Kay Meet Jay: Part 1

For Kay Meets Jay: Prologue, click here.

The night was finally slowing down and we were beginning our closing routine at Red Robin.
Hosting on Friday nights always left me sweaty, impatient, and exhausted.
My hands felt sticky as I wiped down the pile of ketchup covered menus with a wet bleach water towel.
The end of the night couldn't come sooner.
I was ready to get out of there.
However, I still had 3 hours left of my shift. Great.

The front door opened and in came my friend, Ashley,
and a guy I didn't know.
Must be her boyfriend, Kurtis, who I had met only once before, I thought.
He's cuter than I remembered him to be.. huh.
The boy was wearing a flat billed baseball hat, t-shirt, and shorts.
He was tall, like I remembered her boyfriend to be..
So yeah, this must be her boyfriend.

Me: Hey Ashley!
Ashley: Hey Karli, how's your night?

My hair is a mess.
I'm tired.
I'm ready to go home.
I smell like hamburgers and french fries.
I still have to go clean the bathroom tonight.
I have stains on my shirt.
Uhh...

Me: Oh, it's alright. Just another busy Friday night. What are you guys up to?
Ashley: Oh, not too much. This is Jeff by the way. Jeff, this is my friend, Karli.
Jeff, huh, so this wasn't her boyfriend.. hmm, interesting.
Jeff: Hey, how's it going?
Me: Oh hey, nice to meet you.
Ashley: I'm going to run to the bathroom real quick. I'll be right back.
Oh great, leaving me with someone I don't know.
I hate weird situations like this.
Jeff: So... how's it working at Red Robin?
Me: Oh, it's fine.

Kurtis and another girl come walking into the front doors.
Oh, good, no more awkward forced conversation.

Jeff: Hey guys! How's it going?

They continued to have some small talk while I figured out where I would sit them.
One thing I have learned about working many different jobs,
is that I don't enjoy having people come to my work that I actually know.
There is always a weird grey area between staying professional
and being friendly.
Things like if I should hug them goodbye,
or how long I should stop working to talk to them,
or they expect me to get them special discounts..
Hosting was especially weird in this way.
Plus, I was always walking around the restaurant,
doing odds and ends,
while I can just feel those eyes watching me.
It is just awkward,
and I have never enjoyed it.

Ashley returned from the bathroom, finally.

Ashley: Hey guys! Oh, Karli, this is Kurtis,
my boyfriend.
And this is Kenzie.
Oh I got it now, a cute little double date.
Karli: Oh hey, well I can seat you guys now, if you would like.

I sat them in a booth, not too far from the front lobby area.
For the next half an hour, I experienced the same old awkward staring feelings
and me trying to avoid the area that they were seated in.
Except this time it was slightly different.
I was curious
about this boy, Jeff,
who I had just met,
and this girl
who I didn't know.
Were they girlfriend and boyfriend?
They weren't holding hands or anything.
They didn't seem that close.
Hmmm...

Don't ask me why I was so interested,
I just was.

Forty five minutes later, they got up to leave and were heading towards the door.

Ashley: Well, it was nice seeing you Karli. We need to get together soon.
Me: Yeah, we do for sure.
Ashley: Well, have a good night. I'll text you soon and we can get together.
Me: Okay, sounds good. See you later!
Kurtis: See you later.
Jeff: Nice meeting you, Karli.
Me: Yeah, nice to meet you too.

He has a nice smile.

Seattle. That same summer.

I noticed, as the four left the restaurant that Jeff and the girl still weren't holding hands,
and Jeff paid more attention to Kurtis than anyone else.

Later that night..
I got a text from Ashley that said: "Is it alright if I give Jeff your number?
He told me he thinks you're cute."

Well, I guess that answers my question about if those two were dating or not.

Oh, but he is one of THOSE guys,
the ones that text random girls they don't really even know
just because they think they are attactive.
Well, he should know, I'm definitely not one of THOSE girls,
the ones who are desperate enough to hand out their number to any guy,
let alone respond to them.
Yeah, no, he cannot have my number.

However, my mind and my fingers had differing opinions.
Text back to Ashley read:
"Yeah, sure."

Rainiers Game. Me, Jeff, & Ashley. That same summer.

Stay tuned for Kay Meets Jay: Part 2

I got this love story idea from here. This is a blog I have recently found, and am loving.