her to be needy and insanely clingy. Audrey had no interest in a honest relationship with her, but had a large interest with her body, and the things she could do with it.

Audrey pushed her body against Thalia's as she slipped her tongue into her mouth. Their tongues danced together, before Audrey started to pull away to leave tiny kisses along Thalia's jaw, down to her neck.

Thalia, forgetting the question she had even asked Audrey, slid her hands up along her lover's sides, her fingers swirling patterns against her skin. Audrey's hands moved up under Thalia's sun dress to rest on her luscious ass. Thalia groaned, and pulled away reluctantly, to hold up a plastic bag.

"I brought food." Thalia cooed, cocking an eyebrow up at Audrey, who took the bags from her, and placed them on the ground.

Audrey took Thalia's hand, and started to lead her towards the bedroom.

"I'm not hungry, babe." Audrey whispered into the girl's ear, causing her to blush. "At least not for that."

* * * * *

"Luke, I am your father."

"Why do I have to wake up now?" Audrey thought to herself, as she untangled her sheets from her naked body to turn off her Darth Vader alarm clock at the other end of her bedroom.

She turned back to see Thalia pressing a pillow over her own face.

"God, if you weren't so sexy and amazing in bed, Audrey, I wouldn't be able to deal with your nerdiness." Thalia groaned. "I mean, everything's just Star Wars and Harry Potter with you."

"Bite your tongue. Potter's king." Audrey grumbled, as she walking into her bathroom and closed the door.

The junction between her legs was still slick from her very active night. She had 3 orgasms, and had given Thalia 4.

She turned on the shower, and hopped in, not even giving the water time to heat up. She hissed as the water cascaded down the front of her body, causing her nipples to harden. She then cursed herself for not locking the door, when she felt an arm snake around her slim waist.

"Here comes Cathy McClingy." Audrey thought to herself.

Thalia turned Audrey around to kiss her, but pulled back sharply when she felt Audrey wasn't reciprocating the kiss.

"You always do this shit, you know. We have an amazing night, and then you get weird and distant once the sun is up." Thalia spat, as she angrily scrubbed herself with Audrey's loofah.

Audrey shrugged her shoulders, and furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm not distant; I'm just not a morning person."

Both girls showered, never saying another word to each other. Thalia got out, and put her clothes on.

Audrey got out of the shower to find a fully dressed Thalia sitting at the foot of her bed.

"You're such a guy, I swear. You just don't care about my feelings, whatsoever. I like you a lot, and you just don't feel the same. That's why this is the last time I'm gonna be with you. I'm better than this, and I deserve someone who loves me as much as I love them."

Audrey was shocked. Yeah, everything Thalia was saying was true, but she hadn't expected her to say them.

Thalia got up, and began walking to the front door, with her head held high. Audrey followed, struggling to keep her towel wrapped around her body.

"Baby, I do like you. I like you a lot. I just have a hard time showing it." Audrey said, grabbing Thalia's hand.

Thalia pulled her hand away sharply.

"I honestly wish that was true." The last words Thalia spoke as she opened the door to Audrey's apartment and slammed it behind her.

Audrey stared at her door, blankly.

She didn't know what made her feel worse: the fact that she had hurt Thalia, or the fact that she knew she was hurting her and didn't care. She cared for a minute. No. No, she didn't. She didn't care. She really enjoyed the sex, but that was about it. They didn't go out much. Audrey always talked Thalia into a "quiet night at home".

Her phone rang, shaking her from her thoughts. She walked back into the bedroom to see her cell phone flash "Jaime" across the screen.

Even through her guilt, Audrey smiled a little when she thought of her best and oldest friend Jaime.

They had met the first day of school in the 4th grade, and they were literally inseparable since then. Audrey couldn't imagine life without Jaime. She was her rock, and her voice of reason.

"Hey, girl!" Audrey heard her friend squeal through the phone, making her giggle.

"Hey, Jaime. What's up?" Audrey asked, not sounding as excited as she thought.

"Uhh, nothing. You sound weird."

"Yeah, girl problems. Whatever."

"Oh, well... I wanted to see if you wanted to go shopping with me. I'm sure that'll get you out of your funk for a little while."

Audrey shifted on her feet a little. She didn't really have enough money to go shopping. But, it would be fun, and she did miss her best friend.

"Ok" Audrey said. "I'll be at your place in like 30 minutes."

Audrey ended the call, and turned to her dresser.

Summertime in D.C. Was always hot and humid. Audrey dug through her drawers to find her tight-fitting, cotton, white-and-grey striped dress. It wasn't obscenely tight, but the soft fabric hugged her curves. She then found her oversized denim shirt, and threw it on, rolling the sleeves up to her elbows. She found her gold Gladiator sandals, put on eyeliner, and sprayed on some perfume. She swept her hair up into a high ponytail, as she walked through her apartment, and out the door.

