Spreading Joy at the Chinese Buffet

Author's note: This is part of the special 750 Word Project 2022. All entries are limited to exactly 750 words, which is (intentionally) very short. Read them all, and remember that all the authors appreciate your time, your vote, and your comments. Enjoy!

'It's nice to be a regular,' I thought as I walked in. Without even looking away from the customer she was ringing up, Joy got two to-go containers for me and held them out. I grabbed them without even breaking my stride.

It was a cozy Chinese buffet restaurant in a busy shopping plaza anchored by a supermarket. Joy was the owner, and had smartly made it possible to buy to-go food by the pound. Almost every Friday, I'd get groceries first, then go in, get almost exactly $7 of food for the evening and enjoy an always too brief hello-goodbye with Joy. I ate in occasionally too, but only if I had a date.

The restaurant was popular and busy, so in the ten years I'd been eating there, I had never had a conversation longer than five words with Joy. The years added up though, and we gradually learned more about one another. I was thrilled the first time she said something personable. And she seemed thrilled the time I complimented her new haircut. She once asked me where the lady was, when after my divorce, I started going there alone. Then as time passed and I started dating again, she'd laugh and provide feedback at the next visit, whenever I had taken a date to the restaurant. "Twice, same girl? Getting serious!" she joked once. We knew one another, even with barely a word spoken.

It was almost closing time this time, so I had to get my $7 worth of food first, then my groceries. As I was leaving the supermarket, I looked across the parking lot and saw her by her car, frustratedly going through the seven stages of denial that she'd locked her keys in her car. I put my groceries in the trunk and walked over, calling out as I walked to avoid alarming her. She looked relieved to see me.

She had AAA with coverage for batteries and lockouts, so she called. It would be somewhere between 15 minutes and 3 hours, she was told.

I waited with her, and we had our very first actual conversation. Her English was excellent, the only occasional language barrier being slang terms, especially sports analogies. So, I adjusted my game plan and stopped throwing my slang curveballs her way. I was in the zone!

She was intelligent, fascinating, and funny. She had been an engineer in China, but by the time companies in America started recognizing overseas degrees, she was making too much money with the restaurant to go back to engineering.

We decided to eat my to-go food as we chatted. I got my car and parked illegally right in front of the restaurant but facing the plaza entrance, so we'd see when the tow truck arrived. We got to chat for almost two hours before it arrived. She showed her savvy by tipping the driver, even though the service was free.

We stood by her car, starting our goodbyes. "What happened to that last girl? Flippy-hair girl?" she asked, laughing and flipping her hair in a perfect impression of Heather, my last date.

"Gone," I shrugged.

"I didn't like her." Then a long awkward pause. "I have an idea, let's go in. Move your car, though," she motioned to my illegally parked car as she walked toward the restaurant door. "Pull out and come in back when you finish, OK?"

"See you in a minute," I nodded, happy to extend the evening. I drove behind the plaza and parked. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer right away.

Eventually, I heard her through the door, "Who is it?"

"It's me, Jack," I said.

The door opened, and she gave me a strange look. "I was wondering where you went!"

"I thought you said to move my car behind the building and come in back here," I said, puzzled, as we walked through the kitchen toward the seating area near the front. She grabbed some napkins and tossed them on the ottoman, then peeked through the front blinds before closing them.

"You're silly," she laughed, flipping her hair like Heather again.

"Oh!" My jaw dropped as she undid two buttons then pulled her dress off over her head, completely naked underneath. She climbed onto the ottoman, her ass in the air, and reached back with one hand to rub her clit.

"I said, pull out and cum on my back when you finish." Then mischievously, she grinned, "Don't you speak English?"