She made her way through her apartment building, stopping at the elevator, before she decided to take the stairs. She hit the street, and walked a block to the metro. As she waited on the platform for the train that would take her to Jaime's neighborhood, she thought of her predicament.

Audrey was 22 (almost 23), but at times she felt older. She had been out of college for a year and a half now, and hadn't gotten a real job yet. She partly waited because of the freedom it allowed her, despite being financially insufficient. It paid her enough money for an apartment, but that was about it.

"Maybe, I need a change." She thought, stepping on to the train.

* * * * *

"Malls. The best place for people-watching, I swear." Jaime said, enthusiastically.

Audrey nodded, as her friend bounced from store to store contemplating buying things neither of them could afford. After about 40 minutes, both girls decided they could spare a few dollars on some caramel frappucinos, and found a table in the food court.

"So, what's up with you and the lady friend?", Jaime asked with her lips pursed together.

She had never taken to Thalia. She thought Audrey was wasting her time on some "shell". She called Thalia a "shell" because she was physically appealing, but had no personality. Just a pretty, empty shell.

"She broke up with me this morning. Well, kinda. She said she deserved better than me, and she does." Audrey stated, letting out a sigh.

Jaime's eyes focused on Audrey's for a quick second.

"You don't really care. Cold-blooded..." She said, giggling. "Good riddance, she was a total dud. You two weren't compatible at all. And, how could she say that she deserved better? She had you living in her closet, for Pete's sake! Despite how much of a jerk you are, Audrey, you still introduced her as your girlfriend. She always introduced you as a friend or a co-worker."

Audrey shook her head, thinking of the times she had felt less-than because Thalia hadn't come to terms with her own sexuality.

Audrey and Jaime sat in silence for a few minutes, just sipping on their cold drinks.

"We should have a little sleep over tonight!", Jaime exclaimed.

Audrey laughed at her best friend's excitement. "I wish. I have to work."

Jaime opened her mouth to speak but Audrey cut her off before a sound could even escape.

"And, I can't take off, so don't even ask. The new chef is coming in. No way I'm getting out of that."

* * * * *

Audrey ran through the backdoor of Enzo's. She was literally 3 minutes late, but due to the importance of tonight, she knew she would get bitched out by Jeremy, the owner.

Upon reaching the dining room, she realized that all eyes were on her. The staff was seated at various tables while Jeremy and an unknown man were standing in front.

"How nice of you to make it to work today, Audrey," Jeremy scoffed, while Audrey looked for Dylan to sit next to.

When Audrey finally found Dylan and sat down, she began appraising the mysterious man who she assumed to be the new executive chef. He was all right. Nothing special about him. He didn't have that commanding presence most executive chefs had. And Audrey knew that presence oh-so-well from all the chefs that Enzo's had chewed up and spit out.

Jeremy's voice caught her attention.

"I know everyone is excited to meet the new chef. Unfortunately, he is a little lost, so we're going to give him a few more minutes. But, this man standing next to me is the new host I hired. Everyone say hi to Randy."

Everyone gave half-hearted "hellos" and "his", surely because he was only the host.

The dining room grew quiet, before there were 3 knocks on the front doors of the restaurant. All the staff members looked around at each other, a buzz of whispers filling the air.

"Can you open the door, Audrey? You're the closest," Jeremy huffed.

Audrey walked to the door, opening it quickly, and she was met with a pair of shoulders. She looked up further and her eyes locked with the grey ones of the beautiful man in front of her. She knew she was supposed to give him some type of greeting, but her words were trapped in her throat. She gulped (loudly) and stepped aside, allowing him to gracefully enter the room to greet Jeremy.

Audrey quickly walked back to her seat, almost knocking a chair over on the way there. Dylan knudged her and whispered something, but it didn't register. She couldn't take her eyes off of the new man.

He was several inches taller than Audrey, which made him a giant since she was a few inches shy of 6 feet tall. He had to be 6"4' at the least. And, he was older; maybe in his early 40s. He had salt-and-pepper hair, stubble, and crow's feet but they were charming and sexy. He was lanky, with small hoop earrings in each ear, and a huge spatula tattooed on his forearm.

Audrey was utterly attracted to him. And, in a sexual way. She didn't know him, and she wanted more of him. From his height and lankiness, to his sexy walk. From his Roman nose, to his square masculine jaw.

Jeremy cleared his throat to silence the room after he exchanged words with the man Audrey deemed as her new infatuation.

"Finally, our man of the hour," said Jeremy. "This is Iwan Maguire."